1. Chapter 7
Resort Opening:
Management, Staffing,
and Human Resources
World of Resorts: From Development to Management
Third Edition
(424TXT or 424CIN)
© 2010, Educational Institute

2. Competencies for
Resort Opening: Management, Staffing,
and Human Resources
1. Explain how a resort moves through various
preopening activities to its grand opening.
2. Explain how resorts are managed, discuss their
organizational structures, and summarize their
communication issues.
3. Describe managers as leaders and various aspects of
how they carry out their leadership role, including
building employee morale, conducting effective staff
meetings, and building internal and external
relationships.
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 2

3. Competencies for
Resort Opening: Management, Staffing,
and Human Resources
(continued)
1. Summarize labor force issues for resorts, including the
labor shortage, non-traditional sources of labor, and
the role of a resort’s human resources department.
2. Discuss wage and salary administration issues at
resorts.
3. Summarize employee productivity issues at resorts.
4. Describe the impact of labor unions on management-
employee relations.
5. Identify and discuss laws governing employment and
© 2010, Educational Institute 3

4. Leisure Concept Variables
in Resort Management
• Nature of discretionary travel
• International/domestic market mix
• Social trends and lifestyles
• Leisure/business market mix
• Service demands in a leisure environment
• Larger average party size
• Recreation and sports
• Entertainment
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 4

5. Leisure Concept Variables
in Resort Management
(continued)
• Spa amenities
• Multiple dining options
• Higher staffing ratios
• Seasonal employment
• Climatic conditions and seasonality
• Logistics in one-off locations
• Seasonal packaging
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6. Elements of an Organization Chart
• The division of responsibilities among individuals
and between groups.
• The grouping or departmentalization of work
according to functions, specialization, tradition,
process, location, time, etc.
• The chain of command by levels of authority and
formal channels of communication.
• The number of layers of management in the
organizational pyramid or structure.
• The distinction between line and staff roles,
sometimes represented by solid or dotted lines
between cells on the chart.
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7. Variables Affecting Employee
Motivation
• Characteristics of the individual employee
• Characteristics of the job
• Relationships among individuals
• Group dynamics
• Environment of the workplace
• Technological considerations
• Economic forces
• Societal values within the community
• Power of the state versus the individual
• Management behavior
• Leadership influences
• Specific contingencies and situations
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8. Employee Assistance Programs
and Incentives
• Recognition programs for outstanding company
service and individual achievements
• Recreational and social activities for employees
• High-quality employee canteen
• Periodic review of employee sentiments about the
workplace and working conditions
• Counseling programs for job-related and personal
problems
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 8

9. Employee Assistance Programs
and Incentives
(continued)
• Assistance to ease relocation and transfer problems
• Opportunities to participate in decisions that have a
bearing on the employee’s work
• Policy of promoting from within
• Career development and continuous training programs
• Profit-sharing, bonuses, or related incentives tied to
performance
© 2010, Educational Institute 9

10. Entities with Whom a Resort’s
Management Should Develop
Relationships
• Owners
• Guests
• Union representatives
• Business community
• Travel distributors
• Tenants
• Local representatives
• Local politicians
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 10

11. Entities with Whom a Resort’s
Management Should Develop
Relationships
(continued)
• Lodging associations, restaurant associations,
state/local convention and tourism bureaus
• Nearby universities or colleges with hospitality
management of culinary programs
• Communications/media
• Suppliers and service providers to the resort
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12. Formula for Employee Turnover
(Number of Separations ÷ Number of Employees) × 100
•
• Moderate employee turnover in resorts = 20–30 percent
• High employee turnover in resorts = 31–50 percent
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13. Basic Questions for a Job Analysis
• What are the tasks to be performed?
• How should each task be performed?
• How often is each task performed?
• How long (on average) does each task take to complete?
• What equipment and materials are needed to do the job?
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14. Information Included in New
Employee Orientation
• General introduction: job responsibilities, relationship
of the job to the total objectives of the organization, the
resort’s owners, history of the resort, and future plans
of the resort.
• Pay: rate of pay, payday, shift differentials, deductions
from pay, and frequency of pay rate reviews.
• Benefits: group insurance programs, holidays, vacation
time, sick leave, tuition aid (if available), recreational
and social facilities and clubs, resort facilities
privileges (if any), and other employee programs.
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 14

15. Information Included in New
Employee Orientation
(continued)
• Employment conditions: hours, required clothing,
identification cards, parking, employee cafeteria and
meal periods, and reporting absences and injuries.
• Human relations on the job: importance of cooperation,
formal communication, guest-employee contacts, and
public relations.
• Introduction to the job: introduction to the supervisor
and fellow employees, tour of the department and
possibly the entire resort, location of smoking and
restroom areas, location of bulletin boards, assignment
of an “advisor” or “buddy,” and information on how to
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 15

16. Information Included in New
Employee Orientation
(continued)
• Rules and regulations: fire and safety regulations,
rules of conduct, and formal complaint and
grievance procedures.
• Job instruction: initial training meetings, job
instruction by the supervisor, instruction by fellow
employees, and job performance evaluation and
review.
• Follow-up: questions regarding pay and benefits,
working conditions, job performance,
explanations of opportunities for advancement,
and explanations of grievance procedures.
© 2010, Educational Institute 16

17. Four Training Program Goals
1. To create service awareness and an understanding of
the importance of quality standards and consistency in
rendering service to guests.
2. To build employee morale, confidence,
professionalism, and loyalty to the organization.
3. To instill the desire to maintain and improve existing
skills, aptitudes, and capabilities.
4. To engage all employees and staff in environmental
awareness and conservation practices.
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18. Formal Training Program Format
1. Identify the ideal set of skills, attitudes, and
knowledge needed for the job.
2. Do a training needs assessment based on
deficiency gaps identified by comparing current
employees’ performances with the ideals
identified during Step 1.
3. Determine the training time required to develop
optimal proficiencies.
4. Design a course of training.
5. Specify the resources required—funding, space,
materials, equipment, etc.
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 18

19. Formal Training Program Format
(continued)
1. Prepare the trainees.
2. Select the trainers (or qualify them through
“training the trainer” courses).
3. Schedule and conduct the training.
4. Do follow-up evaluations to measure
training effectiveness.
© 2010, Educational Institute 19

20. Five-Step Process for Project Resolution
• Define the targeted project.
• Measure from the baseline.
• Analyze date to ascertain the root cause of the
problem.
• Improve by pilot-testing a solution before
permanent adoption.
• Dashboard monitor the solution to ensure
sustainability.
© 2010, Educational Institute 20

21. Five Assumptions of a QA Program
• Management approach. Employees should consult
the person who dos the job if they have questions
about how to do a job properly.
• Communication. Management should provide
employees with a mechanism of channel for
speaking freely on problems that hinder
profitability or hurt guest and employee relations.
• Problem-solving. Group problem-solving is
demonstrably more effective than individual
problem-solving. (continued)
© 2010, Educational Institute 21

22. Five Assumptions of a QA Program
(continued)
• Costing-out solutions. QA task teams must be able
to demonstrate to management the cost of
problems under discussion and the cost of
potential solutions.
• Training. The foundation of the QA program is
the development of job standards with employee
involvement and the use of these standards to train
and evaluate employees.
© 2010, Educational Institute 22

23. Productivity Indexes
Output per Worker-Hour =
Output Index ÷ Worker-Hours Index
Labor Cost Percentage =
Cost of Labor ÷ Gross Resort Receipts
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24. Basic Instruments of an Employee File
• Written job description
• Quantitative standards
• Qualitative standards
• Specific objectives
• Incident file
• Performance reviews
• Personal history
records
© 2010, Educational Institute 24

25. Reasons Given by Employees for
Wanting Union Representation
• Employees have only minimum information about
the company, and feel insecure about their jobs.
• Managers are inconsistent in setting or enforcing
policies and rules.
• Managers are one-sided in dealing with
complaints, always favoring the company instead
of getting all the facts.
• The competition offers the same or better wages
and benefits.
• Poor working conditions.
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 25

26. Reasons Given by Employees for
Wanting Union Representation
(continued)
• Supervisors play favorites instead of ensuring
fairness to all.
• Changes are made by the company without first
asking employees for their opinions.
• Discrimination on the basis of age, ethnicity, or
gender exists within the organization.
• Managers have not followed through on promises
of pay raises, vacations, or better uniforms or
working conditions.
© 2010, Educational Institute (continued) 26

27. Reasons Given by Employees for
Wanting Union Representation
(continued)
• Employees believe there is safety in numbers with
regard to attempting to settle their grievances.
• Employees want to retaliate for past grievances.
• Employees think they will get more pay for less work.
• Employees buy the union’s promises of a better life,
better pay, better benefits, and job security.
• Employees have security concerns from witnessing
increasing amounts of work being outsourced.
© 2010, Educational Institute 27

28. EEOC Regulation Focus Points
1. Effective fair employment distribution with
respect to race and sex in all areas of employment.
2. Ending discrimination against women, minority
groups, the elderly, and the physically
handicapped in all areas of employment.
© 2010, Educational Institute 28

29. Workers’ Compensation System
Primary Objectives
1. Provision of adequate compensation (including
medical care) to injured workers.
2. Encouragement of safety in working conditions.
3. Achievement of administrative efficiency relative
to the insurance system itself.
© 2010, Educational Institute 29