Diversity Management in Hospitality and Tourism Industry: A Case Study of Marriott Hotels and Resorts

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Diversity Management
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Diversity Management
Introduction
Hospitality and tourism provide the impetus through which tourists, as well as
employees, can be immersed in unique cultural experiences. The outcome is that insights can be
attained concerning how other individuals lead their lives (Baum, 2015). By 2050, it is
forecasted that the minority groups residing in America will have formulated a major part of the
locally available population. Currently, Hispanics account for 40 million individuals in the
population whereas Arizona is indicated to be among the states that will be heavily populated by
minority populations by 2027. The dynamics are also evident in the hospitality and tourism
industry where the workforce constitutes of individuals from backgrounds which are diverse.
Moreover, 59.7million guests are received In the U.S from different nations (Vassou, Zopiatis &
Theocharous, 2017). The research aims at evaluating different aspects of diversity relevant to the
industry that deals with hospitality and tourism with regards to the views offered by clients and
employees. More specifically, the practices adopted at Marriot Hotels and Resorts will be
analyzed.
The areas of diversity which are relevant to the tourism and hospitality business from an
employee viewpoint
Diversity heralds innovation among employees. Employees whose backgrounds are
diverse often have different styles that they rely on for the completion of the tasks designated to
them (Sheehan, Grant & Garavan, 2018). Their interaction provides an environment in which
feedback can be offered resulting in unique ideas. Other workers might have the experience
necessary for the execution of the concepts newly developed. For example, Marriott was ranked

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among the most creative as well as innovative companies. The company’s endeavors
commenced when it was integrated with Starwood Hotel and Resorts. The outcome was the
acquisition of over 6000 hotels which are located in more than 240 nations (Madera, Dawson,
Guchait & Belarmino, 2017). The opportunity resulted in a situation from which clients would
enjoy unique concepts as a result of being part of the offered loyalty programme.
Employees indicate that diversity improves their overall productivity. For companies
such as Marriot Hotels and Resorts, this has paved the way for the extensive support offered to
employees regardless of the differences evident in their culture or even background. The
engagement among organizational employees often depicts an increased improvement when the
environment is inclusive of individuals irrespective of their cultures. According to Kalargyrou &
Costen (2017), companies which manage their racial or even ethnic effectively reported a 35%
increment in their financial returns annually.
The vast regions in which organizations operate pave the way for language barriers.
Such hurdles present obstacles where an enterprise decides to expand (Sakdiyakorn &
Wattanacharoensil, 2018). Diversity is indicated as a source which champions for economic
empowerment through the incorporation of the efforts of individuals from different nationalities.
For Marriot, this has resulted in the expansion of the company's footprint globally. Moreover, the
company's determination is evident with its intent to guarantee a positive cultural legacy which
emanates from working with the communities living locally. In locations such as Haiti, locals are
encouraged to apply for over 200 positions available in the establishment (Madera, Dawson &
Neal, 2018). The outcome is that an impetus is offered to ascertain interactions with an extensive
client base.

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Client viewpoint on diversity
Guests frequenting facilities offering hospitality and tourism-related services indicate an
improvement in respect to their overall experience (Malik, Madappa & Chitranshi, 2017). This is
because their needs are catered for by employees who are not only attentive but also vigilant. For
example, the guests who prefer the Marriot indicate that the relationship that the enterprise has
with its clients is often given a priority. The implication is that new benefits can be seamlessly
offered to clients upon request or part of the general package (Sheehan & Anderson, 2015).
Clients can be informed of events such as wine tasting on a private basis or even museum tours.
In addition, they can rely on the services of an efficient team to facilitate the activities that they
may undertake at a given destination.
The challenges that clients encounter are resolved by relying on a diverse array of
solutions. The needs evident among clients can be customized for solutions that would result in
reviews which are positive to be obtained (Madera et al., 2018). The Marriot caters to clients
from different global regions. The programme used by the company indicated that clients
preferred seamless communication to ensure that their needs were adequately catered for. The
result was the redesign of the apps commonly used by Marriot (Singal, 2014). Hence, guests
could communicate with various hotels concerning their preferences using their mobile handsets
before getting to their respective destinations and in the course of their stay.
Clients frequenting various hospitality or tourism related facilities noted the efforts made
to ensure that the services offered were personalized to increase the value offered (Hsiao, Auld &
Ma, 2015). Team diversity communicates the enterprise’s need to ascertain exceptional