Int. J. Hospitality Management Vol. 13 No. 3, pp.

195-199,1994
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Viewpoint
Contributions to Viewpoint are welcomed: they should conform to International Journal and
Hospitality Management style (see Notes for Contributors) and be of not more than 1500 words in
length. Viewpoints are not refereed.

Communication in the hospitality industry

Andrew D. Wolvin
School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6902, U.S.A.

Organizations today have come to recognize the importance of effective communication.

As the world has become increasingly a competitive global marketplace, it has been
necessary for organizations to improve both their internal and their external
communication systems in order to remain competitive. Like others in the service sector,
the hospitality industry has identified improved communication to be a key to quality,
productivity, and competitiveness.
In their look at the hospitality industry in the 21st century, Powers and Riegel (1993)
conclude that, because the hospitality industry is very much a ‘people business’ in which
staff make all the difference in the consumer experience, ‘. . the increasingly diverse work
force, the shortage of workers which can be expected from time to time in many markets,
and the increasing significance of customer service in a competitive market all combine to
heighten the importance of managing human resources’ (p. 305). And that management of
human resources certainly hinges on effective communication.
The important role of communication in the hospitality industry cannot be
overemphasized. In her research on the communication effectiveness of hotel
reservationists, Beverley Sparks (1994) found that ‘customers evaluate the quality of
service, at least in part, on the manner in which information is communicated’ (p. 48).
Stephen Michaelides (1991), encouraging restaurant managers to restructure their
organizations to communicate, describes the communicating organization as one in which
‘everyone . . . knows what’s going on . . . [through] 1’ mes of communication that are clear,
not garbled; candid, not dishonest or evasive; open, not shut; clean, not polluted’ (p. 22).
Like other business organizations, hospitality organizations communicate both externally
to their many publics and internally to (and through) their personnel and customers alike.
Effective management of the external communication channels is an increasingly critical
area today. Since our publics are bombarded with messages, it is a challenge to have an
impact with the right message for the right audience at exactly the right time. To reach the

195
196 Andrew D. Wolvin

highly-competitive market of hospitality consumers, it is necessary to identify the

audience, target the message to the specific consumer group you want to reach, and then
use all sorts of channels (print ads, television and radio spots, word-of-mouth,
telemarketing) to get the message to your potential customers.
The organization that communicates effectively in the public arena doesn’t limit itself to
professional advertising, however. It is important to use indirect public relations strategies
in order to increase visibility and to enhance credibility both within the industry and with
your various publics. To accomplish this, it may be helpful to have a speaker’s bureau of
employees (from housekeepers on up through the General Manager) who can give
presentations on issues relevant to your intended audiences. And identi~able, sponsored
employee participation in the civic affairs of your community or in professional
associations can be a helpful strategy in maintaining a high profile in the market and in the
industry.
Other public relations strategies that have been found to be useful in the industry can
include bumper stickers, press releases, p,r. kits, direct mailings, promotions and events.
The best public relations vehicle, of course, is the satisfied customer. Hilton International
(Miller, 1993) has found ‘marketing communications . . . the process by which we create a
positive image and customer preference through third-party endorsement’ (p. 49) to be the
key-getting people in the local community, customers, employees, industry partners,
investors, and the press to say good things about it.
To achieve a truly communicating organization, it is important to correlate the external
communication functions with the effective use of internal communization channels. The
internal channels are most typically perceived to be such elements as a weekly (or
monthIy) employee newsletter which provides in-house opportunities to recognize and
reward good work. CEOs like to use ‘town meetings’ as a forum to tell employees about
new policies and/or procedures that may have an impact on their work. And managers
make use of regular meetings to share ideas and provide up-to-date information to their
immediate work group.
But the effective use of internal communication channels should not be limited to these
kinds of traditional ‘top-down’ communication efforts. The communicating organization
should provide for ‘bottom-up’ communication in which employees have the opportunities
to share their ideas and concerns to a ~~~fe~~~g management.
The upward flow of communization in an organization has been found to be an
important characteristic of quality organizations committed to listening to their customers
and to empowering employees to make decisions and otherwise be involved in the running
of the organization. Upward communication is the cornerstone of participative
management, a system where employees are given time and facilities to examine and
discuss work issues and generate solutions/recommendations that are, in turn,
communicated on to management. Such a system necessitates commitment on the part of
management to listen to and to respond to the recommendations. Through this process,
the employee group, in turn, will have a sense of ownership in the organization, a
commitment that translates into greater satisfaction and greater productivity in the work
that they do.
To achieve a communicating organization, it is necessary, first, to commit to using the
external and internal communication channels in a serious way. It is not enough just to give
lip service to communication; it is necessary to get everyone in the organization to be
 Communication in the hospitality industry 197

determined that they will work at communicating effectively with each other, with
management, and-significantly-with the customers. ‘There are responsive management
groups of all sizes,’ observes John H. Hogan (1992), founder of Hotel Asset Managers of
America, ‘but there are many more that don’t listen to their operational staffs . . .’ (p. 24).
A communicating organization doesn’t function just on the basis of the good intentions
of committed employees. It also is necessary to draw up a communication plan that details
what are the organization’s communication goals and how you can achieve these goals
both internally and externally. Conducting a communication audit through questionnaires
and interviews of managers, employees, and customers in order to provide a detailed
analysis of what does and doesn’t work in the organization’s use of the communication
channels is a good first step. A review of an organization’s present communication
practices, then, can serve as the foundation for a communication committee to design a
communication plan that can serve as the basis for any identifiable changes in using the
external and internal communication channels.
To be implemented, a communication plan requires people who can communicate. In
any organization, it is important to train employees, managers, and executives in
communication skills so that they can communicate effectively. Since so much of an
organization’s internal communication depends on speaking and listening interactions,
training in these skills has been found to be critical--especially since so few people have
had systematic speaking and listening training in their educational backgrounds.
Significantly, an interesting study (Gilmore and Hsu, 1994) of alumni of the Iowa State
hospitality program revealed that the graduates felt their writing and speech courses were
among the most important in their career preparation. Hospitality educator R. Thomas
George (1993) emphasizes that ‘effective interaction with employees is crucial to
management success,’ so an important goal in hospitality education is developing
‘managers’ communication skills and empathy’ in the workplace (p. 60) And recruiters in
the industry stress that communication skills and teamwork skills can be the competitive
edge for getting that entry-level position in the first place (‘The Changing Job Market,’
1994, p. 3).
The importance of attending to communication has been recognized in many aspects of
the industry. It is clear that the communicating organization must communicate with all of
its employees at every level. In her study of hospitality middle managers, Brownell (1991)
concluded that ‘although no two properties are alike, middle managers from across the
country share common concerns and face similar problems as they perform their daily
tasks. Most of those tasks involve communication, and the quality and nature of their
interactions directly affect both productivity and service’ (p. 59). Brownell’s research also
provides a description of what that communication looks like: ‘Those [middle managers]
who communicate effectively encourage information sharing and provide clear and
sufficient messages to their subordinates. They promote a climate of teamwork and trust
through their open-mindedness and supportive communication practices’ (p. 59).
The communicating organization also communicates with its customers. Rik Danielson,
a hotel consultant, is convinced that ‘hotels need to listen more to their customers’
(‘Teaching Hotels,’ 1993, p. 25). In their study of communication in the service industry,
Sparks and Callan (1992) emphasize that ‘it is important in the service industry to establish
and build a relationship with customers’ and that ‘the difference between satisfaction and
dissatisfaction for customers in a service encounter is information’ (p. 215). This
198 Andrew D. Wolvin

establishes what William J. Sheehan (1989), CEO of Omni Hotels, describes as the
important ‘employee-communication link’ in which hotel companies establish a
communication plan of action to ‘incorporate customer and employee feedback into daily
operations and then continue to monitor those operations to ensure that quality service is
delivered’ (p. 48).
As the hospitality industry becomes more internationalized, the importance of training
in cross-cultural communication has been recognized. Hotel and food service workers
need these skills to interact effectively with each other and with their customers. The
ability to empathize, to understand the other person’s viewpoint, is a key to improved
cross-cultural communication. Hospitality educator Robert Mill (1994) describes that
cross-cultural effectiveness: ‘Being non-judgmental, avoiding moralistic, value-laden,
evaluative statements, and listening in such a way that the other can fully share and explain
him or herself improves communication across cultures’ (p. 69).
Many sectors of the hospitality industry reflect recognition of the value of good
communication and demonstrate how important it is to the industry. ‘Effective
communication makes good business sense,’ observes Pat Messick (1992), ‘in the food-
service business, it’s what translates our customers’ needs into a delivered product, a
recipe into a pot of soup, a good employee’s performance into a merit increase’ (p. 46).
Travel managers also value communication: ‘Poor communication is one of the top three
reasons a travel incentive program doesn’t work . . . communication with the troops is an
integral part of the motivation process’ (Alonzo, 1993, p. 157).
Indeed, good communication has come to be regarded as one of the benchmarks of
hospitality leadership. Studies of leadership in the lodging and in the food service sectors
led the researchers (Cichy, Sciarini, and Patton, 1992) to conclude that the effective
leaders were able to ‘(1) develop and provide a compelling vision, (2) earn and return
trust, (3) listen and communicate effectively, and (4) persevere when others give up’ (p.
50).
Clearly, effective communication is central to remaining competitive in the hospitality
industry. There is no ‘quick fix’ for accomplishing a communicating organization, but it is
certainly worth the time and effort to identify communication goals, analyze the use of
internal and external communication channels, and prepare everyone to use these
channels to accomplish your goals. ‘Effective communication prevents costly mistakes that
may result in lower productivity,’ stresses Brownell (1992), so ‘the individuals who lead
their organizations through such 21st century realities as changing values,
internationalization, increased diversification, and rapid technological advance must be
excellent communicators’ (p. 113).

References

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Brownell, Judi. (1992) Hospitality Managers’ Communication Practices. Internationul Journal of
Hospitality Management 11, 111-128.
Brownell, Judi. (1991) Middle Managers: Facing the Communication Challenge, The Cornell
H.R.A. Quurterly February, 52-59.
Cichy, Ronald F., Sciarini, Michael P. and Patton. Mark E. (1992) Food-Service Leadership: Could
Atilla Run A Restaurant? The Cornell H. R.A. Quurterly February, 33, 46SS.
 Communication in the hospitality industry 199

George, R. Thomas. (1993) Learning By Example: The Critical-Incident Technique, Cornell Hotel
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