Auckland’s Motel and Practicum Experience

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Introduction

During my summer industry practicum, I was working in a small motel located in Auckland, Zealand. New Zealand is considered an exotic industry resort among foreigners, especially fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise. The majority of New Zealand’s tourists come from Australia and Asia, with a decent amount of visitors arriving from Europe and America as well. The purpose of this practicum report is to explore the industry, review the organizational structure and practices implemented by the company through personal experience, apply theoretical concepts learned during the semester course, and reflect on the problems and issues of the company from both a personal perspective and the perspective of my practicum supervisor.

Background of the Motel

The motel started out as a business meant to expand, with the original owner purchasing several rooms on the first floor of a three-story block to provide sleeping space and shelter to passing truck drivers and working tourists. In the first 5 years, the business managed to expand enough to purchase an entire floor of the building they were located in, reaching a total of 16 rooms. However, there was no growth after, as the business reached its peak performance, as it seemed.

While New Zealand always offered majestic sightseeing and possessed beautiful resorts, the globalization of tourism did not start until the 2000s, which heralded the popularization and expansion of the industry, as well as offering cheap and cost-efficient flights. In 2001-2003, New Zealand saw a boom in foreign tourists due to the success of the first Lord of the Rings movie, which went on screens in 2001 (Li, Li, Song, Lundberg, & Shen, 2017).

This would have presented another opportunity for the motel to expand its business, but it failed to acknowledge the potential of the movie and was not prepared for the influx of tourists. While all rooms were stocked full during the surge, the management failed to capitalize on it and purchase additional space in order to expand and become a Hotel. In 2009-2012, the company’s money flow entered a bit of a recession, as the world economic crisis affected the tourism in New Zealand as a whole, though the company did not lose much due to the fact that it was initially oriented on domestic tourism, which was not affected to the same degree (Simmons, 2014).

Since 2015, New Zealand’s external tourism flow saw growth, as the military and religious conflicts in the Middle East diverted some of the tourism flow from countries like Turkey and made them consider more peaceful and exotic locations (Tomazos, 2017). Right now, the Motel is operating at full capacity, with rooms being full-on active tourism periods in summer and winter, and having enough domestic tourists during low activity to maintain its small pool of employees.

Industry Analysis

The tourism industry in New Zealand plays a very important role in the national economy, with over 7 billion dollars a year in gross revenue, and around 4% of the country’s GDP. Its prime tourist attractions lie in pure and unblemished natural resorts as well as scenic decorations pertaining to the filming of the Lord of the Rings movie. The Hobbit House and Mount Doom being the primary attractions among those (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie, 2015).

In addition to foreign tourism, the country sees quite a bit of domestic tourism as well due to periodic advertising campaigns by the local government that wish to encourage domestic tourism in opposition to traveling to countries like Australia and Malaysia. The primary way of transportation for domestic tourists is by plane or by bus, the former preferred over the latter due to how quick it is.

New Zealand advertises itself as a calm, peaceful, and quiet country, free of political strife and violence that is engulfing the world in the last decade. It has numerous scenic landscapes ranging from white shores to lakes, ravines, and mountains. The country’s strict policies on climate control and carbon emissions ensure its tranquil and pristine nature remain unharmed by the industry (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie, 2015).

Auckland is a major tourism hub due to the fact that its international airport is stationed there, ensuring a steady flow of tourists and plenty of business for the hospitality industry in the city. It is very widespread, with the large hotels taking on the bulk of the tourists, with smaller motels handling the cheaper segment of the industry and dealing with domestic tourism as well. In most cases, the travelers use Auckland as a staging point, from where they travel to the more distant tourist resorts located across the country. Although the city itself offers plenty of tourist attractions on its own, having plenty of parks, museums, theaters, and entertainment establishments, as well as the well-known attractions such as the Sky Tower and the Harbour Bridge (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie, 2015).

Organizational Structure

The motel does not represent much in terms of the organizational structure due to the fact there are only five employees. It follows a pyramid-like hierarchy, with the manager being on the top, dealing with finance and management-related issues, as well as supervising the employees and dealing with customer complaints (Hodari & Sturman, 2014). On the second level of the hierarchy, there are two permanent workers, who typically serve as room service and reception. On the third and bottom level, there are the temporary workers, who typically are tasked with cleaning and advertising during labor-intensive periods. During low-activity periods, the full-time employees do these tasks.

The company has very rudimentary views on business existence and its role in the market. There is no vision and mission statement for the business, no greater overarching view, and no desire for growth and expansion (Tanaka, Okuno, & Yamauchi, 2013). Market researches are unheard of and advertisement does not go beyond handing out leaflets during the high-activity period. The majority of the customers are familiar with the motel and purchase its services due to cheapness and familiarity rather than the improved quality of service.

Services and Tariffs

The motel offers services compatible with those of other motels in the city, but benefits from its relative closeness to the airport and the availability of direct transport to every part of the city in close proximity. Prices start at 33$ a night, which is standard for this type of business. The motel has 10 single and six double-space rooms fit for families. More often than not, the double-space rooms are being filled, as travelers often arrive with families.

The motel staff offers standard room service such as cleaning and providing refreshments from the bar. However, the company does not feature any cafeteria of its own, so the customers are required to find nourishment on their own. The motel also offers service of extended baggage keeping, should the customers wish to leave their baggage for an extended period to travel across the country. However, this type of service is rarely, if ever, used.

Summary of My Monthly Activities

During my summer practice, my place in the hierarchy was somewhere between the full-time and temporary employee, which reflected on my duties as a staff member. I was employed to cover up for any individual member of the team save for the manager, and engaged in numerous tasks pertaining to the hotel industry. I worked at the reception, talking to the customers and figuring out the best possible options for them. I also interacted with customers during room service and often assisted temporary employments on cleaning assignments. In addition, I participated in an advertising campaign, passing leaflets and engaging potential customers to let them know of our motel’s existence.

My Strengths as an Employee

According to my practicum supervisor’s feedback, I was described as a punctual, proactive, dedicated, and professional employee. I showed eagerness in participating in any kind of task bestowed upon me and did my duty with all due diligence and effort that was expected of me. As it was my first time working in the hospitality industry, I made sure to be acquainted with every facet of the work and did everything required of me to promote the good image of my company. The practicum supervisor described me as a nice and non-conflicting person that is easy to get along with. In addition, I often acted as a leader for the cleaning staff, finding errors in their working schedule and providing input and advice without sounding abrasive. Overall, I believe I did well for my first time as a hotel employee.

My Weaknesses as a Hotel Employee

According to my supervisor’s feedback report, my only weakness is the relative lack of experience. An occasional blunder that happened during my practice is associated with a lack of experience, which caused me to take more time on making decisions rather than doing so on the fly. Another weakness of mine, though not mentioned in the feedback report, is the overall desire to please customers too much. During my employment, some customers used it to bargain for a cheaper price than we normally charge, which put me in a difficult spot because on one hand, I was supposed to adhere to the company’s price list, but on the other hand, feared that refusing them would cause damage to the reputation of our motel.

Company Problems

As Perceived by Me

My view of the many problems surrounding the motel comes from my education and familiarity with modern business management and leadership theories. The first company problem is a clear lack of direction and lack of a greater purpose, which would motivate both the manager and the employees to strive to make the company perform better than it does now. Nearly all modern leadership theories, such as the Servant Leadership Theory, Transformational Theory, and the Path-Goal Theory, all emphasize the importance of having a higher greater purpose or an objective for the company to strive towards and grow (Northouse, 2016). Without such, the company finds itself stuck where it is and fails to capitalize on the advantages that the contemporary market situation offers them.

Other company problems stem from employee motivation based on poor management (Avbar, 2014). The manager has a short temper and is not interested in getting to know his employees and treating them equally. The lack of academic leadership knowledge and experience shows, as the manager does not implement any of the mentioned manager leadership theories, and adopts a reactive approach to problems with the ultimate goal of maintaining the status quo (Ramadanty & Matinus, 2016). According to the Servant Leadership Theory, a manager is supposed to assist the company and its employees on their way to a better life and help them accomplish personal goals (Parris & Peachey, 2013).

Transformational Theory focuses on the role of the manager as a facilitator of improvement, with the figure of the manager at the center, as he or she is expected to lead by example (Salvato & Corbetta, 2013). Lastly, the Path-Goal Theory focuses on establishing clear goals and pathways to reaching those (Phillips & Phillips, 2016). Neither of these is being done by the manager, which is hurting the company.

As Perceived by the Practicum Supervisor

The motel’s manager was my practicum supervisor for this project. In my private conversation with him, he managed to identify some of the problems pertaining to the company and its stilted growth, such as the lack of motivation in the employees. However, his view of the causes of such developments was rudimentary at best, as he explained the lack of motivation with laziness and general character flaws of the employees, rather than his own lack of action and poor development strategy.

Conclusions

This practicum gave me insights into the work in the hospitality industry in a small motel in Auckland. I familiarized myself with the basics of working at a hotel and with the procedures of reception, room maintenance, customer support, and advertising. I also had the opportunity to apply leadership theories and witness how a lack of management knowledge could seriously hamper the development of an otherwise well-established and promising hospitality business.

References

Avbar, D. (2014). Motivation in the workplace and its influence on the effectiveness of work. Revija za Univerzalno Odličnost, 5(3), 222-232.

Hodari, D., & Sturman, M. C. (2014). Who’s in charge now? The decision autonomy of hotel general managers. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 55(4), 433-447.

Li, S., Li, H., Song, H., Lundberg, C., & Shen, S. (2017). The economic impact of on-screen tourism: The case of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Tourism Management, 60, 177-187.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. (7th ed.). New York, NY: Sage Publications.

Parris, D. L., & Peachey, J. W. (2013). A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(3), 377-393.

Phillips, A. S., & Phillips, C. R. (2016). Behavioural styles of Path-Goal theory. Management Teaching Review, 1(3), 140-141.

Ramadanty, S., & Matinus, H. (2016). Organizational communication: Communication and motivation in the workplace. Humaniora, 7(1), 79-88.

Salvato, C., & Corbetta, G. (2013). Transitional leadership of advisors as a facilitator of successors’ leadership construction. Family Business Review, 26(3), 235-255.

Simmons, D. G. (2014). Tourism and ecosystem services in New Zealand. New York, NY: Manaaki Whenua Press.

Tanaka, A, Okuno, T., & Yamauchi, H. (2013). Longitudinal tests on the influence of achievement goals on effort and intrinsic interest in the workplace. Motivation & Emotion, 37(3), 457-464. Web.

Tomatoes, K. (2017). Egypt’s tourism industry and the Arab Spring. Tourism and Political Change, 2(3), 1-21.

Yeoman, Y., McMahon-Beattie, U. (2015). New Zealand tourism: Which direction would it take? Tourism Recreation Research, 39(3), 415-435.

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