Question

So how is it working, Anthony? asked Sandra, the RM at the Holiday Inn Express. Sandra and Anthony were old classmates. They were chatting after a monthly meeting of the local hotel association. Anthony was the FOM at another hotel in the area. He was telling Sandra how he had solved the problem of dealing with telephone call reservations at his property when his front desk staff was too busy to handle the calls effectively. It's great, replied Anthony. When we get busy I just have our employee tell the caller they will be transferred to Reservations. We have our franchisor's reservation center number on speed dial, so the call is transferred to that extension. Presto, the call is forwarded to the res center. Somewhere in Colorado-or maybe India-I think. Anyway, they handle it. We don't. Any negative feedback? asked Sandra. None at all, replied Anthony. No guest complaints, and our staff just love it.

How should Anthony compute the cost of implementing this specific solution to his we're too busy to take the call problem?

Answer 1

To calculate the cost of forwarding calls, Anthony should consider the fees charged by the reservation center and the cost savings in front desk staff workload, along with any long-term costs or benefits.

Step-by-step explanation:

To compute the cost of implementing the solution of forwarding calls to the franchisor's reservation center, Anthony should consider several factors. He needs to account for any fees charged by the reservation center for handling the hotel's calls. This may be a fixed fee per call transferred or a percentage of the reservation's value. Additionally, he must consider the cost savings resulting from the reduction in the front desk staff's workload, which allows them to attend to other tasks and possibly improve efficiency in the hotel's operations.

Moreover, Anthony should evaluate any potential long-term costs or benefits such as the impact on customer satisfaction and the relationship with the reservation center. Overall, the calculation should include both the direct costs incurred by using the service and the indirect costs or savings resulting from this business decision.