MISRAK POLY TECHINIC COLLEGE

HOTEL OPERATION DEPARTEMENT

Level I

Unit of Competency : Develop and Update Hospitality

Industry Knowledge

MODULE TITLE:- Developing and Updating Hospitality

Industry Knowledge

MODULE CODE:- : CST HOP1M061012

TTLM Code :- CST M06 12

Learning Guide: TVET Program: Hotel operation Level I

CST M06 12 Author:- Tadesse G Date:-3/01/2018 G.C

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Introduction Learning Guide 1

MODULE DESCRIPTION: This module describes the performance outcomes, skills and
knowledge required to develop and update knowledge of the hospitality industry, including the
role of different industry sectors and key legal and ethical issues that must be considered by
hospitality industry personnel in their day-to-day work. This knowledge underpins effective
performance in the hospitality industry
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this module the trainer will be able to
LO1: Seek information on the hospitality industry
LO2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical issues for the hospitality industry
LO3: Update hospitality industry knowledge

MODULE CONTENTS:
LO1: Seek information on the hospitality industry
1.1 Identifying and accessing information sources
1.2 Using knowledge of the hospitality industry
LO2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical issues for the hospitality industry
2.1 Obtaining information on legal and ethical issues
2.2 Conducting day-to-day hospitality industry activities
LO3: Update hospitality industry knowledge
3.1 Monitoring current issues
3.2 Sharing updated knowledge with customers and colleagues

Learning Activities
1.Red the specific Objectives of this learning guide properly.
2. Read the information written in the” information sheet”
3.Accomplish the “ self –check”
4. Submit your accomplished self-check to your teacher. This will be part of your training
portfolio
5.If you earned satisfactory evaluation results proceed to the next “information sheet” however if
you rating is unsatisfactory see your teacher for further instruction or go back to the information
sheet

LEARNING STRATEGIES/Methods:
Demonstration
 Lecture

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  Discussion
ASSESSMENT METHODS:
Competence may be assessing through:
 Interview / Written Test / Oral Questioning
 Observation / Demonstration

Information-Sheet-1 Seek information on the hospitality industry

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DEVELOP AND UPDATE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
KNOWLEDGE
INTRODUCTION TO HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
What is Hospitality Industry?
To most people, the hospitality industry consists only of hotels and restaurants. However, the
Oxford English Dictionary defines hospitality as the reception and entertainment of guests,
visitors or strangers with liberality and goodwill.” Therefore, the hospitality industry can be
broadly defined as the collection of businesses providing accommodating and/or food and
beverages to people who are away from home. In other words, the hospitality industry includes
not only famous hotels or restaurants, but also a wide range of businesses, such as small guest
houses, snack bars and fast-food out lets.
The Nature of the Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry provides services for people who are away from home regardless of
whether it is for long or short periods of time. These services can vary according to the specific
needs of both the person away from home and the organization operating those services. For
example, the needs of a person in a residential home differ dramatically from those of an
executive business person in a deluxe hotel. Similarly, a student staying in a hall of residence
would expect to be treated and accommodated differently from someone on a cruise-liner.
Therefore, it is important that staff in the hospitality industry must be able to identify the various
needs of their customers and be able to act and provide the services expected.
Hospitality Industry is an industry that welcomes customers with warm welcoming and friendly
manner. The two divisions of hospitality industries are hotel and tourism. But the tourism
industry is too wide to cover here.
Definition of Hotel:
Hotels are defined in numerous ways from early times to today. Some of the important definitions for
hotels are:
1. Hotel refers to a house of entertainment of travellers.
Reader's Digest Dictionary
2. Hotel is a place where all who conduct themselves properly, and who being able to pay and ready
to pay for their entertainment to be received, if there be accommodation for them, delivers... a
temporary home.
. Common Law
3. A hotel is an Establishment held out by the proprietor as offering food, drink and if so required,
sleeping accommodation, without special contract to any traveller presenting himself who appears
able and willing to pay a reasonable sum for the services and facilities provided and who is in a fit
state to be received.
Hotel Proprietors

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4. A building that provides lodging, meals, and other services to the travellers on a commercial
basis.
Encyclopedia Britannica
5. Hotel or inn is defined as a place where a bonafide traveller can receive food and shelter,
provided he is in a position to pay for and is in a fit condition to be received.
British law
NB
HOTEL: A place where one gets at least the following services in case of payment ... :
accommodation, food & beverage.
TOURISM: The movement of people temporarily from their dwelling area for more than 24
hours and less than one year for the purposes of education ,research ,religion, business and so on
called tourism.

In short: hospitality=hotel + tourism

Analysis of Term Hotel
With so many properties offering so many services in such a huge industry, it is easy to see why
people get confused about the difference between hotels, motels, inns, and other lodging
establishments. The fact is that the distinctions are not always clear. The confusion is
compounded because owners can classify their properties as they deem appropriate, making it
even more apparent why universally agreed-upon definitions are difficult to create. Still, despite
the numerous exceptions, some general property distinctions do exist and are widely accepted.
A hotel or inn may be defined as an establishment whose primary business is providing lodging
facilities for the general public, and which furnished one or more of the following services, food
and beverage service, room attendant service, bell and door attendant service (sometimes called
uniformed service), laundry or dry cleaning, and use of furniture and fixtures.
A motel or motor hotel is a lodging facility that caters primarily to guests arriving by
automobile. Motels often provide parking spaces near guestrooms. Motels may be located in any
setting, but are usually found in suburban or roadside areas. .
Classification of hotels
Even though classification of hotels is too difficult to put in to a simple category, we can classify
them based on the following points.
1. Location =
a. Motel/motor hotel
Motels: these types of hotels are situated on the highways (main roads). Motels are
designed to serve the needs of motorists. They must provide car parking, garage,
accommodation, rest facilities and recreational facilities and hence motels are generally
equipped with filling stations, motor garage, service stations, accessories, elevator service
to automobile entrants, restaurants etc. The tariff is very low as compared to city hotels.
They have easy access from highways, being located on highways or at road junctions.
Motel accommodation is ranked with hotels in general in many countries. The length of
stay in these types of hotels is usually short period and their frequent customers are
travellers who passed through.
b.Resorts:

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Resorts are hotels located in a desirable vacation spot such as beachfront, lakeside, mountain
side, or on a golf course. They offer fine dining, exceptional service, activities unavailable at
most other properties, and many amenities. Resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation. As
a result, people tend to seek out a resort for holidays or vacations. Generally, a resort is an
establishment, which attempts to provide for all or most a vacationer’s wants while staying there,
such as food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping. Towns that contain resorts or
where tourism or vacationing is a major part of the local activity are often called resort towns
c. Downtown hotels/Business hotels: these are types of hotels which are situated in the heart or
centre of the city/town. Generally people who stay in such types of hotels are those who come
for some work in the city, such as for marketing. These hotels are also called as city hotel.
d. Floatels: these are floating hotels and situated on the surface of the water such as sea, lake etc.
Such hotels provide exclusive and exotic atmosphere. All the facilities of a first class hotel are
there in this category of hotels. In many countries old luxury ships have been converted into
floating hotels.
e. Airport hotels (Airtel): These hotels are situated near the airports. The location of airports far
away from cities, the growth of the airline industry, the increase in air traffic and the
postponement or cancellation of flights has made the airlines companies responsible to take care
of hundreds of transit passengers and built the hotels near the airports. These hotels get business
from other travellers who require a place to rest while waiting for connecting flights. Many
travellers prefer to arrive at the airport the night before and get a good night rest at these airport
hotels. In addition to room, restaurant facilities, coffee shop and main dining room, most hotels
have added banquet and meeting rooms to attract the social functions and meetings from
companies located nearby, in order to run their business profitably. In most of the big cities these
hotels are favourite location for area meetings, as it a result in saving in taxi fares and times.
These hotels are generally dependent on airline passengers and airline crews.
f. Suburban hotels: these types of hotels are situated away from the city or town. The aim is to
keep it away from the hustle and bustle, chaos and confusions of the town. Guests who choose to
stay here are mainly those who want to be away from the city environment for few days.
g. downtown hotel -centre of the city
2. Size of the hotel/number of rooms the posses=small, medium, big ,mega hotel
3. Type of service the hotel provides:
a. Star rating hotel-it is one of the most definitive standards which guide travellers as to what
expect .It is given by state Tourism Department team who put together government body,
hospitality educationists, travel agents, airlines and hotel industry. Its range is from 1-5.
b. deluxe hotel
It is a type of hotel that has a minimum 5- star with décor and luxury service provision.
Eg .Burji-al-Arab, it has shuttle service by its helicopter, under sea restaurant, remote control
window shades.
C .palace hotel-provide service for guests come to palace
d. business hotel-sometimes it is called down town hotel
e. sport hotel: it provides service to boxing school, gymnasium and dormitory for athletes
4. Duration of guest stay=length of guest stay
Transient, residential and semi residential hotels
5. Types of pricing plan hotels have
- American plan –charges rooms and all meals
-Modified American plan-room+bf+lunch or dinner

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-European plan-it charges rooms only
- Continental plan=room+continental bf
- bed and breakfast hotel=...only bed +Englishbreakfast

SECTORS OF HOTEL INDUSTRY

Major sectors of hotel industry and their Responsibilities

There are two approaches to classify departments in typical hotels:

A.Revenue Generating versus support/Cost Centres: The first approach is trying to

differentiate between departments revenue-wise. In fact, this approach entitles that if a
department generates revenue to the hotel (ex. Rooms Division Department, F&B
Department…), it is called a revenue generator. On the other hands, if a department incurs costs
without directly contributing to hotel profitability, it is called a cost or support centre (ex.
Accounting Department, Maintenance and Engineering Department…).

B .Front of the House versus Back of House: This approach classifies departments according
to department staff's frequency of communication with guests. If communication between staff
and guest is frequent (ex. Front Office Department), then the department is said to be a front of
the house department. On the other hand, if the communication between department staff and
guests in non-existent or on occasions, then the department is said to be back of the house
department.

1 .Rooms Division: This division comprises two major departments.

1.1 Front Office Department

It is the most visible department of a hotel. The main function of this department is to give
warm welcome to the guest. It helps to create good image in front of the guest. This is the first
department where a guest comes to contact with. It generates the maximum revenue for the hotel
as it sells room to guests. This department includes sub departments like reception, reservation,
telephone operator, mail and information desk.
a) Reception

 Sell guestrooms; register guests and design guestrooms

 Coordinate guest services
 Provide information
 Maintain accurate room statistics, and room key inventories
 Maintain guest account statements and complete proper financial settlements

  b) Reservation

 Receive and process reservation requests for future overnight accommodations.

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 With technology development, the Reservation Department can, on real time, access the
number and types of rooms available, various room rates, and furnishings, along with the
various facilities existing in the hotel
 There should be close relation-ships with Sales and Marketing Division concerning Large
Group Reservations

c. Uniformed Services

 Bell Attendants: Ensure baggage service between the lobby area and guestrooms
 Door Attendants: Ensure baggage service and traffic control at hotel entrance(s)
 Valet Parking Attendants: Ensure parking services for guest’s automobiles
 Transportation Personnel: Ensure transportation services for guests from and to the hotel
 Concierge: Assists guests by making restaurant reservations, arranging for transportation,
and getting tickets for theater, sporting, or any other special events

 d) Telephone Department

 Answers and distributes calls to the appropriate extensions, whether guest, employee, or
management extensions
 Places wake-up calls
 Monitors automated systems
 Coordinates emergency communications
 ‘Protects Guest Privacy‘

1.2 Housekeeping Department

This department is responsible for cleaning maintaining hotel premises which include public
area, guest rooms, lobby, swimming pool, etc. generally this department is not visible to the
guest. It works for guest satisfaction through keeping the environment clean and hygiene.

 Inspects rooms before they are available for sale

 Cleans occupied and vacant rooms
 Communicates the status of guestrooms to the Front Office Department
 Cleans and presses the property’s linens, towels, and guest clothing (if equipped to do so,
free of charge or for a pre-determined fee)
 Maintains recycled and non-recycled inventory items

2. Food & Beverage Division:

This is the second largest revenue generator of a typical hotel. In a five-star hotel, Food and
Beverage outlets might have the following forms: Quick Service, Table Service, Specialty
Restaurants, Coffee Shops, Bars, Lounges, Clubs, Banquets (Catering Functions Þ Wedding,
Birthdays, party…) etc

2.1 Food and beverage service: this department deals with service of different food and
beverage items in attractive and pleasing manner which creates good impression on the guest. It

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is the second most important revenue generating department. It provides this service through
different selling outlets like, bars, restaurant, lounges, room service, coffee shops…….

2.2 Food and beverage preparation: it prepares various food items. It makes the food attractive
and palatable using different cooking methods. It is not visible department to the gust because it
usually works in the back area.

3. Sales & Marketing Division:

A typical hotel should usually have Sales & Marketing division. However, if the staff size,
volume business, hotel size, expected group arrivals is low enough, the hotel might have
marketing staff placed under the reservation department (i.e. No need for a Sales & Marketing
Division).

A typical Sales & Marketing Division is composed of four different departments:

a. Sales
b. Convention Services
c. Advertising
d. Public Relations

4. Accounting Division:

The Accounting Division monitors the financial activities of the property. Some of the activities
that are undertaken in the Accounting Division are listed below:

a. Pays outstanding invoices

b. Distributes unpaid statements
c. Collects amounts owed
d. Processes payroll
e. Accumulates operating data
f. Compiles financial reports
g. Makes bank deposits
h. Secures cash loans
i. Performs other control and processing functions

5. Engineering and Maintenance Division:

This very department maintains the property's structure and grounds as well as electrical and
mechanical equipment. Some hotels might have this very division under different names, such as
maintenance division, property operation and maintenance department…

1. Security Division:

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 Security division personnel are usually screened from in-house personnel, security officers or
retired police officers, across certain physical skills, and prior experience.

Some of the functions of the security division are listed below:

a. Patrols the property

b. Monitors supervision equipment
c. Ensures safety and security of guests, visitors, and employees

7. Human Resources Division:

Some of the duties of the human resources division are listed below:

a. Responsible for external & internal recruitment

b. Calculates employees' salaries, compensation, and tax withholding…
c. Administrates employees' paperwork, monitors attendance…
d. Maintains good relations with Labour Unions
e. Ensures employees' safety and working conditions

8.  Other Divisions:

All the above mentioned departments and/or divisions should exist in a typical five-star hotel;
however there might be some revenue generators that are specific to certain hotels but not
existing in others. Below is a list of some possible extra or other divisions that might exist in a
hotel:

a. Retail Outlets (i.e.: Shops rented to outsiders or managed by the hotel)

b. Recreation Facilities (ex: Fitness Centre, Tennis Courts, and Cinema Saloons…)
c. Conference Centres
d. Casino

We have to obtain or seek information to assist effective work performance within the industry.
To update and standardize hospitality industry, one has to update his/her own knowledge and
technology that matches with the ever increasing need of human being.
One way of getting information is research.
Hospitality industry information can be obtained from different sources. See the next point.

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Information-Sheet-2 Source and apply information on legal and
ethical issues for the hospitality industry

Legal and Ethical issues on Work performance

After obtaining information, it should be applied to the industry based on legal and ethical issues.
Some of the sources of information are: media, reference books, libraries, unions, industry
associations, hospitality industry journals, internet, personal sources and (experience, colleagues,
supervisors and managers)
It is vital that you keep updating your knowledge so that you can ensure you are offering
customers the best advice. Wherever you work, you need to ensure that you are meeting the
organization’s targets and that you remain ahead of emerging trends. It is very important that you
and the business at large have a good understanding of the relevant legal and ethical issues, to
ensure that the law is followed.
Legal obligations
Most areas are bound to comply with a range of legal and ethical requirements set by the
government, the industry associations or by individual businesses themselves. Standard
legislative issues may include:
Consumer protection, duty of care, anti-discrimination, equal employment opportunity
and workplace relations.
1-consumer protection
This area of legislation deals with the rights of the consumer to receive what they have paid
for and outline the processes that should be followed in the event of any dissatisfaction.
2. Duty of care:
Duty of care is an obligation that a person has when acting towards others – colleagues,
customers and the general public. It applies in situations where a person’s actions could cause
harm to others. If they do not act with care, attention and caution, they could be considered
negligent.
3. Equal employment opportunity (EEO)
EEO legislation was introduced to ensure that workplaces are free from all forms of
discrimination and harassment and to provide programs assisting groups to overcome past or
present disadvantages.
4. Anti-discrimination: In our country, it is against the law to discriminate people because of
their:
 religion
 race
 language
 gender
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  disabilities
 family structure
 Age.
Discrimination means treating someone unfairly or harassing them because they belong to a
particular group. Discrimination can be direct or indirect.
e.g. If an employer will not give a job to a woman, just because she is a woman, that is direct
discrimination.
If an employer will not recognize valid qualifications gained overseas, that is indirect
discrimination. The employer is engaging in behaviour that looks equal, but in reality is unfair to
certain groups – in this case, people from other countries.
5. Work place relation
Workplace relations refer to the industrial relations laws which govern the working relationships.
The following can be introduced in the working relationships:
 Maximum number of hours a person should work, annual leave, parental leaves, etc
 Minimum wages as set by the Australian Fair Pay Commission
 Dispute relation
6. Child Sex Tourism
Child sex tourism is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children that is
commercially facilitated child sex abuse. Child sex tourism results both mental and physical
consequences to exploited children. Child sex tourism is a part of child prostitution within the
wider issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
7. Pricing:
Customers must be fully informed of all costs before they purchase a product or service.
8. Quality assurance
‘Quality assurance refers to the systematic acts of providing a product or service that is high
quality and establishes confidence in that a product or service. It is important to produce a
consistently high quality product to ensure that the customers keep returning to your business.
The same principle applies when providing a service – it is important that the service be
delivered to a high standard, to ensure customer satisfaction
9. Industry specific legislation
Every industry has activities that are the subject of specific legislation. It is vital that everyone
working in the industry has an understanding of what activities they do that have to comply with
laws and regulation. The specific legislation in the hospitality industry area was:
 Hygiene
 Liquor
 Gaming
 Smoking laws
10. Tipping: Tipping is not compulsory in customer service and customers should not be
pressured into giving tips
Ethical Issues
It is very important to remain ethical in your work. This means that you are open and honest in
your dealings with customers and colleagues. This is for your own benefit, as well as that of your
colleagues and organization. A reputation once lost is difficult to regain. Damaging the

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reputation of your business and the trust of customers can affect the success of your business and
your own future employment.
Ethics issues and legal issues are to some extent they are related to each other in supporting
hospitality industry. Some of ethical issues that can bring impact on hospitality industry are:
1. Confidentiality. Any information given to you by colleagues or customers must be treated as
confidential and should never be passed on to other parties. What we see and hear in the
workplace should remain there.
2. Code of conduct. A code of conduct is specific to each organization and includes rules and
regulations for how an organization expects staff to behave.
Similarly the following issues have impact on hospitality industry:
3. overbooking,
4. Gifts and services free of charge
5. Product recommendations.-from staff and customer

Information-Sheet-3 Update hospitality industry knowledge

Contents: Update Hospitality Industry Knowledge
 Technology in Hospitality Industry
 Shared updated Knowledege
1. Technology in Hospitality Indusry
Hospitality technology
The hospitality industry is a face-moving, ever-changing industry. In order to keep pace, it is
necessary to update your knowledge of what is happening in the industry and in the world around
you. There are many new opportunities and challenges for hospitality industries, with new
technology trends constantly emerging. Embracing this new technology allows businesses to

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compete against their traditional competitors, as well as new competitors who build their
businesses on the latest technology. In this changing environment, new models of distribution
must be designed to lead the charge.

Hospitality point-of-sale (POS) systems

Hospitality POS systems are computerized systems incorporating registers, computers and
peripheral equipment. They are usually run on a computer network. Like other point of sale
systems, these systems keep track of sales, labour and payroll and can generate records used in
accounting and book-keeping. They may be accessed remotely by corporate offices, trouble
shooters and other authorized parties.

Example 1:
Typical restaurant POS software is able to print guest checks, print orders to kitchens and bars
for preparation, process credit cards and other payment cards and run reports. Some systems
include wireless pagers and electronic signature capture devices.

Example 2:
Hotel business POS software allows for transfer of meal charges from dining room to guest room
with a button press or two. It may also need to be integrated with property management software
Social media
Social media, eg: Face book and Twitter, is an important tool when sourcing information. It can
provide you with information on what customers are looking for and what your competition is
doing. It is also a great marketing tool, giving the hospitality industry opportunities to show
customers what kind of service they’re going to see before they experience it. For many, social
media is a chance to communicate with consumers in a more direct way and to encourage a
lasting dialogue that leads to bookings and return custom.

Access Face book, Twitter or another online social network that you know about some
hospitality businesses. Make some observations about how they use the social network, eg: who
is on there? What information about them does the business disclose? Are they offering
promotions or using other tactics to attract customers?

Identify potential effects of technologies

Technology can have both positive and negative effects on your business. It is important that you
identify these, both to take advantage of them and to protect against negative effects. You will
need to consider each technology in terms of your organization and think about how you could
use it. You will also need to consider the wider picture of your industry. You may like to look at
how other organizations like yours are using technology, to get an idea of what is out there.

Example 3:
A chain of restaurants is developing an ‘app’ (ie: piece of software) for the Apple i Phone that
allows customers to make reservations and provide feedback. It has social media integration,
allowing customers to review your business and to recommend your restaurant to others. If
someone they have referred checks in using the app, both customers get bonus points towards a
free meal.

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This app could have both positive and negative effects. Staff will need to learn new processes in
order to deal with bookings through the app. If this process isn’t handled carefully, mistakes may
be made and customers could become disgruntled. The social media integration offers
opportunities for promotion and developing customer loyalty, but it will also have to be
monitored to make sure that the feedback section isn’t being spammed and that giving out points
isn’t costing the business more than it is making.

Apply technology knowledge

Developing knowledge about technology means that you can apply it to your day-to-day
activities. This can improve your work and help your business to thrive.
Example 4:
With the recent roll-out of Google’s ‘Freshness Update’, hotels can maintain a high search
ranking if they follow five steps outlined by hospitality’s social media marketing agency.
Example 5:
Twitter and Face book enable companies to communicate directly with customers, using their
own voice. This communication with individuals is open for all to see, so you can build
relationships with many people at once. If you can create a positive conversation, it will be
visible when people search for information on your business.
Example 6:
Technology now allows guests to use a ‘Guest Review System’ that enables hotels to manage
and display consumer reviews on their own websites and blogs. Some hospitality technology
companies have developed smart phone applications where customers can make a reservation,
check into a hotel, order room service, or even use the phone as the room key.

Some of the key features are:

In room -services. Customers can order room service, or interact with other hotel guests by
playing games on their phones.
Tell us you're coming. Customers can notify the hotel when they are nearby. The hotel can be
prepared and set up the room to that customer’s personal preferences. You like rock music? It
will be playing on the radio in your room when you walk in.
Self- service. Customers can pay bills, check accounts, move money or check the progress of a
loan – all from the app.
Assisted- service. If a customer needs help, they just click the ‘call me’ button. We queue that
call in the enterprises contact centre and an agent calls the customer back. The agent gets a
screen pop-up with information about the task the customer was working on. The customer gets
faster service. No waiting on hold, listening to really bad music.
Geo location. Customers can get directions to the hotel, to a restaurant, or to the airport.
All these key features allow an establishment to ensure that the guest has a smooth, fast and
efficient experience at their venue. In most hospitality venues, guest Wi-Fi has become a
customer expectation. With the explosion of i Pads, smart phones and tablets, operators will soon
be at a competitive disadvantage if they do not offer Wi-Fi. While security concerns cannot be
ignored, Wi-Fi can be added into a connected restaurant for a very low cost. All these new
technologies require staff to do more or different work – update websites, extract data or reports
for occupancy/reservations for meals, process accounts, etc. These new technologies may also
require additional training, or coaching others on how to use the newly introduced technologies.

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In this publication we will look at identifying opportunities to gain knowledge about the
hospitality industry. Knowledge is not always about facts; it can be about new and innovative
ways of working, different ways of promoting or new approaches to customer service. It is
important that you continue to identify opportunities to gain knowledge about your industry and
don’t simple rest on your laurels. Just because you have all the facts you think you need, does not
mean that you can’t still learn new things that will improve your work.

2. Updating your industry knowledge

There are many ways for you to update your industry knowledge, including: customer comments
and surveys competitor research advertisements or articles in newspapers and magazines.
Customer comments and surveys
Customer satisfaction is an excellent gauge of how your organization is performing. Through
listening to, or asking questions of customers you can find out many things.
Customer satisfaction. This kind of information allows you to make adjustments to improve
your service and to develop better relationships with your customers.
Latest trends in products and services. You can find out what products people are buying or
looking for, where they are travelling to, what are the most popular restaurants or other
attractions and much more.
Knowledge of products that you have never used. Customers who have experienced products
will often gladly share their knowledge with you. This makes it easier for you to pass
information about this product or service to others or to investigate it further yourself if you need
to.
Competitor research
Finding out what your direct competitors are doing can be very useful. It is a good idea to be
aware of competitor activities, including: promotional and advertising activities, eg: special deals
product or service range, does it differ from yours? If so, are they successful and should you
consider offering similar products and services? Their policies and procedures of customer
service standards. These issues are important, as information about them can help you to stay
ahead of your competition. You can also use them to look at your own business with fresh eyes
and think about what would improve it.

Advertisements or articles
Aside from trade magazines, you will often find excellent information in the general press.
Interesting stories about hospitality may include articles about: new entrants into the field the
impact of hospitality on the ecology of an area the impact of hospitality on the social structure of
an area new and emerging trends or terminology in the industry.

Issues concerning the industry

There are a variety of issues that will have an impact on the hospitality industry and the way it
operates, the revenue it earns and the way it contributes to its community, both positively and
negatively.
Government initiative

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In order to encourage local and international tourism and hospitality, the federal and state
governments often invest in international trade fairs, advertising campaigns, and incentives and
grants to local operations to help them establish/attract business.
Emerging markets
The travelling public is always looking for something new to do, somewhere new to go.
e.g.: targeting China and India as new sources of incoming tourists. Your organization may be
able to take advantage of this, working to attract customers from new markets. This may require
you to make changes or be aware of new technology.
Example 1:
Previously, to make a hotel reservation, a customer would have to phone the hotel. Now a
customer can use the internet to research the cheapest rate, check availability, and reserve and
pay for the room, without speaking to any staff from the hotel. This makes it much easier for
people from different countries with different time zones or languages to make bookings.
Environmental issues
It is important that hospitality facilities and services have good environmental practices. This
keeps your business sustainable, as well as providing a point of difference that you can advertise
to your customers, many of whom wish to support environmentally friendly business.

Waste management and energy efficient operations

Waste management refers to how we manage the disposal of the millions of tonnes of waste
generated each year through tourism-based activities. Waste is anything that is no longer of any
use in its current form. Much of this waste can be recycled, meaning it can be made into
something else.
Waste management requires effort and each establishment must train staff effectively on order
for the process to work.
Waste management requires effort and each establishment must train staff effectively on order
for the process to work.
Example 2:
A hospitality venue can provide facilities for sorting waste into recyclable and non-recyclable
products.
Most hospitality operators use gas and electricity. Efficient and responsible use of energy
resources helps to reduce potentially negative effects on our environment. It also helps an
organization reduce their operating costs.
Example 3:
Some hotels will use a power-source room key. When the guest’s room key is inserted into a slot
in the room, the electricity is turned on. When the guests leaves the room and removes the key
from the slot, it turns all the room’s electrical services off. This eliminates unnecessary
electricity usage and saves the organization money.

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