Principles of Management in Hospitality Industry
Synopsis
The institution of hospitality in ancient times was considered sacred and inviolable. It was the ancient obligation to host any presented at home. Patron of this institution was Xenios Zeus.
The hospitality in antiquity followed a standard procedure:
A) The host entertained the stranger in his house
B) He provided food and bath
C) The information asked for his family and his country
D) The custom of hospitality closed with a gift exchange. Both the foreign and the host should never have come into conflict. This bound and their children.
Principles of Management in Hospitality Industry
The word hospitality could be related to kindness and friendship. Though there are many debates for the exact definition of hospitality and its management, the concept of hospitality management could be understood by analyzing the functions of the organization under three major domains. These domains include the social, commercial and domestic domains. The major services that come under hospitality include the room and food services, recreational facilities, local tour arrangements, bar services and in some cases health club facilities. Managing these services requires a sound knowledge of food production operations, food safety and quality checks, accommodation/lodging operations, housekeeping and sanitation, beverage management, property/facility management, marketing the services, event management, spa maintenance and management, human resource management, culture management1; and finally excellent financial management
Defining Hospitality
The term hospitality is generally used to describe something related to a warm care, affection and sharing of possessions with some unusual person. Jones (1996) says that services related to hospitality date back to many centuries when there was a tradition of inn keeping. Telfer (1996), defines hospitality as sharing of accommodation, food and drink to some people who could be neighbors, relatives or even strangers. This sharing with a guest – host relationship is without concern for any payback and thus the guest has an obligation towards the host for their service.
In commercial hospitality, this sharing of food, accommodation and other facilities is on the basis of money and is done for the purpose of profit. Thus, in this host – guest relation, the host has the obligation to provide the services requested by the guest. If the guest does not seem satisfied with the service, then he/she has the freedom to withdraw the patronage. According to Jones (1996), the two essential services that need to be provided by the host are accommodation and food. Based on these aspects, Brotherton and Wood (2000) define commercial hospitality as,“The hospitality industry is comprised of commercial organizations that specialize in providing accommodation and/or, food, and/or drink, through a voluntary human exchange, which is contemporaneous in nature, and undertaken to enhance the mutual well being of the parties concerned”.
Another definition by King, C. (1995), state that commercial hospitality is “a specific kind of relationship between a host and a guest in which the host understands what would give pleasure to the guest and enhance his or her comfort and well-being and deliver it generously and flawlessly in face to face interaction”.
Thus, hospitality converts strangers into familiars, enemies into friends, outsiders to insiders, friends to better friends and non kin to kin.
The Characteristics of Commercial Hospitality
Lockwood. A, and Jones, P. (2000) state that the major characteristics of the commercial hospitality industry are as follows:
- The service is demand led.
- The hospitality service is carried out in a large scale.
- The services are continuous.
- The services are administered by others.
- The experiences associated with commercial hospitality are repeatable.
- The activities are based on economies of scale rather than being personalized.
- Financial sustainability is more.
- The experience obtained is service oriented rather than social experience.
- The facilities provided are dedicated.
As stated above, the commercial hospitality industry is demand led, where the guest has the preference to choose a service provider. The services provided are continuous throughout the year and is repeatable.
Managing the Hospitality Services
The most important management principles for the hospitality industry include functional management, strategic application, growth strategies, turnaround strategies, leadership strategies, leadership development and sustained hospitality marketing. Functional management, in any service organization involves differentiating the services into many areas. Larger hotels /hospitality services have specialized persons to handle each area. The responsibilities of these persons is to organize and manage the services in the hotel, front office maintenance, controlling the budget, promoting the hotel business through marketing and sales, maintain public relations, managing the human resource by hiring the service personnel, training them and constantly reviewing them, maintaining and refurbishing the accommodation facilities, attending to complaints by guests. The major internal services that need to be organized include rooms’ maintenance, front office management, housekeeping, catering/restaurant maintenance, entertainment and engineering related construction and maintenance activities. The tasks to be managed in the front office are reservations, guest service, reception and concierge. The tasks under housekeeping are maintenance of floors, public area and laundry. The services that need attention under restaurant activities include food preparation, food quality check, ordering process and restaurant maintenance. Similarly, in the recreation service the major activities include event management, infrastructure maintenance and safety efforts.
The value of the institution of hospitality is diachronic. From ancient times until today, a man gave great importance to this institution. Today we live in a time and in a highly competitive society. The institution of hospitality slacks. There are some areas like the tourism industry that place great importance on the institution. Protecting the institution hosting the highlight and strengthen our tourism. Tourists returning home becomes ambassador and promoter of hospitality received.
Unfortunately, in Cyprus, as well as around the world the institution of hospitality has been lost. We all look forward to economic profit and ignore the institution of hospitality. We as a people, as a state and as individuals who care about our tourist product, we have to strengthen the institution of mobilizing hospitality and smile and love towards guests so that to highlight our island as a popular tourist destination