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Numerous books have already been written about hotels. In general they are devoted to the financial management of the hotel as a business enterprise. Many of them analyse the accounting and budget of the hotel in detail and examine the reasons why the most famous hotels and hotel chains are successful. These books are usually aimed at the managers of hotels and hotel companies. They mostly attempt to give as much information as possible on management with a view to improving the productivity of the hotel in general and of the departments dealing with the guest rooms, food and beverages in particular. How, for example, can one increase the number of overnight stays in the long term while optimising operating costs in an extremely competitive market? In a word, how can the best possible performance be achieved? This is the kind of question that general books on the hotel business attempt to answer. However, there are very few books which deal with the technical management of hotels. The purpose of the information in this book " TECHNICAL HOTEL MANAGEMENT " is to enable hoteliers to come to grips with Building Management Systems for hotels in general and, in particular, for guest rooms in hotels (so-called Room Management Systems). At the same time, the author shows how these systems can communicate harmoniously with the Property Management System. So many hotels world-wide are suffering from - discomfort! We have only to think of those which have been using individual window-mounted air conditioners for decades (and still are) contrary to all good sense. Of course, such devices yield a plentiful harvest of complaints from customers who rightly demand less noise and more comfort. How many hotels are hanging on to inadequate and obsolete equipment? How many of them still have plant which is practically useless because it is too complicated or ill-adapted? How many, though, have systems which are suited to the hotelier's real needs? What is the reason for the present, often unsatisfactory, state of affairs? How can things be improved? This book aims to answer these questions, explain how Building Management Systems work, demystify them and propose practical, down-to-earth solutions. Fortunately, today's technology offers invaluable tools for optimising energy costs easily while at the same time considerably increasing clients' overall comfort. It is important that hoteliers should become aware of these technological changes in order to be more competitive in the market. But they can only increase their competitiveness if they can obtain timely, accurate and relevant information from their Building Management System. Does the system they are using provide this type of information? How can they interpret the information and use the knowledge gained to enhance performance? A major concern of this book is to guide the hotelier towards achieving the best possible position in the rapidly changing hotel market. The guest normally perceives comfort as it relates to gastronomic pleasures, the general atmosphere of the hotel, appropriate business facilities where applicable and, of course, the feeling of relaxation and well-being in the bedroom. That is why the notion of comfort has become a multiple objective and why one now needs to talk of thermal (physical well-being), technical (user-friendliness), olfactory (optimal air quality) and economic (maximum savings) comfort. One might even be tempted to add emotional comfort, which would correspond not only to the effect of the other comforts combined, but also to what we might call the unique atmosphere of the hotel. In any case, the hotelier's aim remains to maintain the profitability of his establishment while guaranteeing his guests a stay which is both comfortable and safe: all with the aim of creating loyalty in his particular type of clientele. Modern centralised Building Management Systems, integrating all the technical installations of the hotel, are, and this we cannot emphasise enough, indispensable tools for today's hotel manager. Reducing energy costs for water, electricity and fuel thanks to informed use of the Building Management System should really become healthy everyday practice for hotel managers and their employees. In this way, the hotel can easily save up to 30% of its energy bill. The same applies to the costs of maintaining plant for the hot and chilled water supply, rotary machinery such as pumps and fans, lifts, and lighting (to cite only the most important comfort installations), which are at least as important as the energy costs. The maintenance of these installations generates annual costs which are far from insignificant. Now, however, it is easy to optimise these expenses by the intelligent use of a Building Management System. The numerous technologies the Building Management System integrates, which are vital in ensuring the comfort and safety of the guests, include, among others, heating, domestic hot water, air conditioning, air quality, electricity, lighting, security, and communication. Moreover, they represent permanent expenses, requiring not only continuous attention from the hotelier, but also technical know-how, if the costs of production, distribution and use are to be minimised. As technical consultant specialist in the hotel field and a regular hotel guest for more than 25 years, Jacques Levy-Bonvin suggests a new approach in this book - one which will enable hoteliers to increase their guests' satisfaction while maximising their hotel's profitability at the same time. To achieve this dual aim, the author analyses the hotel market, guests' behaviour and the hotelier's approach. This book grew out of several seminars organised for the hotel industry in various countries in 1995, 1996 and 1997 . The concept of the "4 comforts" in the different sectors of the hotel, the combination of thermal comfort and technical comfort, were presented for the first time at these seminars. This book aims to elucidate all the aspects relevant to comfort (thermal, technical, olfactory and economic), security, safety, and ease of communication for guests and staff. It suggests practical ways of achieving optimum operating results in hotels using Building and Room Management Systems. |