International Hosptality Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Hosptality Operations - Essay Example This industry is considered by many people to now be the biggest industry in the world. It is one of the few industries where both the producer and the consumer must meet face to face. There is a great deal of diversity among both the tourists and those who serve them. Although the tourism industry can easily be subdivided into many sub-industries, this paper will focus only on international chain hotels and their concerns with managing the diversity among their employees. (Spillane, James J) In a study that was carried out to ascertain consumer satisfaction in the international hotel business, C. Mok and R. W. Armstrong (1998) distributed questionnaires to 600 guests of three mid- priced hotels in Hong Kong in early 1996. From these, 325 respondents completed usable questionnaires. Of these, only those whose country of origin sample size was greater than 30 were included in the final analysis. This included respondents from Australia, Japan, Taiwan, UK and the USA. SERVQUAL analysis was used to determine if tourists from different cultural backgrounds had significantly different expectations for hotel service quality. It was found that "Tourists from the UK have the highest overall expectation scores followed by tourists from USA, Australia, Taiwan and Japan. Intangible elements such as human qualities were perceived as more important by all guests than were the intangible elements such as furniture, facilities." (Spillane, James J) What is international Hospitality International hospitality is the provision of welcoming environments to visitors from foreign lands. The international hospitality industry is without doubt, a "human-resources", and people oriented industry. Some products of this industry include the rendering of services like Accommodation, Relaxation, Spas and Health Clubs, Functions and banquets, Meetings, Commercial catering, Security, Gaming, Food Service, Beverage Service Entertainment, Theme Parties & Festivals, and general, Recreation. The international hospitality industry is also closely related to some other sectors of the tourism industry like Airlines, Tourist Information Centers, Transport Operators, travel Agents, Tourist Attractions (like Theme Parks), Retail Outlets and Gift Shops. Industry Image Due to the importance of planning and development issues in the international hospitality and tourism industry, such as capacity planning, sustainability, structural activity re-alignments,Like some other service sectors, hospitality careers are often stereotyped as low-wage and entry-level, with little opportunity for advancement. As a result, qualified workers, especially the youth, are usually not aware of the range of hospitality careers that are available to them. Chinda Tejavanija Chang observed that Most of the hoteliers or professionals in Hotel or Tourism Industry have made their way to the top through their professional experiences and accumulating their competencies and skills through their various positions in the field as they climbed up their corporate ladder to be top executives of the organization they belong. (Chang, Chinda Tejavanija) HISTORY OF THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY The international hospitality industry is a multi billion-dollar enterprise. It is an exciting, sector, which offers unlimited opportunities, and