Project Plan

Project Plan

Kalavati Mani

University of Phoenix

MGT 573

Mr Gary Reinke

11th November, 2006

ABSTRACT

This paper is the integration of the Project Plan Overview, the Task and Risk Management and the Project Forecast Plan. The GuestWare project is a unique Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solution designed specifically for the lodging industry to build customer loyalty and guest satisfaction.

Project Plan Overview

Project management is a well organized and planned one-time effort to accomplish a specific goal. Managing projects plays a crucial part in the ongoing success of an organization. Organizations that are able to efficiently and effectively manage projects are those that are profitable in the long-term. One of the most important factors for a successful project is having a well developed project plan. In order to manage a successful project a number of factors have to be included such as: planning, implementation, controlling, team-work, evaluation and maintenance. Further, estimating costs, schedules and risks management in the project is crucial.

OmKara Corporation is the owner of nine economy and midscale segment hotel/motels, which are located and operated in Tennessee. The current operation environment for the hotel/motel remains a challenging proposition as demand continues to slow. The OmKara Corporation has decided to implement a GuestWare software program to manage guest recognition, rapid response and incident tracking processes. GuestWare is a program that helps hotel/motel operators to deliver outstanding quality services to improve guest satisfaction.

The Corporation is attempting to enhance guest experience in order to deliver better value to the guests that will lead to loyal guests, lower operating costs and increase revenue. The existing system is manual such as comment cards that are subject to interpretation and are not completed by a number of guests. The GusetWare system will replace the manual system. The automatic system will record and provide a database of repeat guests that will enable us to improve guest services and add efficiency to our daily tasks. Thus, the purpose of the project is to create guest loyalty by responding to guest requests and problems.

The mission to the corporation is to provide outstanding lodging facilities and services to the guests. The hotel/motel focuses both on the leisure and the business traveler.

The firm's goals and objectives are to provide safe and comfortable product (rooms) to the guest to increase sales through guest satisfaction. In today's environment the customer is savvy and quality conscious so a change can mean the difference between loss and gain in market share. Thus updating and implementing technology is required to meet the mission of the organization.

Defining the scope of the project is an integral factor in the success of a project. The scope includes project objectives, deliverables and guests needs and requirements and milestones. A common measure known as the revenue per available room (RevPar) in the lodging industry to evaluate the profitability of a business is used. RevPar is the average daily rate charged divided by the average number of rooms sold for the day. The changes in RevPar reflect a decline in the bottom line of the hotel/motel. In response to the decline in the operations of the hotel/motels we have been working with our hotel/motel managers to achieve greater market share by implementing the GuestWare software program. Undoubtably, revenues have been adversely affected by the war with Iraq, terrorist threats and the weak economy has had on the lodging industry. The Year 2006 has improved business and we could capture increase in revenues by understanding the overall needs of the guest.

The cost of software and need to train staff to use the program is expensive that is clearly worth the expense. The investment in the program will be part from cash flow and part will debt financing. In the lodging industry quality of service is critical to achieve the overall goals of the organization. The use of data showing response times by employees, maintenance issues and certain service requests, the manager of the property can determine the actions to implement to enhance the service and productivity of the hotel/motel.

To implement the software program for improvement in the guest service so as to create word-of-mouth advertising and enhancing the guest satisfaction. The project will have to remain on schedule and training of staff to expand their knowledge to use the program will be required. Implementation planning will start during the purchase process. The core objectives and basic process changes are discussed with the manager, front-desk clerk and the head housekeeper during the demonstration of the program. If this cannot be achieved the seller of the program will hold a demonstration of the program before the implementation of the program to derive a better understanding of the program.

The experienced project coordinators will assist the managers of each property with the planning and implementation of the program. A simple form is used to define the project, the steps used in the process and the responsible of the staff is documented in the plan. A pre-visit remote installation will be implemented because the limited time is spent on on-site of the property. In order to ensure that if technical problems arise there will be enough time to take care of the problem. So as to take care of any issues that may arise, the program will be implemented and running before the trainer arrives at the property. The configuration settings and rules will be setup on the first day of the implementation of the program. A key factor is that the program will be monitored while the expert is on-site so that the trainer is there to assist in any problems that may arise. Further, the GuestWare Company has a help-desk that will ensure that the program is working efficiently and take care of any problems that arises.

The project will be led by the project manager and the team members are all the managers of the nine properties of the OmKara Corporation. The project manager will head the project, define scope of the project, control and plan the project. The team members will help