6. Organizational Plan and Human Resources
6.2. Job descriptions
In this section, we will explain the functions and skills that are required for each job position. On the one hand, Michelle and Maria as partners and owners will coordinate the following activities together:
- Hotel management
- Ensure that all workers are performing correctly, following the hotel's policies and values and offering a good service
- Hotel accounting
- Take care of the initial and continuous training of employees - Negotiate with tour operators
- Set rates according to seasons (revenue management) - Design budgets
- Design short and long term marketing strategies
● Executive Chef
○ Requirements: training in gastronomy, minimum experience of 2 years in a similar position in the hotel sector, specialist in Bolivian and vegan / vegetarian food. Experience in other gastronomic restaurants will be valued. Address close to the company or with flexibility to move. Level of native Spanish and level B2 of English.
○ Functions:
■ Prepare menus considering seasonal availability of food.
■ Verify that the food offered meets the established quality standards.
■ Guide and supervise the cooks in the preparation, cooking, plating and final presentation of the dish.
■ Carry supplies inventory
■ Ensure that the highest standards are met in terms of service, food quality, cleanliness and cost effectiveness.
■ Carry inventory and make the necessary orders for the supply of supplies.
■ Establish a provider network
○ We offer: uniform, continuous training, activities with the rest of the staff (team building) and food. Immediate incorporation. Salary: 3.150bs (420€)
○ Personal skills: ability to innovate, professionality, creativity, proactive, leadership skills, knowing how to work in a team, organized and passionate for gastronomy.
● Cook
○ Requirements: training in gastronomy, minimum experience of 2 years in a similar position in the hotel sector. Knowledge of Bolivian, vegan and vegetarian food. Experience in other gastronomic restaurants will be valued. Address close to the company or with flexibility to move. Level of native Spanish, basic English will be appreciated.
○ Functions:
■ Perform in a qualified, autonomous and responsible manner, the preparation and presentation of dishes following the chef's recommendations.
■ Collaborate in the orders and conservation of raw materials.
■ Prepare, cook and present culinary products.
■ Collaborate in the assembly, service and disassembly of buffets.
■ Collaborate in the planning of menus and menus.
■ Control and take care of the conservation and use of the products put at your disposal.
■ Available to offer cooking classes, easy recipes to prepare vegan / vegetarian food for customers who book this workshop.
○ We offer: uniform, continuous training, activities with the rest of the staff (team building) and food. Immediate incorporation. Salary: 2.200bs (293€)
○ Personal skills: ability to innovate, professionality, creativity, proactive, leadership skills, knowing how to work in a team, organized and passion for gastronomy.
● Waiter/waitress
○ Requirements: Technical degree in restaurant service or other related training, minimum experience of 2 years in a similar position in the hotel sector.
Experience in other gastronomic restaurants will be valued. Address close to the company or with flexibility to move. Level of native Spanish and high level of English, French and German will be valued.
○ Functions:
■ Table setting, cutlery, dishes, glasses
■ Cleaning of dishes, glasses and cutlery
■ Receive customers and deliver the menu
■ Be aware of the client, answer questions about the restaurant's dishes
■ Take notes of food or drink orders and pass information to the bar and kitchen for good coordination.
■ Serve food and drinks
■ Know how to solve any type of inconvenience or problem
■ Prepare accounts
■ Close the cashier
■ Prepare the restaurant for buffet breakfast and special events
○ We offer: uniform, continuous training, activities with the rest of the staff (team building) and food. Immediate incorporation. Salary: 2.200bs (293€)
○ Personal skills: basic math, verbal communication, customer service, resolve conflict, teamwork, friendly, proactive, high energy, sell to customer needs.
● Receptionist
○ Requirements: Degree in tourism and hospitality industry. Minimum experience of 2 years in a similar position in hotels. Experience in other sectors will be valued. Address close to the company or with flexibility to move. Level of native Spanish and high level of English, French and German will be valued.
○ Functions:
■ deal with reservations
■ complete procedures when guests arrive and depart (check - in / out)
■ choose rooms and hand out keys
■ prepare invoices and take payments
■ take and pass messages to guests
■ attend special requests from guests (tourist services, activities, workshops, tourist routes, taxi, etc.)
■ Be able for any guest requests and answer the reservations that enter via Booking.
■ answering questions
■ Capability of solving problems → deal with complaints, issues, etc.
■ accompany the client to his cabin / tree house
○ We offer: uniform, continuous training, activities with the rest of the staff (team building) and food. Immediate incorporation. Salary: 2.350bs (313€)
○ Personal skills: customer service skills, sensitivity and understanding, pay
● Housekeeper (or Housekeeping Supervisor)
○ Requirements: high level diploma or equivalent preferred, knowledge of cleaning and sanitation with green cleaning products. Minimum experience of 2 years in hospitality industry. Address close to the company or with flexibility to move. Level of native Spanish and B2 level of English, French and German will be valued.
○ Functions:
■ Organization and customer service in cleaning
■ Schedule tasks and responsibilities of each staff member and ensure they complete the job satisfactorily
■ Create a daily room report (regarding the occupation, stayovers, etc.)
■ Coordinate this department with others in the hotel. (Front Desk, F&B)
■ Guide and train new employees
■ Do inventory
■ Suggest options to the hotel manager to improve room services.
■ Inspect and control the facilities and rooms
■ Be in charge of laundry → Control of washing processes, set-up of rooms and common areas, cleaning, ironing of uniforms, tablecloths, linen, etc.
○ We offer: uniform, continuous training, activities with the rest of the staff (team building) and food. Immediate incorporation. Salary: 2.370bs (316€)
○ Personal skills: teamwork, attention to detail, customer focus, high listening and communications skills, adaptability, leadership skills, planning and organizing, high level of energy and friendly
● Chambermaid
○ Requirements: Housekeeping training course in hotel accommodations, knowledge of cleaning and sanitation with green cleaning products. Minimum experience of 2 years in hospitality industry. Address close to the company or with flexibility to move. Level of native Spanish and basic English will be valued.
○ Functions:
■ Keep the cabins, tree houses, common areas and the different dependencies thereof in a perfect state of cleanliness and order.
■ Change of bed set up in the rooms. (If requested, turndown service)
■ Supply the bedrooms with the corresponding toiletries (ecological), as well as hotel documents and other accessories and amenities.
■ Keep rooms and service areas in optimal conditions.
■ Carry out ironing and laundry for guests and employees uniforms.
■ Prepare, bring and collect the materials and products needed for the cleaning and maintenance of rooms and common and internal areas.
■ Prepare the rooms for meetings, conventions, etc.
■ Clean the areas and carry out auxiliary tasks.
■ Refill the rooms with the adequate amenities
■ Fill models and daily reports. (From beginning until end of the journey)
■ Organization and execution of tasks in the established time
■ Good customer service and respond to the requests
■ Notification to the housekeeper about any room diligence so they can call the maintenance service.
○ Personal skills: teamwork, attention to detail, customer focus, high listening and communications skills, adaptability, leadership skills, planning and organizing, high level of energy and friendly.
According to that, the following table has been created to gather all the salaries in general for our staff in regards of wages monthly and per year.
Table 36. Net Salary for the staff
Source: Own Source
Regarding the “Social Security Rate” in Bolivia, it is important to state that the adequate percentage value is 22% for employees and 15% for companies. So, in this case, what has been calculated is the Net Salary as seen in the table above. By multiplying the gross salary and the total salary per 22% and then, the result of it multiply it per 15%; it is achieved a total of 643€
of SS for companies the first month of Net Salary. Thus, represents expenses for us that are needed to be paid together with the total Net Salary result.
6.3. Human Resource Policy: selection, management, compensation
For Alwa Eco hotel, the satisfaction, training and professional development of each employee come first. The organizational structure of the hotel is horizontal which means that among all the employees we work as a team. We all share suggestions, experiences, feedback and knowledge to keep a united team and therefore offer better customer service.
● Selection
For the selection of staff our preferences will be local and national talent. Regarding the job position it will be published in various job search platforms (Trabajopolis, Opción Empleo, Option, Acción trabajo etc.), in newspapers and in the employment exchange program of tourism and hospitality universities. Therefore, people applying for each position should contact us by email or phone. These people will then be invited to an interview with the hotel director and her partner.
During the selection process, the atmosphere we want to transmit closeness and receptive. So, that the candidate can feel free to fearlessly ask about working conditions, wages, benefits and others. People applying must be able to explain themselves, answer questions with confidence, talk about their work experience, motivations, studies and goals. In this way, the selectors will know if this person shares the same values of the eco hotel.
Once the interviews are over, there will be a selection of the best candidates that we consider to be suitable for the job. To finish we will communicate directly with the chosen applicants and we will agree on a day to sign the contract.
Then, the terms of the contract will be explained in detail in addition to the work requirements that have already been explained, and your wages and compensation will vary depending on the job, hours and days worked, vacations, etc. We will offer an unlimited contract and candidates must pass a 3-month trial period except for subcontracted employees. During those months, the company and employees may terminate the agreement without any implied penalty. The clauses section will depend on the country in relation to the regulations and legislation established for the "Hospitality Industry", as well as the legislation established for the employee.
Therefore, this aspect is related to the protection of indigenous communities, against racism, decolonization, cultures, languages, among others. If at any time there is an accident during the working day, it will be covered and paid by the hotel.
In terms of free time, the periods provided will depend on the following reasons such as vacation, sick leave, pregnancy, etc. To cover these people there will be substitutes who will do
Christmas, New Years, Carnival, etc. will be respected by the hotel. [See Annex nº9 on holidays in Bolivia].
Regarding subcontracted companies and individuals the hotel will work closely with them. They will also pass an interview to learn about their work experience and personal and professional skills. Decide if we will collaborate and negotiate payments and commissions. If the occupancy rate and the demand for services increases throughout the years, it would be possible to hire them and make them part of the eco hotel staff.
Trainings
The hotel managers (Michelle and Maria) will maintain close and continuous communication with their employees. For us, it is important that our team receive training to keep abreast of new trends in tourism, expand their knowledge and offer a better service. That is why Alwa Eco Hotel has thought about the following formations for the team:
- Hotel operational training to guarantee a high-quality service.
- Every time there is a new employee there will be a small welcome meeting that will be organized by the hotel staff.
- Talks on sustainability, responsible tourism, care and respect for the local community and local heritage.
- Reinforcement with language classes, especially English, French and German.
- Informative and practical class on the use of ecological cleaning products.
- Talks and dynamic activities on gender equality - Attendance at tourism fairs
● Compensations
The compensation process will be agreed with the hotel director and her partner. In terms of seniority, we will reward our most loyal employees with an 8% bonus on their annual salary every four years. The following table represents this explanation.
Table 37. Bonus for employees
Source: Own Elaboration
7. Financial Plan
7.1. Financial hypothesis / assumptions
The assumptions to consider are for the first 5 years. That includes the income of which are:
income from rooms from the 20 rooms available with a minimum capacity of 2 people and maximum of 4 people, income from restaurant and bar offer F&B that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner; with a capacity of 60 people, and the other income, including workshops, activities and adventure activities.
The following tables show that total income for the first year (1.547.969€) is low compared to the following years. Beginning in the second year, income gradually increases.
Of the operating expenses, the costly ones are the marketing expenses (Sales & marketing) due to booking fees and other commercial expenses. And for F&B the expenses are expensive because the restaurant and the bar will be open almost all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The other expenses come from human resources (employee wages), room expenses and operating expenses. [See Annex 11 to see full excel]
Table 38. Main hypothesis and assumptions
Source: Own Source
7.2. Project financing: needs and sources
Alwa Eco hotel LLC. requires an investment of 761.553€. It will be financed by shareholders who will contribute 36.553€, the crowdfunding campaign that will raise 700.000€ and a loan to the bank of 25,000€. The total investment consists of: land (30.000€), construction (314.975€), applications (1.149€), FF&E (95.000€), legal aspects (429€) and initial working capital (50.000 €).
The construction will be amortized in 25 years and the FF&E will be amortized in 10 years. [See Annex 10 for more detail].
The loan will be paid in 10 years and it has an interest of 4.5%.
Table 39. Initial Investment and finance
Table 40. Loan payment
Source: Own Source
7.3. Financial statements forecast
Regarding the Profit and Loss account this is a financial statements forecasts for the first 5 years.
The first year the total net profit is 660.131 €, which allows to pay the debt (quote) because the Ebitda is higher than the quote (903.399€ > 3.625€). In the following years, an increase in Ebitda is observed, which means that our business is profitable since it represents the gross operating profit calculated before the deductibility of financial expenses.
Due to the increase in occupancy ratio, income from F&B, adventure activities, workshops and other activities. A slight increase in income is observed in the following years.
Table 41. P&L
Source: Own Source
The balance sheet forecast shows the first total year of assets and liabilities and equity of 1.419.184€, based on treasury and equity. There are no short-term liabilities only long-term.
This is positive since the non-current liabilities provide liquidity to the company and allow that capital to be used in new investments and to make it grow.
What refers to the treasury results, it is shown that from the second year (2.146.834€) to the following ones the treasury is higher which means; the economic outlook is better.
We also note that our net fixed asset is low in the fifth year. That is why we propose to make a long-term investment in non-current assets from the sixth year. The investment could be in furniture, IT system, etc.
Table 42. Balance Sheet
Source: Own Source
Cash flow refers to the net inflows and outflows of money from the company. The cash flow over 5 years is then calculated, with the information in the previous tables of income, expenses and amortization. It is important to note that the corporate tax rate to be paid is 25% on profits.
Table 43. Net cash flow and accumulated over 5 years.
Source: Own elaboration
7.4. Feasibility analysis
ROE (Return on Equity) is an indicator measuring the rentability over the total capital invested.
It appears so that the results obtained are positive and it is higher than the minimum profitability. So, in accordance to that the possible “shareholders” may keep on investing and probably it may attract other entrepreneurs as well to invest. The profitability in regards of percentages is higher than the minimum profitability required by the shareholders
Table 44. ROE (return on equity)
Source: Own elaboration
ROA (Return on Assets) is an indicator referring to the efficiency of the total assets to measure the profitability of the company. In relation to the table it is shown that the “roa ratio” is much higher than the minimum that is 5%. So, when asking for financing with the bank loan because they value positively the company. There will not be any inconvenient from them to provide it to us.
Table 45. ROA (return on assets)
Source: Own Elaboration
We have to say that our leverage ratio is negative. That is as it is seen in the tables above the ROE is lower than the ROA. This means that our average cost of the debts we have are higher than the economic rentability we have. So, what it can be said is that the relation between the two ratios what does not interest us is to get into debts from the point of view of the financial profit, because to be in debt would end up harming us.
ROE = ROA + L (ROA -i)
L: leverage ratio → liabilities / net
i: financial cost of the debt → debts / financing / liabilities L: (ROA - i): leverage effect
“As the leverage ratio increases, meaning that as we are getting more into debts, the roe decreases.”
So, with these ratios we have enough to conclude that the capacity of our assets to generate renting is much higher than the 5%, which is positive. But, the roe is lower than “ROA” which means it is not convenient for us to get into debts.
We consider more important the information the “ROA” is providing us for the fact that the ROE does not consider the “leverage ratio” and for “ROA”; the focus is on give the general vision of the company without considering the other financing sources.
8. Legal Aspects
In this section, what is important to consider are the legal aspects which are important regarding the factors that have to be analysed when developing a new business. It is important to consider the procedures that may affect either directly or indirectly the company. The legal aspects have to be related to the country’s legal system in accordance to the local and national legislations as well as specific features, among others.
8.1. Legal format and structure
First, the Law Nº1788, “Ley de Organización del Poder Ejecutivo” and its Regulation Order Nº24588, The Ministry of Exterior Commerce and Investment; is the organism in charge of establishing politics and legislations for the development and promotion of national tourism.
Thus, in relation to the law nº2074 “Ley de Promoción y Desarrollo de la Actividad Turística en Bolivia” which presents the several tourist establishments understood as offering accommodation services to tourists, for a period not lower than a pernoctation. Also, classify the several tourist accommodations into categories in accordance to the services and activities provided.
In our case, our company will be established and taxed in Bolivia. There are several legal formats to be considered when it comes to the size, sector, features of a business. In terms of size, ownership, partnership, social capital and responsibility the more suitable legal form for our entity Alwa Eco hotel will be a Limited liability company (LLC) “Sociedad Limitada”. This type of society LLC refers to a social reason or denomination which the responsibility goes to the