Chapter 2

Literature Review

2.1. Introduction
Pertinent literature gives good theoretical frame work for a research to persuade analysis
and recommendations. This chapter describes the literature relate to hotel refurbishment
construction managemem, construction team, communication. leadership and their
importance in building construction.

2.2

Importance of Hotel Rdurbishment

Hotel refurbishment is needed to keep the market share in hotel industry once in five to
seven years. This has come from changes in the demographics of the hotel market and
from innovations by niche operators.

There are three key areas in which hotels arc

responding to these changing expectations (Langdon and Everest 2002).

Room Size
In new developments 32m 2 is the minimum room size (Langdon and Everest.
2002).

Room Aesthetics
Hotel

guests

are

increasingly

design-conscious.

Design

is

the

key

differentiator in this market (Langdon and Everest 2002).

Room Quality
Demand for high levels of comfort and in-room service. derived particularly
from the European/Western market has led to substantial investment in the
fitting-out of guest rooms.

Extremely high quality bathrooms. high

performance air conditioning. extensive in room entertainment. IT facilities

and enhanced safety in line with international standards are all important to
keep the market in this industry.

.,,,

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2.3

Key Components of a Hotel Refurbishment

Hotel refurbishment projects are invariable budget-driven (Langdon and Everest. 2002)
and it has to fulfill several requirements such as client's vision and the constraints
imposed by the budget, time scale and condition of the building. Since the guest rooms
are the primary revenue generator. it becomes the principal focus of any refurbishment.

2.3.1

Guest Rooms

Following are the other components where the investment will focus on (Langdon and
Everest, 2002):

Creation of new rooms

Adding rooms immediately increases hotel revenue as well as the capital cost.

Adjusting room sizes

As part of a rebranding exercise, room sizes may be increased to
accommodate larger bathrooms and to provide more working and living
space. Existing structure and fenestration determine the practical extent to
which rooms can be remodeled.

Improving bathroom
Bathrooms are an important source of differentiation and present a great
opportunity lo introduce contemporary design themes. At present. glass.
natural stone and high-quality lighting are the preferred signature components.

Providing entertainment and IT

Hotels are now expected to equip guest rooms with CD and DVD facilities
and video games and sometimes TV s in bathrooms. On the IT front. the
emphasis is on the provision of intensive in-room facilities, broadband
internet and private DDI incoming phones. However the facilities depend on
the category ofthe hotel room (Eg: standard, luxury, semi luxury. and suite)

Increasing individuality
Some hoteliers' requirements are moving away from the provision of standard
rooms. using different layouts, interior design furniture and fittings to give
greater variety to repeat visitors.

Room amenities
8

2.3.2

Other Areas
Investment in other operational areas will be prioritized according to available budgets. It

is quite common for work in connection with non-revenue generating elements - such as
programmed maintenance of roof finishes - to be put on hold to allow other works to
proceed. Areas where investment is typically directed are as follows:

Front-of-house areas

Conference facilities
Conference f::tcilities are a valuable generator of revenue, in both city-centre
and out-of-town locations. In Sri Lanka these facilities are used for wedding
receptions. Facilities need to be configurable to a range of meeting room sizes
using moveable partitions and well-located power and control panels. It is
required the facility to control and manage extensive audiovisual and building
services installations remotely.

Back-of-house areas
During the refurbishments these areas usually are modified. This is important
as it improves staff productivity and working conditions.
Improvement of on-floor circulation

This typically includes the addition of new and larger lifts and changes to
corridor layouts to simplify access and orientation.

Recreational facilities

2.-t

Potential Problems in Hotel Refurbishment Projects

2.-t.l

Building Condition
Building condition is the major unknown associated with the hotel refurbishment

projects. Most of the hotels have expanded over the years and problems can be
encountered relating to differential movement. freestanding structures, and uneven floor
levels and complicated and often redundant service installations. Especially legacy of ad
hoc maintenance and an absence of drawings and other technical information can
complex the situation fmther.

2.4.2

Working in Occupied Building

Most hotels continue to operate during refurbishment retaining clients and key members
of statl, to minimize lo:ss of revenue. Working in phases increase cost because of the
works associated with high quality hoardings, isolation, diversion and resupply of
building services and other temporary works between phases.
Other key issues are:

Developing and maintaining a good working relationship v,ith the hotel management

team.
Speed. Working six or seven days a week and extended hours is often necessary to
minimize disruption and loss of revenue. Typically, a refreshment project involving
100-120 rooms can be done in 10-12 weeks; a more extensive rebranding scheme
may take 16-18 weeks.

Maintaining continuity of work. The co-ordination of multiple trades is highly

complex. particularly in bathrooms. where finishes and services trades are
concentrated. Maintaining the sequence is critical.

Providing safe. segregated access for guests, operatives and materials.

Restricting noisy and disruptive activities to daytime periods.

Coordinating service shut-downs.

Achieving certainty of completion, zero defects and compliance with statutory

requirements to permit immediate occupancy of guest rooms in accordance with the
program
(Source: http://www. build ing.co. uk)

2.4.3

Building Structures
The influence of existing structures on new room layouts and services distribution routes

is another area of potential risk. Restrictions on floor loadings. floor-to-ceiling heights

and the construction of ()penings can adversely affect the design of rooms and function
spaces. circulation and the installation of services and lifts.

10

2AA

Floor Plans
The f1oor plan and the arrangement of windows have a major int1uence on the potential to

re-plan guest rooms. It is not always possible to create consistently shaped and sized
rooms. This is a problem in refurbishment when preparing standardized rooms as part of
a global brand, but others see rooms with individuality as adding value. It will cost more
to fit out irregular rooms because standard designs for furniture, fittings and equipment
need to be adapted to fit the space.

2.4.5

Plant Rooms
Refurbishment projects often involve introducing more extensive and sophisticated

services. When rearranging and locating plant rooms, together with the existing plant
rooms within the limited availability of extra space in basements or on roofs may he a
constraint on the options available.

2.4.6

Services Distribution

The size and location of existing risers and horizontal distribution routes can he a source
of particular dit1iculty as the requirements for building services in hotels are enhanced.

2.4.7

Statutory Requirements

Enhanced requirements to upgrade the performance of the building fabric and services to
reduce carbon emissions are becoming an attractive even when refurbishing Hotels in Sri
Lanka. Further it is needed to reduce carbon emissions for achieving certification such as
Green Globe, ISO certification as \veil as go for competitions such as National
Productivity Award or Cleaner Production A ward etc,. In such cases some areas may
require particular attention during refurbishment include the thermal performance of the
fabric, air tightness, use of low-energy services and the sizing of mechanical plant.

2.5

Significance of Construction Management in Hotel Refurbishment Projects

The need for professionalism in construction management assumes special significance in

order to ensure that the huge resources invested in the refurbishment projects are
deployed efficiently for the benefit of the stake holders.

11

...

.,

Objectives and functions of construction management are listed by Gahlot & Dhir ( 1992)
as follows.

Completion the work within estimated budget and specified time

Evolving a reputation for high quality workmanship

Providing safe and satisfactory working conditions for all personnel and workers

Taking sound decisions

Motivation people to give of their best within their capacities

Creating organization that works as a team.

Therefore it can be summarized that the construction team. communication. leadership.

human relationship and scheduling are some of important factors particularly in hotel
refurbishment projects.

2.5.1

Construction Team for Hotel Refurbishment Projects

The construction team consists of client, engineer/architect, and contractor. The client
forms the team to serve his interests and to execute the project in the best and most
economical manner within the stipulated completion time.
Proper interaction between the construction team leads to the smooth and efficient
execution of any project. Change from that situation, in the hotel refurbishment projects it
is needed to have proper understanding of functions/activities of each team as \\ell as the
functions of hotel and hotel management play vital role in achieving speed. economy.
efficiency and quality in the refurbished hotel. Gahlot & Dhir. ( 1992) describes the
contractual relationships amongst constituents of the construction team graphically and it
\vas modified to relate for a hotel by client and support team as hotel management team.
Also in this figure 2.1 (a) describe if the client employed only one main contractor and
the main contractor to absorb specialized sub contractors. The main contractor has to
manage the project and directly responsible to the client or hotel management team.
The figure 2.1 (b) describe if the client has taken the responsibility of allocating
specialized subcontractors and the project management is done by client representative or

12

...

hotel management team. There the sub contractors do not responsible for the total project
but to his specific job

L----------------

------------~I
., ------------

I
~-

-----------.

o6o

- - - Connartual rt>l.ltionship
----- Working rel<ttionship

--------""

- - - Contractuill relationship
----- Working relationship

----------~--------

6600
Contr.Ktors

Figure 2.1 (b) Construction Team

13

...

2.5.2

Communication, Leadership and Human Relations

Communication channels between parties are dependent upon how the project team

IS

comprised and the procurement route selected. It is also dependent on upon the particular
stages of the project.

Emmitt and Gorse (2003) quoted from the Building Industry

Communication publication (1966) ''uncertainty exists between team members. and

outside the formally constituted team, from those not directly involved (planners. public
bodies. pressure groups. etc) and from resources (the availability and the consistency of
labour and materials)".
It is when the contract nears completion that stresses are most likely to be highest as
pressures on time. cost and quality mount, the deadline of ensuring practical completion.
The very diverse group of people must be managed effectively at ditTerent stages in the
project" s life. In particular. it is where groups and or individuals interact so that there is
no loss in the quality of information transmitted from one group to another. Therefore the
project manager must
be

Client Body

of group

a\varc

and

dynamics
responsi bi 1itics

the

throughout

Interested
parties

Legislative
Bodies

project's quite diverse

stages.
Communication
among

construction

team is very important

for a success of a

Professional
Consultants

Contractor and
sub-contractors

refurbishment project
as the

Tht' naturt' of each group s

communiwtion influences the
succt'ss orfaiiure of o project

constructions

are carried out while

the

hotel

is

partly

Figure 2.2
functioning.

Influential Parties to the Building Project

Emmitt

and Gorse (2003) mentioned that the nature of the each group s communication
influences the success or failure of a project.
14

II..

Figure 2.2 shows influential parties involved to the building project. The challenges
facing the project team is to interact with the various parties in a positive manner to
ensure that the necessary information is produced and used successfully (Emmitt and
Gorse. 2003 ).

2.5.3 Communication Network and Leadership

Communication net work can be divided into two types, centralized and decentralized net
\vork. In centralized net works information flows to the hub of the net work (figure 2.3 ).
The central person controls communication and can perform the decision making task
alone. However, when dealing with simple tasks this type is good. When dealing with
large amounts of information the person at the centre of the network can become
saturated and hence overloaded with information and therefore will not perform well.

Structural Engineer
Architectural

Site staff
Material suppliers

Figure 2.3 Model of Ce][ltralized Network Occurring During the Construction Phase
(Source: Emmitt and Grose, 2003)

This model is better for communication to avoid delays of constructions projects and to
transfer information as formal line of communication are clear. those on the periphery are
avare of who to contact for information and decisions.

15

....

2.5A Outsourcing: a CommUtnication Challenge

Most of the hotel refurbishment projects main contractor undertakes overall responsibility
for the construction of the building, but most of the work will be sub-contracted
(outsourced) to smaller, more specialized contractors (Figure 2.3).
CliENT

nw cont<O<W undertakes the iespons;b;bty fo' the total wo'k package

MAIN CONTRACTOR

TI1~ main cO.ptracto~lb-contracts some v.;ork

TI1e main contractor sub-contract~ome

work packages for matedals ancUabour

paqkage for ~aterials aM labour separately

( laddm~~

t.h"ch.mif .11 -11HI

<"lee t1 ic .11
umtr .!ctur

1ont1 dC tor

l.1bour onl ,

e contractor mainta"'s greater responsibility for

m\anagement where woN< packages are separate

Pt<)du<h.!
nrdlel ial

<.HJlllher

Produch.md
m dteri.JI

PLmt.md
t>quipn10nt

Pl.mt .md
HjUipllH'Ill

~upplier

TI1e subcontractor may also break their work packages down and sub-contract them further

Figure 2.3 One Level of a Supply Chain

(Source: Emmitt and Gorse. 2003)

The network of contractors. sub-contractors and other bodies involved in major projects
is often very complex. Although. those at the head of the supply chain should haw
controlled of the products and services further down the chain. in practice this can be
difficult to achieve.
Every project the net\\-ork of supply chain tends to be unique. Clients and maJor
contractors are seeking to develop a more consistent set of suppliers whose services can
be repeatedly used on diJlerent projects.
16

In some cases contractors, sub contractors and suppliers keep good relationship in order
to tender for each contract such strategic alliances help to improve and stabilize the
supply chain.

2.5.5 Scheduling
Planning and scheduling is a process of fitting the work plan to a time frame indicating

the state and completion of each activity and the sequence in which the various activities
arc to be executed. This process is very important in hotel refurbishment projects to
execute the project without delay. The scheduling also can be used for monitoring the
progress of work.

2.6

Construction Delays
Delays in construction projects become a major concern of influential parties of the

construction project because these delays would lead disputes and claims economic
losses up to millions of dollars were suffered in some cases (Fong eta\, 2006).

Literature reveals that there is no previous studies have been carried out on causes
affecting the delaying of hotels refurbishment projects in Sri Lanka. Even in Sri Lanka
there are very few researches are carried out on construction delays.

However, there are number of studies have been carried out with regard to the delaying
factors in construction industry in all over the world (Ayaman. 2000: Koushki et aL
2005: Faradi and

El-Say1~gh. 2006; Sambasivan and Soon. 2007; Sweis eta\. 2008: Arain

and Pheng. 2005: Arain. et al., 2006: Fugar and Agyakwah-Baah. 2010) none has focused
critically on the hospitality industry related constructions.

Building industries in many countries have been increasingly recognizing the need for
more efficient and timely completion of projects. Often, a number of unexpected
problems and changes from original design arise during construction phase leading to
cost and overruns. Chan and Kumaraswamy ( 1996) have evaluated construction time

17

....

performance in the building industry. Based on the construction projects in Hong Kong
they have done a questionnaire survey to explore the reasons for the delay.

Aihinu and Odeyinka (2006) studied on construction delays and their causative effects in
Nigeria. They have identified several categories of factors and ranked them within those
categories. Based on those they have suggested useful information for construction
industry practitioners. policy makers, and for other involving parties by ranking the
e!lccts.
A comparative study of causes of time overruns in Hong Kong construction projects has
carried out by Kurnaraswami and Chan ( 1998). In their study they have categorized
effects to tv..o which are (a) the role of the parties in the construction industry and (b) the
type of projects. They have extended their study between Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and
Nigeria. Their results indicate that the five principal and common causes of delays arc:
poor site management and supervision', unforeseen ground conditions, low speed of
decision making involving all project teams', 'client -initiated variations and necessary
variations of works'.

Parallel to the above study Kurnaraswamy and Chan (1998) also studied on contributors
to construction delays. The result has revealed that improving productivity is a useful
approach to controlling delays. They have carried out this study using a questionnaire
based on 83 factors. They have drawn attention to some factors such as discerned
betv<een the group of clients, consultants and contractors in their study.

Assaf et. aL ( 1995) studied causes of delay in large building Construction projects in
Saudi Arabia. He has shown that the financial group of delay factors is the most
significant.

18

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UBRAP';

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Factors influencing the construction time of civil engineering projects in Malaysia has
studied Othman et aL (2006). In their research 244 projects were considered and used
multiple regression analysis to identify variables that had significant relationships with
construction time performance. Similar research was carried out by Alaghbari et.aL
(2007) to find the significant factors causing delay of building construction projects in
Malaysia. A questionnaire consisted of 31 factors was used which describes four major
categories of responsibility of -contactor factors. owner factors. consultant factors. and
external factors.

Many projects experience extensive delays and thereby exceed initial time and cost
estimates. Jordanian experiences were recorded by Odeh and Battaineh (200 1) in their
research on causes of construction delay: traditional contacts. Their findings were similar
to Chung and Kumaraswamy ( 1998) and categorized owner interference. inadequate
contractor experience, financing and payments. labour productivity. Slow decisionmaking. improper planning and subcontractors are amount top ten most important factors.

Cost schedule and quality are the main indicators of performance in construction
projects. Delaying factors of reconstruction in occupied buildings were studied by
McKim et.a1.,(2000) by using a questionnaire survey. They have done the survey
followed by the structured interviews with construction practitioners and project
participants to identify unique problems control the of reconstruction projects.

Fong et. aL (2005) have carried out a comprehensive study on fire services installation
related contributors of construction delays. They too carried out a questionnaire survey
and analyzed data by us.ng Relative Importance Index (R 11 ). In their research apart from
the economical considerations. clients intention, experience of the parties involved on site
coordination. project management and quality assurance too were identified as very
important factors in delaying construction project. In order to minimize the risk of a
probable construction delay, an effective monitoring and quality assurance system would
be required to control the construction progress. quality installing work. and materials
ordering and delivery.
19

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2.7

Delays in Hotel Refurbishment Projects in Sri Lanka

Similar to the construction projects the delays of hotel refurbishment projects. the losses
are not only quantitative but also qualitative as hotels loose the tourist market.
Refurbishements projects do not end with construction, but from there onwards many
more activities have to take place for revenue. Further, in a country like Sri Lanka most
of the refurbishments are targeted to the tourist seasons. However if the refurbishment
project has failed to meet the target dates the hoteliers loose revenue, which they have
targeted for the season. Since the refurbishment projects carried out while a part of the
hotel is functioning, the hotel management faces for embarrassing situations.

2.8

Identified Caused for Delaying Refurbishment Projects

With the literature review following caused were identified as some of the caused for
delaying construction projects. Mainly these causes can be categorized in to client
consultant. contractor related causes and others.

2.8.1

Client Related
Financial problems of the client, not having previous experience with similar projects.
not having good relationship with the project participants, restrictions and changes
imposed by the client to the project. Inadequate technical knowledge. problems with
the neighboring community and government organizations . executives bureaucracy .
delaying of client supply items are some of the passable causes identified as client
related causes for delaying construction projects.

2.8.2 Consultant Related

Incomplete project documents, built- ability of the given design by the consultant
accurate and speedy information provided. knowledge and previous working experience.
priority given to the project with timely approving of shop drawings, changes to the
original plans are some of the consultant related delaying causes identified.

20

2.8.3 Contractor Related

Poor site management lack of labour ,material and tools at the site, financial
problems, lack of experience, slowness in decision making, lack of coordination

of

sub-contractors , mistakes while construction are some of the contractor related

delaying causes identified with the literature review.

2.8A Other Causes

Not clearly understanding of contract conditions, existing laws and regulations,
problems related to statutory works, long procedure for getting approvals, Inadequacy
of the infrastructure ava[lable, unforeseen site condition , Poor weather conditions of
the site, Natural disasters, Political and economic instability of the country,
transportation delays identified as some of the possible causes for delaying
construction projects.

21
\,