Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

Operating budget:
Financial plan that estimates the amount of revenue to be generated, the expenses
to be incurred, and the amount of profit, if any, to be realized.
Planning tools such as those identified in Figure 1 are developed by members 
of the hotel’s executive committee. The FOM and other department managers
should work with staff to consider how they can best use the resources allocated to
them to support the property’s planning efforts. As you review Figure 1, note the
example of plans designed to yield an increase in the hotel’s meeting business. To
accomplish this goal, sales and marketing staff will need to develop and implement
creative sales campaigns and other tactics. However, the campaigns cannot be suc-
cessful without assistance from other departments, including the front office. Some
responsibilities of FOMs are informational; for example, they must provide accurate
forecasts about the number of guestrooms likely to be available for use by meeting
attendees when meetings are sold and booked for specific times. FOMs must also
interact with the director of sales and marketing and, in some cases, the property’s
general manager, to establish room rates for individual travelers during these periods.
Knowledge of the rates will help sales and marketing personnel determine the
“worth” of meeting business that they are able to attract to the hotel at that time.
Other responsibilities of the FOM in helping to attract meeting business directly
relate to the emphasis on quality and guest service. Consider, for example, hotel guests