Handling Difficulties in Communicating With Foreign Guests At Grand Pasundan Convention Hotel.
ABSTRACT
Saat menjalani masa magang sebagai bagian Front Office Department
di Grand Pasundan Convention Hotel, ada beberapa hal yang harus
diperhatikan, salah satunya adalah harus menghadapi tamu dengan
sopan dan ramah, agar mendapatkan kesan terbaik dari tamu untuk
performa hotel. Saya menemukan beberapa kesulitan menerima tamu di
hotel terutama bagian front office, yang berhadapan langsung dengan
tamu dari mulai check-in sampai check-out. Salah satu kesulitan yang
saya alami selama kegiatan magang saya di Grand Pasundan Convention
Hotel khususnya di front office department adalah saya mengalami
kesulitan dalam menangani berkomunikasi dengan tamu asing. Aksen
asing yang kurang jelas dan kurangnya pengetahuan saya di bidang ini
membuat saya sulit menghadapinya.
Setelah menemukan masalah ini, saya mencoba menganalisa faktor
yang menyebabkan timbulnya kesulitan-kesulitan tersebut. Penyebab
yang pertama adalah saya tidak mempunyai pengalaman berkomunikasi
dengan tamu asing, ditambah dengan tamu asing tersebut berbicara
menggunakan aksen mereka yang bervariasi. Selain itu kosa kata Bahasa
Inggris saya masih terbatas dalam bidang ini. Masalah ini menyebabkan
beberapa dampak yaitu banyak terjadi salah paham antara tamu-tamu
dan saya. Selain itu pekerjaan saya yang telah diberikan oleh atasan saya
menjadi tidak selesai tepat waktu, karena mencoba mengerti apa yang
dimaksudkan oleh tamu asing karena mereka berbicara kurang jelas.
Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, saya menyimpulkan tiga solusi yang
terbaik untuk diterapkan di Front Office Department. Pertama yaitu saya
harus mempunyai banyak berlatih untuk dapat berkomunikasi dengan
tamu asing. Kedua yaitu saya akan menonton dan mendengar untuk
belajar memahami aksen-aksen Inggris yang berbeda dengan menonton
film Inggris. Ketiga yaitu dengan saya mengusulkan ke manejemen hotel
untuk diadakan pelatihan khusus Bahasa Inggris untuk staf, sehingga
dapat membantu meningkatkan kemampuan Bahasa Inggris staf dan
performa hotel pun dapat meningkat karena mendapat kesan baik dari
tamu asing yang terpenuhi keinginannya tanpa harus sulit untuk
berkomunikasi lagi.
i
Maranatha Chirstian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
D. Description of the Institution
E. Method of the Study
F. Limitation of the Study
G. Organization of the Term Paper
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS ....................................................... 6
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ................................................ 11
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................... 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES :
A. FLOWCHART
B. VISION AND MISSION OF GRAND PASUNDAN
CONVENTION HOTEL
C. COPY OF GRAND PASUNDAN HOTEL INFORMATION
iv
Maranatha Chirstian University
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A.
Background of the Study
The usage of English has become truly important and more people
speak English to communicate. English is the first language that is used to
communicate in a lot of fields. According to Riansari in her research,
English Language holds a very important role in international
communication in a lot of fields (2). One of the fields that uses English for
communication is hotel business. There are not only local but also foreign
guests in hotels; therefore, English is needed by hotel staff in order to
communicate with foreign guests. Every employee in hotels must be able
to speak English. As Fogarty wrote in his article entitled “Understanding
the New French Hotel Rating System” that, “In 5-star hotels staff must be
able to speak two foreign languages including English” (par. 6).
Additionally, in Hotel and Resort English, Yada wrote that, it is demanded
that staff who work in hotel must know the English language (3).
1
Maranatha Chirstian University
From July 1st until July 25th 2014, I had an internship at Grand
Pasundan Convention (henceforth: GPC) Hotel. My position during the
internship is in the Front Office Department as a receptionist. My
responsibilities were welcoming the guests who came to the hotel, filling in
the guests data, and helping the guests with their enquiries. During my
internship in the Front Office Department, there were ten foreign guests,
they came from Singapore, Arab, and Malaysia. They all spoke to me in
English three of them spoke with various accents and I found several
problems.. For example, I had difficulties in communicating, listening, and
understanding the foreign guests. In this paper I would like to analyze and
focus on one problem which is handling difficulties in communicating with
foreign guests at GPC Hotel.
Having limited English vocabulary, various English accents, and did not
have any experience caused a misunderstanding between the guests and
I. Therefore, I choose handling difficulties in communicating with foreign
guests at GPC Hotel as my topic of this term paper.
In this term paper I will also discuss the causes and the effects of my
problem. There are some causes which lead to having a hard time
communicating with the foreign guests. There are also several effects
which will be explained later. In order to help solve this problem, I will
explain some potential solutions that can be applied as well.
2
Maranatha Chirstian University
B.
Identification of the Problem
When I did my internship in the Front Office Department at GPC Hotel,
I found a problem which I would like to analyze. The problem is handling
difficulties in communicating with foreign guests at GPC Hotel. While
analyzing the problem, I came up with several questions.
1. Why is it difficult for me to communicate with the foreign guests in
Front Office Department in GPC Hotel?
2. How does this problem affect my performance as a receptionist?
3. How should I communicate well with foreign guests as a
receptionist?
C.
Objectives and Benefits of the Study
The objective of writing this term paper is to analyze the cause, the
effect, and best solution. The benefit of writing this term paper is to
become the printed source of guidance of how to handle difficulties in
communicating with foreign guests.
It will be useful for the staff in GPC Hotel as the institution where I did
my internship. It will also be useful for other people who work in Front
Office Department, they may be able to use the solutions that I state in this
term paper. Furthermore, when I have the opportunity to deal with foreign
people again in the future, I will have been able to communicate better as I
apply the solutions in this term paper.
3
Maranatha Chirstian University
D.
Description of the Institution
Based on the information attached on appendix that I got from the
Human Resource Department of GPC Hotel, GPC Hotel was built in 2002
and finished in 2003. This hotel was under the management of PT. Graha
Bandung Kencana which is a family company. The Grand opening of GPC
Hotel is on 1st March 2003. GPC Hotel is located at Jl. Peta 147-149
Bandung. This hotel has 9.317 m2 land area, 16.548 m2 building area, and
has 168 rooms such as: studio, superior, deluxe, standard, junior suite
room, premier classic, grand deluxe, executive room, premier suite, royal
family suite, president suite, and driver room. This hotel has a lot of
facilites that guests can use such as: fitness center, spa, barbershop,
business center, coffee shop, cake shop, karaoke, swimming pool,
ballroom, and meeting room. This hotel is a hotel with a qualified threestar hotel and now evolving into a four-star hotel. This hotel has a general
manager, her name is Ms. Rimawati. GPC Hotel also has vision and
mission statements. The vision is to make GPC Hotel the only hotel in the
most comprehensive MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conferencing, and
Exhibition) city of Bandung, and the mission is to introduce GPC Hotel’s
existence in society, especially in Bandung, and in Indonesia in general
and also in the world.
E.
Method of the Study
The method that I used is library research. I took data from books,
articles, journals, and data from HRD of GPC Hotel. The journal is based
4
Maranatha Chirstian University
on my internship at GPC Hotel from 1st July until 25th July 2014. The data
is used to analyze causes, effects, and potential solutions.
F.
Limitation of the Study
The subjects of my research is the foreign guests at GPC Hotel and I
myself. I started to observe when I was in charge at The Front Office
Department from 08.00 a.m until 05.00 p.m. My internship started on 1 st
July 2014 and finished on 25th July 2014.
G.
Organization of the Term Paper
This term paper starts with Abstract, Declaration of Originality,
Acknowledgements, and Table of Contents. The first chapter of this term
paper contains the description of GPC Hotel and the introduction of this
term paper. The second chapter contains causes and effects of my
problem. The third chapter consists of the potential solutions that will be
useful to solve my problem. In this chapter there are several positive and
negative effects of the potential solutions analyzed. The last chapter
consists of the conclusion and the chosen solutions to solve the problem.
The paper ends with Bibliography, Flowchart, and Appendices.
5
Maranatha Chirstian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Sources
Ellen, Mary G., Kathleen Rhodes, Patricia Rogin. Business
Communication. Canada: Thomson Nelson, 2005.
Electronic Sources
Efron, Louis. “Get That Job! Nine Ways to Interview with Confidence.”
Forbes.com 23 December 2013. 18 November 2014 .
Erhan. “How to Master a Foreign Language without Enrolling for a Formal
Course.” OMNIGLOT.COM 2014. 19 December 2014
.
Fogarty, Terri. “Understanding the New French Hotel Rating System.”
EUROPEUPCLOSE.COM 2015. 5 January 2015
.
Maranatha Chirstian University
Greenbaum, Dave. “Learn a Foreign Accent by Watching Films With
Subtitles.” LIFEHACKER.COM 9 July 2014. 5 January 2015
.
Justin. “7 Hal yang Harus Dihindari Ketika Berbicara Bahasa Inggris.”
RealLife 21 December 2013. 2014. Real Life Connecting the World
Through English. 16 September 2014 .
Louis, Joe. “Corporate Training Bahasa Untuk Perusahaan : Beacon
English.” Thebeaconenglish.com 2014. 18 November 2014. .
Prasad, Prena. “How to Improve Your Spoken English: 5 Tips.”
dnaindia.com. 10 September 2013. 26 January 2015 .
Rany, Sam, Thongma Souriyavongsa, Mohammad Jafre Zainol Abidin,
and Leong Lai Mei. Factors Causes Students Low English Language
Learning: A Case Study in the National University of Laos. Malaysia.
22 January 2013. 26 January 2015 .
Maranatha Chirstian University
Riansari, Titi. “Proses Pembentukan Istilah Berbahasa Inggris di Bidang
Pariwisata.” Semarang: eprints.undip.ac.id 2010. 16 September 2014
.
Sanjaya, Alvin. “Hambatan Komunikasi Antar Budaya Antara Staf
Marketing Dengan Penghuni Berkewarganegaraan Australia dan Korea
Selatan di Apartemen X Surabaya.” Surabaya: Jurnal E-Komunikasi,
2013. 17 September 2014 .
“Sulit Belajar Bahasa Asing? Perbaiki 5 Kesalahan Ini.” KOMPAS.COM
15 Februari 2013. 16 September 2014 .
“Top 10 Tips For Improving Your Spoken English.” ENGLISHTOWN.COM
2015. 5 January 2015 .
Yada. HOTEL-English. TEFLBOOKS.COM. 5 January 2015
.
Yang, Xiao. “The Importance of Staff Training in the Hotel Industry.”
Shanghai. 2010. 19 December 2014
.
Maranatha Chirstian University
Saat menjalani masa magang sebagai bagian Front Office Department
di Grand Pasundan Convention Hotel, ada beberapa hal yang harus
diperhatikan, salah satunya adalah harus menghadapi tamu dengan
sopan dan ramah, agar mendapatkan kesan terbaik dari tamu untuk
performa hotel. Saya menemukan beberapa kesulitan menerima tamu di
hotel terutama bagian front office, yang berhadapan langsung dengan
tamu dari mulai check-in sampai check-out. Salah satu kesulitan yang
saya alami selama kegiatan magang saya di Grand Pasundan Convention
Hotel khususnya di front office department adalah saya mengalami
kesulitan dalam menangani berkomunikasi dengan tamu asing. Aksen
asing yang kurang jelas dan kurangnya pengetahuan saya di bidang ini
membuat saya sulit menghadapinya.
Setelah menemukan masalah ini, saya mencoba menganalisa faktor
yang menyebabkan timbulnya kesulitan-kesulitan tersebut. Penyebab
yang pertama adalah saya tidak mempunyai pengalaman berkomunikasi
dengan tamu asing, ditambah dengan tamu asing tersebut berbicara
menggunakan aksen mereka yang bervariasi. Selain itu kosa kata Bahasa
Inggris saya masih terbatas dalam bidang ini. Masalah ini menyebabkan
beberapa dampak yaitu banyak terjadi salah paham antara tamu-tamu
dan saya. Selain itu pekerjaan saya yang telah diberikan oleh atasan saya
menjadi tidak selesai tepat waktu, karena mencoba mengerti apa yang
dimaksudkan oleh tamu asing karena mereka berbicara kurang jelas.
Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, saya menyimpulkan tiga solusi yang
terbaik untuk diterapkan di Front Office Department. Pertama yaitu saya
harus mempunyai banyak berlatih untuk dapat berkomunikasi dengan
tamu asing. Kedua yaitu saya akan menonton dan mendengar untuk
belajar memahami aksen-aksen Inggris yang berbeda dengan menonton
film Inggris. Ketiga yaitu dengan saya mengusulkan ke manejemen hotel
untuk diadakan pelatihan khusus Bahasa Inggris untuk staf, sehingga
dapat membantu meningkatkan kemampuan Bahasa Inggris staf dan
performa hotel pun dapat meningkat karena mendapat kesan baik dari
tamu asing yang terpenuhi keinginannya tanpa harus sulit untuk
berkomunikasi lagi.
i
Maranatha Chirstian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
D. Description of the Institution
E. Method of the Study
F. Limitation of the Study
G. Organization of the Term Paper
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS ....................................................... 6
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ................................................ 11
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................... 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES :
A. FLOWCHART
B. VISION AND MISSION OF GRAND PASUNDAN
CONVENTION HOTEL
C. COPY OF GRAND PASUNDAN HOTEL INFORMATION
iv
Maranatha Chirstian University
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A.
Background of the Study
The usage of English has become truly important and more people
speak English to communicate. English is the first language that is used to
communicate in a lot of fields. According to Riansari in her research,
English Language holds a very important role in international
communication in a lot of fields (2). One of the fields that uses English for
communication is hotel business. There are not only local but also foreign
guests in hotels; therefore, English is needed by hotel staff in order to
communicate with foreign guests. Every employee in hotels must be able
to speak English. As Fogarty wrote in his article entitled “Understanding
the New French Hotel Rating System” that, “In 5-star hotels staff must be
able to speak two foreign languages including English” (par. 6).
Additionally, in Hotel and Resort English, Yada wrote that, it is demanded
that staff who work in hotel must know the English language (3).
1
Maranatha Chirstian University
From July 1st until July 25th 2014, I had an internship at Grand
Pasundan Convention (henceforth: GPC) Hotel. My position during the
internship is in the Front Office Department as a receptionist. My
responsibilities were welcoming the guests who came to the hotel, filling in
the guests data, and helping the guests with their enquiries. During my
internship in the Front Office Department, there were ten foreign guests,
they came from Singapore, Arab, and Malaysia. They all spoke to me in
English three of them spoke with various accents and I found several
problems.. For example, I had difficulties in communicating, listening, and
understanding the foreign guests. In this paper I would like to analyze and
focus on one problem which is handling difficulties in communicating with
foreign guests at GPC Hotel.
Having limited English vocabulary, various English accents, and did not
have any experience caused a misunderstanding between the guests and
I. Therefore, I choose handling difficulties in communicating with foreign
guests at GPC Hotel as my topic of this term paper.
In this term paper I will also discuss the causes and the effects of my
problem. There are some causes which lead to having a hard time
communicating with the foreign guests. There are also several effects
which will be explained later. In order to help solve this problem, I will
explain some potential solutions that can be applied as well.
2
Maranatha Chirstian University
B.
Identification of the Problem
When I did my internship in the Front Office Department at GPC Hotel,
I found a problem which I would like to analyze. The problem is handling
difficulties in communicating with foreign guests at GPC Hotel. While
analyzing the problem, I came up with several questions.
1. Why is it difficult for me to communicate with the foreign guests in
Front Office Department in GPC Hotel?
2. How does this problem affect my performance as a receptionist?
3. How should I communicate well with foreign guests as a
receptionist?
C.
Objectives and Benefits of the Study
The objective of writing this term paper is to analyze the cause, the
effect, and best solution. The benefit of writing this term paper is to
become the printed source of guidance of how to handle difficulties in
communicating with foreign guests.
It will be useful for the staff in GPC Hotel as the institution where I did
my internship. It will also be useful for other people who work in Front
Office Department, they may be able to use the solutions that I state in this
term paper. Furthermore, when I have the opportunity to deal with foreign
people again in the future, I will have been able to communicate better as I
apply the solutions in this term paper.
3
Maranatha Chirstian University
D.
Description of the Institution
Based on the information attached on appendix that I got from the
Human Resource Department of GPC Hotel, GPC Hotel was built in 2002
and finished in 2003. This hotel was under the management of PT. Graha
Bandung Kencana which is a family company. The Grand opening of GPC
Hotel is on 1st March 2003. GPC Hotel is located at Jl. Peta 147-149
Bandung. This hotel has 9.317 m2 land area, 16.548 m2 building area, and
has 168 rooms such as: studio, superior, deluxe, standard, junior suite
room, premier classic, grand deluxe, executive room, premier suite, royal
family suite, president suite, and driver room. This hotel has a lot of
facilites that guests can use such as: fitness center, spa, barbershop,
business center, coffee shop, cake shop, karaoke, swimming pool,
ballroom, and meeting room. This hotel is a hotel with a qualified threestar hotel and now evolving into a four-star hotel. This hotel has a general
manager, her name is Ms. Rimawati. GPC Hotel also has vision and
mission statements. The vision is to make GPC Hotel the only hotel in the
most comprehensive MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conferencing, and
Exhibition) city of Bandung, and the mission is to introduce GPC Hotel’s
existence in society, especially in Bandung, and in Indonesia in general
and also in the world.
E.
Method of the Study
The method that I used is library research. I took data from books,
articles, journals, and data from HRD of GPC Hotel. The journal is based
4
Maranatha Chirstian University
on my internship at GPC Hotel from 1st July until 25th July 2014. The data
is used to analyze causes, effects, and potential solutions.
F.
Limitation of the Study
The subjects of my research is the foreign guests at GPC Hotel and I
myself. I started to observe when I was in charge at The Front Office
Department from 08.00 a.m until 05.00 p.m. My internship started on 1 st
July 2014 and finished on 25th July 2014.
G.
Organization of the Term Paper
This term paper starts with Abstract, Declaration of Originality,
Acknowledgements, and Table of Contents. The first chapter of this term
paper contains the description of GPC Hotel and the introduction of this
term paper. The second chapter contains causes and effects of my
problem. The third chapter consists of the potential solutions that will be
useful to solve my problem. In this chapter there are several positive and
negative effects of the potential solutions analyzed. The last chapter
consists of the conclusion and the chosen solutions to solve the problem.
The paper ends with Bibliography, Flowchart, and Appendices.
5
Maranatha Chirstian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Sources
Ellen, Mary G., Kathleen Rhodes, Patricia Rogin. Business
Communication. Canada: Thomson Nelson, 2005.
Electronic Sources
Efron, Louis. “Get That Job! Nine Ways to Interview with Confidence.”
Forbes.com 23 December 2013. 18 November 2014 .
Erhan. “How to Master a Foreign Language without Enrolling for a Formal
Course.” OMNIGLOT.COM 2014. 19 December 2014
.
Fogarty, Terri. “Understanding the New French Hotel Rating System.”
EUROPEUPCLOSE.COM 2015. 5 January 2015
.
Maranatha Chirstian University
Greenbaum, Dave. “Learn a Foreign Accent by Watching Films With
Subtitles.” LIFEHACKER.COM 9 July 2014. 5 January 2015
.
Justin. “7 Hal yang Harus Dihindari Ketika Berbicara Bahasa Inggris.”
RealLife 21 December 2013. 2014. Real Life Connecting the World
Through English. 16 September 2014 .
Louis, Joe. “Corporate Training Bahasa Untuk Perusahaan : Beacon
English.” Thebeaconenglish.com 2014. 18 November 2014. .
Prasad, Prena. “How to Improve Your Spoken English: 5 Tips.”
dnaindia.com. 10 September 2013. 26 January 2015 .
Rany, Sam, Thongma Souriyavongsa, Mohammad Jafre Zainol Abidin,
and Leong Lai Mei. Factors Causes Students Low English Language
Learning: A Case Study in the National University of Laos. Malaysia.
22 January 2013. 26 January 2015 .
Maranatha Chirstian University
Riansari, Titi. “Proses Pembentukan Istilah Berbahasa Inggris di Bidang
Pariwisata.” Semarang: eprints.undip.ac.id 2010. 16 September 2014
.
Sanjaya, Alvin. “Hambatan Komunikasi Antar Budaya Antara Staf
Marketing Dengan Penghuni Berkewarganegaraan Australia dan Korea
Selatan di Apartemen X Surabaya.” Surabaya: Jurnal E-Komunikasi,
2013. 17 September 2014 .
“Sulit Belajar Bahasa Asing? Perbaiki 5 Kesalahan Ini.” KOMPAS.COM
15 Februari 2013. 16 September 2014 .
“Top 10 Tips For Improving Your Spoken English.” ENGLISHTOWN.COM
2015. 5 January 2015 .
Yada. HOTEL-English. TEFLBOOKS.COM. 5 January 2015
.
Yang, Xiao. “The Importance of Staff Training in the Hotel Industry.”
Shanghai. 2010. 19 December 2014
.
Maranatha Chirstian University