Module Assignment Guide

Programme: Business & Tourism Management

Level: Level 5 Module Title: Principles of Operations Management
Module code: BTM5PRO Module leader/s: Alton Au
Iyanuoluwa Suru
Assignment No: 1 Assignment Type: Case Study Report
Assignmen Assignment Word
100% 4,000
t weighting Count: (or
%: equivalent)
Summative
Monday 7th July 2025 2:00 pm
Submission Due
Date:
Penalties: All penalties are listed at the end of this document in the Table of Penalties.

Student Name

Student id

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3

Operations Management at Whitbread PLC..............................................................................4

Input–Transformation–Output Model....................................................................................4

Goals Performance.................................................................................................................4

Strategic Integration in Trade-offs.........................................................................................5

Whitbread PLC Operation Process............................................................................................7

SOPs and standardisation.......................................................................................................7

Process Mapping and Customer Journey...................................................................................8

Whitbread PLC Capacity and People Management.................................................................11

Capability Management Framework....................................................................................11

Demand forecasting and scheduling.....................................................................................12

Workforce Development and Engagement..........................................................................12

Whitbread PLC Quality Management......................................................................................14

Principles of Quality Management.......................................................................................14

PDCA Cycle.........................................................................................................................15

Quality Assurance made possible through technology........................................................15

Operations and Risk Management...........................................................................................17

Sustainability in Operations.................................................................................................17

Responsible Business Programme of Whitbread.................................................................17

Process of Operation Risk Management..............................................................................18

Conclusion................................................................................................................................20

References................................................................................................................................21

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Introduction
The report contains an in-depth analysis of Whitbread PLC’s Premier Inn operations through
recognised operations management tools, namely, how resources are transformed into guest
experiences through applying and assessing the input–transformation–output model,
performance objectives and strategic trade-offs. The report then examined the design and
control of the main processes, including standardisation, process mapping, lean thinking, and
benchmarking to show how operational consistency and efficiency are maintained across a
geographically dispersed hotel estate.

In the next sections of the report, capacity and people management were then examined to
include aspects of demand forecasting, resource scheduling, and staff development.
Whitbread effectively employs staffing models and flexible resourcing practices to align
seasonal occupancy fluctuation with a skilled and engaged workforce that provides high
quality service (Slack et al., 2023).

Quality management is subsequently examined in terms of continuous improvement and

digital enablement. The report describes how Plan Do Check Act cycles were used and how
technology, including mobile inspection apps and IoT sensors, was used to provide rigid real-
time quality checks to support guest satisfaction goals.

Lastly, the analysis addresses Premier Inn's responsible operations and risk management. The
report explores commitments for environmental sustainability, social responsibility programs,
and the structured operations risk management framework created to identify, assess, and
mitigate operational risks. Throughout the report, it brings attention to how these practices fit
into Whitbread's aim of quality, value, and sustainable growth.

By the end of this 3,500 word paper, the reader will know how to have a successful
hospitality operation, improve organizational resilience, and position Premier Inn to
effectively compete in the hospitality ecosystem (Slack et al., 2022).

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Operations Management at Whitbread PLC
The Premier Inn brand by Whitbread PLC highlights Whitbread's structured, systemic
approach to operations management, which ensures that the transformation of resources into
customer value is systematic, quantifiable, and aligned with the strategic goals of the original
business. This chapter will explore the conceptual input–transformation–output model, the
five performance objectives which its operations pursue, and the strategic trade-offs and
integration mechanisms which it employs to secure a competitive advantage.

Input–Transformation–Output Model
Input: The inputs associated with Premier Inn are typically grouped into four categories.
First, physical resources include the hotel building itself and rooms as well as mattresses,
linens, furniture, kitchens, restaurants and lobby space. Second, human resources such as
front-desk agents, housekeepers, maintenance engineers, chefs, waiters and managers
(Johnston et al., 2021). Third, technological resources are a central reservation system,
property management system (PMS), mobile check-in application, IoT sensors to collect
environmental data for temperature and humidity controls and analytics systems. Fourth,
supplies and consumables include a stock inventory of food and beverages, cleaning
chemicals, toiletries and utilities like water, gas and electricity.

Transformation Activities: The reservation data is directed to the PMS where a room
allocation engine efficiently assigns rooms according to preferences. Guests are checked in at
front desks or kiosks or using the mobile application, where check-in staff verifies payment,
issues keys, and informs of any changes. Housekeeping teams use standardized checklists,
which include stripping the beds, sanitizing surfaces, refilling supplies, and identifying
maintenance issues. Kitchen and restaurant staff prepare and serve meals according to time-
and-temperature protocols, with maintenance concentrating on preventive measures and
corrective repairs (Camilleri, 2019).

Outputs: The main output is a clean, comfortable, fully-functioning hotel room; secondary
outputs include prepared meals and documents for billing. Intangible outputs are guest
satisfaction, perceived value, brand trust, and comfortability. Data outputs, including guest
surveys, occupancy data, and loyalty program data, are fed back into processes for continuous
improvement.

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Goals Performance
The operations of Premier Inn are gauged against the five core performance objectives:

Quality: The key factors in measuring quality include guest satisfaction surveys, guest
review ratings, internal audits and hygiene ratings. Maintaining a high standard of quality is
made through consistency of the presentation of rooms, consistency of amenities and good
service (Paton et al., 2021).

Speed: Some of the measures used to measure speed include: average check-in/check-out
(target: less than three minutes) as well as room turnaround time (target: less than thirty
minutes) and response of service request (target: less than ten minutes). High speed of
delivery of services is enabled by technology- self –service kiosk, mobile pre-check, and real
time housekeeping apps.

Dependability: Dependability indicates the consistency of the experience of the guests

irrespective of their location. It is checked through the variation in the scores of cleanliness,
reservation accuracy, and consistency of services offered in properties such that every
product is designed to fulfill the brand promise (Adhikari and Bhattacharya, 2016).
Flexibility: The notion of flexibility may be expressed in the form of dynamic pricing
approaches where the cost of rooms changes in accordance with the actual room status every
moment, the ability to reallocate personnel between the departments at peaks, and changing
menus to suit the needs of various people with their dietary habits or regional interests.

Cost: Cost efficiency is stated in terms of key performance indicators which include cost per
occupied room, labour productivity (rooms cleaned per staff - hour), percentages of food
costs, and energy consumption per room - night. Unit costs are reduced with the help of bulk
procurement further, standardised property designs and energy-saving technologies.

Premier Inn thus finds an equilibrium between expectations and organizational productivity
by achieving these goals concomitantly (Robinson and Jones, 2020).

Strategic Integration in Trade-offs

Trade-off management is important in balancing performance objectives:

Cost vs. Quality: A high tech cleaning and maintenance technology and regular maintenance
of the hotel improve their customer experience but increases the level of the capital
expenditure and operational costs. Life cycle costing takes care of the fact that initial

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investment results in reducing long term costs of replacement and maintenance, which aligns
cost control and quality performance.

Speed vs. Reliability: Automation reduces the time to check in but automation may decrease
the personal contact. A hybrid concept that involves self-service and exclusive attention to
guests adds speediness without compromising the reliability of service and a human factor.

Flexibility Vs Cost: Having standby staff means a better responsiveness costing more in
slow times on labour. Training the employees in the departments of front-desk,
housekeeping, and food service provides flexibility in redeployment to reduce costs and idle
time (Agarwal and Mohan, 2021).

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Whitbread PLC Operation Process
The operational performance of the business based on processes designed, controlled and
developed continuously by Premier Inn is materially successful. The section analyses how
conformity is created through standardisation and application of Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs), how detailed process mapping reveals inefficiencies and improves the
customer journey, how a lean management approach and continuing improvement approach
reduce waste and meet the flow and how benchmarking and sharing of best practice spread
success throughout the estate.

SOPs and standardisation

Premier Inn standardisation dexterity keeps inputting a common stage accommodation to a
large number of establishments. Corporate headquarters writes elaborate Standard Operating
Procedures which specify every action, such as bed-making, rooms cleaning, front-desk
check in, and breakfast buffet refilling (Alonso and Ogle, 2008).

Every SOP defines:

Step by step: Sequential tasks with visible milestones (e.g., inspect mattress for stain,
disinfect high touch surfaces and, restock minibar items to predefined min and max levels).

Time standards: The setting of time limits (cleaning of room within a maximum of 30
minutes; check-in transactions to be done before three minutes).

Quality standards: Tolerances on scores of cleanliness, noise levels and availability of

amenities.

Practical safety and compliance standards: Chemical handling regulation, temperature

regulation of foods in storage, and emergency response functions.

Exceptions processes: Formal methods of exception causing alerts (e.g. maintenance errors,
guest complaints), specific point person.

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Process Mapping and Customer Journey
Premier Inn is proactive in promoting excellent customer experience and cost-effectiveness
through in-depth process mapping of the customer journey. It divides the customer
experience into four stages, including pre - arrival, arrival/check-in, stay experience, and
departure/feedback.

PreArrival: The reservation is done online, through the web or through OTA feeds into the
Property Management System (PMS). Mobile check-in link and room availability time is in
automated confirmation email. Room allocation engine assigns rooms according to
preferences (floor level, bedding type) of the guests.

Check-in / Arrival: The guests have an option of either self-service kiosk, mobile
application check in or front desk interaction. There is identity and payment verification and
subsequently, physical keycards or electronic room codes are issued. Intelligent signage
directs visitors to respective rooms and also there are porters to help with luggage (Bozkurt,
2012).

Stay Experience: Restaurant and in-room orders can be made on mobile app or in a point-of-
sale terminal. The housekeeping is managed with a housekeeping management app, the
housekeeping services are requested in advance; regular housekeeping is done after checkout
or over demand. Maintenance tickets either produced by IoT sensors (air-quality issues,
HVAC issues), or made by staff.

Feeding back and departure: Those who use mobile check out or drop key cards at the
desk. The last invoices are sent by email immediately. Within 15 minutes of a checkout, post-
stay surveys are triggered; a sentiment analysis is used to determine common problems.

Process mapping provides visibility of every single touch point and information flow and
handoff between the digital systems (PMS, F&B point of sale, housekeeping application) and
teams (front desk, housekeeping, F&B, audits, maintenance). Bottlenecks will be flagged – at
a point in time, during check-in, you may experience peak-time queues at kiosks and receive
no notification that rooms are ready (Bustinza Sánche et al., 2015).

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Error-trap analysis reveals potential errors identified at key handoffs (for example, double-
booking, loss of signal from the mobile application, delivery of dining orders to wrong
destination).

Examples of recommendations from mapping include: mitigating congestion in the lobby

area, adding proactive SMS notifications for when rooms are ready; providing enhanced
signage for points of check-in; and linking mobile applications with entry-door locks to
eliminate dependence on physical keys. By visualizing and streamlining every process,
Premier Inn achieves tighter control, increased guest frictionless continuous flow, and
maximum speed and agility in handoffs.

Continuous improvement and Lean Management

Premier Inn aims to achieve lean management principles since it makes efforts to remove
waste (muda), improve flow, and increase value delivery (Carbon Neutral Britain, 2023).

Some of the important lean activities are:

5S Implementation: Housekeeping stores pantries and maintenance workshops are made

according to 5S means sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain. Stocks are properly
labelled, aisles are well cleared, and there is uniformity in delivery systems that help save
time in searching for supplies.

Kaizen Events: Problem-solving workshops are conducted in which cross-functional teams

are there and the rate is fast focused. Examples may be breaking the backlog caused by
service of breakfasts late at night, changing kitchen layouts, and staff patterns and providing
more warming points. There is a general method behind each event: identification of the
problem, root-cause analysis, testing of the countermeasure and testing results verification.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM): A map of the full cycle of serving guests is created in an
attempt to differentiate between creator of value and non- creator of value (Ervina et al.,
2023). We realized that we have things that should be eliminated through identified wastes,
including manual logbook entries related to the maintenance team, duplicated data input
process between PMS and finance system, and redundant hand-offs. The process redesign
combines the steps as far as possible, automates the information exchanges, and frees staff
time to work with the guests.

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Just-In-Time (JIT) Replenishment: Ingredients of the food and clean supplies are
replenished in real time after using data, and the costs of the storage facility and the waste of
expired commodities are reduced. Electronic reorder triggers keep the goods available at the
minimum possible inventory levels.

Ongoing enhancement is held every month for the evaluation of performance, where KPIs
such as room turnover time, inventory shrinkage rates, and guest satisfaction trends are
discussed (Godovykh and Tasci, 2020). Successes are standardised in the form of updated
SOPs and lessons are learned and posted into the digital knowledge hub to be replicated over
the estate. The associated culture of lean leads to quantifiable returns in efficiency, reduction
of cost and satisfaction of guests.

Benchmarking and BestPractice Sharing

Benchmarking makes the operations of premier inn excel since it locates high achievers and
shares their practices. There are two major strategies: Internal Benchmarking through Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA) - The efficiency of each property is gauged by the data
comparison between inputs (labour hours, energy usage, supply consumption) and output
(ratings of guest satisfaction, occupancy rates, revenue per available room). The sites in the
top quartile are referred to as Performance Exemplars.

Best-Practice Forums: The SMHP quarterly regional workshops are events, where general
managers and heads of departments/units at exemplar sites are convened (Hussain et al.,
2019). Innovations presented include a redesigned breakfast buffet layout that saved 25% off
the restock time or a predictive maintenance schedule that saved 40% of HVAC downtimes.

Digital Knowledge Hub: All SOP templates, VSM case studies, audit checklists, video
demonstrations, and KPI dashboards will be hosted on a central and searchable platform.
Managed by tags and filters: slim instruments, energy cost savings, and interaction with guest
categorizations enable the managers to rapidly find appropriate products.

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring: At poor performing locations, the Exemplar site managers mentor
the teams through a temporary site rotation, distant coaching sessions, as well as shared
improvement initiatives.

Such processes of benchmarking and sharing mean that good ideas find their way into
practice in different parts of the network quickly, and break the cycle of constant innovation

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and continuous improvement in performance. Premier Inn achieves this by professionalizing
the sharing of best practice, so that it continues to support excellence and promote consistent
operations (Jakulin, and Golob, 2015).

Whitbread PLC Capacity and People Management

Maintaining both a high level of services to the guests and an ability to balance between the
resources available and the number of guests interested in staying in the hotel is critical to the
capability of Premier Inn in terms of effective management of its resources: capacity and
people. The capacity management framework is elaborated on in this section, as well as
described demand forecasting and scheduling-based practices, workforce development and
engagement strategies where an appropriate level of skills, motivation, and flexibility of the
team is ensured.

Capability Management Framework

Premier Inn has a well-organized five-step capacity management model which helps it to
match resources working to match projected demand:

Forecasting: Statistical and judgement forecasts are driven by past occupancy figures,
regional event diaries, local demand trends and competitor rates. These produce rolling 12-
month forecasts on a weekly level, broken down into location, type of room and rate category
(Kamar, 2018).

Planning: Forecast outputs can be tracked into the plan of action for labour deployment,
linen and consumables stock and F&B sourcing. The effect of change in demand on resource
requirements is landscaped through the work of the management of scenarios like what-if
demand variance, e.g. a rush in conference booking or occupancy going down due to bad
weather.

Implementation: Recruitment activities, planning of shifts and supplier purchases are done
as scheduled. To ensure that unexpected demand periods do not result in very high fixed
labour costs, a small buffer of on-call part-time staff is maintained.

Monitoring: Existing dashboards present in real-time actual versus forecast occupancy,

labour utilisation rates, room-turnover times and inventory turnover. These are variances that

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go out of predetermined tolerance set and that initiate exception alerts to retailers to review
managerial levels (Khalil et al., 2022).

Adjustment: Moderate changes when there are crucial deviations in the demand, demand-
manipulation strategies will be implemented, which can be in the form of selective promotion
rates, group sales campaigns, or F&B bundled packages. At the same time, overtime or part-
time employment resolves insufficiency of resources.

This repeatable model makes sure that Premier Inn is now able to expand and reduce
operations within a short period and in no case compromises guest satisfaction, which
guarantees the cost effectiveness of the operation in conditions of high competence.

Demand forecasting and scheduling

Premier Inn's scheduling is based on the accuracy of demand forecasting, which combines
quantitative demand forecasting - such as exponential smoothing, ARIMA time-series
models, and regression analyses that include factors of events and seasonality - and
qualitative demand forecasting- namely feedback from sales staff; information obtained from
local market intelligence; and following competitors movement (Kiprop, 2023).

After plans are established, integer-programming modelling produces optimal staffing

schedules which minimize wage costs while respecting coverage constraints (minimize
staffing at the front-desk, number of staff, room-cleaning ratios, based upon average room
turnover rates, etc). The scheduling tool uses the individuals' availability, contract hours and
skill requirements to ensure that each shift has the appropriate trained people.

To retain flexibility, Premier Inn retains a pool of multi-skilled "float" employees that can be
used in front-desk, housekeeping and F&B roles. This "float" allows less dependency on
agency staff, reducing labour costs, and allowing quicker reaction to sudden variations in
occupancy.

Workforce Development and Engagement

Making people a core part of their people strategy means Premier Inn focuses on methods to
attract, develop, and retain talent through carefully designed structured programs and
engagement initiatives, using each of the following three approaches through different stages
of the process (Kim et al., 2020).

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Recruitment & Onboarding: In combination with recruitment efforts, partnerships with
hospitality schools, apprenticeship schemes and diversity outreach programs give them
access to a full-funnel talent pipeline, and a standard onboarding curriculum familiarizes new
hires with brand values, service standards and operating systems.

Training & Development: A blended approach of e-learning modules, classroom workshops

and on-the-job coaching is utilized for customer service excellence training, health and safety
training, foundational leadership training, and workplace sustainability training. Competency
frameworks are in place to document clear progression paths going from entry-level roles to
supervisory and management roles with formal mentoring support.

Engagement & Recognition: Monthly pulse surveys and quarterly town-hall meetings help
capture employee sentiment of voice, and recognition programs ranging from "Guest Service
Champion" awards to peer-based accolades help celebrate outstanding contributions (Lemon
and Verhoef, 2016).

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Whitbread PLC Quality Management
The issue of quality management is central to the brand promise of Premier Inn, namely a
great night of sleep, guaranteed. Through a methodical attempt at defining, measuring and
enhancing service quality, Whitbread PLC can thus guarantee that guest experience is
comparable to the norms. This part describes the key principles of quality management,
illustrates the use of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach, and analyzes technology-
based quality assurance systems.

Principles of Quality Management

The levels of service and quality Levels of service and quality that the Premier Inn follows
are five dimensions related to service:

Tangibles: Facility, furnishing of the rooms, neatness and condition of equipment. During
any give stay, guests rate tangibles, including the comfort of beds, bathroom facilities, and
the general decoration (Liu, 2024).

Reliability: Stability in the promise of delivery of services - readiness of rooms at the agreed
time, correct billing and stable internet connection. Reliability keeps guests inconvenienced
to a minimum and strengthens trust.

Responsiveness: Eagerness and promptness of employees to meet guest demands ân room-

service orders, house repair, and special demands. Fast response minimizes the negative
outcomes.

Security: Personnel skill, politeness and the capability of changing knowledge-o-confidence-

especially towards safety and hygiene standards. Employees that are well trained exude
professionalism.

Empathy: Giving attention to a guest on a one-on-one basis-knowing the repeat guests by

name, and being able to cater to dietary needs, or things to do locally that suit the guest.

These five dimensions are operationalized in terms of documented service standards and
important performance indicators (KPIs). Data points against which the dimensions are
tracked include guest feedback scores, mystery-shop audit ratings and online review
sentiment analyses (Neuhofer et al., 2015).

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PDCA Cycle
Premier Inn uses the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle model to spur continuous quality
development:

Plan: Quality objectives are defined in terms of SMART. To give an example, a target of
95% or above for the room-cleanliness audit is established as well as a max of three minutes
average on the check-in time. Built into phases of pilot projects where the metrics of success
are clear (for example: the reducing the room-turn over time with two-person housekeeping
teams) occurs during the pilot project phases.

Do: The pilot changes are implemented in a few picked-up properties. The briefing on new
procedures is offered to the front-line teams, and supervisors check whether they are
followed. Data collection systems- mobile inspection apps and electronic logbooks-
accumulate the measures of processes in real-time (Nyaga et al., 2015).

Check: There is an analysis of collected data against the metrics. Divergence is emphasized
in variance reports whereas qualitative responses through guest-satisfaction surveys and
mystery-shop reviews are available. A pilot is considered successful in case the absolute
value of the room turnover time is less than the target level and the audit scores are high.

Act: Effective practices are commonalities. SOPs get revised, workflows in the systems get
changed and employees on the estate get trained in the new procedures. Failing pilots are
studied using root-cause analysis, and the appropriate corrective actions are intended before
reinventing.

At a time of iterations of PDCA, when companies have adopted it as a loop, Premier Inn
promotes the culture of evidence-based improvement, which guarantees quality improvement
to be sustainable and scale at a reasonable cost (Qi and Mo, 2021).

Quality Assurance is made possible through technology.

Whitbread uses technologies to increase visibility, precision and speed to achieve quality
assurance:

IoT Environmental Sensors: Sensors are placed in guest rooms and back-of-house location
continually keeping track of temperature, humidity and quality of air. Automated alerts
provide notice of deviations to maintenance teams before the comfort of the guests is
compromised, including things like high humidity.

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Mobile Inspection Applications: Room and facility inspections are carried out by auditors
and managers in real time and using tablet-based applications. The nonconformance items are
recorded as time-stamped photographic and location reference tags and corrective action
assignments. The assignments are immediately posted to the mobile phones of the staff;
reminders and tracking of completion are automatic.

Voices-of-Guest Platforms: Feedback tools are combined to provide the views of the guests
in surveys, social media, and review websites (Rehman et al., 2023). The natural language
processing algorithms recognize trending issues-- e.g. the slow elevators or noisy corridors,
to come up with a quick action on the operations.

Automated Analytics Dashboards: All locations have their live KPIs on the central
dashboard-cleanliness scores, maintenance ticket volume, check-in times, and guest-net-
promoter scores. The outliers can be explored through drill-down functions that enable
regional managers to compare performance to similar properties.

Predictive Maintenance Systems: Medium machine learning models examine records of

maintenance records and sensor readings and predict likely failures of equipment--say an
HVAC or an elevator--so they can be fixed in low occupancy times.

Premier Inn can achieve near real-time visibility of service delivery, fast tracking of
resolution of issues, and data-driven decision-making through these technology-based
qualities tools and supports sustainable levels of guest satisfaction and operational efficiency
(Shafey et al., 2018).

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Operations and Risk Management
Premier Inn embeds responsible business and risk management as the foundation of its
business prerogative to become long-lasting and resilient against external environmental
impacts and to become environmentally sustainable and socially valuable. In this section, we
shall look at the sustainability activities that are integrated into the daily process, an overview
of the comprehensive Responsible Business programme in Whitbread and a detailed
description of systematic procedures used to address and reduce risks in operation.

Sustainability in operations
The sustainability approach of Premier Inn considers three aspects of sustainability:
environmental, social, and economic:

Environmental Stewardship: Investments Are Made in Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Resources Resources to achieve a net-zero goal in carbon operations by 2040. High-
efficiency HVAC systems and lighting retrofits with LED lighting help to eliminate the
electricity use by a maximum of 30% (So et al., 2018).

Social Responsibility: Diversity and apprenticeship programs empower the local

community. Premier Inn works with vocational colleges, providing training to up to 500
apprentices per annum, in underrepresented groups. Diversity, equity, and mental awareness
modules as a part of onboarding. The volunteer leave programs also enable the employees to
have paid days to community initiatives, which are a part of corporate citizenship.

Economic Viability: Procurement of sustainable materials as determined by lifecycle cost

analyses are purchased (like recycled content carpeting and low VOC paints), which saves on
long-term maintenance costs (Verma, M, 2021). Volume buying contracts with eco-certified
suppliers reduce unit prices and provide circular-economy principles.

Responsible Business Programme of Whitbread

Responsible Business programme of Whitbread, called Force of Good, sets specific, time-
bound objectives that cover four pillars:

Planet: Become net 0 carbons in 2040, use 100 percent renewable electricity, and eradicate
single 0 use plastic by 2025. It is reporting its progress in terms of public sustainability score
cards on a quarterly basis.

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People: Invest in the mental health of employees by developing mental health training,
flexible work schedules and a global employee assistance programme. Aim to achieve a 20
per cent decrease in staff turnover by 2028 and sustain Employee Net Promoter Score (NPS)
in the highest quartile (Whitbread (2023).

Product: Reinforce healthier food choices by making sure that at least 50 percent of menu
items come under the category of Better Choice nutritional properties by 2027. Increase plant
based services to contribute to the healthy lifestyles and decrease carbon footprint.

Community: Donate five million meals yearly to the local food banks and ensure a 100
percent compliance rate of its retailers in terms of responsible sourcing standards among all
its suppliers.

The programme is governed at executive level through a Responsible Business Committee,

responsible in performance against KPIs, ratification of any corrective actions as well as
incorporating Responsible Business objectives into the senior leadership performance pay.
Accountability is strengthened by the publication of annual impact reports and stakeholder
forums which foster the latter (Xiang et al., 2015).

Process of Operation Risk Management

The Operational Risk Management (ORM) system in Premier Inn contains five consecutive
steps:

Determine Risks: An inclusive risk register lists any possible business risks such as hectic
supply chain events, cyber security attacks, non-conformity amidst regulations, natural
calamities, and reputation hitches.

Risk Assessment: The risks are interpreted with regards to probabilities and consequences of
occurrences on a standard risk matrix. As an example a massive IT outage has been attributed
high impact and moderate probability whereas extreme weather events can have a variable
probability depending on the location.

Rank the Risks: The risks are organized based on the risk score (probability x impact). The
high quintile, which generally covers IT continuity, labour shortage, and dependence on
single-source suppliers, are given specific mitigation resources (Yusoff et al., 2018).

Reducing Risk Exposure: Measures are taken to restrain risks. Among these are the
multiplication of supplier chains, the development of duplicate data-centre back-ups, regular

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penetration testing in cybersecurity, cross-training of employees in performing key functions
and coming up with crisis-communication guidelines.

Monitor and Review: Key Risk Indicators (KRIs): These are indicators of key risks (e.g.
incident response time, staff vacancy rates, audits nonconformance numbers and supplier
lead-time variability) whose status is monitored via dashboards. Periodic ORM reviews re-
evaluate the risk ratings, confirm the control appropriateness, and update the risk register
every quarter. Scenarios (e.g. pandemic response, supply-chain failure) are run through
annual tabletop exercises to subject preparedness to realistic stress.

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Conclusion
In summary, this report illustrated how rigorous operations management is applied by the
Premier Inn brand of Whitbread PLC to consistently provide high-quality hospitality services.
The model of the input-transformation-output process, performance objectives, and strategic
trade-offs illustrate the foundation of converting resources into value. Elements of process
design- standardisation, process mapping, lean management and benchmarking- provide the
basic process efficiency and consistency across the different properties. Elements of capacity
planning and people management frameworks provide the links between dynamic demand for
staffing and resources, while the impacts of engagement and development are important
considerations for management. Quality Management (QM) systems apply PDCA cycles and
the use of technology to ensure sustainable service excellence, and responsible operations
integrate sustainability targets with social and economic dimensions. A structured risk
management process should allow an organisation to be prepared for and build resilience to
the range of potential operational threats. These areas of study can help develop the
operational practice of Premier Inn and maintain its competitive position. In addition, the
ongoing development of advanced analytics capability, further engagement with exit strategy
sustainability, and regular practice of resilience simulations will assist Whitbread PLC in
sourcing operational agility, environmental responsibility, and guest satisfaction.

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