Hospitality

The main focus of the hospitality industry is to provide service to customers, whether it's a soothing environment for relaxation and escape from everyday stressors, a place where people can stay while conducting business meetings and events, a meal that everyone in the family can enjoy, or a well-thought-out menu that caters to specific tastes. The primary products and services include the tangible, such as clean rooms and facilities and beautifully presented and delicious food, and the intangible, meaning the feelings that hotels and restaurants evoke in visitors from the sights, sounds, and tastes they experience.

The lodging sector of the hospitality industry comprises hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, hostels, campgrounds, and other places where a guest can stay overnight. Well-known brand names like Econo-Lodge, Super 8, and Motel 6 are considered budget accommodations. Mid-priced lodgings are hotels such as Sheraton and Marriott, while high-end luxury hotels include the W Hotels and the Ritz-Carlton.

The lodging industry is capital-intensive, meaning it requires large investments of revenue to create a good product. Therefore, the lodging industry must turn to heavy marketing by using tools like slogans, logos, designs, and media exposure to attract a loyal customer population. Plant and facility maintenance also greatly impacts how well a hotel is able to advertise itself. Room amenities and clean facilities are the two major marketing foci in the hotel industry. However, in an effort to draw more customers, hotels are turning to the business segment of the market by offering services such as conference or meeting rooms, office services, and Internet access.

Niche marketing in the hospitality industry includes specialty services—gaming resorts, golf resorts, shopping excursions, and eco-tourism. Destination vacations and tours of all kinds are big business. Tours have exploded as a market—tours to Jerusalem; tours to Cuba are starting to be offered; tours catering to single women, gay men, or fans of Broadway shows; ski and snowboard tours, snorkeling/deep sea diving tours, and adventure travel. Along with newly themed concepts, many hotels now offer extreme perks in order to attract guests. For instance, Walt Disney World is a big player in the family vacation market. Club Med offers vacations for families, too, as well as for couples. Other big players are Sandals and Fairfield Resorts.

Using environmentally friendly and allergy-free products, eco-friendly hotels are marketed to environmentally conscious customers. Energy-efficient lighting, eco-smart dispensers, green keycard systems, eco-friendly and recyclable food and beverage ware, clean-air environmental products, and biodegradable soap, shampoos, and oils are just some of the features and offerings at eco-friendly hotels. For example, California’s Solage Calistoga has an eco-luxe theme for its guests who are environmentally conscious but still seeking stylish accommodations.

The restaurant industry is made up of high, mid-tier, and lower-tier restaurants. Within each of those levels, there are many different types of restaurants, ranging from casual to full-service and fine dining. Customers have many choices about what type of dining establishment they choose, whether they are seeking American or European or Latin American food, fast food, or a Michelin-rated dining room. Today’s restaurants are a product of more than 100 years of American restaurant history. Big, identifiable chains that have full menus and table service are once again popular and can be found all over America. Many neighborhoods and regions also have a variety local restaurants—including fine dining establishments, fast food restaurants, diners, ethnic restaurants, and vegetarian restaurants.

Restaurant menus are driven by what is new and hot in the food and beverage market, what exciting new recipes are bubbling to the top, and how innovatively they are prepared. Restaurants are constantly tackling these new tastes by changing their menus to meet their customers’ ever-evolving demands. A restaurant’s menu determines what kind of eatery it is; for example, an establishment that serves sushi is a Japanese restaurant, one that serves Mexican fare is a Mexican restaurant, and so on. If a Mexican restaurant decides to add sushi to its menu, it becomes a Mexican/Japanese fusion restaurant.

Foods and beverages produced by small, artisan businesses also hold appeal. Artisan refers to food that is made by hand and sold in small batches. Cheeses, breads, and meats sold by family-owned farms are part of the artisan food movement. Animal welfare (meaning how animals are treated and slaughtered) has become important to the food consumer as well. Grain-fed and free-range pigs, cattle, and chickens allow the consumer to eat more healthful products.

While the plating of dishes has always been a restaurant standard, some restaurants now serve meat, poultry, and fish on beds of “sand” (Panko bread crumbs or coconut), on “seashells” (white pasta), on edible flowers, and on the sea (broth made of clams, mussels and oyster juice). Less ostentatious presentations include dishes served on lily pads, evergreen leaves, and inside banana leaf wraps. All of these presentation methods claim to preserve the aroma and taste of the dish.

Education and training requirements for most hospitality jobs vary depending on the role. Management and administration positions may require an undergraduate degree in hospitality, hotel, or restaurant management. Some organizations may accept an associate's degree with certification in hotel or restaurant management or operations. Students enrolled in hotel management programs typically learn about hotel administration, accounting, marketing, housekeeping, food service management and catering, and hotel maintenance and engineering. Many hospitality degree programs also include computer training, because hotels and restaurants use specific software for things such as reservations, billing, and housekeeping management. Most hotel and restaurant workers also receive training while on the job.

The work environment for hospitality workers also varies. Hotel workers may be in large, well-known hotels or in small, family-owned hotels. Managers and administrative staff have offices located either on site in the hotel or in corporate buildings located elsewhere. Reservation and customer service workers may also work on site or in call centers, which can be located anywhere.

Restaurant workers may be indoors, outdoors, or a combination of the two. Hosts, waiters, busboys, and bartenders may work at restaurants and bars that have indoor and outdoor seating, especially in tropical locations, which can add to the time walking back and forth to the kitchen to pick up and return plates, dishware, and other items. In small restaurants with few tables, workers must be particularly adept at dealing with crowds and still getting their work done in reasonable time frames. For hosts and hostesses, this means managing and supervising the clusters of people waiting to be seated. Waiters and busboys must be careful to keep everything intact and not bump into anyone when carrying meals and drinks to and from tables, which is no easy feat.

Chefs, cooks, dishwashers, and other kitchen workers usually spend their work hours behind the scenes in the kitchen. The kitchens must be clean and sanitary, but that is not always the case in all restaurants. Many restaurant kitchens are crowded, hectic, and hot, with hazards all around, e.g., hot frying pans and ovens, grease splatter, sharp knives, slippery floors, etc. Kitchen staff typically wear a uniform that features protective clothing such as long-sleeve cotton shirts and non-slip shoes.