Unit 1 Contemporary Hospitality Industry Assignment

Introduction

This case study delves with the aspect of contemporary hospitality industry that will be exploring the dynamic attributes in respect of hospitality, focusing on current topical factors and future trends and developments, building a range of skills that includes research and the analysis of information, justification of ideas, evaluation and critical thinking in respect of those ideas.

Task 1

Analyse the current scale, scope and diversity of the hospitality industry (1.1)

The current scale, scope and diversity of the hospitality industry is mentioned as under,

• Hospitality Services – This sector of the hospitality industry provides support to different other industries that is ranging from hotels to restaurants. This industry provides food and drink, as well as goes on providing management facilities like services that are related with security and housekeeping. This sector considers the segments such as business, travel, retail, education, health care , corporate hospitality, government provisions, local authority, leisure venues, concert events, sports events, and so on. (Matthews, 2011) Currently, there are around 200,000 staffs who are working in this sector, in which around 62% of the workforce consists of the staffs that are female, also it has been observed that around 92% of the workforce is white and around 8% of the workforce consists of black ethnic minority groups. Staffs within the age bracket of 16-19 years comprises of 14% of the workforce, staffs within the age bracket of 20-29 years comprises of 22% of the workforce, staffs within the age bracket of 30-39 years comprises of 17% of the workforce, staffs within the age bracket of 40-49 years comprises of 20% of the workforce and finally staffs above 50 years of age comprises of 27% of the workforce. Around 49% of the workforces have their association with full-time employability.
• Food & Service Management – This sector of the hospitality industry provides assistance to a variety of various industries ranging from traditional hospitality industries such as restaurants and hotels to other segments as well. These industries provide services that are related with food and drink, housekeeping and many more. For instance, Sodexo, Aramark and others are example of this sector. A recent study has revealed that approx. 200,000 people are working in this sector in around 25,000 companies. Staffs working in this sector comprises of 90% of the workforce from the white community whereas 10% of the workforce comprises of the black ethnic minority groups. Around 66% of the workforce comprises of the female staffs. (Matthews, 2011)  Staffs within the age bracket of 16-19 years comprises of 6% of the workforce, staffs within the age bracket of 20-29 years comprises of 18% of the workforce, staffs within the age bracket of 30-39 years comprises of 22% of the workforce, staffs within the age bracket of 40-49 years comprises of 27% of the workforce and staffs above 50 years of age comprises of 28% of the workforce. A recent study has also revealed that this sector offers employment to a significant number of workers who migrate from other countries and there is full-time employability for 55% of the workforce.
• Travel and Tourist services – This sector is related with two segments viz. travel services and tourist services. The travel services offer support for the expansion of the travel and tourism sector that comprises of TUI, Thomas Cook, STA Travel, Co-operative Travel Group and many more whereas the tourist services offers support to the inbound and domestic tourism as well as consists of national as well as regional tourist boards, information centres for tourists and inbound as well as domestic tour operators. In this sector, there are around 120,000 people who are working in which around 62% of the workforce are female staffs. (Matthews, 2011) A recent study has revealed that there are approx. 12,000 companies that have their association with the travel and tourist services in which 90% of the workforce comprises of staffs from the white community and 10% of the workforce comprises of staffs from the black ethnic minority groups. There is a public ownership as well as private ownership.

Discuss organisational structures giving as example 2 different types of hospitality organisations (1.2)

For discussing about the organisational structures of two different types of hospitality organisations we will take into consideration the examples of a small boutique hotel as well as a large non-resident centre for conferences and banqueting.

A small boutique hotel – Organisational structure: In this respect, let us take into consideration a small boutique hotel in UK named Hamilton’s Boutique Hotel. This small boutique hotel comprises of an organisational structure that is consisting of specific sub-categories. A brief discussion in this respect is required here. This small boutique hotel majorly consists of two General Managers who are required administering specific sub-categories that are functioning under them. One of the General Managers has five categories below them which comprises of departments like front-desk, audit, housekeeping, maintenance and sales whereas the other General Manager is administering five segments which are human resources, food and beverage, accounting, sales as well as marketing. The sub-category in respect of rooms consists of categories like front-office, reservations, housekeeping, engineering, laundry, security, as well as PBX. (Iqbal, 2011) The sub-category for food and beverages consists of categories like production of food, services associated with food as well as room, beverage department, convention as well as catering and stewarding. The human resources’ sub-category consists of categories like staffs, recruitment, and also training. The sub-category for sales and marketing will consists of the sales managers and last but not the least the sub-category for accounting consists of categories like finance operations, assistant controllers, purchasing, storeroom, credit systems and controller of food and beverage. A diagram is illustrated below, showcasing the organisational structure of a small boutique hotel,

A large non-resident centre for conferences and banqueting – Organisational structure

In this respect, let us take into consideration a large non-resident centre for conferences and banqueting named Elme Hall Hotel that is situated in UK which consists of different sub-categories. The Elme Hall Hotel in UK comprises of highly enhanced facilities in respect of quality for doing conferences. There exists a much enhanced condition in respect of non-resident conferences and business meetings that consists of conference suites of different sizes that includes all types of events associated with business. There is also the presentation apparatus available in respect of their centre for conferences as well as banquets. The organisational structure of the Elme Hall Hotel consists of a Room Division Manager who is residing at the top. Below the Room Division Manager, there exist three sub-categories that consist of the Guest Relations Manager, Front Office Manager and Reservation Manager. (Iqbal, 2011) Below the Guest Relation Manager, there exist the guest service coordinators. The assistant manager’s work is administered by the Front Office Manager, and then the assistant manager does the administration of the work of the senior receptionist and finally the receptionist’s work is administered by the senior receptionist. The reservation officer’s work is administered by the reservation manager and last but not the least the telephone operator’s work is administered by the reservation officer. . A diagram is illustrated below, showcasing the organisational structure of a large non-resident centre for conferences and banqueting,

Give examples of hospitality related organisations and professional bodies and assess their roles. (1.3)

In respect of assessing the various roles of the hospitality related organisations as well as professional bodies let us take the example of two organisations named The British Hospitality Association as well as the Springboard UK.

The British Hospitality Association: The British Hospitality Association aka BHA is considered to be one of the major hospitality related organisations as well as professional bodies. The major role that is played by the BHA is promoting the interests of the operators, brands as well as owners across hotels, restaurants, and food services, services apartments, clubs and places for visitor’s attractions. The future of hospitality and tourism gets structured by the British Hospitality Association and plays a significant role in catalysing the global competitiveness, financial growth and important career scopes to ensure that internationally,  the British hospitality and tourism industry is second to none. In this respect, it can be said that the BHA consists of around 40,000 hotels, restaurants, clubs, food services, attractions, service apartments and organisations for leisure activities. Being the major body for hospitality and tourism, BHA’s thought leadership, the market know-how, intelligence and expertise, does the delivery of strong point of view in respect of the government as well as offers strategic support in respect of business. The major function of the BHA is to work with the government to ensure a proper  business environment  in which hospitality as well as tourism can function in an efficient way. (Daft, 2010) Certain significant campaigns of the British Hospitality Association are associated with inspiring the next generation with the ‘The Big Hospitality Conversation’ for facilitating success, for driving competiveness as well as for having a responsible hospitality also. To provide inspiration to the next generation, British Hospitality Association has aimed for the creation of around 300,000 new jobs in the industry by 2020, and also to facilitate accessibility British Hospitality Association has requested the government for improving the process of visa accessibility for UK and in respect of increasing competitiveness they did the reduction of the VAT rules associated with tourism in Europe.

Springboard UK: The young, unemployed and individuals who are in a less advantageous position are being supported by the Springboard UK for initiating a career in the hospitality industry. This is considered to be a significant opportunity since the rate of unemployment of young individuals is almost thrice the national average. Springboard UK’s role is to promote the hospitality industry to be the most suitable place to work, to have an experience of the different types of jobs. To do this, Springboard Charity does the development of links with the schools, colleges as well as universities and also does the offering of complimentary programmes that are associated with education and scopes for career to assist students and young people less than 25 years of age. Another functional aspect of Springboard UK is to work for addressing human resources and corporate social responsibility needs of their business associates and for raising funds in respect of the work for charity. (Daft, 2010) Moreover, with the help of Springboard Resource Gateway, they offer resources that are considered to be new and communicative in respect of teaching and learning, in which there is the engagement of the students in activities that are related with food, leisure, hospitality, tourism and significant attributes. Moreover, with the help of the career opportunity of Springboard, there is assistance provided towards education in respect of hospitality, leisure and tourism that will assist in the ability to access specialist advices related to career and also assistance programmes.

Analyse operational, managerial and legislative issues resulting from recent developments affecting the hospitality industry (3.1)

For analysing the operational, managerial as well as legislative issues that result from recent developments affecting the hospitality industry, let us take into consideration three aspects such as food allergens legislation and regulations, the ban on smoking in indoor public places and changes to the alcohol licensing laws.

• Food allergens legislation and regulation: A very significant hazard to health is allergy towards food as it might be hugely detrimental towards life. During the mid 90s, there was the emergence of allergy towards food as a significant as a significant factor in respect of public health in different countries internationally. With the development in the industry for processed food and with the expansion in the quantity regarding international trade that was associated with food products, there came into existence international and national regulatory administration in respect of food allergens. Allergy in respect of food was considered to be a global issue in relation to food regulation. The Food and Agricultural Organization as well as The World Health Organisation are asking for professional advice for determining which food ingredients should have their declaration on the labels for food every time in relation to their allergenic properties. (Lussier, 2014) In the recent past, there has been a declaration that specific food items are required to mention on the labels of the containers or packets of the food products about the allergenic properties that they are having. There was an amendment done in June 2010 that required the improvement of the general regulations for mentioning on the labels of the food products the presence of allergenic properties, if any.
• The ban on smoking in indoor public places: There is a requirement for the Smoking Prohibition Act, to provide a clean, improved and healthy environment in relation to the public and for safeguarding them from the negative effects of passive smoking. An individual is considered to be violating the law when he is found smoking in places that have prohibition towards smoking. The law needs an organisational manager for adhering towards stringent procedures in which there is a prohibition towards smoking. (Lussier, 2011) This occurs with the help of using the signage towards providing information to people in relation to the ban on smoking. The objective associated with long term policy is for putting a prohibition on smoking in indoor public places that will reduce the hazards of smoking on individuals slowly but surely at places like outdoor areas of the hospitals, corridors of residential houses, multi-purpose halls, staircases and corridors.
• Changes to the alcohol licensing laws: Generally, there is the recognition of the legal presence of alcohol to be a significant controlling aspect in respect of the consumption of alcohol. In most of the societies, there is restriction towards the availability of alcohol towards small children. In UK, the law towards licensing normally restricts the sale of alcohol to a person less than 18 years of age. In UK, the licensing act makes sure that different conditions are required for imposing in respect of the sale of alcohol within a locality, imposing prohibitions towards careless promotion of games that encourage drinking because of which an individual’s drinking habits keeps increasing. (Hayton, 2012) These games are mainly associated with competing how much a person can drink within a given time period. It has been seen that in UK, it is due to the market and not due to the licensing authorities that there is the determination of the number of registered outlets in a specific location.

Discuss the current image of the hospitality industry (3.2)

In respect of discussing the current image of the hospitality industry, let us take into consideration the aspects of customer focus and culture and media exposure.

• Customer focus and culture: There is a very significant role that is being played by the customer that is related to the present image of the hospitality industry. When an organisation is not functioning in a proper way, and is unable in meeting the customer’s standard of expectation and needs, a significant reason in respect of the focus of the consumers is associated with education and understanding. It is important for every individual to acknowledge the fact that proper communication is the key to everything. To possess a healthy relation in respect to the focus of the consumers, it is needed for treating the consumers with appropriate dignity and respect and the required steps are to be actualised in respect of the anticipated scenarios. Moreover, diversity towards culture is becoming a major significant aspect towards the hospitality industry from an extended period of time. (Fernando, 2011) Due to globalization, it has become a significant aspect in relation to strategic planning of the significant number of international hospitality organisations.
• Media Exposure: There is the capability of the media for building, supporting as well as tarnishing a hotel’s image. There is the ability of the hospitality industry in having a better exposure with the support of media. Awareness can be created by the media in relation to the hotel within the customers. In the current scenario, the online media can play a major role towards a hotel’s development. ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ are considered to be the online sites that can assist to showcase a positive image of the hotel within the customers who are interested towards staying in a particular hotel within their budget. (Fernando, 2011) It can be very well stated that social media is now playing a major role in respect of the hospitality industry for changing the mindset of customers towards the hotels, to increase the ease of accessibility for the customers and to change the trends towards hotels as well.

Present justified predictions for potential trends and developments in hospitality (4.1)

In respect of presenting the justified predictions for potential trends and developments in hospitality industry, let us take into consideration the aspects of the hotel sector of the hospitality industry as well as food and beverage management.

• The hotel sector of the hospitality industry: The customer service is considered to be the topmost priority when predictions are made in respect of future trends towards the hotel sector of the hospitality industry. In the current scenario, innovative scenarios are occurring in respect of the technological aspects like confirmation of check-ins via mobile. Considering the future, it is very much necessary in realising the fact that the development of technology is of a huge significance. In addition to this, one more significant future trend is associated with real time marketing and providing materials on a constant process that is considered to be a significant scenario towards the hospitality industry. (Furnham, 2012) Marketing that is associated with real time will be taking place on a daily basis and there is need for materials to get incorporated that are associated with generating guests especially with the support of the social media.
• Food and beverage management: To make predictions in respect of the future trends in the food and beverage management, there has been analysis in respect of the changing the clean labels to the clear labels. More significance is provided on the constant attention in respect of home cooking to create effortlessness in respect of the consumers. The current generation which has a strong knowledge of technology and is also connected with the help of the online social media have the requirement towards trying something which is innovative. (Furnham, 2012) New fusion foods as well as innovative continental delicacies are becoming very popular among the current generation. They are becoming more and more health conscious as well.

Produce an impact analysis for the predicted trends and developments (4.2)

The customer service is considered to be the topmost priority when predictions are made in respect of future trends towards the hotel sector of the hospitality industry. In the current scenario, innovative scenarios are occurring in respect of the technological aspects like confirmation of check-ins via mobile. Considering the future, it is very much necessary in realising the fact that the development of technology is of a huge significance. (Frydman, 2013) In addition to this, one more significant future trend is associated with real time marketing and providing materials on a constant process that is considered to be a significant scenario towards the hospitality industry. Marketing that is associated with real time will be taking place on a daily basis and there is need for materials to get incorporated that are associated with generating guests especially with the support of the social media. To make predictions in respect of the future trends in the food and beverage management, there has been analysis in respect of the changing the clean labels to the clear labels. (Frydman, 2013) More significance is provided on the constant attention in respect of home cooking to create effortlessness in respect of the consumers. The current generation which has a strong knowledge of technology and is also connected with the help of the online social media have the requirement towards trying something which is innovative. New fusion foods as well as innovative continental delicacies are becoming very popular among the current generation. They are becoming more and more health conscious as well towards the use of healthy oils and artificial emulsifiers.

Conclusions

This case study is associated with the aspects of the contemporary hospitality industry which is analysing the current scale, scope and diversity of the hospitality industry. Then the organisational structure has been discussed in respect of hospitality organisations, and analysing operational, managerial as well as legislative issues resulting from recent developments affecting the hospitality industry. Then, the current image of the hospitality industry is being discussed. After that the predictions for potential trends and developments in hospitality are presented.

References

Daft, R (2010). Organization Theory and Design. Cengage Learning EMEA.
Frydman, R (2013). Rethinking Expectations: The Way forward for Macroeconomics. Princeton University Press.
Furnham, A (2012). The Psychology of Behaviour at Work: The Individual in the Organization. Psychology Press
Hayton, J (2012). Global  Human Resource Management  Casebook. Taylor & Francis
Iqbal, T (2011). The Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational Effectiveness. GRIN Verlag.
Lussier, R (2011). Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development. CENGAGE Learning
Lussier, R (2014). Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications & Skills Development. SAGE Publications.
Matthews, I (2011). Evidence based practice in Social Work. SAGE.