Ty Webb, manager of the Philadelphia Hotel, is considering how to restructure th
ID: 436822 • Letter: T
Question
Ty Webb, manager of the Philadelphia Hotel, is considering how to restructure thefront desk to reach an optimum level of staff efficiency and guest service. At present,
the hotel has five clerks on duty, each with a separate waiting line, during the peak
check-in time of 3:00pm to 5:00pm. Observation of arrivals during this time shows
that an average of 90 guests arrive each hour according to a Poisson process
(although there is no upward limit on the number that could arrive at any given time).
It takes an average of 3 minutes for the front-desk clerk to register each guest. The
service times by the clerks are exponentially distributed.
Mr. Webb is considering three plans for improving guest service by reducing the
length of time guests spend waiting in line. The first proposal would designate one
employee as a quick-service clerk for guests registering under corporate accounts, a
market segment that fills about 30% of all occupied rooms. Because corporate
guests are preregistered, their registration takes just 2 minutes on the average and
also follows an exponential distribution. With these guests separated from the rest of
the clientele, the average time for registering a typical guest would climb to 3.4
minutes. Under plan 1, noncorporate guests would choose any of the remaining four
lines.
The second plan is to implement a single-line system. All guests could form a single
waiting line to be served by whichever of the five clerks became available. This
option would require sufficient lobby space for what could be a substantial queue.
The use of an automatic teller machine (ATM) for check-ins is the basis of the third
proposal. This ATM would provide approximately the same service performance as
would a clerk, however, the ATM’s service time would be a constant 3 minutes per
guest. Given that initial use of this technology might be minimal, Webb estimated
that 20% of customers, primarily frequent guests, would be willing to use the
machines. This might be a conservative estimate if the guests perceive direct
benefits from using the ATMs. Mr. Webb would set up a single queue for customers
who prefer human interaction at check-in. This queue would be served by the five
clerks, although Webb is hopeful that the machine will allow a reduction to four.
Determine the average amount of time that a guest spends checking in. How would
this change under each of the stated options? Which option would you recommend?
Explanation / Answer
summary and present outline: (during peak 3p-5p) 5 clerks 5 waiting lines 90 guests arrive per hour 3 minutes per guest arrival corporate registrations: 30% of total, 2 mins each non corporate registrations: 70% of total, 3.4 mins each proposals: plan 1) 1 dedicated corporate line (2 mins average) 30% 4 dedicated non corporate lines (3.4 mins average) 70% plan 2) 5 generic lines filled by single line first come first serve (3 mins average) 100% plan 3) ATM line. (3 mins average) 20% 1 single line filled by 5 clerks (like plan 2?) present conditions crunching assuming 180 guests arrived (90/hr) during peak 5 lines with 5 clerks. 180/5 = 36 guests per clerk at an average of 3 mins/guest = 108 mins. at 12 mins surplus per clerk for the 5 clerks = 60 total minutes surplus plan 1 crunching assuming 180 guests arrived (90/hr) during peak 30% of 180 = 54 corporate guests = 108 minutes of check in at the 1 queue(and 12 mins downtime) 70% of 180 = 126 noncorporate guests. = 31.5 guests per line. at 3.4 mins each = 107.1 mins checking in (and 12.9 mins downtime) at 12 mins corporate surplus and 12.9 mins noncorporate surplus for 4 lines = 63.6 total minutes surplus plan 2 crunching i dont see how this is different from present day conditions. i will use 60 total minutes surplus for the 5 employees plan 3 crunching ATM = 20% of all customers. 20% of 180 = 36 guests. at 3 mins per guest = 108 minutes (12 minute this does not count towards downtime for employees but does for guests) 80% of guests = 144 guests 144 guests at 5 lines = 28.8 guests per line. 28.8 guests at 3 mins = 86.4 mins per line (33.6 mins per line surplus 144 guests at 4 lines = 36 guests per line. 36 guests at 3 mins = 108 minutes (12 mins surplus per line) SUMMARY present/plan 2 = 60 minutes total surplus time between 5 clerks and 60 minutes surplus time between 180 guests. 180 guests in 60 minutes = 20 seconds per guest for the hotel plan 1 = 63.6 minutes total surplus time between 5 clerks and 63.6 minutes surplus time between 180 guests. 180 guests in 56.4 minutes = 18.8 seconds per guest for the hotel plan 3 (with 5) = 168 total surplus time between 5 clerks and 180 minutes surplus time between 180 guests. saving 3 hours of time in 2 hours is highly inefficient and will be discarded. plan 3 (with 4) = 48 total surplus time between 4 clerks and 60 minutes total surplus time between 180 guests. 180 guests in 60 mins = 20 seconds per guest for the hotel recommendation: the initial question asks for staff efficiency. the highest efficiency would have the least amount of time wasted at the fastest rate of checking in. while plan 1 will in fact have the fastest check in time at 18.8 seconds, it is only 6% faster than the current paradigm and with the ATM equalling replacing a standard noncorporate discrminating line, i would personally go with the 4 clerk system + ATM as your staff will have the lowest amount of downtime, the guests will check in no slower, and the savings from placing an ATM will come back after it has paid for itself with the reduction of a clerk's wages, thus saving long term.
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.