Experience in Hospitality - Assignment Example

Project Name: Lecturer: Course name: Course code: Date: Experience in Hospitality The motivating factors behind people seeking for pleasurable activities are in the desire to obtain a memorable experience. They often look for unique life changing situations that turned around their consumptive motivations. The dynamism in travelers’ needs and wants has compelled many hotels and holiday makers to gain experiences of a lifetime (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2005). The need for recreation and relaxation is often seen as a season of transformation. They perceive instances where the physical and mental health of an individual is restored and rejuvenated. Many find it as a time to relieve the psychological stresses arising from stressful work patterns. For instance, the experiences that prevailed in the distant past were visits by people to spa waters to obtain health rejuvenation (Cassée & Reuland, 2003). However, current experiences show that the people prefer visiting island resorts or health farms to get quiet time and to rid their bodies of impurities and blockages resulting from stresses. In this regard the hotels offer; saunas, gyms, yoga, swimming pools and other services to their customers in line with the experiences they will gain from such services. It is common for people to travel away from the routines and stresses of their work places to rekindle their lost flames, get meaning to life and create diversion to boredom. They no longer find happiness in what they do and therefore need a temporary refuge to drop their burdens. The current trend in the work place is full of automation and functionalism hence the monotony and loss of nature. Motivated people travel much often to escape dehumanizing and mechanizing effects of current lifestyles where life is essentially less orderly and less hectic (Dittmer & Griffin, 2002). There are classes of people who prefer experiencing change through doings things that are contrary to their ordinary activities. It is often not conceived for people to go on holidays to perform the very routine duties they have been experiencing all along. Commodification of tourism helps a lot in the creation of mundane environments where tourists or guests seek out of the ordinary experiences. There is also a growing trend of ritual inversion where people on holidays create their own rules and meanings of common behavior (Chappell, 2000). For instance, American tourists would want to experience the opposite of what they live for. Rich American tourists can go for holidays to engage in peasant life of hardships and discomfort while the poor class would live like queens and kings. Pseudo-environments have been made to cushion the American tourists of the realities where they can find similar facilities like those available at home. The hospitality industry of the present day has thrived in raising expectations and fantasies through memorable experiences. The expectations created by the media reinforce and sustains the experiences that people would like to have or find (Brotherton & Wood 2009). Hospitality: Comparing the Past and Present The commonalities in the present day hospitality context are attributed to the definitions of host and guest in the past. They had similar usage previously. At present, the host means multitude, consecrated bread used for communion as someone who receives guests. Similar applications were to hotels, lodges in the past as it is today (Go & Pine, 2002). There was apparent fear of strangers in the past which was regarded by the hosts as sacred, powerful, malevolent and supernatural beings in disguise. This made hospitality and hostility as inseparable since strangers were treated with hostility, rejection and expulsion. The same case applies to the present where strangers are still treated with suspicion and hostility. The past ‘strangers’ were treated without mercy and understanding but today’s visitor is tolerated. Some strangers can have hostile attitudes and behaviors of which the present day host must endure. Hospitality was also seen as a symbolic bond where strangers could share food, security and shelter in return of trust still applies today. The hotel guests at present will feel the service and generosity of the host to assured loyalty and lasting relationship (Fitzgerald, 2002). The length of stay of a guest in the past was sustained as long as the host continues to enjoy certain gains and privileges. Hospitality then was seen as provision of trust, goodwill, friendship and acceptance which still plays a role to date. There were rituals to transform strangers into guests while today’s hotels take the customer through a registration process to confirm personal details which could be beneficial to the hotel. Just as there are laws governing the clients and guests to the hotel, the provisions in the past were regarded with zeal. These covered their maintenance, protection and behavioral guide. The relations between guests and hosts in the past were governed by unwritten laws and general code of conduct, externalized through rituals (Fitzgerald, 2002). The same applies to the present day where hospitality companies require customers to sign an agreement to use the facilities and obtain a good service. Pursuit of profit and regulation The present economic environment has favored the pursuit of profits often with some compromises on ethics and professional practice (O'Gorman, 2005). The treatment of employees, share holders and customers has been such that employees bear the burden of low morale, poor pay and working conditions. The financial performance of hotels is characterized by high fixed costs and rates, often fluctuating and unpredictable demand. The environment in the hotel industry is such that the skills are not preferred hence employees receive low pay and expected to work for long hours (Brislin & Yoshida, 2001). Hospitality is lost when employees are demotivated, tired and poorly paid. The staff will try to sabotage the service and lower the reputation of the hotel. To reduce on the massive exodus of employees, mistreatment and exposure to poor working conditions, the governments and interested sectors have introduced bench mark conditions on employment, remuneration and working environment (O'Gorman, 2005).. The regulatory institutions have brought sweeping changes meant to increase workers rights and ensure hotels adhere to the set minimum standards. On employment, the regulations spells how employees should be paid, minimum salary or wages, the skills hired form the population should consider educational standards as well as experience among other factors. Persons of all gender all eligible to be employed and that employment should not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, religion and other affiliations. It also emphasizes that local population should benefit from employment opportunities offered by new and existing hotels (Hill, 2002). Whereas hospitality has been improved to maximize profit, efficiency, effectiveness and other goals the mass exodus of individuals staff to greener pastures where their services and valued and recognized with better pay. The current employee turnover arises from motivation, working conditions and remuneration. Trade unions have been vibrant but not cognizant of the plight of many employees who perceive the unions with low enthusiasm. Employee behavior and attitude change to most hospitality organizations is not reputation but the willingness of the employer to understand and recognize employee rights and skills (O'Gorman, 2005). Cultural expectation and ideals The cultural setting where hospitality plays role is significant as it influences the provision of service. For instance, in Sri Lanka, hospitality workers are required to be subservient and stick to an hierarchical structure as compared to egalitarian societies like United Kingdom (Covey, 2005). The organizational arrangement is embedded in the eyes of the customer since they quickly read the policies and procedures employed. The aspect of dress code is emphasized by some hotels where a sarong can be worn and not a suit. The form of address given by the servers to the served marks the status difference (Krippendorf, 2003). Addresses like sir or madam is common in many cultures as they treat their guests with respect owing to their social status or nationality. Visitors have cultural expectations when going to a foreign country for the first time. For example, Australian workers feel that American tourists have a demeaning attitude while on the contrary Americans believe Australians are disrespectful. Many visitors expect polite requests like ‘Thank you’ and ‘Please’ as a way of appreciation. Americans will treat a manager highly because of their senior position but Australian service staff only respects the manager who is seen as deserving by having adorable leadership qualities. The culture of treating staff with respect is demonstrated by how the managers address their juniors. Harassing staff in front of their customers is a weak and repressive culture which is repulsed by many. This is evidenced by high employee turnover to favorable employers. Impact of globalization on food consumption A common characteristic of the globalization process is a convergence and adaptation, although at varying speeds, of myriad cultural, institutional, legal, social, and economic processes and practices over a number of countries. With regard to food systems, changes are happening following the food chain starting from production, processing to retail and marketing. The desire to refrain from assigning any value judgment to the process preferably isolates the common characteristics of the phenomenon. Citing instances of changes happening in many country case studies from developing countries is necessary. The trend and degree of change in food systems are happening at varying rates over regions and countries. However, all countries appear to be moving in common direction. Country-specific examples are significant in pointing out factors that may give rise to the rapidity with which these changes are occurring and the populations’ nutritional status impact (Krippendorf, 2003). A discrete period of previous economic reforms and market liberalization demonstrates the unveiling of the national market to larger international trade. Technology and facilitating mechanisms is influenced by availability and access to contemporary technologies also puts significant affect on the changes to food systems. It is essential to consider these factors, despite sparse data which usually lends itself to comparisons. For instance, a convenient beginning would consider infrastructure and availability of services and technology. It is crucial to constitute an estimate of the proportion of the population with access to electricity, the percentage of well-maintained and paved roads, estimates on car ownership and proportion of households with refrigerators. However, significant information is unavailable in a conventional form that permits cross-country comparisons. Owing to these limitations, other trends are visible with the most complete and contemporary set of comparable information regards to Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators. It includes access to sanitation and safe water, to communication, Internet and the computers. The access to water, proper sanitation and well paved roads are considered as significant infrastructure (Krippendorf, 2003). Another aspect of globalization is dietary convergence where income and price are the two highly influential factors gives rise to dietary convergence. In return, they are influenced by availability and supply. On the price dimension, low prices of common global staples like maize rice, and wheat are highly sustained by subsidies to farmers in producing countries, uniquely for wheat and maize. The trade on rice has improved dramatically, propelled by rising demand in parts of Asia and Africa. Global trade in rice attained a landmark high of 28 million tonnes in 2002 (FAO, 2003). Huge production increases have lowered costs were made possible as a consequence of yield increases and intensive agricultural practices. Rising fat consumption specifically from vegetable oils is another dietary convergence phenomenon (MacCannell, 2004). The adaptation of diets to constitute highly processed, refined and brand name foods is affected by dramatic changes in lifestyle which are influenced by, among others, time demands, increased advertising exposure, new foods availability and of new food retail outlets emergence. Urban residents initially undergo significant environmental and lifestyle changes, though they eventually trickle down to less urbanized areas as well (Albrow, et al 2007). Finally, lifestyle changes and meal patterns adaptation is predominant in urban areas. It is occasioned by men and women who are driven into the workforce by the overriding desire for improvements in income. These expenses go to pay for food, shelter, clothing and other household expenses. Besides, the working hours and commuting times are considerably long and, with rising numbers of family members joining the workforce, minimal time is available to make food and thus there is increased desire and necessity to take meals outside the home. Some factors fuel demand and occasion massive market expansion convenience. This also applies to fast food options. It is expected that meal times and traditional meals are to be replaced by rapid and often unplanned food purchases (MacCannell, 2004). They are now dominant on street corners or in miniature kiosks. In most urban environments, the traditional model of one family member shouldering responsibility for planning of meals and preparation of food for the household has fractured. References Albrow, M., J. Eade, et al 2007. 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