Guests Complaining about Waiting Too Long for Elevators Case Study Guests Complaining about Waiting Too Long for Elevators Guests at a busy eight-story, four-star hotel are constantly complaining about having to wait too long for the elevator. At 8:00 a.m., some of the elevators are in use by the housekeeping department, whose associates are going up to begin work on the guest rooms. At the same time, room service has an elevator blocked off to serve in-room breakfasts because the kitchen and the banqueting departments are using the service elevators. Then, at about 10:30 a.m., the housekeepers use the elevators to go down for their morning break. The general manager recognizes your potential and asks you to come up with suggestions to take care of the problem/challenge. Discussion Question What suggestions do you have to remedy the situation described? Trends in Communication and Decision Making Courtesy of Dr. Greg Dunn, Senior Lecturer & Managing Director, University of Florida, Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute Maintain a Solid Business Reputation. In today’s connected, social media–prevalent world, it is as important as ever to maintain a solid and positive business reputation. Public comments and observations, both positive and negative, can be captured and shared in real time to a global audience. The status and reputation of a hospitality business is not only evaluated through articles in the popular press or on review sites such as TripAdvisor—the potential market reach is much greater. With realtime, global reach of social media, it is important for businesses to always represent their company and industry positively. “Social is Mobile” is a new saying which emphasizes how important it is to create great experiences, which ultimately result in great reviews. Just one negative review can impact a company and guest perceptions very quickly. Today’s management must be able to handle all situations with an active, responsive, and positive outlook and with their customers’ best interests in mind. Ignoring comments and social media postings is not an appropriate strategy in business reputation management. Integrated Marketing Communications. When marketing in hospitality, one of the most important tasks is for businesses to remain consistent in messaging across all communication channels. This includes taking an integrated approach to marketing and communications. For instance, a business shouldensure that all ofthe information and content on its website andapplications, as well as on traditional, digital, and social media platforms, are consistent. The use of supplier-based or customer-based video continues to increase in use and popularity among hospitality organizations. When done properly, video clips and campaigns on digital and social media have proven to be very successful. Many videos provide new information and perspective to a business’s experience, and the best videos connect with guests. Guest or visitor videos shared on social media can prove that the experience a business presented was actually true as advertised. Ethics in the Hospitality Industry. Unfortunately, there continues to be a significant amount of discussion regarding ethical practices in the hospitality industry. Companies and managers face accusations of theft, harassment, negligence, and discrimination thatcan result in costly and public cases and lawsuits. Since the right ethical decision is not always clear, it is important for managers to gain a better understanding of the many ethical issues facing the hospitality industry. Understanding the ethical issues is just one aspect; hospitality managers also have the responsibility of maintaining the highest level of services, guest satisfaction, and optimal return on investment. Employee Satisfaction Leads to Guest Satisfaction. One of the most, if not the most, important assets of the hospitality industry are the employees. It is imperative for businesses to take great care of their employees. This includes the interview process, training, listening to them, and much more. It is the role of the manager and management team to understand what the employees think; how they perceive the culture, goals, and missions; what they think of the working environment; and overall, how satisfied they are with their jobs. Research has proven that higher levels of employee satisfaction can lead to higher levels of guest satisfaction and firm profitability. New Decision-Making Models. In many cases, people are hired into a hospitality business for their exceptional analytical and decision-making skills. Although this mostly affects managers, all staff have to be able to make decisions. Having a model for decisionmaking can ultimately help the business succeed. The first part of this model should deal with defining the problem. What is the issue, and are we capable of taking care of this problem on our own? The next part is to think about expertise. Decisionmaking often deals with thinking critically rather than consulting an expert. Next, it is important to look at the evidence, and finally, it is important to make a final decision. Improved Hospitality Consumer Insights. The saying goes, “Solid insights drive solid strategy.” Top hospitality companies understand the value of solid consumer research and insights. In order to better understand hospitality consumer decisionmaking, it is imperative that we learn more about some of the choices individuals and groups make. There are several types of consumer decisions we research in hospitality. One decision theory centers on consumer financial allocation and trade-off analysis,which involves the study of how consumers budget and allocate their spend on various hospitality products and services and the related benefits received. Otherresearchers have focused on studying consumer brand and style decisions that involve consumer review and screening of specifications of the goods or services provided. This research goes into observing how a customer evaluates the value and importance of a hospitality brand and the factors that drive decisions on which brands to purchase. Divergent Market Segmentation. As the Gen Y and Millennials continue to evolve as strong consumer groups, hospitality organizations will continue to be challenged in ways to successfully serve all market segments. For instance, as each generational cohort matures and their lifestyles evolve, their spending and travel habits typically also start to change. To attract more mature travelers, hospitality organizations may have to offer some older, experienced, or budget-conscious travelers (such as those falling in the Gen X, Boomer, and Mature segments) discounts, more value, and premium offers. On the other hand, to attract younger consumers (such as Millennials and Gen Y), hospitality organizations may have to offer experiences that include fast connectivity, high tech solutions, and novel approaches to mature products and services. We are now faced with five very different groups of travelers, each of which have unique needs and wants. Hospitality organizations will continue to be pressed to find ways to appeal to and serve each segment. Innovative Technology. Hospitality organizations will need to continue to invest in technology to help improve the guest experience, but they must also make smart investments. With limited budgets, hospitality organizations can’t afford to try every new technology. They must upgrade to technologies that have been proven to add to revenues and reduce costs. For instance, hospitality organizations are offering mobile check-ins as they realize that seamless connectivity across platforms and devices are no longer the future—they are the present. Today, mobile apps are being used as everything from a digital concierge to accessing big data. Geo-location can make it easy to sell guests something that is literally right in front of them. Some hospitality organizations have developed their own apps that send offers toguests to do everything related to eating, playing, and shopping. Additionally, monitoring guest use of the Internet relative to bandwidth can provide a different data set, perhaps one that will drive down theever-increasing costs of providing ridiculous levels of said bandwidth. Most importantly, when looking at the face of a changing consumer today, technology innovation is paramount. Case Study: Effective Communication & Decision Making Strategies Grading Guide HM/370 Version 4 Hospitality Management Copyright Copyright © 2017 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. University of Phoenix® is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft®, Windows®, and Windows NT® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix® editorial standards and practices. Case Study: Effective Communication & Decision Making Strategies Grading Guide HM/370 Version 4 Individual Assignment: Case Study: Effective Communication & Decision Making Strategies Purpose of Assignment The purpose of the assignment is to help students evaluate and recommend effective communication and decision-making strategies in a real world scenario. Students explore multi-departmental communication issues and effective decision-making processes. Resources Required Introduction to Hospitality Management, Ch. 17 Grading Guide Content Met Partially Met Not Met Total Available Total Earned 7 #/7 Partially Met Not Met Comments: The student defines effective communication and why it is important for both management teams and employees. The student explores key communication concepts that can be used to resolve multidepartmental problems, including recommended methods or approaches to use. The student proposes solutions and key considerations involved in their decisionmaking process. The student suggests best practices for avoiding interdepartmental challenges in the future. The paper is 700 to 1,050 words in length. Writing Guidelines The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page, and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-level requirements. Met Comments: 2 Case Study: Effective Communication & Decision Making Strategies Grading Guide HM/370 Version 4 Writing Guidelines Met Partially Met Not Met Total Available Total Earned 3 #/3 10 #/10 Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a reference page. Paragraph and sentence transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper. Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. Rules of grammar and usage are followed including spelling and punctuation. Assignment Total Additional comments: # Comments: 3 
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