Sheraton Hotel: Service Diversity, Operations, and Global Contribution

This report provides an overview of the hospitality industry, focusing on the services and operational diversity within a five-star hotel, specifically Sheraton Grand. It examines the functional and operational departments of the hotel, discussing their interrelationships and contributions at local, national, and international levels. The report highlights the importance of customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry and how factors like disposable income and leisure time influence hotel operations. It also touches upon Sheraton Hotel's expansion strategies, including acquisitions and service differentiation programs like 'Simple Pleasures.' Furthermore, the report discusses the impact of the hospitality industry on the UK economy, including job creation and the role of franchising and licensing agreements. The analysis concludes that organizations operating in the UK's hospitality sector, like Sheraton Hotel, have significantly contributed to industry growth and economic development.

Running head: HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Introduction
The hospitality based industry is considered to be a broad category which operates in
the service sector which further includes, event planning, transportation, cruise line and
transportation. This is a multimillion-dollar industry which is highly dependent on
availability of disposable and leisure based income. The size of hospitality industry is
considered to be much broader as compared to many other industries that operate in the
environment (Radojevic, Stanisic and Stanic 2015). The most important aspect of business
operations in the industry is based on the importance that is provided to customer satisfaction.
The operations and profitability of the industry are mainly based on the levels up to which
customers are happy. The organizations thereby tend to suffer with respect to their revenues
and income if their disposable reduces due to recession (Neirotti, Raguseo and Paolucci
2016).
The analysis in the essay is mainly based on the services and products that are offered
by a five-star hotel and the levels of diversity of operations. The functional and operational
departments of the organization will be discussed in the essay and the interrelationships will
also be discussed in detail. The contribution provided by the hotel with respect to local,
national and the international operations will also be analysed in the essay in detail.
Discussion based on the current scope, structure and size of hospitality industry
As discussed by Jones, Hillier and Comfort (2016), the hotel or service based industry
is considered to be an important part of the hospitality sector. The hotel sector is thereby able
to provide the services to customers in such a manner which is helpful in the organizational
sustainability and effective operations as well. The hotel based sector is totally dependent on
the levels of disposable income of people and their leisure time as well. Hospitality is also

2HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
able to play a key role in the ways by which a country is able to attract tourists and also
increase the levels of international tourists.
The essay will be based on the analysis of a five-star hotel named Sheraton Grand
which has its operations in different countries of the world including the United Kingdom.
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international chain of hotels which operates more than 500
hotels on a global basis. The locations of the operations of Sheraton Hotels mainly include,
Africa, Asia, South and Central America, Middle East and Europe. Sheraton Hotels was
established in the year 1933 by two classmates namely, Robert Moore and Ernest Henderson.
The organization further increased its operations in the hospitality industry with the help of
effective acquisitions and mergers of different organizations all over the world
(Sheraton.marriott.com 2019).
Sheraton Hotels operates in the hospitality industry with the help of different products
that are offered to the customers. The products offered by the organization mainly include,
Sheraton Bed, Pillows, Sheets, Duvets, Sheets, Duvet Cover and sleep experience provided in
the hotel as well. Sheraton Vacation Club is another major service that is offered by the
organization to the guests who visit the hotel on a domestic and international basis. Sheraton
Hotel has been able to expand its operations in the hospitality industry from the year 1937 to
the 2016 by acquiring different organizations. Starwood Hotels was acquired by the
organization in the year 2016 which has helped the organization to become a major part of
Starwood Hotels and Resorts, that is the biggest hotel company (Kandampully, Zhang and
Bilgihan 2015).
Sheraton Hotels has aimed at enhancing the image of its brand by launching the
Simple Pleasures program. This initiative is mainly taken by Four Points by Sheraton with
the aim of taking different initiatives that included, Four Comfort Bed, Four Pies and the Best

3HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Brews. The organization has always aimed at providing localised services to the customers
with the help of its services. The hotel has started providing cutting-edge based standards and
offerings based on preferences of the guests. The services have been differentiated from the
traditional services provided by other hotels with the help of proper collaboration with the
choice and preferences of the guests (Jauhari and Bharwani 2017).
The usage of right resources and right people within the organization are able to
ensure the operations of different departments. The departments of business operations of
Sheraton Hotels collaborate with each other in order to provide effective services to the
guests. The executives of Sheraton Hotels are responsible for taking decisions regarding
different operations of the organization. The decisions which are thereby taken by the
executives are able to affect the operations and functioning of the organization in the highly
competitive hospitality industry (Tsai, Dev and Chintagunta 2015).
According to Wang (2016), the front desk based employees have direct interaction
with the guests which is considered to be a major reason behind the importance which is held
by the employees belonging to this department. The front desk staff of Sheraton Hotels have
to understand the needs and demands of guests in order to provide them with effective
services that will help in maintaining the customer base. The housekeeping and maintenance
based department is also considered to be highly important in order to offer the best levels of
services to the guests. The proper levels of coordination which are present between the
departments are highly important for the profitable and sustainable operations of the
organization in the hospitality industry. The levels of competition within the industry have
started increasing in the recent times due to the increase in number of organizations
(Dzhandzhugazova et al. 2016).

4HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
The hospitality industry has shown immense levels of growth in the recent times and
has been able to contribute 10% to the total GDP of the world. The importance of the industry
has also grown in the last ten years which has proved to be helpful for the operations of
different organizations. The expansion of hospitality industry has started on a global basis
and has been affected by the changes that have taken place in the multicultural environment.
The hospitality based activities have been developed on regional, national and the global
levels as well. Although the hospitality industry is oriented internationally, the levels of
competition are provided on a regional and local basis as well. The industry based on
hospitality and tourism has been grouped together (Law et al. 2015). However, the two
sectors have operated on an individual basis in different countries of the world. Hospitality is
considered to be a service that is based on the provisions that are offered related to venues,
meals, accommodations and drinks (Kim, Vogt and Knutson 2015).
The contribution that has been made by the hospitality industry to the economy of UK
has shown immense levels of growth after the economic crisis that had taken place in the year
2008. The industry has been able to provide huge number of jobs to the citizens of the
country within the next five years. Hospitality sector has become the fourth biggest employer
in the country and has provided more than 3 million direct level of jobs and more than 2
million indirect levels of jobs as well. The jobs which have been offered by the industry have
been a major reason behind the growth that has been shown by the sector (Wood 2017).
The productivity rates of labour in the industry have also increased in the past few
years which has been able to play a key role in contributing to the economic growth. The
growth based outlook of the sector has been quite uncertain in nature and the organizations in
the industry have played a key role in effective growth of the economy. The economic
situation in the United Kingdom is also considered to be quite open to the entry of new
organizations within the industry (Sipe and Testa 2018). The organizations in hospitality

5HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
industry need effective levels of government support in order to ensure that their operations
are successful and profitable in nature. The levels of unemployment which had been formed
in the United Kingdom were quite high and this issue had been solved to some extent with
the help of growth of the hospitality sector (Lu and Kandampully 2016).
The organizations operating in the hospitality sector have started making different
agreements based on licensing and franchising of activities. The hotels and other hospitality
organizations that operate in the industry have started providing effective levels of
opportunities to the citizens of UK in order to gain from the growth shown by the industry.
The rates of business operations in the industry have also increase in the last few years which
has been able to affect the hospitality based organizations like, hotels and tourism
organizations as well (Tracey et al. 2015).
The franchising activities that have been undertaken by large hotels and hospitality
organizations have been able to increase their reach and operating levels as well. For
example, Hotel Holiday Inn has been able to increase the operations in different countries
with the help of effective franchising. The franchising based forces of the organization have
increased in a huge manner in the last few years. The hospitality organizations have also
implemented licensing agreements in order to operate in different countries. This has made
the entry of hospitality based organizations in new countries much easier than before (Sipe
and Testa 2018).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the organizations which operate in the
hospitality sector of UK have been able to increase the growth of the industry in an effective
manner. Sheraton Hotel has also been able to improve its operations with the help of its
services and products that are offered to the guests.

6HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

7HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
References
Dzhandzhugazova, E.A., Blinova, E.A., Orlova, L.N. and Romanova, M.M., 2016.
Innovations in hospitality industry. International Journal of Environmental and Science
Education, 11(17), pp.10387-10400.
Jauhari, V. and Bharwani, S., 2017. An exploratory study of competencies required to
cocreate memorable customer experiences in the hospitality industry. In Hospitality
Marketing and Consumer Behavior (pp. 159-185). Apple Academic Press.
Jones, P., Hillier, D. and Comfort, D., 2016. Sustainability in the hospitality industry: Some
personal reflections on corporate challenges and research agendas. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(1), pp.36-67.
Kandampully, J., Zhang, T. and Bilgihan, A., 2015. Customer loyalty: a review and future
directions with a special focus on the hospitality industry. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.379-414.
Kim, M., Vogt, C.A. and Knutson, B.J., 2015. Relationships among customer satisfaction,
delight, and loyalty in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism
Research, 39(2), pp.170-197.
Law, R., Leung, R., Lo, A., Leung, D. and Fong, L.H.N., 2015. Distribution channel in
hospitality and tourism: Revisiting disintermediation from the perspectives of hotels and
travel agencies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3),
pp.431-452.
Lu, C. and Kandampully, J., 2016. What drives customers to use access-based sharing
options in the hospitality industry?. Research in Hospitality Management, 6(2), pp.119-126.

8HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Neirotti, P., Raguseo, E. and Paolucci, E., 2016. Are customers’ reviews creating value in the
hospitality industry? Exploring the moderating effects of market positioning. International
Journal of Information Management, 36(6), pp.1133-1143.
Radojevic, T., Stanisic, N. and Stanic, N., 2015. Ensuring positive feedback: Factors that
influence customer satisfaction in the contemporary hospitality industry. Tourism
Management, 51, pp.13-21.
Sheraton.marriott.com 2019. Family Hotels | Search & Book | Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.
[online] Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Available at: https://sheraton.marriott.com/ [Accessed 2
Jan. 2019].
Sipe, L.J. and Testa, M.R., 2018. From satisfied to memorable: An empirical study of service
and experience dimensions on guest outcomes in the hospitality industry. Journal of
Hospitality Marketing & Management, 27(2), pp.178-195.
Tracey, J.B., Hinkin, T.R., Tran, T.L.B., Emigh, T., Kingra, M., Taylor, J. and Thorek, D.,
2015. A field study of new employee training programs: industry practices and strategic
insights. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 56(4), pp.345-354.
Tsai, Y.L., Dev, C.S. and Chintagunta, P., 2015. What’s in a brand name? Assessing the
impact of rebranding in the hospitality industry. Journal of Marketing Research, 52(6),
pp.865-878.
Wang, C.J., 2016. Does leader-member exchange enhance performance in the hospitality
industry? The mediating roles of task motivation and creativity. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(5), pp.969-987.
Wood, R.C., 2017. Reflecting on some realities of consumer behaviour in the hospitality
industry. The Routledge Handbook of Consumer Behaviour in Hospitality and Tourism, 69.

9HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT