Learn Practical Skills At Home

Your comprehensive lessons are clear and well-organized; easy to follow, yet challenging and engaging at the same time. Each lesson begins with an introductory note from your instructor, plus a preview outlining the subject matter and study objectives.

Next comes the reading assignment from your textbook, lesson book or supplemental references. Practice exercises help you check and review the key concepts you've learned. Then, turn in your open-book exam (available online) for the lesson, whenever YOU are ready.

Enroll online or call 1-800-535-1613 to speak with an Admission Advisor!

Meet Your Instructor

Bill Gordon, chief instructor of The Professional Hotel and Restaurant Management Program, has a wealth of professional experience and knowledge that he is eager to share with you. He is president of Mid-America Marketing Management, a hospitality marketing company. He has also served as regional marketing director of Holiday Inns and Ramada Inns, and has been teaching home study courses for many years.

What You’ll Learn Lesson By Lesson in this Course

Lesson 1: The Traditional Hotel Industry. Evolution of the hospitality industry; the service culture; counting and measuring occupancy and sales; perishability; location; seasonality; classifying by size, type, and number of employees; rating systems; extended-stay hotels; resorts; European, American, and Continental plans; inns; bed-and-breakfasts.

Lesson 2: The Hotel Industry Today. Trends; marketing strategies; package plans including travel, events, and tourist activities; trade shows; guest profiles; group plans; marketing to individuals, families, and businesses; global operations; condominiums and time-sharing; seasonality; chains; franchises; referral systems; all-suite hotels; budget hotels; casinos; conference centers; amenities.

Lesson 3: Hotel Industry Structure. A typical hotel’s organizational chart; the general manager and general staff; food and beverage staff; front office; front desk; reservations; cashiers; concierge; housekeeping; uniformed services; telephone services; security and safety; retail, concession, business, and athletic services; special and VIP services; lobby, building, and room design; scheduling work shifts.

Lesson 4: Reservations. The components of a reservation; special requests; entering, acknowledging, storing, and altering the reservation; cancellations; denying reservations; the price-occupancy mix; yield management; sales and marketing tools; working with travel agencies; in-house vs. consolidated reservations systems; last room availability; independent reservation services; computer and voice recognition systems; guest history databases; group bookings; conventions, trade shows, and tour groups; handling overflow.

Lesson 5: Forecasting AvailabilityKnowing room count and availability; traditional and contemporary tracking systems; automated/computerized systems; adjusted room count; stayovers; under- and over-stays; no-shows; periodic recounts; resolving overbooking problems; legislative implications; deposits; guarantees.

Supplement: Time Management Guide. How to organize your time, work efficiently, and get the best results.

Lesson 6: Managing Guest Services. Concepts in quality management; guest expectations; leadership style; empowering the staff; employee relations; setting realistic house regulations; measures of guest service; quality control techniques; guarantees; working with the Americans With Disabilities Act; handling complaints; comment cards; anticipating and preventing problems.

Lesson 7: Guest Arrivals. First impressions; valet parking; door staff; registration; blocking rooms; early registrations; the registration card; collecting guest information; promoting hotel activities; liability; assigning rooms; upgrades; VIPs; arranging payment; establishing credit; bell department; luggage; room inspection.

Lesson 8: Determining Room Rate. Rack rate; discounting; daily, weekly, seasonal, commercial, corporate, senior, and complimentary rates; weather factors; single and double occupancy; setting arrival and departure times; the American Plan Resort; the Hubbard Room Rate Formula; square foot calculations; the Building Cost Formula; the Ideal Average Room Rate; up-selling.

Lesson 9: The Hotel Revenue Cycle. Receivables; ledgers; transient ledger; city ledger; what is and isn’t included in the bill; recording charges; preparing, updating, and storing the folio; master accounts; split billing; casino accounts; preferred guest programs; the billing procedure; presenting the bill; taxes; allowances; transferring funds; cash transactions; advance payments; refunds; cashier procedures; foreign currency; checks; minimizing fraud.

Lesson 10: Credit & the City Ledger. Understanding the city ledger; accepting credit cards; master accounts; groups; packages; travel agencies; late charges; delinquent accounts; executive accounts; due bills; banquet charges; managing, extending, and monitoring credit; credit alerts; transferring funds from travel agencies; frequent guest programs; electronic drafts; handling bad debt.

Lesson 11: The Night Audit. Hiring night auditors; night audit duties; reconciling receivables; closing out; posting charges; anticipating errors; the transcript; proving room charges; housekeeper’s report; balancing the math; reporting exceptions, credit, reservations, rooms management, room status, and receivables.

Lesson 12: Service, Sanitation, and Appearance. Customer service for today and tomorrow; management by wandering around; the effect of poor service; the psychology of service; being ubiquitous; the nine musts of good service; monitoring cleanliness; handling and storing dinnerware and utensils; the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point.

Lesson 13: Place Settings & Table Service. Establishing service standards; French, American, and Russian service models; table setting layouts; placemats; tablecloths; banquets; buffets; loading, lifting, carrying, delivering, and unloading food and trays; serving order and techniques; clearing food.

Lesson 14: Styles of Service. Individual servers; team servers; the captain method; basics of waiting; wine stewards; bus personnel; establishing wait stations; room layout and mixing table sizes; preparing food at the table; ensuring staff competency; taking care of many tables at once; seniority; side duties for wait staff.

Lesson 15: Staff Training. Preparing for guests; taking the order; serving; learning the menu; working with the room layout; substitutions; cooking methods and times; serving alcohol; suggestive selling; dessert tables; where to stand; avoiding who’s the beef and who’s the shrimp; guest checks; coding; giving the order to the kitchen; timing and serving sequence; computerized systems.

Lesson 16: Dining Room Management & Organization. The host; attentiveness; courtesy; dependability; knowledge; sensitivity; skill; tact; productivity; persuasiveness; organizing the dining room; forecasting; scheduling; work shifts; menus and checks; accepting vs. not accepting reservations; blocking space; special events; call-ahead or priority seating; alleviating no-shows.

Lesson 17: Managing the Dining Experience. The seven deadly sins of dining service: apathy, the brush-off, coldness, condescension, robotism, rule book excuses, and the runaround; greeting guests; assigning tables; reservations list; turnsheet; table check; waiting list; leading and seating guests; reciting specials; accommodating disabled customers; the log book; the perfect host.

Lesson 18: Banquets and Functions. Personal and business banquets; catering vs. banquets; staffing; manager qualifications; weddings; banquet styles; function room setup; table shapes and layouts; meetings; cocktail parties; podiums, lecterns, and microphones; advance booking tips; deposits; guarantees.

Lesson 19: The Banquet Function Sheet. The banquet sheet: key to success; getting the right information; communicating policies; understanding the function; menu planning; detail planning; types of meals; special menus; beverage service; open bar; cash bar; á la carte drinks; guarantee and set; confirming the schedule and arrangements; distributing the sheet and meeting with staff; preparing the kitchen; checking details; seating arrangements.

Lesson 20: Managing Functions. Arranging staff, equipment, and duties; planning place settings; the station, follow-up, and combination methods; cocktail parties; serving and clearing; preparing the chef; choosing entrees; buffets; traffic control; chafing dishes; keeping food hot; checkbacks; presenting the bill.

Supplement: Career Search Guide. Tips and techniques for finding career opportunities in the hotel and restaurant business.