The big fat Indian wedding

Abstract

Learning outcomes

After completion of the case study, students will be able to recall the fundamental concepts of group arrival and the check-in process within the hotel industry; explain the various operational procedures used to enhance a smooth group check-in in hotels; use the steps defined in group check-in procedure to improve service efficiency in hotel operations; and examine and evaluate the optimal solution for a smooth group check-in for hotels.

Case overview/synopsis

“The Big Fat Indian Wedding” delves into the challenges faced by Hotel Plaza Blu, a business hotel in Pune, Maharashtra, in 2023. A big wedding group was arriving at the hotel, which comprised almost 350 adults and 120 children. Mr Parag Patil, the front office manager, had done all the preparations for group arrival but just one hour before the arrival Mr Suresh Menon, the group coordinator, came and informed that 150 additional guests would be arriving, as the other hotel, where arrangements for these guests were made, had a major electricity generator breakdown and the hotel was in complete blackout. Patil had the challenge of formulating an action plan to achieve a smooth group check-in with the last-minute changes.

Complexity academic level

Executive development programmes and graduate-level courses in non-profit hospitality and tourism management might benefit from this case study. The operational management courses in the BBA, UG management programmes might all benefit from using this case study.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.

Citation

Satpute, P.R., Bapat, G.S. and Joshi, S. (2024), "The big fat Indian wedding", , Vol. 14 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-02-2024-0063