Basics of Hospitality Industry , Hospitality - Where You Feel Comfort

Hospitality Industry

The Hotels and Catering or Hotel and Food Service Industry are now becoming widely known as the Hospitality Industry.

Central to the industry is the need for operational personnel who are generally divided into food and beverage staff and room’s division staff.

Well you all are very much aware of the importance of Hotels. As the tourism industy got a sudden growth, the percentage of travelling also incresed. This creat more demand for shelter and food. Here in Hotels both of thses needs of people are getting fulfilled. People are ready to pay huge amount for a leisure trip and hence they also have some expectations like good facilities.

The main objective of Hospitality industry is to make the Guest Happy and Comfortable and ensure Freequent Customers. For attaining this all people working here are trying their maximum. So the wording "Customer is always right" is absolutely correct here.

Purpose of Travel: Because of quick and efficient transportation, people are spurred to travel for various reasons as destinations have become more accessible. Some of these reasons to travel are:

1- Sightseeing

2- Relaxation

3- Sport

4- Special Interest

5- Shopping

6- Business

7- Governmental

Types of Hotels

Hotels may be categorized depending upon factors such as:

1- Location

2- Number of rooms

3- Type of plan room rates that are quoted

4- Type of clientele

5- Length of the guest stay

6- Facilities that it offers

Let us go deeply into Hotels

“Hotel” or “Inn” is defined by British law as a place where a bonafide traveler can received food and shelter provided he is in a position to pay for it and is in a fit condition to be received. Hence, a Hotel must provide food and beverage and lodging to the travelers on payment and has, in turn, the right to refuse if the traveler is drunk, disorderly, or not in a position to pay for the services.

Origin: The hotel industry is, perhaps, one of the oldest commercial endeavors in the worked. The first inns go back to the sixth century B.C and were the products of the urge to travel, spurred by the invention of the ‘wheel’. The earliest inns were ventures by husband and wife teams who provided large halls for travelers to make their own beds and sleep in the floor. They also provided modest wholesome food, thirst-quenchers like wine, port, ale, etc and stabling facilities. Entertainment and recreation were provided by the host’s wife or his wench.

These conditions prevailed for several hundred years. The advent of the Industrial Revolution in England brought ideas and progress in the business of inn keeping. The development of the railways and steamships made traveling more prominent. The industrial revolution also changed travel from social or government travel to business travel. There was a need for quick and clean service.

The lead in hotel keeping was taken by the emerging nations of Europe, especially Switzerland. It was in Europe that the birth of an organized hotel industry took place in the shape of chalets and small hotels which provided a variety of services and were mainly patronized by the aristocracy of the day.

In early England, public houses were normally called “inns” or “taverns”. Normally, the name “inn” was reversed for the finer establishments catering to the nobility and clergy. The houses frequented by the common man were known as “travens”.

The real growth of the modern hotel industry took place in the USA beginning with the opening of City Hotel in New York in 1794. It involved big investments, big profits and trained professionals to manage the business. Individual owners thus merged themselves with large international chains such as Sheratons, Hiltons, Hyatt, Holiday Inn etc. These international chains provided the following services to individual owners:

Partnership - Sharing equity and profits.

Franchise - Providing “name” and “association” and marketing services in

exchange for franchise and marketing fees.

Management - Expertise in management, professional managers, technicians,

manuals, systems, etc.

Marketing – Active selling, chain benefits, reservation tie – ups, etc.

Today’s hotel caters to all the needs and wishes of a guest and the future holds promise for a future mushrooming of modern hotels.