Operational Issues in Hospitality Industry

This report discusses the operational challenges faced by the hospitality industry, with a focus on Hilton Hotel in London. It explores issues such as hiring and retaining staff, fluctuations in marketing trends, housekeeping issues, changing customer expectations, high cost of operations, data security, technological change, employee turnover, and increasing competition. The report also provides ways to overcome these challenges and improve operational efficiency.

OPERATIONAL ISSUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................4
Operational challenges in hospitality industry............................................................................4
Operational challenges for Hilton Hotel, London.......................................................................6
Customer’s experience at Hilton.................................................................................................8
Ways to overcome the operational challenges in the hospitality industry.................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

Executive Summary
The report was solely based on the hospitality industry on UK. There are many operational
challenges which are faced by the organisations in the hospitality industry in UK such as Hiring
and retaining the staff, Fluctuations in the marketing trends, Housekeeping issues, Change in the
customers’ expectations, High cost of operations, Data security, Technological change,
Employee Turnover and Increasing competition and these all are described in the report. This
will help the companies of the hospitality industry to make the strategies in prior to facing such
issues. Also, the same was applied to the hotel Hilton which is in London. Also, the experiences
of the customers with the hotel Hilton were highlighted. Lastly, various ways were mentioned
and described which can help the companies to overcome the challenges faced in different
operations in order to face a rapid progress by gaining a large competitive advantage. Therefore,
by following all these solutions, the company cannot only face progress but also become free
from issues which can hinder the success of the companies in any aspect.

INTRODUCTION
Operational issues are basically kind of problems which arises in the companies and can be
responsible for rendering a business less profitable. There are many organisational issues
depended on the organisations, each having its own undesirable results.
Hilton resorts and hotel is a global brand consisting of full service hotels and resorts and
also it is considered as the flagship brand of multinational hospitality company of America i.e.,
Hilton. Its target is to increase its business and also leisure travellers with locations in the major
city centres around the world (Hilton London Tower Bridge, 2020). The report will majorly
describe the operational issues in the hospitality industry in which major issues faced by the
hotels will be discussed.
This will be followed by the major operational issues that the Hilton Hotel faces despite of
being a very successful hotel. Furthermore, the experiences of the customers with the Hilton
Hotel which is in London will be highlighted. Lastly the different ways will be suggested which
can help in overcoming the various operational challenges in the hospitality industry.
MAIN BODY
Operational challenges in hospitality industry
Though hospitality industry is facing a rapid success making it a profitable business but,
in order to keep the hotel running smoothly and competitive in the emerging and dynamic
market, the companies have to follow various challenges. New technologies must be imbibed,
strategic decisions must be implemented and many more policies must be adapted in order to
meet up the various challenges. Following are the operational challenges which are faced by the
hospitality industry in UK:
Hiring and retaining the staff
This becomes the major challenge to manage the skill of the staff at the hotels. Every part
of the hotel requires a quality staff whether it is administration, kitchen, maintenance,
housekeeping or the front desk. Unskilled youths need to be trained so that their skills can be
enhanced.
Fluctuations in the marketing trends
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This creates a problem for the hoteliers because the traditional methods are not much
effective. The challenge is for those who are stuck to the old school ways because the online
marketing is now in trend which also helps in genuine deals and advanced payments
(Bressanelli, Perona and Saccani, 2019). This becomes difficult for the companies to meet the
changing expectations and demands of the customers and their behaviour.
Housekeeping issues
The cleaning of the hotels and rooms is the basic which remains at the top. The guests
and the tourists also prefers a neat and tidy room. The hoteliers sometimes miss this aspect of
keep the rooms clean among the other operations which make it a big challenge to be met.
Change in the customers’ expectations
The demands of the guests are increasing day by day as they ask for Free Wi-Fi, unique
stay experience, entertainment system and many more. It becomes very difficult to meet all the
demands of the customers as in the time of pandemic they also demand for contactless services.
High cost of operations
This becomes a major challenge as in order to compete in the competitive markets, the
hoteliers spend a lot in all the operations which disturbs the financial stability of the company. in
order to reduce the investment in the operations along with maintaining the productivity and
profitability, the companies must develop various strategies like paper prints which helps in
reducing the unnecessary wasted money which is lost by using the outdated practices.
Data security
Hoteliers are facing the biggest challenges regarding the threats if digital data theft and
the confidential data leaks. Though, the methods of data security are being advanced now but
still there are possibilities of data leaks and virus attacks (Burgess, 2017). So, the company must
strive hard to meet up this challenge and increase its customer base and the trust among them.
Technological change
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This becomes an important challenge to be met as the customers are now being
demanding a fast response and services from the hotels. Through the use of advanced
technologies, the companies can revert to the customers regarding any issues and enquiries. But
it is easy theoretically but hard to implement (Nemeschansky, 2020). So, this challenge must be
up by the companies in the hospitality industry to satisfy the demands of the customers which
helps in increasing the profitability.
Employee Turnover
This is also a biggest operational issue as this job is not a usual job where the employees
have to work from Monday to Friday as the normal office hours. Therefore, it becomes
challenging to find the long-term employees who can work for all the hours and not those who
are looking for jobs to work from Monday to Friday. Also, the employees must have a right
personality to serve the diversified customers. Along with recruiting the right employee, the
employee turnover related to the labour costs is also very high and impacts the operations of the
business (Brown and et.al., 2017).
Increasing competition
The competition in the hospitality is increasing day by day because the property owners
are preferring to rent out their rooms occasionally. These are more preferred by the tourists and
the guests over the hotels and the resorts as they promise authentic local experience along with
more convenience. Also, many new hotels are entering in the market every day (Lopes, 2016).
This makes the competition stronger and the challenge here is to lead all the competitors along
with providing best service to the customers to enhance the customer base and the profitability.
Therefore, the above mentioned challenges must be met up by the hospitality industry to gain a
larger competitive advantage and to earn larger profits.
Operational challenges for Hilton Hotel, London
Hilton Hotels & Resorts, being the largest hotel brand in the World faces a lot of
challenges while providing best services to the customers. For smooth functioning of the
operations of the hotel, these challenges must be met so that the progress becomes increasing and
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helps the company to gain competitive advantage among all its competitors. Following are the
major operational challenges which are faced by Hilton Hotels and Resorts and the company
strives hard to meet them up:
Data management
This was identified by the CCO of Hilton that there is a large amount of data for the
company to manage. The vast amount of data is of the customers as they share a great data with
us which is usually used to provide them with a personalised experience. But this becomes a
challenge for the company as it under-utilizes this data. The company doesn’t fully reward the
trust which the customers have placed in them by sharing their information. The main focus of
the company must be on the skills of the hiring which can be helped to establish the capabilities
and the platforms which are required to change the dynamic.
Threat of competition
The Hilton Hotel and Resorts considers Airbnb as a threat because it is completely
changing the market. The Airbnb is bringing much efficiency to the lodging and this makes the
company more transparent and accessible. The company has to offer its guests and the customers
a safe, consistent and secure accommodations which can be on the top of exceptional hospitality.
Airbnb is increasing the expectations of the customers for demanding the personalised
experience (Filimonau and Delysia, 2019). This becomes a challenge for Hilton to lead the
competitors like Airbnb so that it can become able to attract the customers.
Delivering the services digitally
Hilton is not completely unaware of the advanced technologies but it promotes its
services on its official websites only but not on other online platforms. It was observed that the
mobile search is more preferred by the tourists than the desktop searches so the Hilton cannot
consider its official website as primary website but also focus on all other applications and social
networking sites which can be accessible through the mobile phones (Jones and Comfort, 2020).
Though, Hilton invests a lot in the websites but that is not able to meet the current expectations
of the users. This becomes a challenge for the company to compete with its competitor by
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increasing its presence on other online platforms such as by developing certain applications etc.
along with the websites.
Implementing sustainable practices
Though Hilton is becoming increasingly popular but the consumers are preferring more
responsible travel rather than luxurious one due to their ethical, moral and responsible thinking.
Hilton hotel must need to think of methods which can help it in becoming eco-friendlier, in
reducing waste and impacting positively on the surroundings. This becomes much challenging
for the company to make itself advanced as well as environment friendly. But in order to meet up
the demands of the customers, Hilton must use the environment friendly products in all the
facilities it provides to its guests and tourists (Jones amd Comfort, 2018).
AI and real time engagement
AI has now become the challenge for the Hilton company as it has become the strategic
priority for most of the business. AI can help Hilton group to take a large competitive advantage
among its competitors as many of the competitors of Hilton are using AI as a strategic tool.
Hilton believes that all the customer facing activities like marketing automation, service and
support are going to be the most affected areas by AI in the coming years. So, real time
engagement is going to be the major challenge for Hilton (What are the Top Challenges Facing
Hotels in 2018, 2018). The company had already adopted some digital messaging solutions but
needs to engage AI in its processes. This can help the company to improve the ways in which it
provides service to the customers.
Customer’s experience at Hilton
The major strategy of the hotel Hilton which attracts the customers towards it is the
digital strategy. The marketing and IT teams play a major role in this. The main contribution of
success is due to the combination of these two departments. The team of Hilton is using the
technology in much better way to attract the customers. The customers share their experience
about the online and offline services and the link between them. They feel the same experience
brand every time whether it is on TV, digital banner or at the properties (United Kingdom Hilton
Hotels, 2020).
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It was also identified in the experiences of the customers that they are much impressed by the use
of digital technologies right from the place where the customers enter. They even experience the
impact of technology on the front desk to the room. This all makes the Hilton a dream for many
people. the customers dream, they shop, they book, stay at the property and then they advocate.
The customers also share their best experiences regarding the team of Hilton as they focus on
inspiring and empowering each and every part of the customer journey. It can be website or
connector room or call centre application or management of property, they go through full stack
of transformation by implementing all those modern systems that they have in their enterprise
which makes them fast and nimble (Gursoy and Chi, 2020). Customers are highly impressed by
the innovation which the company brings in all its processes and facilities.
This was added by majority of the customers that they are more attracted by the website of
Hilton as it consists of all the information they require about it. The online experience of the
customers is very good which is attracting them and forcing them to have a memorable
experience at the property. Most of the travellers depend upon the direct relationships with the
brand and expects that most of the things can be done just be the mobile phones. So, when they
search for hotels or book them, they prefer to do it with mobile phones or desktops. Most of the
tech savvy travellers also do not take the pain to search for the hotels instead take the online and
offline reviews from friends and relatives to make a decision. It was observed that the most of
the guests book the hotel Hilton by taking the reviews from their friends which means that the
experience of majority of the guests is very good which makes them able to give positive reviews
regarding the hotel (Thams and et.al., 2020). Also, the customers are much impressed by the
digital key which is used by Hilton which removes the problem for the customers to stand in line
to check out and check in and instead they can directly go to the rooms. The best thing which the
customers share as experience is also that they can control each and everything in the room of
Hilton by just giving the commands through the mobile phone even the lights, fans, thermostat,
blinds etc.
The customers’ experience regarding the other amenities including the room services, restaurant,
food, housekeeping, sanitization, staff, floors, non-smoking rooms, customer service and many
more.
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Ways to overcome the operational challenges in the hospitality industry
In order to become the most preferred or popular hotel in the hospitality industry, the
companies must overcome the challenges they face. The ways in which the companies like
Hilton Hotel can overcome the challenges faced are as follows:
 The companies must make all its services accessible with phone as it is not possible for
the travellers to search each and everything on the desktops instead they prefer mobile
phones to make a decision regarding the hotels. Also along with updating their official
websites, they must extend their presence on many other websites and social networking
platforms (Mistry, 2020). This will help in engaging the guests on the social media and
other online sources.
 The hotels must manage the housekeeping challenges by implementing the effectual
strategies and thought process. The process of housekeeping must be aware of the dirty
and clean rooms and must also maintain the common areas. Also, these measures must
be highlighted on the websites and the handles of social media so that they can gain the
trusts of the guests.
 In order to overcome the challenge of the data security, the companies must ensure the
proper data storage. They must not deal with the registers and excel sheets. They must
incorporate a secure hotel technology that helps on preventing the data leaks (Legrand
and et.al., 2020). This also helps in building the credibility of the hotel to bring more
guests.
 The hotels must begin tailoring the experiences by making the use of chatbots. This can
allow the hotels in responding to visitors at once and also this will help in answering
every query instantly. This will increase the booking and revenue of hotel.
 The hotels must also do a complete and solid analysis of the competition by monitoring
their strategies and then devising the better plans for their property. Along with this,
they also must offer some significant things for attracting the guests (What Are the Top
5 Hotel Operation Challenges, 2020). For this, constant innovations and personalized
services are needed to beat the competition.
Therefore, by following the above ways and strategies, the hotels in the hospitality industry
can overcome most of the challenges.
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CONCLUSION
The report above focussed on the hospitality industry in UK. It was initiated by mentioning
the operational challenges in the hospitality industry which was followed by evaluating the
operational challenges in the Hilton Hotel. The customer experiences with the Hilton hotel were
described and also the ways which can help the hotel to overcome the operational challenges
were highlighted. Along with all the suggestions, it can be recommended that the hotels must
also make themselves and their practices sustainable by using the organic as well as locally
sourced food in the kitchens of the restaurants. They must reduce the use of plastic and must
encourage the guests for reusing the sheets, bedding and towels. They must use the recycle bins
in the rooms and also they can be sustainable by installing the technologies which are energy
saving including the lighting and heating.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bressanelli, G., Perona, M., & Saccani, N. (2019). Challenges in supply chain redesign for the
Circular Economy: a literature review and a multiple case study. International Journal
of Production Research. 57(23). 7395-7422.
Brown, N. A. & et.al., (2017). Exploring disaster resilience within the hotel sector: A systematic
review of literature. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 22. 362-370.
Burgess, C. (2017). Managerial Competencies for UK Hotel Financial Controllers: Are They
Hospitality Managers or Accountants?. The Journal of Hospitality Financial
Management. 25(1). 27-43.
Filimonau, V., & Delysia, A. (2019). Food waste management in hospitality operations: A
critical review. Tourism management. 71. 234-245.
Gursoy, D., & Chi, C. G. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality industry: review
of the current situations and a research agenda.
Jones, P., & Comfort, D. (2018). Sustainability and the UK Waste Management
Industry. European Journal of Sustainable Development Research. 2(1). 02.
Jones, P., & Comfort, D. (2020). The COVID-19 crisis and sustainability in the hospitality
industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Legrand, W. & et.al., (2020). Strategic and Operational Innovations in the Hospitality
Industry. The Routledge Companion to International Hospitality Management. 161.
Lopes, M. (2016). The hospitality industry (Doctoral dissertation).
Nemeschansky, B. (2020). Listen to your customer-how to manage your restaurant more
effectively. Journal of Foodservice Business Research. 23(1). 17-45.
Thams, A. & et.al., (2020). An initial assessment of economic impacts and operational
challenges for the tourism & hospitality industry due to COVID-19 (No. 2/2020). IUBH
Discussion Papers-Tourismus & Hospitality.
Online
Hilton London Tower Bridge, 2020. [ONLINE]. Available through :<
https://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Review-g186338-d614236-Reviews-
Hilton_London_Tower_Bridge-London_England.html>
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Mistry, S., 2020. How to Deal with Common Challenges in Hotel Industry. [ONLINE] Available
through :< https://www.ezeeabsolute.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-challenges-in-hotel-
industry/>
United Kingdom Hilton Hotels, 2020. [ONLINE] Available through :<
https://www.hilton.com/en/locations/united-kingdom/hilton/>
What Are the Top 5 Hotel Operation Challenges, 2020. [ONLINE] Available through :<
https://blog.infraspeak.com/top-5-hotel-operation-challenges/>
What are the Top Challenges Facing Hotels in 2018, 2018. [ONLINE] Available through :<
https://www.sitevisibility.co.uk/blog/2018/04/17/top-challenges-facing-hotels-2018/>
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