Impact of Leadership on Hotel Performance: Hilton Cyprus Case

This dissertation investigates the impact of effective leadership on organizational performance within the hotel industry, specifically focusing on Hilton Hotels Cyprus. The research explores the significance of leadership qualities in the hospitality sector, addressing challenges such as low employee retention and declining guest satisfaction. The study comprises five chapters, including a comprehensive literature review that examines leadership concepts, organizational performance frameworks, and relevant theories like situational leadership and the Balanced Scorecard model. The research employs an interpretivism philosophy, a deductive approach, and a descriptive design, utilizing both primary and secondary data collected through interviews with Hilton Cyprus managers. The findings, analyzed using thematic data analysis, reveal key themes related to leadership roles, employee retention, guest satisfaction, and communication strategies. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for improving leadership practices, enhancing teamwork, and fostering a positive work environment to improve hotel performance. The study also provides an action plan for guest satisfaction, teamwork, leadership perspective, and top-down communication.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Dissertation
Topic: Impact of effective leadership on organisational performance of hotel business: The case
of Hilton Hotels Cyprus
Student’s name:
Name of the university:
Author’s note:

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Acknowledgement
I am thankful to all the individuals who have been my constant support to complete the research
work based on ‘Impact of effective leadership on organisational performance of hotel business:
The case of Hilton Hotels Cyprus’. I would like to share my heartfelt gratitude to my professor
______ who has been my constant support. I want to share my thanks to my friends and families
who have been shown care all the times. I am very grateful to the managers of Hotel Hilton
Cyprus who provided their valuable responses during the interviews with patience to complete
the research. Completion of this research gives me much pleasure.
Thank You.

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Abstract
This research highlights the effectiveness of the business leaders in enhancing the organisational
performance of the hotel businesses. This particular research sheds light on Hotel Hilton Cyprus
as this hotel has been seen that perception of the guests are changing and the level of
performance of the front-line employees are declining in a gradual manner and naturally the
issue has attracted the attention of business leaders. This research has five separate chapters and
in the literature review section, concept of the two variables, leadership and organisational
performance have been discussed with theoretical framework. In addition, the leadership theories
like situational leadership and path goal theory have been explained. Furthermore, organisational
performance concepts like Hannan and Freeman model have been illuminated.
In order to collect the data, the researcher has followed interpretivism philosophy,
deductive approach and descriptive design. Secondary and primary, both types of data have been
used by the researcher. The data has been collected conducting the interviews of the four
managers of Hotel Hilton Cyprus. The researcher has used qualitative data to analyse the
findings using thematic data analysis. In chapter four, the researcher has segregated the findings
into five different themes to analyse the data of leadership and organisational performance of
Hilton hotel Cyprus. The leaders of Hotel Hilton Cyprus face the issue when the maximum staffs
leave the organisation, issue of lack of employees' retention rate, leadership roles and strategies;
therefore, leadership style is prescribed in the Hilton hotel. Guest satisfaction, team working and
leading by example from the leaders can improve the condition of Hotel Hilton Cyprus. The
leaders can also start training which can help to start communication.
Table of Contents

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Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................8
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................8
1.2 Background of the research...................................................................................................8
1.3 Research Rationale..............................................................................................................10
1.4 Research aim........................................................................................................................12
1.5 Research objectives.............................................................................................................13
1.6 Research questions...............................................................................................................13
1.7 Research hypothesis.............................................................................................................13
1.8 Research significance..........................................................................................................14
1.9 Structure of the dissertation.................................................................................................14
1.10 Summary............................................................................................................................15
Chapter 2: Literature review..........................................................................................................16
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................16
2.2 Concept of leadership in the hotel industry.........................................................................16
2.3 Theoretical framework of leadership...................................................................................17
2.4 Concept of organisational performance in the hospitality sector........................................19
2.5 Theoretical framework of organisational performance.......................................................20
Figure 2.1: BSC model of organisational performance.........................................................22
2.6 Factors driving hotel organisation’s performance...............................................................22
2.7 Impact of leadership on organisational performance in the hotel industry.........................23

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2.8 Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................25
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework........................................................................................25
2.9 Literature gap.......................................................................................................................25
2.10 Summary............................................................................................................................26
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................27
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................27
3.2 Research onion.....................................................................................................................27
Figure 3.1: Research Onion...................................................................................................28
3.3 Research philosophy............................................................................................................28
3.4 Research approach...............................................................................................................29
3.5 Research design...................................................................................................................30
3.6 Data collection process........................................................................................................31
3.7 Sampling..............................................................................................................................33
3.8 Data analysis........................................................................................................................33
3.9 Reliability and validity........................................................................................................34
3.10 Ethical considerations........................................................................................................34
3.11 Timeline.............................................................................................................................35
3.12 Summary............................................................................................................................36
Chapter 4: Data findings and analysis...........................................................................................37
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................37

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4.2 Thematic Data analysis........................................................................................................37
Figure 4.1: Tourists arrival per year in Cyprus hotels...........................................................41
Figure 4.2: New development needed in the hotel sector focused on leaders.......................43
Figure 4.3: Tourist arrivals per month in Cyprus hotels........................................................46
4.3 Discussion and summary.....................................................................................................47
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations............................................................................48
5.1 Conclusions..........................................................................................................................48
5.2 Linking with objectives.......................................................................................................49
5.3 Recommendations................................................................................................................51
5.4 Future scope of the study.....................................................................................................57
Reference List................................................................................................................................58
Appendix........................................................................................................................................68

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List of Figures
Figure 2.1: BSC model of organisational performance.................................................................20
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework................................................................................................23
Figure 3.1: Research Onion...........................................................................................................25
Figure 4.1: Tourists arrival per year in Cyprus hotels...................................................................39
Figure 4.2: New development needed in the hotel sector focused on leaders...............................41
Figure 4.3: Tourist arrivals per month in Cyprus hotels................................................................44

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List of Tables
Table 3.1: Interview sample..........................................................................................................31
Table 3.2: Gantt chart....................................................................................................................33
Table 4.1: Occupancy rate in Cyprus hotel (2012-2017)..............................................................36
Table 5.1: Action plan for guest satisfaction.................................................................................51
Table 5.2: Action plan for team work............................................................................................52
Table 4.3: Action plan for leaders’ perspective.............................................................................53
Table 4.4: Action Plan for top-down communication...................................................................55

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
The significance of leadership qualities of the managers in the hotel industry cannot be
overlooked. In recent time, an economic downturn is making the hotel accommodation an
expensive one and the leaders have the responsibility to bring the customers to the door.
Managers’ good leadership qualities in the hospitality sector can bring good business. Regardless
of the size of the company, good leadership is necessary for the success of the business (Storey
2016). In this research, the researcher aims to analyse the impact of leadership on the hotel
business. In the hospitality sector, the managers play the role of the leaders to instruct and lead
the staffs to attract and retain the guests. The managers of the hotel need to have the required
skill so that they can effectively motivate the staffs. In this research, the Hilton Hotel of Cyprus
is chosen hospitality industry in which the researcher sets the focus to identify the leadership
impact on the organisation. There are five chapters in this research and each of the chapters is
allocated to collect, discuss and analyse the data. In the first chapter, the research rationale, aim,
objectives and research questions are given along with the structure of the overall research.
1.2 Background of the research
The hotel industry has to provide consistent quality to the service to the guests across all
units. The management of the hotel industry has to play the role of recruiting, selecting and
training of the staffs. In the hospitality sector, the retention rate of the employees is low and the
guest satisfaction is very important. The role of the managers in the hotel industry is to retain
maximum staffs by giving them motivating factors and provide the guests with ample
satisfactory factors. Lewis and Chambers (2017) further added that role of the managers in the

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hospitality industry is to instruct the staffs and be with the staffs in the training process so that
they can meet the organisational objectives. Leadership qualities in the hospitality industry for
the managers are very much similar to the qualities of the leaders in the successful business. The
hospitality industry leaders need mainly two types of skills, business skills and people skills.
According to Shoemaker et al. (2017), in the hotel industry, the business skills of the leaders are
associated with the accounting procedure, computer technologies and business sense. People
skills in the hotel industry are related to the fair play with the employees, the leaders must have
the clarity to solve the issues of the employees and to make the exact type of customer relations.
The leader in the hospitality industry is the one who must be respected by the staffs and the
perception of the employees must be fair.
The aim of any organisation is to survive and to sustain the existence of the organisation
by improving the performance. Hotel organisations continually increase the performance in order
to meet the objectives and needs of a highly competitive industry. According to Law et al.
(2016), the managers in the hotel lead the employees in such a way so that the staffs can achieve
the performance. In addition, the findings of the prior secondary articles explained the impact
and role of the leadership in the performance of the organisation or employees' satisfaction.
Leadership is very important for the organisation as the leaders have the responsibilities to gain
the high level of performance of the employees, to generate the marketing plan and to provide
the guest satisfaction (Scheule and Sneed 2015). Most of the authors stated that leadership has a
direct cause and effect relationship on the success of the organisations. In the hospitality sectors,
managers determine the change in tolerance, culture and employee motivations. Managers in the
hospitality sector reap the maximum of the organisation's resources (Arendt and Gregoire 2015).
The hotel industry is based on mainly human resources and the role of the managers is to

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manage, control and motivate the staffs in the workplace. This particular research explores the
impact of leadership that can play the success of the hotel business as this study showcases
leaders’ role in providing adequate training to handle the responsibilities efficiently in hotels.
Overview of Hilton Hotel in Cyprus
Hilton Hotels and Resorts provide resorts and hotel services to the guests and Hilton also
has the flagship brand. Conrad Hilton founded this Hilton Hotels and Resorts in the year 1919
and in the year 2017, the Hilton hotel has its services in more than 85 countries. In Cyprus, the
Hilton hotel is located in Nicosia's city centre and historic old city. Hilton Cyprus is the ideal
place to stay while visiting Cyprus. It is located in a Mediterranean climate and it has large
outdoor pool. Hilton Hotel in Cyprus has the business centre and it provides the conference and
event spaces for 2000 attendees (Hilton.com/en 2018). Hilton Hotel in Cyprus provides the
amenities like sunbathe by the large poolside, fitness centre and beauty salon and tennis court.
Hotel Hilton in Cyprus also provides the best opportunity to make choice for the guests to have
bars and restaurants. In the Hilton Hotel in Cyprus, more than 250 staffs working on a rotational
basis.
1.3 Research Rationale
What is the issue?
In the hospitality sector, the retention rate of the employees is very low as the staffs do
not find the hospitality employment suitable for their career. The leaders in the hotel industry are
the managers who generally try to retain maximum numbers of employees. Another issue in the
hotel industry is lack of guest satisfaction. The leaders take the responsibility to keep the
employees motivated and train the staffs so that the staffs must give their best within the working

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schedule to keep the guests happy (Jones et al. 2016). The leaders initiate the action in
communicating the plans and policies to the staffs of the hospitality sector. In the recent
economic downturn, the accommodation in hotels becomes expensive for the guests. The leaders
need to take the necessary steps so that the staffs give their best and the staffs can motivate the
employees.
Why is it an issue?
The managers in the hotel industry control and lead the staffs so that the staffs work
under the guidance of the leaders. The leaders make the staffs confidence so that the staffs can
provide the satisfaction to the guests. The staffs in the hotel industry must know their job role
and the leaders give guidelines to the staffs to follow. In Hotel Hilton Cyprus, more than 250
staffs work and the staffs lack the morale to work under the supervision of managers. The
managers fail to build the work environment where the staffs like to work in peace. Lack of
employees' motivation is the issue as the leaders fail to create a workplace environment and fail
to give extrinsic motivations (Kandampully et al. 2015). Top-down communication from the
leaders is not vivid in Hilton Hotel Cyprus; therefore, the staffs are facing the issue of co-
ordination as synchronisation is not gained through the effective and proper motive of the
leadership.
Why is it an issue now?
In Cyprus, in the year 2017, hotel accommodation industry made Euro 3.23 million
revenue (Altinay and Bowen 2018). However, the customers' reviews of Hilton Hotel Cyprus in
third-party online booking apps and websites are degrading. Maximum customers are
disappointed due to the poor behaviour of the staffs and the quality of the ambience and food.