Project Management Report And Plan - Essay Example

Titus Manickam Order No. 172930     07 June 2007 Project Management Report and Plan Project This design proposal is presented by Quadrangle Partnership for the renovation of 80 guest rooms and corridors of the Palgrave Hotel, London, Bloomsbury Hotels Inc, on behalf of Mr Alistair Cameron, General Manager. General Information about the Hotel Bloomsbury Hotels Inc, owns and manages over 150 hotels in 40 countries worldwide. The hotels operate in a number of different markets ranging from resort and convention hotels to business and tourist. Regardless of the market all the hotels are aimed at an international 4* clientele. The organization wishes to remain at the leading edge of the hospitality industry by providing consistently high levels of service and facilities. Bloomsbury Hotels are regarded by its peers as an industry innovator and the standards that they set often become the industry-wide benchmark. The high level of brand loyalty that they enjoy has been based upon consistently high standards of facilities and service. For this reason all Bloomsbury properties, whether partially or fully owned, adhere to a strict policy standards that are laid down in a Standard Operations Procedures Manual. The hotel was opened in 1985 on a site in West London with easy access to the Underground network and Heathrow airport. The hotel is fully air-conditioned and has 15 floors. The accommodation has been altered since opening and now consists of: Doubles 80 Twins 140 Suites 20 From the total stock of rooms some are allocated to ladies only and some are for non-smokers. All rooms have private bathrooms, television with satellite channels, direct dial telephones, trouser presses, irons, ironing boards, mini bars and tea and coffee making facilities. The rack rates are as follows: Double/Twin 169 pounds Suites from 315 pounds Rates are inclusive of VAT but exclusive of breakfast. A weekend rate of 140 pounds per twin, inclusive of English breakfast. Continental breakfast is available in the rooms for 16.50 pounds, inclusive of VAT. There is an underground car park for 90 cars. Reduced rates are available for hotel residents. On the ground floor there is a retail shop open from 08.00 to 22.30 every day. The shop stocks newspapers, books, films, toiletries, gifts and souvenirs of London. The shop is franchised to an independent operator. On the mezzanine floor there is a business centre offering secretarial services, photocopying, word processing, telex, e-mail and facsimile services. Food and beverage facilities On the ground floor, off the lobby – Seattle Sidewalk – is an American style delicatessen coffee lounge. Breakfast is served from 06.30 to 10.00. Snacks, morning coffee, afternoon teas and a comprehensive menu are available from 11.00 to midnight. 70 covers. Average spend 11.50 pounds. Also off the lobby – The Dog and Bugle – is a traditional English pub opening during licensing hours only. Offers a full range of draught ales and lagers as well as an extensive range of drinks and wines. Half of the room is given over to an eating area where a traditional English menu is offered. Food average spend 22.50 pounds. Drink prices are comparable to local pubs. This facility is very popular with tourist groups. On the first floor – Shakespeare’s – Extensive multi-purpose buffet is offered at an inclusive price of 19.50 pounds, plus a range of à la carte dishes from 17.30 to 22.30. This is also the main breakfast room from 06.30 to 10.30. The following options are available: Continental 11.50 pounds English 14.95 pounds Japanese 14.95 pounds First floor – Banqueting – Four inter connecting suites suitable for private dinners, conferences and formal banquets up to 300 guests. The rooms are also used to cater to tour groups at breakfast and dinner. Accounting systems The hotel is completely self accounting, paying all its own invoices and controlling all credit accounts. The accounting year is from 01 January to 31 December and is divided into 13 four weekly periods. The trading week is from Friday to Thursday. Weekly trading reports are circulated to all heads of department. Period profit and loss accounts are sent to all heads of department and the area director. Market The breakdown of the market is: Business 60% Groups 25% Airline Crew 15% The business market is Monday to Thursday and preferential rates are offered to number of large organizations. Whilst the business market is expanding, there is fierce competition from two newly opened hotels some five minutes away from the Palgrave. The organized groups are mainly from the UK, Japan and USA. There are a number of contracts with British tour operators for the weekend breaks to shops, museums and theatres. A reciprocal booking arrangement exists between the other four London hotels within the group. The crew contracts with major airline have options on 45 rooms per night. Projected occupancy for 2007 January 65.9% July 80.5% February 69.7% August 73.1% March 74.6% September 93.2% April 75.9% October 89.1% May 81.6% November 81.0% June 91.8% December 63.4% Staffing There are 150, including management, organized on a fairly traditional structure. Need for Renovation Since opening the Palgrave Hotel in 1985, the first five floors of the hotel have remained unaltered. Even though quality materials were used at the time, these 80 rooms are no longer to a Bloomsbury Hotels standard. The ‘eighties’ style decoration of bright colours and worn furnishings are a dramatic contrast to the upper ten renovated floors. The rooms on floor 1 to 5 represent a potential risk to the hotel operation. The horizontal piping in the bathroom is in a poor state. At Christmas an abnormally high water pressure caused pipes to burst in fifteen rooms leading to flooding on all five floors and through to the lobby the damages caused was estimated at 40,000 pounds. We were lucky to be able to claim on insurance as under most circumstances corrosion is covered by an exclusive clause. It may be difficult to claim for this type of damage a second time. The piping on all five floors need checking, and if found appropriate, replacing. The floors do not meet the Bloomsbury Hotels agreed safety system. The corridors do not have fire-resistant doors to the current 30-minute specification. The top ten floors have been refurbished to the current Bloomsbury Hotels standards but the lower floors should be considered as meeting only a 2* to 3* standard. The annual occupancy of 78.32% is obtained at the expense of the ability to increase the average room rate. The number of business and airline guests that are prepared to accept the standard of the lower floors is decreasing. These rooms can be let only to weekend groups who are prepared to accept the lower standard for a much-reduced rate. The opening of the Warwick Hotel and the Baron Hotel has taken some of the established business clientele who prefer their higher standards of décor. If we do not renovate these facilities we are in danger of creating a poor image of the whole hotel and a knock-on image for the other hotels within the Group. The initial proposal is that a budget of 1,950,000 pounds will be required to complete this project. Detailed budgets for the whole project will be forwarded for approval to proceed, as laid down in the company’s S.O.P. Instruction to Bidders Bidders have been asked to submit their quotation for the design and budget costing for the designs as specified. Prospective bidders have been required to make a site survey and take their own measurements before submitting their quotation. The hotel will not be responsible for the accuracy of the dimensions contained on drawings that may be made available to them. All queries have to be directed to Mr Alistair Cameron. Bids should be submitted in a sealed envelope and received by 12 noon on 25 May 2007. Description of the Project The overall theme is based around the theme of ‘nature’. This theme will be expressed through the range of materials (wood, natural materials, stone), colours and images (leaves and flowers). The five floors will therefore be imbued with a new coherence with regard to each other and the outside environment. 1. Overall Scope of the Refurbishment It is intended that the original 80 guestrooms and the 5 corridors will be upgraded as follows: 1.1 Replace interior doors and external window frames 1.2 Upgrade plumbing and replace bathroom fittings 1.3 Redesign and refurbish the decoration of the rooms and corridors 1.4 Install FR 30 fire doors to corridors 2. Scope of the Design All 80 rooms are similar as indicated on the floor plans – 16 rooms per floor on 5 floors. The rooms should provide the facilities and comfort required by the business clientele. The décor and technical facilities will change, but no changes are expected in the basic layout of the rooms. The design must be applicable to all rooms, although the colour schemes and minor differences of design will be considered. 2.1 Bedroom To restore the intimacy of the bedroom, it is proposed to paint the sidewalls in a single colour. The light wooden headboards standing out against the darker walls give the room its structure. A wooden panel faces the wall covering of natural material and extends the side walls. By the entrance there is a suitcase holder and wardrobe with swing doors. The existing removable panel to the air conditioning unit will remain. The decoration will be based upon large wooden frames on the theme of nature (dried flowers, floral motifs, etc). The window frames will be replaced with aluminium frames with a thermal insulation gap. 2.2 Bathrooms A total revision of the plumbing to comply with current Building Regulations. In terms of fitting out of the space a design scheme is required as follows: * A colour scheme with advice for wall coverings * Recommendations for sanitary fittings * Lighting recommendations * Proposal for a heated towel rail * Recommendations for floor coverings 2.3 Floor Corridors Basic construction to remain as at present. In terms of fitting out of the space a design scheme is required as follows: Recommendations on the replacement wall coverings Recommendations on the replacement of floor coverings Recommendations on lighting Selection of art works Installation of fire doors to the current standard Overall Budget Guideline The estimated available budget for the complete project to include professional fees, purchase of materials, labour and safe removal of all waste materials are in the order of 1,950,000 pounds. Execution Process for the Project A few design organizations will be invited to tender for the design and cost of the refurbishment. The intention is to purchase a one-off design, specification and installation budget. Once quotations have been evaluated on quality, price and adherence to Bloomsbury Hotel Inc. specifications, the successful design tender will be selected. The nominated designer will then supply the following: A preliminary study of the requirements including: * Sketch proposals, which once agreed in principle, will be converted into scale plans * A colour board for the guestroom, bathroom and corridor and detailed drawings. Perspective drawings for use in publicity material * A detailed pilot study to include: * Scale drawings * Summary of work to be carried out by trade and by piece of work * Costing for building work and fixture and fittings At the end of the design stage the involvement of the preferred designer will end. The installation of the design and control of the project will be completed by the management of the Palgrave Hotel, London. Duration of design process Initial survey 20 days Detailed pilot study 35 days Working drawings 40 days Final design 10 days Read More