Electronic Communication Tools: Top Pitfalls Affecting Hotel Staff Efficiency

Electronic Communication Tools: Top Pitfalls Affecting Hotel Staff Efficiency

Summary

     Glenn Withiam, Director of Publications with Cornell Center for Hospitality Research discusses e-mail, its use and impact on the hospitality industry.  The article is based on a study by Brownell and Newman on six formats for electronic communication.  These included document sharing, intranets, instant messaging, discussion groups, wikis, and blogs.  The document sharing format of email was the format that most chose to focus on.  Withiam states that the email control issue seems to have two pieces.  First is time spent and second is appropriate use.  Grammar, tone, and clarity are also topics for concern both in emails received and sent by mangers.  It seems that hotel managers were also very relaxed in their timeliness of their responses to emails.  In the Brownell and Newman study of 100 hotel managers they were asked what the biggest email challenge was for them.  The majority responded that they received too many emails.  Also, they found that being copied on an email just for “FYI” was found to be the most unwanted of the emails.  The study also found that two to five hours a day was the average time spent on emails by a manger.  Withiam does state that Brownell and Newman expect e-mail volume to decline.

Reflection

     I found this article shocking to say the least.  The way it portrays the inability of today’s hotel managers to use e-mail quickly and efficiently does not seem possible. The hotel industry is mostly face to face, but that does not mean that the managers do not know how to use a computer.  Basic email use is part of today’s society and by the time you are out of school to be a manager at a hotel you have taken many courses on e-mails, grammar, and tone.  I think Withiam was looking at the hotel managers of yesterday and I am very curious as to the when and who of the study.  Brownell and Newman may done a study of 100 hotel managers but I think that may be a very low number in relation to how many hotels are in the United States of America.  With the technology friendly society we have today I find it extremely hard to believe that instant messaging and text messaging aren’t much more prominent than this article portrays.  Hotel managers should be in contact with their staff at all times. As my plan is to open a hotel, my manager will be able to staff via cell phone or text message at all times.  I can see times when emails are necessary for certain things, just as face to face is also still needed, but a quick text message can get a question asked and answered in a matter of a few minutes.

Withiam, Glenn. (2010, March 30). Electronic Communication Tools: Top Pitfalls Affecting Hotel Staff Efficiency.

 http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/top-stories/Electronic-Communication-Tools--Top-Pitfalls-Affecting-Hotel-Staff-Efficiency55213