Short Memo and Newsletter

Based on Australian Tourism

Attn: The General Manager

22 Hill Street

Landmark Resort Bunbury WA 6230

7 July 20XX

Dear Sir/Madam,

My husband and I recently stayed at your resort (25-28 Jun) and were most dissatisfied with the service received. I had planned our trip to Fiji months in advance to celebrate my husband’s 40th birthday – as a really special weekend for him to remember.

Although we did enjoy Fiji, unfortunately, our experience at your resort left us feeling quite annoyed.

When making the reservation by telephone directly with your resort, I specifically requested a room with panoramic water views. A ‘special package’ was therefore recommended. If we stayed a minimum of 3 nights we would be upgraded to a suite with panoramic water views, full breakfast included and early check in. I excitedly took up this option and received confirmation by email.

After leaving home many hours earlier and arriving at the resort around 11am, we were very tired and ready for a short rest in our room. The reception area seemed extraordinarily busy, and inadequately staffed to attend to the large tour group checking-out, as well as other guests such as ourselves who were checking in. After waiting over 20 minutes to be acknowledged, we were advised our room would not be available until 2pm!

When I produced my confirmation email to support my request for early check-in, I was rudely informed by the front office clerk that “…it is company policy that check-in is from 2pm and early check-in is always subject to availability”. We were not offered an apology or another option, other than to return in 3 hours. Needless to say, we were very upset and were forced to wait around in the lobby until 2pm.

When we were finally allocated a room, to our dismay we discovered that there was a glimpse of the water in the far distance and not the panoramic water views that we were expecting. I went to discuss this with the reception staff, only to be advised that all rooms/suites with panoramic water views were booked out for the entire week so we would have to stay where we were.

Whilst we did enjoy our stay in Fiji, our impression of the resort was tainted by the mismanagement of our booking, poor customer service and inaccurate information received. We therefore request reimbursement for the difference in the room type we paid for and the room we actually stayed in.

I expect a prompt response to this letter and that my request for reimbursement is also actioned immediately.

Yours sincerely

M J Brown

(Mrs) Meg Brown

Based on your investigation of the matter you have found solid evidence to support this client’s complaint.

Your investigation concluded:

· Staff that dealt with these clients did not report or record this incident to their supervisor or manager. This could have alleviated the problem at the time, eliminating the escalation of this complaint.

· The client received inaccurate information at time of booking with regard to the early check in time. They were incorrectly advised that an 11am check in was guaranteed, instead they should have been advised that this special check in time would only be applied ‘subject to availability’. It is therefore evident that insufficient training could have contributed to the clients receiving this inaccurate information. As the resort was fully booked with a large tour group, an early check in would have been impossible.

· The booking staff overlooked the client’s upgrade to a suite with panoramic water views.

· Whilst there is no evidence of rudeness, the front office at the time of client’s check in was inadequately staffed and therefore could quite possibly caused delays in the check in process.

· The General Manager has given you the authority to offer the clients a refund of the difference between the room types, which equates to AUD$385. Furthermore, as a measure of goodwill the General Manager has authorised an offer of three (3) nights’ accommodation in an ocean view suite upon their next stay at the resort.

Task 2: Short Memo Report

In regards to the complaint letter, your General Manager – Susan Fox, has asked that you provide her with a short memo report based on your findings in relation to this complaint which will be used to revisit the customer service standards in the hotel and consider any staff training issues.

Instructions

Using the skills you have learned in your online learning resource and the facts established in Part B/Task 1, write a Short Memo Report which will detail:

· Customer service issues experienced by these clients

· Staffing issues relating to the complaint

· Recommendations for improvements.

Your document must:

· Clearly identify the purpose of the short memo report

· Include appropriate writing style for the purpose and audience

· Be grammatically correct, free of spelling errors and correctly punctuated

· Include appropriate visual presentation and layout

· Contain accurate content and appropriate recommendations.

Task 3: Newsletter Document

You are employed as the Assistant Office Manager for Millennium Travel. Each month Millennium Travel produces a travel newsletter and features a promotional deal to a different destination. This newsletter is distributed via email to past clients of Millennium Travel.

You have been asked to research and design a one-page spread (A4 document) for the promotional deal which is to be included in next month’s newsletter. The destination to be featured is Fiji. The title of your one-page document should read Destination of the Month.

Instructions

Design a one-page document promoting Fiji for this newsletter.

You may use any relevant destination resources including your own knowledge and travel experiences.

The following agency details are to be included in the document:

Agents name & contact details

Millennium Travel
151 Sandstone Road,
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Phone: +61 2 9222 1222
Fax: +61 2 9222 1225
Email: info@millenniumtravel.com

Document name

Destination of the Month – Fiji

Your Newsletter Document must:

· Ensure the writing style is appropriate for your clients (audience)

· Ensure the language used and terminology included is appropriate for the intended audience (e.g., no tourism industry jargon)

· Follow the steps listed below:

Step 1

Identify the destination – Fiji.

Step 2

Conduct research according to the requirements of the Newsletter Document (see Step 3 below) using formal and informal data collection methods as appropriate.
You may use:
· Your own observations and travel experiences
· Current websites related to this destination
· Travel brochures
· Guide books
· Or any other information source of your choice
· Additionally, use the learning material available on the OLS and other documents for format and layout ideas.

Step 3

Include the following in your promotional deal:
· 5 night’s accommodation at a hotel/resort of your choice in Fiji
· Package cost per person based on twin share (i.e. two people sharing a room)
· Return economy airfares
· Features of the hotel that may entice clients to book
· Any additional inclusions (such as return airport transfers, sightseeing tour, breakfast, etc).

Step 4

Design:
· Document to be presented as A4 size and titled Destination of the Month.
· Use various types of fonts and font sizes to create interest.
· Use borders and tables where beneficial.
· Insert appropriate graphics, photographs from your own collection or the internet (remember to acknowledge the author).

Step 5

Print a copy your Newsletter Document for inclusion with your assessment.