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The FOM in Action: The Challenge
Guests at the Lexington Lodge love the new high-
speed Internet connections that were recently
installed in the hotel’s 110 guestrooms and chalets.
Located on a lake in the upper Northwest, the lodge
attracts upscale leisure travelers, many of whom
want to remain in contact with their business col-
leagues. Even though these travelers and their fam-
ilies are vacationing at the lodge, they e-mail and
download documents frequently. So when the
hotel’s retiring general manager and chief mainte-
nance engineer decided to install high-speed
Internet connections in each guestroom, the hotel’s
employees were pleased and excited.
Libby, the FOM, received rave reviews from
guests. However, the same could not be said about
the reaction of Gabriel, the hotel’s new general
manager. He had come from a smaller property in
the area and was an excellent administrator who
had extensive guest service and cost-control skills.
However, he had almost no background in technol-
ogy. According to Gabriel, after the high-speed
Internet system was installed, telephone revenues
began to drop off sharply. In addition, the cost of
providing troubleshooting advice for the guests as
they configured their laptops to match the settings
of the hotel’s designated Internet provider was sig-
nificant. The 800 number that assisted guests with
their hookups was free to guests, but it was not free
to the lodge! As system use increased, so did the
cost of providing guest assistance.
“Libby,” said Gabriel, “We’ve got to start
charging for this Internet service. How much do
you think we can charge, and when can you pro-
gram the PMS to charge guests who log on to the
system so we are absolutely sure we collect from
them?”
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