Exploring the Hospitality Industry free essay sample

Hospitality businesses are open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day Constant strive for outstanding guest satisfaction leads to guest loyalty leads to more pro? t Services are mostly intangible the product is for the guest’s use not possession only Inseparability: characteristic of services that makes them inseparable (1) from their means of production, and (2) from the customers experience of them. Inseparability requires that a consumer of a service interacts (sometimes physically) with its producer to receive its bene? Perfecting service Service is ‘the act or means of serving’, to serve is to ‘provide goods and services for’ and ‘be of assistance of’ Guest expectations have increased and the realisation that ‘we buy loyalty with service’ have caused the hospitality industry to be re-vamped The essence of teamwork: ‘if you are not serving the guest, you had better be serving someone who is’ someone in the back of the house is serving someone in the front of the house, who is serving the guest (employees are sometimes called internal guests; one employee serves another employee who serves the guest) helps to achieve the common goal: guest satisfaction External guests the people who are willing to pay for a company’s service their satisfaction ultimately measures a company’s success Internal guests The people inside a company who receive or bene? Emphasise on high touch instead of high tech 5. thrive on change leadership involves change, because the external environment is changing when implementing change: 1. State the purpose of the change 2. Involve all employees in the process 3. Monitor, update and follow up Total quality management (TQM) helps improve service to guests by empowering employees to give service that exceeds guest expectations Works best when managers are  also good leaders, they have to create a stimulating work environment in which guests and employees become an integral part of the mission by participating in goal and objective setting. Achieving TQM is a top-down, bottom-up process that must have the active commitment and participation of all employees from the top executives down to the bottom of the corporate ladder TQM focusses on error prevention Quality control (QC) focusses on error detection By empowerment employees will feel responsible for their jobs and have a stake in the company’s success To empower employees, managers must: 1. Take risks 2. Delegate 3. Create a learning environment 4. Share information and encourage self-expression 5. Involve employees in de? ning their own vision 6. Be thorough and patient with employees The hospitality industry is a service industry; this means that we take pride in caring about others as well as ourselves. Ensuring that guests receive outstanding service is a goal of hospitality corporations CHAPTER 3 Pleasure travel 82% of domestic travel is leisure travel (leisure, recreation, holidays and VFR) Nearly half visits friend and relatives Reasons for travel To experience new and different surroundings To experience other cultures To rest and relax To visit friends and family To view or participate in sporting / recreational activities Reason for increasing travel Longer life span Flexible working hours Early retirement Greater ease of travel Tendency to take shorter, more frequent trips Increase in the standard of living The appeals of travel Scenic beauty Pleasant attitudes of local people Suitable accommodation Rest and relaxation Airfare cost Historical and cultural interest Cuisine Water sports Entertainment (e. g. , nightlife) Shopping facilities Sports (golf and tennis) Factors in? Travel is an experience, not a tangible object The experience and the memory occur in the mind, leaving no concrete evidence as to why travel was undertaken and why the trip is experienced in so many different ways by different people Business travel Amount of business travel has declined General economic climate Acts of terrorism Companies’ reduced travel budgets These days business travel is often combined with leisure travel Business travellers for business purposes such as Meetings All kinds of sales Conventions Trade shows Exhibitions Compared to leisure travellers, they tend to be young, spend more money, travel farther and in smaller groups. However, they do not stay as long Business travel will gradually decline even further and leisure travel will increase Many people have more leisure time and higher level of education More disposable income The cost of travel has remained constant or dropped The social and cultural impact of tourism Tourism can lea ve both positive and negative impact of communities Tourism has made signi? cant contributions to international understanding Tourism is a means of enhancing: International understanding Peace Prosperity Universal respect for, and observance of human rights Fundamental freedom for all, without distinction to race, sex, language, or religion Tourism is a sociocultural phenomenon, exchanging sociocultural values The competitiveness of international destinations is based on such attributes as Service quality Price Safety Security Entertainment Weather Infrastructure Natural environment Political stability What is ecotourism? ‘Responsible tourism’ A reaction to the negative consequences on natural resources, ecosystems and cultural destinations Environmentally responsible travel and visitations to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides bene? Ecotourism is more focused on individual values Promotes biodiversity Promotes conservation Minimises the environmental impact of tourism Increases knowledge of culture and the environment Sustains the livelihood of locals Cultural tourism Visits motivated wholly or in part by interest in the historical, artistic, scienti? c, or lifestyle / heritage offerings of a community, region, group or institution It bene? ts from the United Nations Educational, Scienti? c, and Cultural Organisations (UNESCO), which designated a number of World Heritage Sites worthy of protection and preservation due to outstanding value of humanity Placing local arts and crafts in hotel lobbies, guest rooms, and restaurants increases the demand for them and at the same times creates a desirable local ambience in the hotels Cultural tourism enhances the arts and crafts of a destination by providing new markets for artisans, often reviving a fading art or craft and fostering the development of tradition al forms. Heritage tourism Tourism that respects natural and built environments, the heritage of the people and place, and appreciation for historical milestones and ‘heritage trails’ The purpose of preservation is to protect those assets for the enjoyment of present and future generations The challenge is heritage tourism is ensuring that the increased number visitations does not destroy the very qualities that attracts tourists in the ? rst place Four steps to a comprehensive heritage program Assessing the potential Planning and organising Preparing, protecting, and managing Marketing for success Nature tourism Tourism motivated by nature, such as visits to a national park Baby boomers have increasingly become interested in nature tourism CHAPTER 4 Franchising A concept that allows a company to quickly expand by using other’s money instead of own ? nancing. For a fee, the franchiser grants certain rights such as the trademark, signs, proven operating systems, operating procedures and reservation system and purchasing discounts The franchisee agrees (under contract) to operate in accordance with the franchiser’s guidelines Management contracts A management contract is an arrangement under which operational control of an enterprise is vested by contract in a separate enterprise which performs the necessary managerial functions in return for a fee. Management contracts involve not just selling a method of doing things (as with franchising) but involve actually doing them Responsibility for rapid hotel industry boom since the 1970s Popularity because they involve little or no up-front ? nancing or equity Types and location of hotels 1. Based on location City centre Generally located in the heart of the city within a short distance from business centre, shopping arcade Resort hotels They are also termed as health resort or beach hill resort and so depending on their position and location. They cater a person who wants to relax, enjoy themselves at hill station. Most resort work to full capacity during peak season. Sales and revenue ? Freeway Hotels and Motels (Motor) hotels offer a convenient place to stay that are reasonably priced with few frills. Guest can simply drive up park outside the of? ce, register, rent a room and park outside the room 2. Based on the level of service (Classi? ed into economy, and luxury on the basis of the level of service they offer) Economy / Budget hotels These meet the basic need of the guest by providing comfortable and clean room for a comfortable stay 3. Based on the length of stay Transient Hotel These are where guest stays for a day or even less, they are usually ? ve star hotels. The occupancy rate is usually very high. These hotels are situated near airport These are the hotel where guest can stay for a minimum period of one month and up to a year. The rent can be paid on monthly or quarterly basis. They provide sitting room, bed room and kitchenette Semi residential hotels These hotels incorporate features of both transient and residential hotel 5. Based on target market Commercial hotel They are situated in the heart of the city in busy commercial areas so as to get good and high business. They cater mostly businessmen. Convention hotels These hotels have large convention complex and cater to people attending a convention, conference Suite hotels These hotel offer rooms that may include compact kitchenette. They cater to people who are relocating act as like lawyers, executives who are away from home for a long business stay. Casino hotels Hotel with predominantly gambling facilities comes under this category, they have guest room and food and operation too. These hotels tend to cater leisure and vacation travellers. Gambling activities at some casino hotels operate 24 hours a day and 365 days a year Vacation Ownership Political correct way of saying time-share A person purchases the use of a unit for block of time, usually in weeks The idea is that you bene? t by pre-paying for a vacation place rather than renting it, as you might otherwise do. The pro? t that would have gone to the rental stays in your pocket. Under a Vacation Ownership plan you agree to a one-time purchase price and an annual maintenance fee, Vacation Ownership purchasers own their accommodation time and purchase the right-to-use it for a speci? ed number of years CHAPTER 5 Function and departments of a hotel The main function of a hotel is to provide an outstanding lodging experience Provide all the comforts of home to those away from home A large hotel is run by a General Manager and executive committee, key associates: Rooms Division director FB director Marketing and Sales director Human Resources director Chief accountant Chief engineer Role of the hotel General Manager Large hotels can be impersonal, but the GM has to make sure that he / she gets to know the guests and makes their stay memorable. GMs can be present in the lobby of the hotel or in FB outlets at peak times Guests like the feeling that the GM has personal interest in their well-being Qualities of a GM Leadership Attention to detail Follow-through People skills Patience Ability to delegate ef? ciently The GM sets the tone, selecting and training the best people, and others try to match it Management structure The GM, with the input from the executive committee, makes all the major decisions affecting the hotel These executives compile the occupancy forecast together with all revenues and expenses to make up the budget The departments The rooms division’s director is responsible to the GM for the ef? cient and effective leadership and operation of all the rooms division departments This includes ? The front of? ce is the hub or nerve centre of the hotel It is the ? rst impression that the guest gets from the hotel The guest relies on the front of? ce for information and service throughout the stay The duty of the FOM is to provide outstanding guest services to exceed needs Main functions of the front of? ce staff To sell rooms To maintain balanced guest accounts To offer service such as handling mail, faxes, messages, and local hotel information A hotel balances their accounts at the end of each business day The night auditor waits until the hotel quiets down at 1. Management would like to sell every room at rack rate (= published rate that the hotel wants to get for the room) But most of the rooms are sold at discount on the rack rate To allocate the right type of capacity to the right guest at the right price so as to maximise revenue or yield per available room Yield is ROP * rate achievement factor Rate achievement factor is ADR divided by rack rate Revenue per available room (rev par) is total room revenue, divided by the number of available rooms Communications CBX or RBX Telecommunications department Guest communication Pagers and radios Voice mail Faxes Messages Emergency centre Operates 24 hours a day Trained staff that is calm under pressure and can follow emergency procedures Guest services This department has a special responsibility for the guest, since.