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Manual on Module IIIntroduction to Hospitality

1. Hospitality Industry1.1 Introduction to Hospitality Industry 1.1.1 The Nature of the Hospitality Industry What is the meaning of HOSPITALITY? There have been different definitions of Hospitality. Broadly speaking, Hospitality is the act of kindness in welcoming and looking after the basic needs of guests or strangers, mainly in relation to food, drink and accommodation. A contemporary explanation of Hospitality refers to the relationship process between a guest and a host. When we talk about the “Hospitality Industry”, we are referring to the companies or organisations which provide food and/or drink and/or accommodation to people who are away from home. However, this definition of the “Hospitality Industry” only satisfies most situations. Can you think of any circumstances where the phrase “away from home” would not be accurate? 1

Resort hotel 2

ACTIVITY 1 In groups, consider the hospitality industry in .Discuss the different sectors in the hospitality industry. (Hint:A sector of hospitality industry can be profit-making or non-profit-making.) You may also give the names of somecompanies in the hospitality industry. One example has beengiven in the table below. Work on the table to see whichgroup in your class comes up with the most appropriateexamples. Hospitality industry in Hong KongSector Products/services Example Name of provided company/ organisationFood and Food and drink Fast food McDonald’sBeverage 3

ACTIVITY 2Look at the table that your group has just completed andcompare the answers with other groups. Have you been toany of the above companies or organisations? Whatservices did you receive from them? Were you satisfiedwith the way you were treated by the company or its staff?Did they understand what services you wanted? Did theyprovide what you wanted quickly and accurately? Was thestaff member friendly or rude? Based on the discussionabove, suggest five qualities or traits that a successful staffmember in the hospitality industry should possess. Do youor your group members possess any of these qualities ortraits? 4

1.1.2 The Tangible and IntangibleNature of the Hospitality IndustryIn Activity 1, we learned about different types ofproducts and services provided by the hospitalityindustry. The physical products of hospitality, e.g.food and drink in a restaurant or the actual hotel room,are products that are sold at a price to the guests orcustomers (e.g. the price a guest paid for renting ahotel room, or the price a customer paid for buying ameal in a restaurant). These are often regarded as theTANGIBLE aspects of hospitality. However, ourexperience of the hospitality industry does not onlyrely on the tangibles. Think about your experience ofbeing a customer in a restaurant or a guest in a hotel.What else, apart from the food in restaurants and thefacilities in hotel rooms, do you think can make yourhospitality experience more enjoyable and satisfied? 5

A successful hospitality business does notonly count on its products and services, butalso how they are delivered. The qualitiesof staff and the way they deliver the serviceare often more important than the tangibleproducts in making a hospitality experiencesatisfactory or unsatisfactory. We call thesethe INTANGIBLE aspects of hospitality.Can you think of any INTANGIBLEaspects of the hospitality industry? 6

1.1.3 Relationship between the HospitalityIndustry and TourismAs we have seen, the hospitality industry includes hotelsand restaurants, as well as many other types oforganisations or institutions that offer food, drink, shelterand other related services. These products and servicesare offered not only to people away from home, but alsoto local guests. A manager in the hospitality industry,therefore, must keep in mind the following threeobjectives:•Making the guests feel welcome personally•Making things work for the guests•Making sure that the operation will continue to provideservice and meet its budgetApart from local guests, can you think of any otherguests who may need services and products provided bythe hospitality industry? 7

ACTIVITY 3Now work in pairs and follow the instructionsbelow:Tourist A – You are an 18-year-old student fromBeijing. You visit Hong Kong for the first timewith your cousin who is also from Beijing thissummer. As you are a student, you travel on abudget and are planning to come to Hong Konground trip by train. You plan to stay in HongKong for 5 days/4 nights.Tourist B – You are a businessman fromSweden. Your company is a car manufacturer.You come to Hong Kong for an internationalautomobile exhibition. You will fly to HongKong and stay for two nights before you fly toSingapore for another business meeting. Youwill stay in Singapore for two nights beforegoing home. 8

In two minutes, write down as many as possible of theproducts and services you would require from the differentsectors of the tourism industry for your trip. Compare youranswers with those of your partner. Do you have differentor similar answers? How many of the points you jotteddown are similar to those of your partner?Fill in the following table:A young student A business traveller (Tourist A) (Tourist B) 9

In Activity 3 we learned there are different kinds oftourists. Regardless of what type of tourist they are,they all need shelter and food and drink – the basichospitality services – at ALL points of the tourismcycle, not just at the destination. This is why hospitalitycan be referred to as one of the principal dimensions intourism, along with transportation, specialist shops andleisure activities.Unlike tourism, hospitality, however, serves bothtourist and non-tourist needs. To enhance yourunderstanding of the relationship between thehospitality and tourism industry, ccomplete Activity 4. 10

ACTIVITY 4The following diagram shows the relationship betweenthe hospitality and tourism industry. Can you think ofmore services with examples to add to the diagram?Hospitality Industry Tourism IndustryInstitutional/ Commercial Transportation servicesWelfare Catering Accommodation e.g. Car Rental,e.g. Hospital Services e.g. Hotels, Airlines Catering Guest Houses 11