Essay about Diversity at Marriott and Hyatt

As we enter the new millenium, diversity in the workforce is rapidly increasing. Businesses and organizations are living up to the great melting pot image the United States has always been popular for. Employees now reflect a diversity of cultural perspectives, ethnic backgrounds, ages, genders, physical abilities, and levels of education. This wave of multiculturalism is here to stay and cannot be ignored. It is in need of attention in order to uphold the well-being and success of businesses and organizations all over the country.

The benefits of diversity in the hospitality business are numerous, however. Diversity can bring new views and perspectives to the table to other workers that they may not have been exposed to it before. It may not occur to a large group of, for example, middle-class white people that there are better solutions or plans for their workplace because they all might have relatively the same ideals and work ethics. However, having diverse groups of people could bring those fresh ideas and problem solving to these workers that may otherwise not occur to them. Especially different ethnicities might, “...offer insightful alternatives Americans might not have considered,” (Ethnoconnect, DATE). Having

Marriott continued to position itself to take advantage of various opportunities in the future by formalizing its diversity strategy and expanding its operations internationally. The company promotes the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and minority employees, and initiated efforts to develop an increasingly diverse owner, guest, and supplier base. As Marriott aims to continue to grow and expand globally, it will be even more imperative that the company understand the climate in which it operates so that it can properly apply the proper financial structure to promote and sustain its long-term growth.

“At capital One, diversity means seeking out and embracing differences for the richness those differences add to our lives and to our business.” (http://www.capitalone.com/about/corporatecitizenship/diversity.php) A company that opens it business to diversity has the ability to value human differences, and in return acquire beneficial relationships. Capital One has partnered with MWBE (Minority and Women Business Enterprises) and the relationship is yielding a positive reaction in terms of the communities that house Capital One and in the corporate world. Because Capital One is an information based company there diversity plan is also well thought and proven. The diversity plan includes targeted recruitment, development and

Diversity is what makes people different, not just culturally but in human differences. Having a multitude of differences in the workforce gives an organization the ability to use many ideas to reach a common goal. A person could say that a diverse group of people together in one room can accomplish greater achievements than a room filled with the same types of individuals. Managers understand the concept of diversity, and how important diversity is to the success of a company’s ability to implement programs that continue to develop a harmonious and diverse workplace. The recognition that diversity is a reality in the workforce has generated an enormous amount of activity over the years among leaders in business, government, and civil

Hilton Hotels is one of the biggest players in the US lodging industry. It contributes to about 9% of the total rooms in US lodging market. It has presence in over 78 countries with more than 2500 hotels. Lodging industry is highly capital intensive industry, so to reduce capital expenditure Hilton Hotels opted for self-owned Hotels as well as franchising model with the real estate owners. One of the key features of lodging industry is low switching costs for customers. There is very little margin to differentiate from the major competitors in the industry which include Marriott international, IHG, Accor etc.

They also have team members and employees from Asia, and Africa and other nationalities worldwide. The common problem and issues that they have found among new employees are language and cultural differences that are creating barriers when it comes to cooperation. There is also occasional disrespect of ethnicity, colors, and discrimination of white and black. These problems are common with multi-national organizations with a diversity of employees, but Hilton Hotel is committed to developing and maintaining a well-rounded organization to enhance their competitive advantage. They continue to attract diverse workforce to strengthen their value and market leadership using different management strategies to solve these issues.

The general line of reasoning is that if we learn to incorporate each other’s diverse traits and characteristics in the workplace, we can then use these differences to foster an innovative environment, which will give the company a competitive advantage over the competitors that do not accept workforce diversity. According to the Allied Academies International Conference, “Diversity is rapidly becoming a common practice among companies due to the increasing number of minorities entering the job market today. As these groups become more prevalent throughout companies, upper-level employees are facing numerous challenges when determining what changes must take place to create a positive working environment for everyone. Management is responsible for the development and implementation of effective policies directly relating to diversity to ensure the acceptance of minorities into the workplace and to aid in minorities’ success through equal opportunities and treatment.” (Marcia L. James, 2001, Academy for Studies in International Business Proceedings)

In addition, Hilton Hotels Corporation is supporting its portfolio of commitments in a number of ways, by:

The company must clearly envision diversity as essential to business strategy because of the competitive advantages that follow.

In order to deal with ways to sustain Wyndham’s competitive advantage built by the ByRequest initiative, we first need to get acquainted with its business values; Wyndham’s ByRequest program created a comfortable and memorable upscale guest experience and shaped recognition in the industry from a customer service standpoint. Being still a relatively new program, the company was limiting its focus on analysis and thus conducted limited historical study and no collection of a typical demographic data like age, income etc. But while its impact on revenues was still small, it was a success in defining Wyndham’s brand. In order to keep and even extend this current competitive advantage over time, the company needs to leverage its growing

Hilton Hotels is one of the biggest players in the hospitality industry with over 2900 (as of September 2007) hotels worldwide consisting of numerous brands and products. The hospitality industry is service centered and highly competitive. The challenge for Hilton is to create and deliver value better than its competitors. Hilton understand that it is important to improve customer experience and build strong relationships with the customers. Hilton Hotels adopted a Customer Really Matter (CRM) strategy out of necessity to cater for

Hospitality Management is a difficult and competitive market, and any lack in customer service can result in defecting customers or the termination of a relationship between a customer and a service provider. In this paper we will look at Hilton a company that has continually ranked amongst the top ranking hotels and continues to improve. Hilton’s customer service ranks as one of the top hospitality providers in the United States. We will look at the history of how Hilton came to be the name brand it is today and some of their process the used to narrow the customer service gaps such as Hilton Honors, the Hiltons Reservation Customer Care, and RESMAX. We will look at how they look at how Hilton manages the customer expectations through the use of employee training and their decreased the customer service gap through employee retention. We will also look as how Hilton co-partnered with Citibank in order to offer its Hilton Honors member additional benefits in order to keep in line with the customer service that the customers have come to expect.

The report focused particularly on the following hotel chain Hilton Worldwide. Hilton legacy began in 1925, it was founded by Conrad N. Hilton. The first hotel was built in Texas and had 40 rooms; today Hilton is one of the most respected brands in the world. The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel group of some of the most famous and highly regarded hospitality brands worldwide, including Hilton, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Double Tree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton, Hilton Grant Vacations, Homewood Suites by Hilton and the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts. With 4000 hotels and 650,000 rooms in 90 countries Hilton Worldwide is one of the world’s leading hotel. (Hilton Worldwide, 2013)

As a primary worldwide provider of travel-related services such as rentals, lodging, conference facilities, and timeshare exchange, Wyndham Worldwide has overcome inconsistent branding strategy, unstable mergers, and acquisitions, as well as the 2008 economic recession to retain its top position in the industry. An internal and external analysis of the company, opportunities, and threats faced by the firm, its competitive advantage, and a strategic focus reveal the issues that need to be addressed henceforth for it to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive global market. The paper provides a problem statement, alternatives, and recommendations that Wyndham Worldwide can engage.