Managing the Hospitality Experience - Assignment Example

Running head: Managing the Hospitality Experience Student’s name Institution Course Professor Date Question 1 The definition of hospitality has faced ambiguity over recent years. When the term hospitality is mentioned, anyhow, any person thinks about business development and growth (Hemmington, 2007). Thus, it has been taken as a business phenomenon rather than a collective behaviour of individuals amidst the social, the private and commercial environments altogether (Hemmington, 2007). As used in the business environment, hospitality has been a kind of special service to the guests and customers with only one purpose – strategic ethics for business development and growth. The past has seen special services for particular individuals (Braitwaite, 2004). For example, the existence of different classes of passengers, guests to a hotel or a tourist destination has been in place. Hospitality has similarly been classified thus; say, first class, second class and third class (Gillespie, 1994). Lately, however, hospitality has taken another trend. It is gradually turning from a kind of a service into experience concern (Hemmington, 2007). This means that old use of quality of service per visit is swallowed into memories in terms of experience. Hemmington (2007) depicts that customers no longer need the services, which at any rate may be biased into giving ordinary utilities found elsewhere, but a different experience marked by surprises that are captivating and memorable. For instance, for hospitableness, Hemmington (2007) states that customers do not buy service delivery, they buy experiences; they do not buy service quality, they buy memories; they do not buy food and drink, they buy meal experiences. In short, hospitality is about ‘entertaining the guests’ and not ‘offering services to customers’. Services are to economics of business growth and development while entertainments are to retention of customers. Hospitality includes things like unpaid for theatrical performances for guests as opposed to customer service (Braitwaite, 2004). For business services, managers make various functional arrangements (like delivery systems for goods bought) that do not tie the customer to the business. For hospitality the concern is about the host; the hosts prepare an entertainment program that do not fetch direct benefits but give their hosts a memorable experience (Hemmington, 2007). Question 2 There is a great distinction between hospitality as organized today and the way it was organized in the past. First is the inclusion of the services as part of hospitality (Hemmington 2007). In the modern society, there is a growing separation between services to customers and customer-host memorable relationship. However, both services and hospitality are considered essential commercial phenomena for the development of business. According to O’Gorman (2005), however, entertainment in the past was a strategy to ensure reassurance of strangers/guests. There were not commercial reasons or direct benefits expected in return (O’Gorman 2005). Actually, in ancient times, hospitality to the guests was based on an assumption that if one was treated well by the host, the host, in doing that, protecting himself or herself from the stranger. In other words, no benefit was expected in return. Hospitality was then gradually classified as a business virtue where customers were treated as guests (Hemmington, 2007). Generally, hospitality could be attributed to the need for the growth and development of a business both in the past and in the present times. Customer/visitor-business/host relationship could thus be the first common issue of concern in both cases (Hemmington, 2007). Another common attribute is generosity (Hemmington, 2007). However, there is a slight difference between the purpose of generosity in the past and in the present. In the past, generosity was a social approach to the stranger and visitors of any kind under the aforementioned belief (personal security) (O’Gorman, 2005; Hemmington, 2007). On the contrary, generosity in the modern society is offered pro business growth and development. For instance, the modern hospitality is rated by the outcomes in the business economics (Hemmington, 2007). There are high hopes that the customer visits will increase with inclusion of entertainment programs. But from another dimension, entertainment for guests in the modern society is also influenced by intermixing of cultures and increasing influxes of guests of different nature (Gillespie, 1994). For example, in tourism, particular tastes and experiences prepared for guest are influenced where they come from and the nature of the industry (Gillespie 1994). Question 3 The genuineness of the host is the most desired feeling as an experience of the guest. In early times, hospitality was entwined within the cultures of different societies, especially in Greek, and was a norm (O’Gorman, 2005). The implication thereof is that hospitability was spontaneous although sometimes it was conducted for safety reasons (O’Gorman, 2005; Hemmington, 2007). It was not induced or practiced by particular people towards particular people but was a collective behaviour to treat strangers fairly. Later on, the concept of hospitality was introduced in the commercial picture. This means that hospitality is a behaviour to be paid for either directly or indirectly. Many a times, hospitality is conducted to give the visitors an experience to make them return again and influence others (Choi & Chu, 2000). In other words, hospitality is currently meant for increasing financial returns both in the short run and in the long run. In terms of hospitality, the modern society is a complete contrast of the past. While strangers in the past were unconditionally treated well, today, strangers are a threat to security not unless they are tourists or customers to a particular organization (Choi & Chu, 2000). Outside the business sphere, hospitality and particularly to strangers is no more. Hospitality has taken a commercial tone. Inevitably, the genuineness of hospitable acts to visitors/guests is under siege. The fact that the guest feels that the only reason his or her hosts are hospitable is the profit from his or her payments is an enough bias. The guests are simply buying hospitality, that is, he or she cannot experience it anywhere else outside his host (Choi & Chu, 2000). The society, at the same time, believes that acts of hospitality are only associated with profits (Martin-Ruiz & Barroso, 2012). Hospitality among societies has therefore shifted ways from being a cultural or traditional heritage to a commercial phenomenon. Even in academics, the curricula for hospitality courses have taken a selfish tone (Martin-Ruiz & Barroso, 2012). If various measures are not taken therefore, the destructive selling of hospitableness is and will be on the rise (Martin-Ruiz & Barroso, 2012). Question 4 The quality of service to customers is dependent on the kind and the nature of the customers in question (Choi & Chu, 2000). It is possible that customers from different cultural background will require particular or rather specific services. For example language barrier has been one of the most discouraging factors of concern in the tourism industries (Choi & Chu, 2000). The idea is that the human workforce of the host must be resourceful enough to cover all the social requirements of the guest (Choi & Chu, 2000). Swift communication between the host and the guest forms a fundamental determinant of the quality of service the guest is to expect. Another example is religion (Choi & Chu, 2000). Visitors from different religions have different views concerning the service delivery, the person delivering service and the nature of the service. The level of development in a society is another point of focus. Currently, visitors can be expected from all the corners of the world (Choi & Chu, 2000). The tourism industry forms a basic example. A tourist travelling from developed countries to underdeveloped countries will not have the same expectations of services as a tourist from underdeveloped country to a similar destination (Choi & Chu, 2000). It is more likely that some will have quite different expectations than others in terms of services. Similarly, in societies where particular generosity level differs from that of the destination, questions may arise. Hemmington (2007) state that due to economic rationalization of hospitality, some services are stripped of small tag-benefits that are provided elsewhere and thus, in comparison, guest satisfaction will go down (Choi & Chu, 2000). A guest/customer may request a service only known to his or her natives and culture but not on the host’s shelves. This way, the host realizes wherever hitches are evident and finds a remedy to avoid future mistakes. The level of technology used or provided by the host may also depict differences. Foods are another factor of concern (Gillespie, 1994). Guests from different cultures will certainly expect prevalence of foods known to them (Gillespie, 1994; Choi & Chu, 2000). The level of services may be challenged if the guests find no enough options are provided. Hygiene and taboos are other areas of concern that are likely to trigger differences between the host and the guest’s expectations (FAO, 2004). Question 5 Globalization has had negative and positive impacts among different cultures all over the globe (FAO, 2004). International trade, tourism and internet corridors are some of the main channels through which the world is gradually turned into a single community with homogenous ideals and values (FAO, 2004). Foods and their consumption form one area where globalization impacts are evident. Communities in the developing world are easily lured into consuming foods outside their traditional ones; those that originate from developed world (FAO 2004) and so on. Feeding habits take the same trail as well. Issues on debate are those concerning nutrition, hygiene and cultural drain (FAO, 2004). It is gradually becoming a trend to rely on manufactured foods at the expense of traditional foods in the world (Kolawole & Soyibo, 2007). The ready form of manufactured foods, however, blindfolds the consumers such that concerns of healthy and adaptable diets are no more (Kolawole & Soyibo, 2007). A good example of this is the proliferation of fast foods that allegedly are easily available and saving time. In the U.S. and Australia, cases of obesity arise due to mindless consumption of high energy fast foods with little or no exercises. In much smaller economies like Fiji, the trend is the same (FAO, 2004). According to FAO (2004), the concern on debate is how to ensure that these foods are nutritionally sound for use by different communities all over the globe. The reason for this is that it is easier to mitigate the situation than trying to reverse globalization which has more positive implications than negative. Poverty and overdependence on foreign aids as well as international tourism has opened questions in terms of hygiene of the readily manufactured foods (Kolawole & Soyibo 2007). As manufactured and thus packaged food overtake traditional foods for different communities, in the developing world, fast foods are now being distributed by hawkers in a door to door service (Kolawole & Soyibo, 2007). The assurance of food hygiene is no more as the foods are relayed through different handlers. Outbreaks of food related diseases are thus evident. Different food handlers are more concerned with profits accrued than the food hygiene. Through the aforementioned globalization channels, different cultures are being shared or displaced globally. Communities leave their traditional foods for seemingly new global tradition of fast foods and delicacies (FAO 2004; Vepa, 2007). A good example is the fast foods sales that supersede traditional foods in Fiji, Urban India among other developing countries (FAO 2004; Vepa, 2007). Well, as much as we need globalization for its positive social impacts, care must be taken to inform people that, Westernization and the likes are not one of the calls to ensure globalization (Vepa, 2007). References Braitwaite, R.W. 2004. Five Meals in the Forties: Perspectives on hospitality under extreme circumstances. Tourism Review International, 7, pp.61-66. Choi, T.Y. & Chu, R. 2000. Levels of satisfaction among Asian and Western Travellers. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 17: 2, pp.116-132. FAO. 2004. Globalization of food systems in developing countries: impact on food security and nutrition. FAO Food and Nutrition paper 83, pp.1-285. Gillespie, C.H. 1994. Gastrophy and Nouvelle Cuisine: Entrepreneurial Fashion and Fiction. British Food Journal, 96: 10, pp.19-23. Hemmington, N. 2007. From Service to Experience; understanding and defining the hospitality business. The Service Industries Journal, 27: 6. Pp.2-16. Kolawole, O. & Soyibo, A. 2007. Impact of globalization on food consumption, health and nutrition in Nigeria. Accessed ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/y5736e/y5736e01.pdf 12/10/2012. Martin-Ruiz, D. & Barroso, C. 2012. Creating Customer Value Through Service Experiences: An Empirical Study in the Hotel Industry. Tourism & Hospitality Management, 18: 1, pp.3- 16. O’Gorman, K.D. 2005. Modern Hospitality: lessons from the past. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, p. 1. Vepa, S.S. 2007. Impact of globalization on the food consumption of urban India. Accessed ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/y5736e/y5736e02.pdf 12/10/2012 Read More