Observations and Analysis in Hotel & Hospitality Management

This article provides observations and analysis in hotel & hospitality management, including a service observation paper, industry interview paper, and operator/owner P&L review. It covers topics such as preparing for interviews, analyzing profit and loss statements, and service observations in hotels. The article is relevant for students and professionals in the hospitality industry.

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 1
Hotel & Hospitality Management
Name
Institution

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 2
SERVICE OBSERVATION PAPER
I visited The Hampton Inn, a three-star hotel located at 152 McKnight Road, Pittsburgh,
in the late afternoon at 6 pm. This was a time when most people were coming for supper in the
hotel or they had business meetings and dates.
At the front desk was a lady who was very jovial and happy almost like she knew
everyone that she was addressing, her behavior seemed casual though official in how she was
addressing the guests (Kendall, 2014), she had an associate who seemed busy in her own chores
while she addressed the guests asking them where they would wish to go to, they were then
given the direction but most people just went on their own.
On my way to the lobby I noticed that most of the guests who went in to the hotel owned
vehicles indicating their high economic status (Parte-Esteban, 2015) and rarely would people
without cars go in, most of them seemed confident of where they were heading to next and the
few who looked lost were quickly guided by some associates in uniform (Flower, 2015). Well at
first a man also thought I was lost and came to me asking whether I would be fine and I told him
that I was good.
The atmosphere of the was hilarious with mixed aroma of different tastes of food, the
place was just at room temperature neither warm nor cold with a special kind of silence even
though guests were coming in, there was a soft music playing in the hotel that could be heard
just from a far, the view of being inside The Hampton Inn Marriott from inside was better than I
had thought form the outside there were comfortable seats associates with uniform and there was

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 3
also a high-speed internet that I was allowed to access indicating their advancement in
technology (Melián, 2016).
I noticed that most of them had a smiling face every time they were addressing the guest
and they were very jovial, but in some, there was a clear fatigue even as they moved quickly
form points to point, also noticed that it was almost like each table had a member to cater for its
needs. In terms of genuinely of their service, I observed a few male associates who seemed to be
just going through their normal chores without happiness but the ladies seemed very jovial and
happy.
I liked how the guests were welcomed with a greeting to a few and mostly by just the
word of mouth, each time they were addressing the guests they were standing upright and keen
giving the guest attention and the impression that all their attention is on them, in some scenario I
could see them writing don which was a good sign.
What I did not like about the associates is how some of them took time to attend to some
visitors especially young visitors who I had observed walking into the hotel, I observed a case
when some guests had to wait to be served while more than one associates attended to a table of
visitors who were three in number, it showed contempt to the young teenager (Santoro, 2015)
who left after some time without being served.
There was very minimal time when the associates interacted for more than even a minute
since they would be moving from place to place, when they conversed it was for a very small
time which seemed like they were making inquiries on particular issues or they needed help of
some kind the only time they interacted an di noticed ill behavior is when the two of them

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 4
attended to a table leaving two teenagers un attended, also there was a time when two associate
ladies met and they started hugging and talking like they had not seen each other for a long time,
this took al almost five minutes making a guest very uncomfortable though for me it seemed like
she was welcoming her friend back after a long time dealing with something.
They did not discourage movement in observing the place since I was also not in a group
so maybe to them when moving around I looked like a guest, I had the chance to go and view
their gym, pool but I didn’t get into the bar I just observed it from the outside.
I had an experience worth having again maybe next time while making dinner in the
restaurant or going to swimming in their pool, my ideas on making the hotel better would just be
that every guest is giving the same special treatment of feeling important regardless of how much
you want to buy or to acquire from the hotel but overall if I were to rate their performance I
would give them an A.
My personal key attribute that I normally look at in any hotel service to determine their
path towards success in my perspective is good planning in hospitality, to have great staff its god
to have a good plan of how each activity will unfold from behavior to presentation to meet the
client or guest’s expectation (Pulakos,1995).
The Industry Interview Paper
Preparation
While pursuing a career in the hospitality field specifically as a hotel manager I need to
prepare myself adequately for interviews (Hazzan, 2014) in the organization that I will join

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 5
whether during the internship or after graduation (Rosenthal, 2016). In my evaluation and
preparation for the interviews to come in my career life, I undertook a preparation exercise and I
started by looking at the questions asked in the interview. I, therefore, research in the hospitality
sector to determine the current and frequently asked questions during the interview. I came up
with the following questions:
Tell me more about yourself? Who are you?
What are your strengths?
What do you know about our company and why do you want to work in our
organization?
Why should we hire you?
What is your prior experience in the hospitality industry?
What challenges do you expect to face in the hospitality industry and do you have any
goals in your career?
If you get the job, what is your input on the growth of this company?
Where do you see yourselves in the next ten years?
What are your weaknesses?
Do you have any question to ask us or any clarifications for us?

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 6
This is the frequently asked questions and I got them from asking those working in the
hospitality profession and form the internet databases.
Interview
I then went to my friend in the class and then gave him the questions a day earlier so that
the next day he would come back familiar with the questions for us to do a mock interview. We
first identified a hotel that we would use for the mock interview (Gagnon, 2015). If I was
applying for the hotel manager of that organization. During the interview that took almost an
hour my friend took notes on some of my strengths and weaknesses as we had agreed and after
we parted ways he sent me the notes through email here are the strengths and weaknesses during
the interview:
Strengths
I spoke confidently with positive energy during the interview
There was the maintenance of eye contact with the interviewer
I was on time for the interview
I did not lie in the questions that I was asked
Weaknesses
I did not do enough research in the organization I used for my mock interview

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 7
I was fidgeting in the chair
I expressed my fatigue during the interview by paying less attention to some questions
I did not know the credential of the company in terms of the management
I did not have detail on how to answer the question
Post evaluation
After the interview, I sought to move to the next stage where I tried to contact my uncle
so that he could interview me during the weekend or one of the evenings but I couldn’t find him
so we arrived at the decision that we could carry out the interview in skype. We had the interview
for also about thirty minutes since he reduced them in a way, after that, I sent him the post-
evaluation question which was on:
Communication skills: How did I speak during the interview, did I master the use of
grammar, did I speak confidently, and did I answer the questions correctly?
Research evaluation: did I do research according to how the interview was conducted
Problem-solving skills: Did I seem to possess the problem-solving skills that the
organization wanted
Decision-making skills: did I possess decision-making skills in terms of priority, am I a
good decision maker in terms of my goals for the future (Hartwig, 2014).

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 8
Behavior: what was my behavior during the interview, did I possess any uncourteous act,
were my nonverbal interaction during the interview likely to affect in any way the job interview.
Flexibility: was I flexible in terms of answering the questions when they are changed and
asked differently
Intelligence: was I intelligent in terms of research and questions that would be asked in
relation to work
Creativity: was I creativity yet honest in my answers (Shang, 2008)
Self-evaluation
With reference to the answers I came up with what I need to be successful in my first
interview, first I need to do a thorough research on the company especially the management or
the relevant management in a large company (Turner III, 2010). I should have good
communication skills which entail honesty and speaking while maintaining eye contact, I should
avoid fidgeting on the chair rather I should sit upright. When asked to speak on my strength I
should point out the relevant ones to the jobs that I want the same applies to when asked about
my weaknesses I should be honest and realistic and avoid giving a vice that could lead to loosing
if the job opportunity (Godfrey, 2018). Confidence is very important and is always tested by the
interviewer hence I should answer the questions with confidence and with command of language
which entails good rammer.
I also learned the importance of carrying out a mock interview (Lindsay, 2015) because
the mock interview helped me gain more confidence when being interviewed by my uncle.

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 9
Lastly, I learned that regardless of the interview is important and key in my life there is a need
for being relaxed and composed in my actions since nonverbal cues have a lot of expression and
interpretation in the interview (Rizzo et al 2016).
Operator/Owner P &L Review
A profit and loss statement can be analyzed in several ways depending on the situation,
there can be the perspective of the management and the perspective of the owner. The
management looks at a profit and loss statement critically since they are the ones in charge of the
operation (Vallen, 2009), on the other hand the owner looks at in terms of investment and its
returns thus the management must be answerable to the questions from the owner below I am
going to analyse the profit and loss statement from this perspective (Olszak, Pipień, Kowalska &
Roszkowska, 2017).
The owner is interested in the profit of the company. As in the Doubletree Williamsburg,
the firm has made profits for rooms between January 2017 and November 2017. The rooms
generated an increasing trend in profits from January to August when the profits started to drop
and increase again. This is a matter of concern for both management and the owners. However, it
is a more concern to the owners than managers. This is because the owners are more concerned
with the business making profits. This is because the management has a clear understanding of
why the price sometimes rises and fall as this could be due to long-term projects being
implemented and hence fewer profits at the present but more in the future.
In terms of foods, it is also observed in the Doubletree Williamsburg P&L that there
were profits made between January and November except February where there was a loss. This

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 10
means that the managers will be less concern about the loss in February than the owners. This is
because the loss could have been occasioned by more investment in February that would see
expenses rising above the revenue. However, to the managers, this is a good show as it would
yield subsequent profit in the subsequent months as seen.
In terms of beverage at the Doubletree Williamsburg, it can be observed that the firm
made profits all through. It was 57,784 in January and 271, 575 in November. This shows that
the firm is doing well and hence a concern for both managers and owners. To the managers, they
will be interested in beverage as this has ensured continuous profit. Therefore, they may need to
invest more in beverage business to make more profit and grow the company. This is an issues
that each money will want to consider in order to understand why there as a better performance
in beverage and the possible strategies they need to maximize on to ensure even better sales.
To the managers, this is also an issue because it means a cost-effective venture and hence
a plus to the owners of the business. The owners will also be concern when there is a continuous
increase in profits throughout the year. The managers are aware that the accounting department
might not disclose all the information or might overstate the figures to deceit them that the
business is making profits when in essence it does not. Therefore, the owner will be interested in
understand the sources of such profits and might even call in the external auditors to check on
the books of account to justify the figures appearing in the financial statement.
On the other hand, the Hampton Inn Pittsburg Limited Service Income & Expense
Statement, it can as well be analyzed in terms of management and owner’s perspective. In terms
of rooms, it can be observed that the firm made a profit of 1,823,942. This will be a concern for
owners and managers. The managers must be concerned and know why there was a profit and

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 11
the drivers of such profits while the owners want to know what can be done to increase the
profits.
The managers want to know what they can do best to improve the growth and expansion
of the firms and balance them off with the owners’ requirement for constant profits. This may
force the managers sometimes to engage in strategies which are a conflict with the owners, but
more beneficial into the future.
According to Hampton Inn Pittsburg Limited Service Income & Expense Statement, it
can be observed that the gross operating profit stands at 913,966 and that income before non-
operating income is 833,133. The EBITDA is 666,755 and EBITDA less replacement reserve is
666,755. This is a clear indication that the firm is doing well. This is because the firm is able to
pay for all the operating expenses and still left with huge profit. Thus, to owners of the business,
they will be interested in knowing what strategies the managers can use to ensure at least, such
profits is maintained. On the other hand, the business managers are concerned of the
sustainability of such higher profits while still thriving the stiff competition in the market.
Therefore, it is important for both managers and owners to try to be at par in terms of
understanding the profit and loss account. It is thus the responsibility of the managers to always
explain to the owners the strategies they take which have direct effects on the profit or loss of the
firm. This will ensure that business owners remain supportive and create enabling an
environment for long-term projects and growth of the business.

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 12
References
Flower, J. (2015). The international integrated reporting council: a story of failure. Critical Perspectives on
Accounting, 27, 1-17.
Olszak, M., Pipień, M., Kowalska, I., & Roszkowska, S. (2017). What Drives Heterogeneity of Cyclicality
of Loan-Loss Provisions in the EU?. Journal of Financial Services Research, 51(1), 55-96.
Gagnon, M., Jacob, J. D., & McCabe, J. (2015). Locating the qualitative interview: reflecting on
space and place in nursing research. Journal of Research in Nursing, 20(3), 203-215.
Hartwig, M., Granhag, P. A., & Luke, T. (2014). Strategic use of evidence during investigative
interviews: The state of the science. In Credibility Assessment (pp. 1-36).
Hazzan, O., & Nutov, L. (2014). Teaching and learning qualitative research≈ Conducting
qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 19(24), 1-29.
Kendall, L. (2014). The conduct of qualitative interviews: Research questions, methodological
issues, and researching online. In Handbook of research on new literacies (pp. 151-168).
Routledge.

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 13
Lindsay, S., McDougall, C., Sanford, R., Menna-Dack, D., Kingsnorth, S., & Adams, T. (2015).
Exploring employment readiness through mock job interview and workplace role-play
exercises: comparing youth with physical disabilities to their typically developing
peers. Disability and rehabilitation, 37(18), 1651-1663.
Melián-González, S., & Bulchand-Gidumal, J. (2016). A model that connects information
technology and hotel performance. Tourism Management, 53, 30-37.
Parte-Esteban, L., & Alberca-Oliver, P. (2015). Determinants of technical efficiency in the
Spanish hotel industry: regional and corporate performance factors. Current Issues in
Tourism, 18(4), 391-411.
Pulakos, E. D., & Schmitt, N. (1995). Experience‐based and situational interview questions:
Studies of validity. Personnel Psychology, 48(2), 289-308.
Rizzo, A. A., Lucas, G. M., Gratch, J., Stratou, G., Morency, L. P., Chavez, K., ... & Scherer, S.
(2016, April). Automatic Behavior Analysis During a Clinical Interview with a Virtual
Human. In MMVR (pp. 316-322).
Rosenthal, M. (2016). Qualitative research methods: Why, when, and how to conduct interviews
and focus groups in pharmacy research. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and
Learning, 8(4), 509-516.
Santoro, G. (2015). Evaluating performance in the hotel industry: An empirical analysis of
Piedmont. Journal of Investment and Management, 4(1-1), 17-22.

HOTEL & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 14
Shang, J. K., Hung, W. T., Lo, C. F., & Wang, F. C. (2008). Ecommerce and hotel performance:
three-stage DEA analysis. The Service Industries Journal, 28(4), 529-540.
Turner III, D. W. (2010). Qualitative interview design: A practical guide for novice
investigators. The qualitative report, 15(3), 754.
Vallen, G. K., & Vallen, J. J. (2009). Check-in check-out: Managing hotel operations.