CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The Hotel Industry like any other business opens up socio-economic opportunities for both owner and customer. It has the function of providing hospitality services to customers. These customers can be travelers, foreigners, businessmen, tourists, visitors, etc. with the sole aim of looking for resort. Customers are mostly constrained in trying to get a room to pass the night, as the usual practice is to look for a hotel when you have arrived in the particular location, walk in and find out whether there is a vacant room. In the case that there is no vacant room, you have to move to the next closest hotel to enquire once more. So what happens if you move around sometimes very late in the night in search of a room and all spaces in the hotels are fully booked? Other times, you may be lucky to have the contact number of the hotel to reach them to book for a room. But do the hotel attendants really ensure to keep a room for you? You would be lucky to go and get a room booked for you. They are quick to serve those who walk in rather than those who may get access to them on phone to book a room. On other times too, if you have friends or family members in the area you want a room booked, they have to go and do the checking for you. This can make customers really stranded especially if it is getting late in the night.

Hotel Information Management System (HIMS) is becoming a very popular method for proper management, booking hotel rooms and maintaining the credibility of its worth. Travelers can book rooms from home by using online security to protect their privacy and financial information and by using several online travel agents to compare prices and facilities at different hotels. People can book directly on an individual hotel’s website. An increasing number of hotels are building their own websites to allow them to market their hotels directly to consumers and to have a more reliable and confidential resort in place for customers. Non-franchise chain hotels require a “booking engine” application to be attached to their website to permit people to book rooms in real time. One advantage of booking with the hotel directly is the use of the hotel’s full cancellation policy as well as not needing a deposit in most situations.

HIMSis an easy to use arrangement that enables hotel personnel to be able to present a more reliable information on management about the day-to-day running of the hotel, and for agents and guests to comfortably reserve rooms directly via the internet once they have confirmed availability of rooms in accordance with the itinerary.

HIMS is an efficient and brilliant system, as it is easy and uncomplicated to use. HIMS grants complete authority and power on hotel or motel room booking over the internet. This entails that one can accumulate all guest payments; enter own room descriptions, facilities, rates and allocations into the Reservation System. HIMS also allows to confirm accommodation in real-time at hotel’s web site and close the sale without more ado.

There are several benefits of HIMS. It makes the reservation process computerized and thus helps one to undertake a large amount of transactions at a low cost due to availability of web-based processes. It lets the hotel in charge of over margins and pricing strategy. It enables one to check available inventory and complete an online booking form making the reservation process more efficient and less time consuming. The clients can settle the room rates and special offers at no extra cost. HIMS assists hotel’s guests and agents with different payment options such as credit/debit cards. The system can track hotel’s performance on a regular basis as all information concerning its management, and payments is updated online and sent to the reservation manager by means of e-mail or mobile messages.

The HIMS, commonly known as a Central Reservation Management(CRM) is a computerized system that stores and distributes information of a hotel, resort or other lodging facilities. A CRM offers assistance to hoteliers to manage all of their online marketing and sales where they can upload their rates and service availabilities to be seen by sales channels. The list of main modules that are present in a CRM are: Content, Information stored and Reporting module.

Content consists of Reservations, Profiles, Groups and Blocks, Rate and Inventory Control, Administration, Global Distribution Interface, Web-based Interface.

Information stored consists of Room Types, Rate plans architecture, Room rates and conditions (guarantee, deposit, customized cancellation rules, minimum length of stay, maximum length of stay, closed to arrival, arrival not allowed, departure not allowed,…), Room inventories, Generic hotel information (address, phone number, fax number), reservation information.

While the Reporting module provides a number of standard reports. System reports may be generated automatically and may be run daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. It includes Expected Arrivals, Reservation, Property Forecast, Total Booking Activity, Stay Activity, Monthly Booking Activity, Daily Booking Activity and Property Detail.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Although, the manual system of hotel management were to some extent reliable due to face-to-face connection with clients, but couldn’t solve most major issues at a less time consuming rate. It was difficult to deal with because it was time consuming and involved too much labour before the booking list will be released. Due to this reason, issues like difficulty of keeping financial records and billings, loss of documentaries as a result of mishandling in the case of transfers of document (records), duplication of records where the customers may wish to purchase more tickets for other interested customers, time wasting in both services and office management, and problem of completing formal documents properly without transaction errors to ensure proper payment and also avoid cash flow problems arose.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to create a more enhance and complex way of handling hotel management issues. And this is done by the means of designing a system capable of handling data and records over the web to ensure advancement in productivity, and provide a more inspiring comfort to the customers.

For this fact, the study tends to provide the following objectives:

1.       Improved data management efficiency through the elimination        of data redundancy.

2.       To provide a platform to manage on-desk and online bookings.

3.       To enhance advertisement of the hotel to entice the mindset of        the customers.

4.       Aid in generating a more prolific report that will be more      meaningful to the management.

5.       To add multiple hotels/rooms to the system.

6.       View of availability of rooms in real time.

7.       Store customer information which can be accessed anytime at         ease.

8.       A user-friendly interface for customers for the easy viewing of        hotel information and booking process.

9.       To provide a secure payment gateway for online transaction.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This system provides the hotel with the ability of managing information in the system by using enhance database on the internet platform that will work on a workable and portable operating system for proper distribution of information across the web.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

As stated earlier, one of the challenges of hotel management is the improper accountability of productivity to enhance marketability. Therefore, the significance of this study is to improve the guest management operational efficiency in Hotel management respectively to the handling of data, information, elimination of unneeded data associated with the Hotel.

1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In the course of writing this project, the Structured System Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) was used in the specification of procedures for collecting and analyzing the data.

The reason for this methodology is based on three aspects, viz;

Logical Data Modeling: The data requirements of the system being designed were identified, modeled and documented. The data is separated into entities, modules, stages and relationships between these entities identified.

Data Flow Modeling: Concerned with how the data moves around the information system, examines processes, data stores, external entities and data flows.

Entity Behavioural Modeling: the identifying, modeling and document events with respect to the entities in the system and the order in which these events take place.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Arrival: The action or process of arriving.

Booking: An act of reserving accommodation, a ticket, etc. in advance.

Clients: A person or organization using the services of a lawyer or other professional person or company.

Customers: A person who buys goods or services from a shop or business.

Hotel Information Management System (HIMS): A computerized system where all management and other operations, and booking is done on the web for flexible productivity.

Hotel: An establishment that provides lodging and usually meals, entertainment, and various personal services for the public information knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction

Information: The organization and coordination of the activities of a business in order to achieve defined objectives.

Management: The act of conducting or supervising of something (such as a business)

Payment: A payment is the transfer of one form of good, service or financial asset in exchange for another form of good, service or financial asset in proportions that have been previously agreed upon by all parties involved. Payment can be made in the form of funds, assets or services.

Record: A thing constituting a piece of evidence about the past, especially an account kept in writing or some other permanent form.

Reservation: An arrangement to secure accommodations at a restaurant or hotel, on a boat or plane, etc. the record kept or assurance given of such an arrangement.

Room: A part or division of a building enclosed by walls, floor, and ceiling.

System:A set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network; a complex whole.

Vacation: A vacation or holiday is a leave of absence from a regular occupation, or a specific trip or journey, usually for the purpose of recreation or tourism.