Twelve hotels, twelve ways of welcoming guests: how a chain measured culture before standardizing service
Average review scores varied widely across hotels under the same brand, and service manuals were not changing the results.
Chain with 12 city and leisure hotels and about 1,100 employees, some hired seasonally. Half of the properties had joined in the last five years, each with its own general manager and routines.
ChallengeThe gap in guest ratings between the best and worst hotel was more than one point on a 5-point scale. The executive team wanted to know whether the problem was training, local leadership or the lack of a shared service culture.
Organizational Culture (ICO)
Why this instrument. ICO Entry covers all six pillars with few statements and allows properties to be compared quickly, which suits operational teams with little time to spare.
Format: Entry · Respondents: 690 of 1,100 (63%)
Where the organization stood
- Stagnant
- Reactive
- Emerging
- Structured
- Advanced
- Benchmark
From results to action, in three waves
- 90 days
Results shared with teams and first priorities agreed.
- 6 months
Management routines adjusted to reduce friction between areas.
- 12 months
Culture tracked as an executive indicator, with reapplication.
Before and after, pillar by pillar
Reapplied after 9 months: 48 (Emerging) → 58 (Emerging).
What changed in operations
- Overall index moved from 48 to 58, progressing within the Emerging band.
- Rating gap between the best and worst hotel narrowed from 1.1 to 0.6 points.
- Housekeeping turnover dropped from 42% to 35% per year.
- Complaints about rooms not ready on time fell about 30%.
What this case teaches
- Manuals do not create consistency; behaviors defined with the teams do.
- Coordination between departments within each hotel mattered as much as coordination across hotels.
- The Entry format was enough to decide; Regular is for going deeper.
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Read the case →Cases are presented without identifying clients. Sectors, sizes and figures are examples built to show the method.