Unit 18 Hospitality and Provision in TT Assignment

Introduction

People need change in their lives which led them to travel around places. This can be for different reasons; some may opt to transverse to seek spiritual relief, while some may do the same for escaping from their dull routine. Whatever the reason may be, travel and tourism has attained high scopes in travel and tourism industry. There is a point to consider about the diversity of visitors that travel each year; hence, hospitality forms to be an integral part in tourism sector. Everyone has some expectations to be consoled and treated with honor when one goes out of the normal routine. In fact, that can act as the perfect cure to one’s stress. Therefore, hospitality comes up to be one of the most important factors in today’s era. The synonym for hospitality is ‘care and concern’. Even if a customer reaches a well reputed place to stay in the travel routine, an ill-hospitality can hamper everything. So, the size doesn’t really matter, the quality time is measured by satisfaction and contentment.

Hospitality can well act as the feather to various types of tourism such as business tours, restaurants, exhibitions, tourist attractions etc. In this paper, we have also tried to bring out the method of integration while discussing about hospitality in tourism and travel sector. Hospitality also brings out the sense of credibility among the customers, when they are satisfied as per their wants. The concept of vertical and horizontal integration is well put out through this piece. Moreover, the usefulness of Human Resources is preferred the most, while highlighting the concept.

Task 1

P 1.1 Using example of at least two hospitality organizations of your choice we must define vertical and horizontal integration, the benefits of vertical and horizontal integration.

One of the two most reputed firms that provide the customers with the most comforted hospitality are Thomas Cook and Hilton. They contain a platter of services that have been initiated by them for a consoling stay for the customers. They charge about 100 pounds per adult and 50 pounds per child. When we come to the definition of a passenger, it refers to the persons who are above 2 years of age; however, a minimal charge is levied on children. Now, let’s talk about famous brand- Marriot. Marriott provides the customers with one of the most luxurious accommodations throughout the globe. This is the brand that lends a flavor of royalty to the customers or the passengers. With a majestic touch of honor and fine delicacies, the passengers are deemed to relish the atmosphere. The settings are magnificent and the ambience too is something to cheer about. In short, we can say it to be the perfect brand to choose, if your pocket is heavy enough.

Restaurant- One must surely need to consume fine food, when the domestic cooks are at rest. Hence, everything from the menu, to the ambience of the restaurants should be captivating enough for the consumers. Moreover, health is also a part of concern for the passengers, as they are travelling a foreign nation. This is another thing to consider for the hosts. Respective guides of the passengers play a vital role in choosing the place to eat. There are also brands like Mc Donald’s. (Pullman and Rodgers, 2010)

Rail and Ferry Catering- Railways are an important mode of travel and one surely expects a proper accommodative environment on it, as well. Railways and Ferry have turned up a long way to become as consoling as the airlines. Now, a passenger can find no difference between an airline service and a good-quality express train. The things that they should take care of is the quality of food, cleanliness etc. In India, Railways cannot be getting away with, when starts the talk about the travel and tourism. Being the world’s largest railway network, Indian Railways have now been improved drastically, in terms of both, quality and timeliness. Ferry is tagged as more credible and comfortable, although; however, due to the cost factor, only the elite class of people tends to opt for this mode of transport. (Hung, 2011)

Vertical and horizontal integration:

• Vertical integration: This is a kind of integration in which the whole process of integration is controlled by a single firm.
• Horizontal integration: When a company possesses traits of being a dominating company, the process of taking over it is termed to be as Horizontal integration. This integration can take place in a foreign country as well.

Advantages of these integrations:

• This brings in adequacy in knowledge and skills.
• An increase in deficit fiscal on the process of sales
• Profit is received in an increased quantity.
• Competition is lessened down through merging with other companies.

P 1.2 1What is hospitality and why is important? Discuss about primary and secondary providers. Discuss the interrelationships between hospitality and wider travel and tourism business.

The terms ‘guest’ and ‘host’ are common and hospitality is the core form that defines the relationship between the two. This is the concept to make your guests feel at ease and comforting them as they are at their homes.

Importance of hospitality:

• Once, the person is travelling to a tourist destination that is not actually their home; it is the duty of the host to make him/her feel comfortable. This is the concept of hospitality.
• In such cases, government-run information centers and guides prove to be of immense help to the tourists. They should always provide with accurate information to the travelers, so that they don’t get misguided in their enjoyment regime.
• Devotion and dedication are two very important terms in the concept of hospitality. This is gainful for each of the guest and the host.

Primary providers: This refers to the ones who give preference only to the accommodative facilities, including, food, beverages etc. Hilton Watford and Marriott are the reputed ones of them. Sometimes, they also hold some additional services of entertainment.

Secondary providers: Some firms also provide with added value services like food catering, nightclubs, pool clubs etc. in addition to their primary facilities; most of the times they are not completely free.  The revenue gained by the companies through such services is termed as secondary spend.

We cannot leave hospitality out of the travel and tourism industry. Hospitality is a must in order to fulfill the expectations of the customers or the tourists. One always expects to be comforted, while going out somewhere when things do not appear to be familiar. Be it accommodation, eateries, entertainment-everything is interrelated to each other. A tourist might book a grand hotel outside the country but might help to be consoled due to certain conditions; this is where the utilization of hospitality comes to act. All the elements of hospitality-lodging, food, entertainment, beverages, nightclubs etc. are integral to the concept. (Crotts, Mason and Davis, 2009).

Hotels and motels: Hotels (or motels) are opted for after taking a look at their reputed stature in the market. Hotels range from 1 star to 7 Star; however, affordability also matters here. A hotel with good hospitality is always preferred than the one with luxury features but ill facilities. Hotels form an integral part of a tourist’s tour package. If we talk of good quality affordable hotels, one can opt for star hotels that ranges from 1 star  to 5 star. The Burj hotel in Dubai is considered to be the largest hotel in globe, but its affordability is a matter of great concern for the travelers. Due to its high cost, it might be the perfect place to accommodate business class people, but it’s not the one to be favored by common people. Hence, the 1-4 start ratings places are perfectly fitted for people who spent a large fraction of their time travelling places. (Severt, Tesone, Bottorff, 2009).

Motels, literally meaning the accommodation for motorists or one who travels a lot, is located on highways. Neither they are very costly, nor do they promise high class facilities to the customers. They are cheap, simple and a place to shelter upon. In Indian terms, it is a resting place for the road travelers.

Camping parks, caravanning and lodges: Employment of camping parks and caravanning are a great way to distract yourself from skyscrapers and the dull lifestyle of the daily world. This is a nice way to relish the charm of the environment. (Penfold, 2009). Lodges are commercial farm houses meant for tourists, located around the hills. The facilities included in lodges may vary from place to place. This is a great place for weekend trips with the family.

Self–catering: This gives the flavour of being at home; through this service, one can cook food on their own and of their own choice. This can be very costly and is opted by an elite class of people. This gives both, enjoyment and freedom.

Cafes: Cafes or cafeterias are the places where people can go in and relax with cups of coffee or tea. But, in today’s world, things have got conglomerated, so are the ambience of the cafes. Nowadays, cafes have added facilities like Wi-Fi, music etc. Beside this, an experimented variety of food delicacies is also provided to the customers. Cafes are only use for to serve hot beverages like tea and coffee. Cafes are a great place for social gatherings, friendly chats, official talks etc. These have now turned to be versatile as well.

In – flight catering: Flying to a place halts a tourist’ freedom to a certain extent; this does not let you to demand for facilities that could bring the travelling process to be static. Hence, food-catering in flights is an important criterion to understand the concept of hospitality. In-flight catering is managed in such a way so that things will be preserved, as well as in the state of being delicious. In general class, the passengers do not have the option to select the food; therefore, the items should be the ones that are universally accepted. Business Class people have a limited range of option to choose from.

Theatre, cinemas and shopping complex: Theatre and Cinemas can keep anyone and everyone interested in their traveling mode. English movies and dramas are the ones that are well understood by anyone in the world, considering the universal nature of the language. Shopping is another major attraction during a person’s traveling regime. How can one forget buying tokens from their touring place for the closed ones? This is the simplest way for making a tour memorable for the future. Nightlife in some places like Dubai, is very captivating for the visitors.

Task 2

P 2.1 Analyze the implications of integration to the hospitality industry

In this section, we will introspect on the two types of integration that are widely accepted. They are: horizontal integration and vertical integration. It entails about the consequences it may bring in, and also suggests the ways to analyze the implications.

Vertical integration: This is the kind of integration when the firm directly starts taking up its downstream or upstream process. Suppose, there is a firm which deal in providing with manufacturing process, starts taking up the process of logistics as well, this is known as vertical integration. Same happens in the case of hospitality industry , when a hotel group starts manufacturing products like towels, soaps for the hotel, itself. This definitely reduces the costs of production.

It can lead to the following:

• Attain monopoly in market
• Reduce costs
• Coordination process gets better

However, it has its disadvantages too. They are:

• Flexibility gets lessened down.
• Internal issues may arise.
• In the time of recession, shrinking may occur.

Horizontal integration: This refers to expanding the services of a company, but at the same level i.e. opening more hotels, expanding to other countries, merging with other brands. Once horizontal integration takes place, this brings in the following opportunities:

• Less competition
• Costs get down
• Reach gets higher

But, it has some drawbacks too. They are:

• A new product in the market by the same company may not prove to be beneficial.
• May erase the value of the new product.

P 2.2 Discuss how integration has affected a hospitality business

The process of integration is extremely vital in the field of hospitality. It is very common in today’s era, when companies expanding themselves or evolving out into new brands. Such things have turned out to be advantageous, although some drawbacks or laggings could be found as well. It might be for commercial terms, but such a variation is bringing gains for both, the guest and the host.  This is a huge step taken by the companies in the contemporary world in order to provide better hospitality to the customers. (Svensson and Svaeri, 2009).

Now, let’s take a look at the impacts that may be contagious to the hospitality industry. These are:

• Organization size: a major company can hold monopoly in the market by taking up a smaller company; whereas, the smaller companies have no choice.
• The size do an independent venture declining: with vertical integration, a company might exercise its control over any sector of the business, be it manufacturing, or logistics. This hampers the role of independent businesses. This affects the SMES ns the suppliers as well.
• The hold over sub-sectors: This refers to the extension of a company’s control over other sectors as well. For eg. Reliance has done so in the recent past acquiring control over petrochemicals and textile materials. The Bulgari Hotel in London has ensured a royal stay for the visitors with a chopper service available for them.
• Standardized format of services offered to the clients: Standardization is a crucial criterion for everyone in this world. It brings in a sense of transparency in understanding and communication. With the two forms of integrations, the services are impacted upon. It brings in many issues of economical and geographical misunderstandings (Okumus and Altinay, 2010). This can be brought out through this: say a small company gets purchased by a large firm and it transforms its products according to its own standard, it might prove to be unrealistic. The products may prove to be of unreasonable cost.

New forms of ownership and operation:

Such a process of integration has affected the market to a drastic extent and new contract forms have evolved out. The concept of franchise has come out with new stakes in share taking up the hold. However, it has brought advantage to big firms like Marriott Hotel , or Bulgari Hotel. They can act in their comforted way to impress an image of goodwill in the minds of the customers (Chang and Hsu, 2010). There also cases when smaller companies have attained fame by merging up with comparatively larger companies (Ritz-Carlton and Marriott). Following is an essential in such kinds of agreement:

Management Contract: In this, the owner of a company has to be legally agreed upon, while merging or selling the property to another company. It implies that the new owner has the right to run or manage the property under a certain fixed amount.

Following are the management companies that are considered to be at the peak:

• Marriott International
• IHG
• Starwood Hotels
• Hilton Hotels
• ACCOR

There is a certain amount t of rent, known as lease, paid by the owner of a company to the former owner of the company. The amount varies from regions to regions. These are basically the earnings from food, banquet halls, beverages etc. There is an agreement done between the owner of the franchise and the owner of the same brand. This is known as Franchise Agreement. It gives the tag of being a part of the brand chain to the franchise. Through certain deals or leases, the owner of the franchise gets some stakes in the brand company (Racherla, 2009).

Task3

P 3.1 Develop a rationale for a selected project clearly justifying decisions linked to target market

Tourism is supported by the contextual criteria of social, economic, and cultural communication. The purpose of a travel varies from person to person; for some it may be for business purpose, or for some it may be the perfect to escape from the daily routine. The ones who undergo such a venture are termed as tourists, visitors etc. However, large amount of money gets incurred on a trip, it ultimately brings in a platter of experiences for the visitors. Tourism has its own multi-dimensional impacts; it brings in economic returns to a country (the host), and also is a valid source of income for the local people. Many goods and services are especially produced for the tourists. This also requires good management, so that it leads to contentment and comfort to the tourists. Tourism policies should be implemented in a balanced way so that it should not act as a hurdle to the movement of the visitors; however, it should ensure security for the visitors as well.  

According to me, the element that can be of utmost importance to the visitors and can provide the best process of hospitality is a ‘Tourist guide service’. When a person visits an unknown place, there should be someone who guides you in a proper manner. Such a process also ensures the following things:

• Proper Guidance
• A strong knowledge of the historical significance of places
• A sense of respect for the tourists
• Should not harass the visitor
• A comforted journey

As discussed, a guide should always be the one who will provide you with a comforted journey. Suppose, I am on a tour to Pakistan and I am completely unaware of the cultural ethics of that place. Then, I would definitely require someone who would bridge the gap between my culture and Pakistan’s own culture; else, I would never be able to roam around the place with a free and consoled mind. The above mentioned points highlight the importance of the concept of hospitality. A guide could well be the first step toward the phenomenon of hospitality.

P 3.2 Develop a plan for hospitality business including the operational requirements of the business organizational structure in relation to human resource allocation

Planning is the most important stage required to reach the purposed destination. To achieve the ideated objectives for a company, the managers or the concerned persons should formulate a tactic in such a way so that the goal is achieved in the estimated time.  This refers to formulating policies, to the implementation of desired objectives at its final stage. This may comprise leading and controlling the downward management as well. It’s always important to spot out the potential and then, act accordingly in order to fulfil the cause.

The process of ‘planning’ takes place at three levels:

• Top: People have long-term perspectives; this includes mission and the purpose. The five Ws are focused upon a lot.
• Middle: They act as the bridge or the middlemen, interacting with the line managers and exchanging the messages with the top managers.
• Line: They are the ones who implement the plans.  (Lundberg and Gudmundson, 2009).

Apart from the human made resources that build up a company, there are also human resources which are a part of it. Human resources are certainly the most important ones among all the other components of a company. From initiation to emergence of a work, Men play a crucial role. They have the ability to think, ideate, and work on logic to reach a specific aim. They also have the ability to analyze things in a critical manner.  Human beings also have the temperament to stay calm in serious situations and work with a matured approach. Hence, it’s very important to entertain people, be it the host or the guest.

Role of hrm in ukcbc hotel:

Following are the features of HRM (Human Resource Management):?

• It helps in specifying the goal or purpose.
• Helps to comply with the formulated policies and work according to them.
• Skills attained by Human Resources are essential for the growth of a company.
• It holds the reputation and prestige of the company.
• Cross-cultural communication is another criterion that can be managed by them, during mergers and foreign tours.
• The needs of the people are well understood.
• It involves strategies which are focused to achieve the purposes.
• HRM should take the responsibility to bring in OCTAPACE culture climate in a company.

Key Stages of Planning:

• Marketing – Captivating the people (target audience) with appealing and desired products.
• Ambience – The internal aura of a place should be magnetizing and soothing enough to hold customers.
• Operations– Operating in a formulated and planned manner to meet the wants of guests and performing beyond a customer’s expectations is the major part of operations.
• Maintenance– Facilities and accommodation should be of the standardized quality; even if there are defaults, substitutions should be there.
• Capital costs– The capital cost expenditure should match with the planned one. This will anticipate in bringing in good returns and profits. (Buhalis, 2013)
• Promotional activity- To persuade a consumer for a product, one should first create awareness of that product. This is done through promotional activities. However, credibility should be maintained by delivering the true message to the consumers. This can be done through many ways- be it T.V., newspapers, Radio etc. Inform the target audience about the products you are planning to offer and sell.

Conclusion

There are a variety of travel packages; however, the price depends on many factors- quality, facilities, duration etc. People have started to travel more than ever considering the mundane lifestyle they are going through these days. Touring new places gives a sigh of relaxation. Owing to their habit, the tourism companies have well adjusted to their needs; out of these, the most important step taken by them is the process of integration. This also helps to eradicate major competitors in the market for them. In tourism and travel sector, the most important concept that cannot be done without is the phenomenon of Hospitality. This is the ultimate process of befriending a guest and making them feel at home. This needs polished marketing tactics and an eagerness to magnetize visitors to a place by the tourism companies. As already discussed, integration have formed an eminent place in today’s travel industry, it also have some drawbacks that are almost an additive feature of the globalized world. Due to this, the bigger companies are being able to exercise the hold, however, the smaller companies failing to hold its side-grip. Same is the case with middle-class people who are facing the brunt of this change when they are not being able to cope up with the unreasonable costs of the branded hotels; hence, they have ultimately decided to cut down their tour routine. There are always pros and cons to anything and everything, however, the pros can never be ignored here.

References

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