Tabuk Sahara Hotel

Arrival 11/10/2004 Departure12/10/2004

Capacity : 79 rooms incl. 2 Presidencial suites

And 6 Executive suites

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I-Rooms

A-Findings

  • We arrived to Tabuk airport at 8:30 Am. We found someone with the hotel sign board (hotel name), we asked if he can take us to the hotel, but he did not answer. After all passengers left that small airport a driver asked where we are going to and it happen that they are waiting for us.
  • The receptionist was without a nametag and the check-in was fast. The bellman took our luggage to the room, turned the light on and the AC, but again not a single word.
  • The room was clean except behind and under the TV table. The hotel director mentioned in Arabic “Al-KhaleejVillage”, but in English, it was a different name “HalfRoomBay”
  • The pillows were very hard and torn paper stand on the TV.
  • The bathroom was not clean; shower curtain does not prevent water from going out of the bath. There is no light curtain to cover inside the bath.
  • The door closer was at the bath door, this is scaring for a child, as the door will close and there is no light inside , this should be removed as it is unnecessary and harming.

. The room inspection is not done daily.

B-Interpretations

  • Signboard with the room boy should have been with our names, as they did not have any other guests and the room boy should have been more alerted!
  • May be we had the fastest check-in, but unfortunately the receptionist did not say a word at least he should tell us where is the restaurant and the opening hours.
  • The bellman did not say a word as well the staff needs to learn how to receive a guest.
  • The door closer at the bath door is not a standard request. Having the door close when a child is inside the bathroom is not funny as even an adult will find himself in a dark room if he forgets to turn the light on before getting in.
  • The room’s inspection is not done, due to the lack of staff as one floor supervisor by shift is not enough?

II-Food and Beverage

A-Findings

  • We did not find any standard recipes.
  • No professional touch in the dinning room, which is the only restaurant. The staff needs training including their supervisors.
  • Food ingredients kept in kitchen Not Covered.(picture)

B-Interpretations

  • No costing was done for the daily buffets, or the BQT menu, the breakfast has been sold at SR 35 to be higher than the next-door hotels that sell it at SR 15.
  • At the only restaurant at was going to sit on a broken chair at the General Manager table. The table set-up missed the starter and the soup cutlery.
  • There was no body to clean the table after our meal and nobody refilled our empty glasses.
  • A dinner knife was used to cut the French breach on the buffet.
  • The food was spicy, which apparently it is the standard.
  • To body to welcome the guests at the restaurant entrance.
  • Guests have to sit by themselves and call a waiter when they see one of them as they are short off staff.

III- Staff

A-Findings

  • There is a communication problem with the head office. An answer can wait 2 or 3 months.
  • The General Manager can not give an appropriate salary increase, as the new regulations are 5% of the hiring salary, which can be other smaller post.
  • This hotel is short off staff. One cook for the main restaurant and room service. Two waiters for main restaurant, room service, and lobby. Two room boys and one supervisor to cover hotel rooms cleaning and bellman job. Three receptionists cover shifts. The receptionist; makes check-in, checkout, and telephone operator. Accountant works as accounts payable, income auditor and paymaster- another do store keeper, cost controller and receiving.
  • Saudi staff is placed in the wrong place.
  • F&B supervisor in charge of F&B department does not take meal allowance.

B-Interpretations

  • Centralization system is not recommended for management of such big operation. Units General Manger should have the authorities and only controlled and judged by the head office.
  • The short off staff create an unhappy atmosphere even paying overtime as the employee has a limited capacity and will never be able to produce more. Result unhappy employees and unhappy guest.
  • We have to introduce: Management Training System” for 4 years. The employee will have his training at all departments for 4 years then it is decided where to place him according to his performance.
  • The F &B supervisor is a department head being the boss of the F&B department and should be allowed to have the food allowance.
  • Staff needs rotation, as there are employees in same place since more than 10 years.

IV Finance

A-Findings

  • The out of order rooms report is not checked or audited, and it is an unknown report.
  • The linen room is not clean and even is found a discarded shampoo and scraping machines both where kept in a corner!!
  • There is not enough stock oflinen.
  • The linen inventory, which is done quarterly, is not properly done.
  • The general store includes slow moving items since hotel opening.
  • The walking cold room is leaking and need an urgent repair.
  • The reception refused reservation for lack of clean room.
  • Make-up of the hotel includes a shopping arcade.

B-Interpretations

  • We called the computer supplier to explain how to obtain the out of order report.
  • Room# 215 is out of order since long time, as the mini bar is out of order and apparently cannot be repaired.
  • Discarded shampoo and scrabing machines are kept in linen store with the new and clean linen ( this is not acceptable -picture).
  • The linen store was almost empty, as the entire hotel linen does not make even two Pars!( Should be at least 3 pars ).
  • The inventory does not cover the entire hotel as rooms, stores, and laundry in order to obtain the correct number.
  • The general store includes a lot of items, which are there since years and will not be consumed even within the next 10 years like serving trays etc..(picture)
  • A jogging machine in good condition, kept in the store with boxes

And chairs are stacked on top of it.(picture)

  • The walking cold room is leaking since long time and the unqualified staff at the engineering department cannot fix it properly.(picture for box full of ice due to leakage on top of it).
  • The receptionist checks the rooms clean on his computer in order to sell them. Unfortunately this is not helping the hotel revenue, as many rooms are dirty on the system due to the short of room boy.
  • Shopping arcade is an additional source of income.

V-Other Departments

A-Findings
  • There is no thermometer for sauna temperature the electric panel is broken, no control on the time the guest will spend inside the Sauna.
  • Gymnasium has a carpet floor, which is against the room standard and hygiene.
  • Sauna room is burned from inside.
  • Towels used from the day before where still in the room at 3 Pm.
  • Laundry department has piles of dirty linen.
  • Hotel building façade covered by pigeons, dirt standing ashtray at the hotel entrance and dirty garden full of cigarettes bugs.Electric wire hang at the hotel entrance canopy.(picture).
  • Landscape around the hotel needs much more attention, dry trees to be removed and good ones to be aligned. More attention is needed to that neglected area ( picture )
  • Fountain at the hotel entrance DIRTY. (picture)

B-Interpretations

  • It is very dangerous not to have control on the sauna temperature. We can have many accidents.
  • A special plastic floor cover is required for the gymnasium room. Besides we need an instructor to guide and supervise the guests who use the equipments, mainly which the hotel aims to have outside members.
  • The sauna room is all burned from inside. This needs a proper maintenance. The used towels should be sent to the laundry daily and spreading the not kept in a basket for two days spreading the sweat smell.
  • Only two persons run the laundry department. Besides the piles of dirt linen as they have no time to wash and press all the linen they have washing machines and calendar needing repairs since months.
  • Finally delay in laundry delivering and short of hotel linen stock will lead to dirty room and other services where linen is required.
  • Fountain at the hotel entrance need maintenance and cleaning (picture)

Recommendations

  • Out of order rooms report is a very important control tool, which should not be neglected. The Hotel General Manager should check that report daily and a follow up should be done till the room is back to the system. An out of order room is a Loss of revenue.
  • Guest extra pillows where found on the lower shelves at the dirty linen room. Pillows should be kept in plastic bags to be protected from dust and insects, as they will be directly by the guests. We recommend that pillow not to be stored with the pillow corners as it is done now. We should use fresh and clean pillow cover. When required we recommend having at least three sets of linen (bed sheets, towels, etc...).
  • The inventory sheet should contains the columns:

Opening balance / Purchase / Issues / Sub Total / Physical count / Discrepancy
QTY / Value
  • The opening balance should be reported from last quarter physical inventory. The physical count should be reported from the House Keeper and Laundry count, attended by a member of the accounting department.
  • Unused printings should be discarded, as they will never be used due to the change of its information as room tariff, Menus etc…
  • We loose revenue because of the staff shortage in rooms and in F&B as well. Lack of cleaned room due to shortage of room boys and lack of up selling waiters is affecting the hotel revenue.
  • Lack of qualified staff in engineeringdepartment, cause laundry machine damage, cold room fridge, electric cableshanging around the hotel premises.
  • Beside above there is no sales staff, so the hotel is not exposed to the market!! How can we improve our revenue?
  • The hotel has the higher employees meal cost between all group as the kitchen chef prepares 3 or4 dishes daily, which by part go to the garbage (special plate for each nationality???) This is not acceptable. Cost per employee is SR11, 75 when at Marriott Riyadh it is SR8
  • We recommend starting the building of the shopping arcade, which will increase the traffic to the hotel area and will create a potential client to hotel F&B outlets.
  • Shops are a guarantee monthly/yearly income beside the F&B increase in revenue.