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I would like to share a professional perspective on an issue that can significantly impact a hotel’s operational efficiency, commercial performance, and overall reputation: the management and distribution of incoming information.

In many hotels, emails received through the general hotel email address are intentionally or unintentionally filtered before being forwarded to the appropriate departments, such as General Management, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources, or Finance.

This practice creates a major risk: the loss of valuable information, missed business opportunities, delayed decision-making, and reduced operational efficiency. Any form of information retention, regardless of the reason, becomes an obstacle to the smooth operation of an organization.

An important question should be asked: Is an employee truly qualified to determine the importance or relevance of an email before deciding whether it should be forwarded?

Can an employee confidently decide that a commercial inquiry, partnership proposal, customer complaint, media request, or strategic opportunity does not deserve the attention of a department head or the General Manager?

In most situations, the answer should be no.

The role of an employee is not to judge the strategic value of incoming information but to ensure that it reaches the appropriate decision-maker promptly. Forwarding an email to the relevant manager requires little effort, while failing to do so may cost the hotel significant revenue and valuable opportunities.

This issue is particularly critical in the hospitality industry, where responsiveness and accessibility are essential elements of customer satisfaction and business development.

Across many Asian countries, another recurring challenge can be observed: senior managers are often difficult for customers, partners, or potential clients to reach directly. As a result, requests frequently remain blocked at intermediate levels and never reach the individuals empowered to make decisions.

A study we conducted across the five continents, based on nearly 10,000 commercial and executive inquiries, revealed a concerning reality: only around 20% of requests successfully reached their intended recipients, while approximately 80% were delayed, ignored, lost, or blocked for various internal reasons.

These figures represent a considerable loss of business opportunities, potential customers, strategic partnerships, and ultimately revenue.

The solution is not simply to implement stricter procedures, but to train and empower employees.

Management should ensure that staff members:

• Respond confidently to inquiries that fall within their responsibilities.
• Recognize requests requiring managerial intervention.
• Systematically forward all commercial, strategic, or sensitive requests to the appropriate department.
• Escalate any request they cannot answer rather than allowing it to remain unanswered.

No employee should leave an inquiry unresolved simply because they do not know the answer. A professional acknowledgment followed by immediate escalation is always preferable to silence.

Successful organizations are built on three fundamental principles: communication, transparency, and responsiveness. Restricting the flow of information limits an organization’s ability to grow and compete.

In hospitality, every inquiry may represent a future guest, a loyal client, a corporate contract, an event, or a strategic partnership. No opportunity should be lost because information failed to reach the right person.

It is therefore the responsibility of management to create a culture where information is shared efficiently and where every employee understands that their role is not to control information, but to facilitate its flow for the benefit of the entire organization.