DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A HOTEL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

(A CASE STUDY OF ROYAL MARBLE HOTELS, BENIN)

ABSTRACT

This project research work is a construction of hotel management software (front desk operations) for Royal Marble Hotels in Benin, Edo State. Considering the problem of the manual method of reservation faced by the front desk clerk, it is hoped that automating front desk operations will help to reduce the cost of hotel services as market success largely depends on the price of a service.  The first chapter is concerned with the background of the study, objective of the study, scope of the study definition of terms. The second chapter examines the literature review, under which the researcher examine some things such as: the meaning of hotel, what is management, what is software, the meaning of hotel management software, the benefits of computerizing a system, a brief history of Royal Marble Hotels Benin, Royal Marble Hotels organizational chart, job description and occupation of hotel staff, basic functions of the front desk clerk, computer in hotels e.t.c. The third chapter laid emphasis on the computer processes that can be associated with hotel entity, types of system, types of information systems, what is a database, types of database, system analysis and design e.t.c.  The fourth chapter is on system implementation, testing, documentation and maintenance, source codes e.t.c while chapter five is on summary, conclusion and recommendation.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Content                                                                                                   Page

Title Page                                                                                                    ii

Approval Page                                                                                           iii

Dedication                                                                                                   iv

Acknowledgement                                                                                      v

Abstract                                                                                                      vi

Table of content                                                                                          vii

CHAPTER ONE

1.0      Background of the study                                                                   1

1.1            Objective of the study                                                                       2

1.2            Significance of the study                                                                             2

1.3            Scope of the study                                                                                      4

1.4            Definition of terms                                                                                     4

1.5            Limitation of the study

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1     What is a hotel?                                                                                6

2.1            What is management?                                                                       7

2.2            What is software?                                                                                       8

2.3            The meaning of hotel management software                                               10

2.4            Benefits of computerizing a system                                                   12

2.5            the mission of royal marble hotels                                                    16

2.6            job description and occupation of hotel staff

          general manager                                                                                16

2.8 basic functions of the front desk clerk                                                  18

2.8. Computers in hotels                                                                                      19

CHAPTER THREE

3.1. What is a system?                                                                               20

3.2. Types of system                                                                                  22

3.3. Types of information systems                                                             23

3.4. What is a database?                                                                                      25

3.5. Types of database                                                                               28

3.6.         system analysis and design                                                               29

3.7.         analysis                                                                                             30

3.8.         system design                                                                                    31

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0. system implementation, testing, documentation and maintenance                32

4.1. Implementation                                                                                    32

4.2. Computer program testing                                                                            34

4.3. Documentation                                                                                    35

4.4 maintenance                                                                                         37

CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 Summary                                                                                              38

5.1 Recommendation                                                                                  38

5.2 Conclusion                                                                                           39

References                                                                                                   41

Appendix A                                                                                                42

Appendix B                                                                                                         43

Appendix C                                                                                                         44

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1.         BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The hospitality industry, which is a major team player towards the economic growth of Nigeria as a nation and Africa as a continent has distinguished itself as a sector with the widest variety of hotel and tourism services.

There are many things in place in Nigeria now, which should encourage the growth of the hospitality business. These include:

1.        The existence of opportunities by the democratic dispensation in the country, which influence the size and growth of both foreign and local business travelers.

2.        Global expansion of international trade and also increase services of accommodation rendered by our local hotels.

3.        Improvement of our tourist centers and zones.

4.        Increase in Nigeria’s annual average growth rate of tourist arrivals.

5.        Government favorable policy towards foreign investment.

An important feature of the hotel industry in Nigeria is that until the late seventies there was virtually absence of the well-known names in international hotel industry. From the late seventies however, some of these names began to make an appearance. Names like Sheraton Hotel, Hilton Hotel e.t.c.

Hotels are accessed for their standard of cleanliness and provision for visitors on a scale of one to five (1-5) stars. All aspect of hotel stay is accessed with emphasis on the standard of service, level of comfort and provision of equipment.

The assessment of accommodation gives you a clear indication of cleanliness, ambience, service, hospitality and accommodation standard of the hotel and the reassurance a guest needs to distinguish between the quality of the accommodation and the number of facilities on offer. Basically there are four types of hotels, namely:

1.     COMMERCIAL HOTELS: It is also known as conference hotels, and is usually located in cities or suburban areas. They operate all year round.

2.     RESORT HOTELS: Resort hotels are usually located primarily in vacation destinations near mountains and seashores. It offers luxurious surroundings with a variety of recreational facilities such as swimming pools, golf courses e.t.c. The business of resort hotels fluctuates with the season.

3.     RESIDENTIAL HOTELS: Residential hotel combines the comfort of a permanent living with the convenience of a resort and a resident hotel.

4.     CASINO HOTELS: Casino hotels provide lodging in hotel facilities with a casino in the premises. They also provide gambling facilities.

There are different occupations in a hotel; a list of these is discussed in chapter two. One of such occupation is the hotel front desk clerk, whose job is to:

       i.            Process reservation

     ii.            Handles guest registration, check in and check out

  iii.            Monitors arrivals and departures

  iv.            Handles complaints and

     v.            Receive and forward mails.

The duty