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 Introduction to hospitality

Hospitality refers to the process of reception and entertainment of guests. The Oxford dictionary defines it as “Reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers with liberty and goodwill.”

In fact, hospitality is an integral part of the business enterprise encompassing both travel & tourism and hotels which provides a wide range of travel related services such as modes of travel, accommodation, food & beverages, recreational activities and other facilities required by a traveler. The two significant arms of the hospitality industry.

Element of Hospitality sector

The basic concept of hospitality is providing “a home away from home” for guests. 

Having understood the definition of hospitality it is important to know the origin and growth of the hospitality sector.

 

Origin and grouth of hospitality sector

The emergence and growth of tourism in the latter half of the 19^th century has led to a spurt of accommodation facilities to the travelers and India is exception to that. The growth of the hotel industry is influenced to a great extent by the growth of the travel and tourism industry. Globalization has necessitated people to travel in an extensive manner and following are the reasons for which people travel from one place/country to the other.

Why people travel

Business

With the liberalization of the Indian economy many multinational corporations have established their operations in India. This makes it essential for its employees to travel from one country to the other.

Pleasure

The tremendous growth of the Indian middle class has led an increased spending power resulting in people allocating considerable portion of their earnings to recreation and travel. This contributes to almost 50% of the inbound travel to Indian.

Education

With the ushering of the internet age student have access to information on all the universities, their specializations and strengths. This has led to a tremendous growth in the number of students seeking higher education outside India. Indian universities too have been able to attract foreign students.

Medical Treatment

There has been a sharp increase in number of patients who visit India for medical treatment. With the Indian hospitals providing world class care at an affordable cost, people from developed countries are coming to India to avail the medical facilities here.

 

Pilgrimage

With the advancement happening in the aviation sector the world has become a global village leading to people across the world visiting pilgrimage centers of interest.

 

When a person travels for many days in a stretch he can vary his clothes with him but it is not possible to carry food. This is where the hospitality industry stepped in. During the olden days in India there ware lodging houses called as Dharmasala and sarai which provided food and shelter for the travelers who travelled predominantly by foot. Later, with the passage of time lodging houses started providing a wide range of services and hotels in its present from emerged.

 

Nature of the hospitality industry

Hospitality industry comprises of both profit making and non-profit making entities. Eg. Commercial hotels are profit making and religious catering outlets may be non-profit making. Traditional ways of providing hospitality varies from place to place in our country. According to certain ancient scriptures a guest is considered to be a person who is next only to “God”. The Hotel industry has to take a clue from the attitude where a guest is treated like a member of the family. Welcoming guests with rangoli, performing aarti, putting a tilak on the forehead of guest, greeting with folded hands are some ways of welcoming guests in India.

 

Comfortable lodging houses were once considered as an exclusive privilege of the wealthy but it has now become available to the common man too.

 

Changes in Indian hospitality industry

The earliest lodging houses in India were generally run by families who provided large halls to travelers who made their own beds and slept on the floor. They also provided food and beverages. Entertainment and recreation were provided on a very limited scale. The owners of such lodging houses made a living by providing accommodation to travelers.

The present-day concept of hotel is not a place to provide accommodation and food but offers to its guest every possible facility like mini bars, room safes, ironing centers, internet facilities, towel warmers, convention & conference facilities, telephones, radio, laundry, valet, bookshops, banking, parking, florists, chemists, gym, beauty parlors, travel agents, centers and much more.

The hospitality sector has reached new heights today. An increase in business travel has driven the hospitality sector to serve their guests better. Visiting foreigners has reached a record 3.92 million and consequently international tourism receipts have also reached a height of UD$ 5.7 billion. India is experiencing a huge influx of foreigners as it has become a favorite vacation destination. Fierce competition is making the leaders of this industry to rollout innovative ideas and products on a regular basis.

The Hospitality industry plays a major role in the overall economic growth of the country. Along with the rapid industrial growth and promotion of tourism, the catering and hotel sector is booming thereby offering huge job prospects. The hotel industry has contributed to 1.5% of the Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the demand supply gap of hotel rooms keeps widening. With this growth rate, the importance of finding skilled manpower is an area of high priority. Historically, the hospitality industry has drawn heavily from the younger generation to meet its workforce needs.

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