The efficiency of various organizations, including hotels, depends on the ability of employees to take initiative and solve problems without having to ask the permission of senior management. This is why business administrators have to focus on the empowerment of workers. In this context, the term empowerment can be defined as allowing employees to take independent decisions so that they can better cope with their workplace duties (Tschohl, 2003, p. 25). Overall, this issue is of great concern for hoteliers who have to increase the revenues of their organizations and ensure their sustainability.
It is believed that this strategy can help companies establish better relations with clients (Tschohl, 2003, p. 25; Yukl & Becker, 2006). This issue is particularly important for service organizations like hotels that have to meet the needs of customers with different interests, values, and attitudes. More importantly, employees have to take initiative to respond to the requests of clients as quickly as possible (Mohsin & Kumar, 2010, p. 43). Furthermore, one can say that the policy of empowerment can be important for resolving or avoiding possible conflicts with customers (Baum, 2006, p. 93). As a rule, clients can become dissatisfied with the quality of services, if they see that it takes a hotel too much time to address their requests (Baum, 2006, p. 93). So, by empowering employees, managers can minimize the risk of such problems.
In this case, the task of business administrators is very complex. On the one hand, they should establish rules ensuring the fair treatment of every client. This means that the welfare of a customer should not be ensured at the expense of other people because this behavior can ruin the reputation of a hotel. Nevertheless, they should remember that some of the clients can be more loyal to the hotel, and they can be more valuable for the organization (Tesone, 2012, p. 333). This is why employees can sometimes comply with some of their demands, even when such an action contradicts some of the rules (Tschohl, 2003, p. 25; Barlow & Maul, 2000). Thus, business administrators should be able to reconcile these conflicting priorities since this issue is vital for their profitability and customer relations.
This issue can be closely related to the pricing policies of hotels. These organizations tend to vary prices for rooms to increase their occupancy rates and profitability (Chen, 2009, p. 22; Sfodera, 2006). This approach is beneficial during those periods when the decline for the services of hotels declines (Sfodera, 2006). Nevertheless, this strategy can be successfully implemented provided that frontline employees can take decisions without asking the permission of their senior management. For example, they should be allowed to give discounts to returned customers. This is why empowerment is of great relevance to hoteliers.
Overall, it is possible to say that empowerment of workers can greatly improve the performance of hospitality organizations. Front-line employees can be much more effective if they have to opportunity to resolve problems on their own. In this case, one should concentrate on the ability of hotels to attract and retain clients who can set high expectations for hotels. Furthermore, these organizations may not be able to increase their revenues, if frontline workers are not able to take the initiatives. These are the main benefits of empowering workers.
Reference List
Baum, T. (2006). Human Resource Management for the Tourism, Hospitality And Leisure Industries: An International Perspective. London: Cengage Learning EMEA.
Barlow, J., & Maul, D. (2000). Emotional Value: Creating Strong Bonds with Your Customers. New York: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Chen, C. (2009). What Revenue-optimizing Firms Can Do about Their Deal-seeking Consumers: The Role of Price Patterns, Timing and Cancellation Policies in Travelers’ Advanced Booking Decisions. New York: ProQuest.
Mohsin, A., & Kumar, B. (2010). Empowerment Education and Practice in Luxury Hotels of New Delhi, India. Journal Of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 22(4), 43-50.
Sfodera, F. (2006). The Spread of Yield Management Practices: The Need for Systematic Approaches. New York: Springer.
Tesone, D. (2012). Principles of Management for the Hospitality Industry. Boston: Routledge.
Tschohl, J. (2003). The importance of empowerment. Canadian Manager, 28(4), 25-26.
Yukl, G., & Becker, W. (2006). Effective Empowerment in Organizations. Organization Management Journal, 3(3), 210-231.