Habtoor Grand Hotel is preparing special menus for Al Fitr and plans to establish a management contract with a hospitality company while renovating room televisions. The facility emphasizes customer feedback and operates a rigorous research and development process to enhance guest experiences. The writer, a guest relations officer, outlines their responsibilities and personal growth in customer service, highlighting the importance of maintaining customer relationships and delivering quality service to ensure business success.

1. Future projects / Research and Development
For the near futureHabtoor Grand Hotel has prepared special menus for Al Fitr festives
wherepeople can enjoy special lunch and dinner buffets, as well as special set menus,
served at its various restaurants.
Add to that, Al Habtoor Group is looking forward to put Habtoor Grand Hotel-Beirut
under a management contractwith a hospitality management company. Starwood
Hotel Management (Sheraton) was a candidate but the deal didn’t happen.
Another futuristic plan is renovating all the televisions in the rooms to plasma screens
(LCD).
A stable future goal carried out by the company throughoutthe whole year is reaching
certain financial gains. This is translated into budgets for each department to be reached
quarterly and annually.
Concerning the research and development, HGH always strives for customers’ and
guests’ opinions. The feedback of guests is essential in the cycle of the hotel and it is a
starting point in a lot of aspects. Complaints, feedback, reviews, and opinions are fished
for at HGH by the management and the employees, especially at the frontoffice. Guest
comment cards, courtesy calls, “Thank You” e-mails, and face to face conversations are
all examples of the ways guestfeedback is collected.
Other research and development is done by the administration and at the head office of
the company; in addition to, the sales and marketing department which executes a non-
stop R & D process especially in a competitive market such a Lebanon.

2. II. Personal Expectations
As a business studentI had to find myself a place in order to enter the work market,
even with a small step. Here came my employment at Habtoor Grand Hotel Convention
Center & Spa.
Entering the business world to gain professionalexperience especially with customer
serviceis the door HGH has opened for me.
A big company as Habtoor Group having HGH, a prestigious landmark, brought
hospitality in Lebanon to a new level. It is indeed a haven for business executives or
leisure travelers, designed to be a luxury and business place with a distinctive character.
Those criteria surely haveadded to my experience and personality on the business level.
Practical skillsacquired
 I acquired listening, learning, and improving each day.
 I created a passion for serviceand sales and avoiding unnecessary cost& waste.
 I learned to treat my colleagues as I would like to be treated myself.
 I have developed the urge to do my best in striving for excellence in performance,
productivity, loyalty, attitude, and senseof ownership.
 I learned what time management is.
 I acquired the customer serviceskills and communications skills by e-mails and
telephone calls with customers and other departments.
 I learned using the POS of “Opera” system.
 One of the most importantis working under pressure, and by this it is the
pressurefromthe management and duties as well as guests’ requests and
inquiries.
 Another very importantpractical skill is the courtesy of the hospitality with the
guests and all the employees of this big hotel, starting from the housekeeping
agents and reaching the general manager.
 Not to forgetthat I acquired the skills of working in high heels all day and standing
most of the time which requires a dynamic physicalability.

3. III. Guest RelationsDepartment
I work in the front office at the GuestRelations Department, as a GuestRelations
officer. The major responsibilities and duties I performare:
 Presencein the hotel’s lobby, welcoming & assisting all guests.
 Preparing amenities and welcome letters for arrivals, including VIPs.
 Inspecting the arrivalrooms after they had been prepared by the housekeeping
and the room service.
 Preparing special requirements and preferences required by any guest.
 Responding to guest's inquiries and requests.
 Calling guests with DND rooms for amenities replenishment.
 Doing Courtesy calls with guest's in house.
 Enrolling guests in the loyalty program.
 Sending “Thank You” letter for the guests 1 day after the departure date.
 Handling guest's complaints and passing them on to the management.
 Escorting guests when they arriveto the hotel & informing them about the hotel's
facilities.
 Informing passers-by, guests in house, and any external calls about the special
offers, packages, and promotions atMetropolitan Palace Hotel and Habtoor
Grand Hotel rooms and F&B outlets.
 Commencing tours of the houseand show rooms for guests.
 Reporting directly to the guest relations manager, then in turn to the most
superior frontoffice and rooms’ division manager.
Some of the daily sheets used at the guest relations are found next.

4. IV. Problems Encountered
V. Tasks of the work experience
Working at Habtoor City, Beirut in a 39 floors hotel with all its constituents makes
communication a little harder. Having to cope with all the surrounding atmospheres of
Le Mall, the Emirates Hall, Metropolitan Palace Hotel, and of courseHGH outlets
themselves makes you more flexible and understanding. Itis hard to interact with the
big number of employees of various ages, cultures, nationalities, and ideologies. Adding
to that, working with guests who in turn come fromall over the world of various socio-
economic levels molds your attitude and understanding of life and behavior.
Staying in the lobby mostof the working duty and being exposed to guests is tough
since one must controlall his actions and movements such as moving the hands. The
smile must always be drawn on the face no matter the circumstances. So students who
might want to participate in this same type of work or internship have to be ready
physically and mentally in order to succeed.
Training after employment is a very important period where the person acquires the
basic information and begins building on it each day. Attending training, if present, and
learning frommistakes do a leap. Communication with the manager of superior must
always be clear and excessivein order to execute the company’s goals and objectives. A
job like mine includes shortterm objectives to be achieved such as direct customer
serviceand satisfaction; as for the long term, it is building relationships with the guests
and clients to ensure maximum profitability for the company on the long run. And losing
a customer costs a lot since getting a new customer, costs more than maintaining the
old one. Regular customers makea marginal difference for businesses and somehow
become part of the expected fixed revenueif maintained properly; therefore, getting a
big section of the budget or financial target.
This whole work experience is mainly centered on guestservice. So listening to guest
needs and requirements are the first step of learning in business. Atthe end of the cycle
comes getting their feedback or complaints for developing, improving, or changing if
possible. Delivering a good service or good in all businesses has many factors someof
which are: credibility, time, quality, and the value for money. The customer decides
whereto get his good or service, he has the choice in competitive markets; therefore,
the quality of production, the delivery, and after sales serviceare critical even in the
services sector. Nowadays, serviceis differentiating businesses fromeach other and
giving them their image. So employees must understand their organizationalculture and
accordingly standardizetheir behavior with customers and fellow employees.

5. VI. Suggestions / comments
As previously said maintaining customers is essential and partof the guestrelations
duty is having a good relationship with as much guests at the hotel as possible. The
guest will come back if he feels comfortable with the service besides the hotel’s rooms
and setting. So I proposethat the human resources departmentworks wellon choosing
convenient customer oriented employees to work in the servicedepartments since they
form major assets. After that, comes the after sales servicewhich is ensuring guest
satisfaction. And this happens by getting the serviceaccomplished at its best with close
supervision by professionalsupervisorsand managers. Having satisfied employees in the
services sectors surely leads to servicesatisfied customers.
The value for money is critical for high end consumers sincethey can spend their big
money wherever they want. Habtoor Grand is 5+ stars superior hoteltherefore guests
staying at it know the averagerange of prices. So, the focus must be on ensuring logical
pricing such as the mini-bar items; as well as, roomservicefood and beverage.
VII. Objectives and Ambitions
My shortterm objectives are staying at my job and using it as a door for experience and
financial income, in addition to finishing my business studies at AUL.
And my ambition fromthis job is to be promoted as a guestrelations supervisor after
working at HGH for 1 year and 5 months, so far.
As for my long term objectives and ambitions, I am willing to be a successfulemployee
in the business world at a successfulcompany, mostly directed towards multinational.
I want to have a master’s degreeand do another major, mostprobably advertising.
I am looking forward to have my own business in the future, and make it grow by
constantdevelopment and global knowledgeacquisition.