The Republic of the Maldives is a small country lying 700 kilometres south-west ofSri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. It consists of over 1,000 small islands groupedtogether in atolls. Spread over an area of about 90,000 square kilometres, thiscountry stretches from the equator to 1,000 kilometres north, yet it has a total landmass of less than 470 square kilometres. With its coral reefs, white sandy beachesand a climate of between 28 and 32 degrees it is a holiday paradise and adestination for the affluent traveller. The tiny island of Baros is a five-star deluxeresort, owned and operated by Universal Resorts. which run eight secluded islandresorts in the Maldives, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. Baros is just a 25-minutespeedboat ride from the island airport which is close to the main island containingthe capital Mal. Guests are met in the airport and escorted to the resort's awaitingboat.

There are just 75 luxury villas on the island. Some are beach villas, sheltered andsecluded in lush tropical vegetation, with direct access to the beach. Other villas arewater villas, built above the water, each with their own private balcony and sea view.All the villas are spacious and air-conditioned. The resort has its own spa, diving andsnorkellingcentre,gym,barsandthreerestaurants,includingthefamousLighthouseRestaurant.

In charge of all back office and front office operations is Ahmed Jihad, a Maldivianwith international experience in hotel management. From the point of view of thegueststheplaceis stunning,peaceful andquietandtheirexpectationsarewellmet,ifnotexceeded.AlthoughBaroslookstheperfectpostingforanoperationsmanager,MrJihadexplainedthat therewasalotofhardworkbehindthescenes.

We have to manage around 275 staff looking after our 100-150 guests. Theoperation never stops; it is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have to make sureeveryone has the energy and the motivation to keep our high standards, every hour,every day. We have to keep the place, all the wooden decks, furniture, the thatchedroofs, looking in pristine condition. We also have a significant logistical operation asall our supplies are brought in by air then by boat. There is also a considerable back-office operation which our guests don't see, or even think about. Most of the back-office operations are hidden away in the centre of the island overseen by the resortmanager and the chief engineer. As there are no utilities to the island the resort hasto generate its own electricity, run a desalination water treatment plant, an electricitygenerating plant and a sewerage treatment plant. It also has to provide all thefacilities,includingaccommodation, forits staff.

MrJihadexplained:

Baros is the real essence of the Maldives. It has a natural beauty, white sands, reefs,the lagoon, and a high customer profile - people with very high expectations. Mymain responsibility is the front office operations - to make sure the guests are happy;fromairportreceivingthroughtheirstayheretotheirdepartureattheairport.Iusually greet the guests and talk to them during their stay. I make sure we have allthe right SOPs (standard operating procedures) to create the high standards of thisresort andImakesuretheyareall implementedcorrectly,fromcheck-intocateringto cleaning. I also oversee the food and beverage operations and the sales andmarketing; I check all their materials and provide my ideas. I conduct daily andweekly meetings and briefings with the staff, and with contractors, and oversee thetraining of staff. There is no typical day, but if we take yesterday, Monday, forexample,Istarted at7.30inthe morning.Thisisoneof ourverybusydayssomykey objective was to make sure all the rooms were ready for our incoming guests,make sure reception goes smoothly for them, and that all the facilities they bookedare ready for them. I also like to know who the returning guests are. The first thing Idid was to check my emails, then I had a breakfast meeting with our chef. I held ameeting with all my departmental managers where we deal with any issues and briefthemabouttheday'sactivities.Thiswasfollowed bythegeneralstaffmeetingat

10.00. I then spent some time talking to guests around the site, followed by ameeting with the Spa Manager at 11.30; we discussed how we can increaseutilisation of this facility. This was followed with a similar meeting with the DivingCentre Manager. I then went off to my room, had a shower and freshened up. I hadlunch at 1.30. I usually have it with one of my managers; yesterday it was with theHR Manager. We are in the middle of developing our fi re and safety trainingprogramme so I was checking how it was going and also the new SOPs we hadrecently put in place. These meetings are important, it gives me time to check thingsand discuss issues. I then went to my office and signed all the cocktail partyinvitations for all our guests and the personal welcome letters for our arriving guests;I also checked the special arrangements for the honeymoon guests. Throughout theafternoon I then met the boats bringing in the arriving guests. At 5.30 I went back tomy room and had a shower and watched the BBC and CNN for a while. At 7.30 Iwent back to the office and checked the emails again. I then went over to theLighthouse to talk to guests, and checked over one of the other restaurants; it'simportant for the staff to see managers around. I then went to reception to talk abouttoday's (Tuesday's) departures. I had dinner around 9.30 with my chief engineer andthe HR manager, again about the fi re and safety training. This is quite a big projectfor us at the moment. I then went back to the office, checked the emails and went tobedat10.30.Notwodaysare thesame,buteveryoneofthemisenjoyable.

To remain competitive, Baros has to look at global trend of hotel industry.(Tobe continue inAssignment2)

AdaptedSources:

Allied Market Research. (2021). Luxury Hotel Market Size, Share & Growth | ReportForecast 2031. Allied Market Research.https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/luxury-hotel-market

Johnston, R., Clark, G., & Shulver, M. (2012). Service Operations Management:ImprovingServiceDelivery(4thed.).PearsonEducationLimited.

Telegraph Travel. (2022). Baros Maldives Hotel Review. The Telegraph.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/maldives/hotels/baros- maldives-hotel/

Question 1

Describetheservicesexperiencesand outcomesBarosistryingtoprovide.

(20 marks)

Question 2

Describe the advantages of the strategy tie to outcome and experiences described inquestion1in thecontext ofserviceoperations management.

(40 marks)