Chapter 1: Hospitality Spirit.

An Overview.

Chapter 1 Welcome to the Hospitality

Industry•Welcome future leaders!•Hospitality spirit•Service•The pineapple tradition•The interrelated nature of hospitality and tourism

•Characteristics of the hospitality industry

•Hospitality industry philosophy•Success in service•Moments of truth•Service and total quality management•Disney

Welcome future leaders!

• Hospitality industry is an exciting place to be:• It’s fascinating• It’s fun• It offers competitive pay• It offers advancement opportunities

Hospitality Spirit

• Works to create memories• Everyday guests rely on us for service

• Passion is in the service element

• People with a service spirit are happy to do something extra to make the guest’s experience memorable

• The WOW factor!

Service, Service, Service!• Service is defined as “the act or means of serving”

• To serve is to “provide goods and services for” and “be of assistance to”

• It is critical to give our guests exceptional service each encounter

• The hospitality industry can be a good choice for entrepreneurs who prefer to do their own thing (i.e., a bar, catering company, event management, restaurant, tour guide, night club, wedding planner, etc.)

The Pineapple Tradition

• The pineapple has enjoyed a rich and romantic heritage as a symbol of welcome, friendship, and hospitality

• Pineapples were brought back from the West Indies by early European explorers during the seventeenth century

• From that time on the pineapple became the favored fruit of royalty and the elite

• Today, it is globally recognized as a symbol of hospitality

The Interrelated Nature of Hospitality and Tourism

• The hospitality and tourism industry is the largest and fastest-growing industry in the world

• Under the umbrella of travel and tourism, countless professions are necessary to meet the needs and wants of people away from home

• All of these scopes have an effect on each other

Tourism

Hospitality

Figure 1-2 Scope of Hospitality and Tourism Industry

The Interrelated Nature of Hospitality and Tourism

• Hospitality employees have the ability to affect the human experience by creating powerful impressions—even brief moments of truth—that may last a lifetime

• A moment of truth is an expression used to describe a guest and an associate meeting—as when a guest walks into a restaurant

The Interrelated Nature of Hospitality and Tourism

• The hotel business provides career opportunities to associates who help make reservations, greet, assist, and serve guests

• The restaurant business fulfills guests’ diverse needs and wants – Eating is a biological need that restaurants accommodate

– Restaurants also fulfill other human desires (i.e., the need for socialization and to be entertained)

The Interrelated Nature of Hospitality and Tourism

• In managed services, foodservices are provided for airlines, military facilities, schools, health care operations, business and industry– These foodservice operations have the dual challenge of meeting the needs and wants of both the guests and the client (i.e., the institution itself)

Characteristics of the Hospitality Industry

• Our services are mostly intangible—the guest cannot “test-drive” a night’s stay or “taste the steak” before dining– The products are for use, not possession

• There is inseparability of production and consumption of the service product, due to each guest’s unique demands

• There is also the perishability of our product– For example, we have 1,400 rooms in inventory, but we sell only 1,200 rooms. What do we do with the 200 unsold rooms? Nothing—we lose 200 room nights and the revenue.

Hospitality Industry Philosophy

• Changed from one manager planning, organizing, implementing, and measuring to managers counseling associates, giving them resources, and helping them think for themselves– A participative management style which results in associate empowerment, increased productivity, and guest and employee satisfaction

Hospitality Industry Philosophy

• Corporate philosophy embraces the values of the organization—including ethics, morals, fairness, and equality

• Shifts emphasis from the production aspect of business to the focus on guest-related services

Success in Service

• Approximately 70% of the American and Canadian economies are engaged in service industries

• It is critical to offer guests exceptional service and to understand role of guest services

• Teamwork between the front of the house and the back of the house creates a positive environment in which to work

Success in Service

• A guest is someone who receives or benefits from the output of someone’s work

• External customer satisfaction ultimately measures a company’s success, since they are the people who are willing to pay for a company’s services

• Internal customers are the people inside any company who receive or benefit from the output of work done by others in the company

Success in Service

• For success in service we need to:– Focus on the guest.– Understand the role of the guest-contact employee.

– Weave a service culture into education and training systems.

– Emphasize high-touch instead of just high-tech.

– Thrive on change.

A Cup of Kindness

• Customer service is a central focus of hospitality

• Our job is to enhance the lives of those people (guests, customers, passengers, etc.) to whom we serve– We begin by understanding what they need

– Kindness is demonstrated by making everyone feel welcome

– Quality customer service requires that we make all guests feel comfortable

– We all have a need to feel important

Moments of Truth• These are guest encounters • Every hospitality organization has thousands of moments of truth every day

• Some of them include:– A guest calls the restaurant for a table reservation

– A guest tries to attract the bartender’s attention for a cocktail because there are no seats available

– A server takes an order– A server brings the check – A guest departs the restaurant

Focus on Service: Seven Deadly Sins of

Service• Apathy• Brush-off• Coldness• Condescension• Robotics• Rule book• Runaround

Service and Total Quality Management

• Total quality management (TQM) is a continuous process that works best when managers are also good leaders

• TQM is a participatory process that empowers all levels of employees to work in groups to establish guest service expectations and determine the best way to meet or exceed those expectations

• The difference between TQM and quality control (QC) is that QC focuses on error detection, whereas TQM focuses on error prevention

The Disney Approach to Guest Service

• The Disney mission statement is simple: “We create happiness.”

• The key elements of Disneyland guest services include:– Hiring, developing, and retaining the right people

– Understanding their product and the meaning of the brand

– Communicating the traditions and standards of service to all cast members

– Training leaders to be service coaches

– Measuring guest satisfaction– Recognizing and rewarding performance

Disney Service Model

• It begins with a smile• Make eye contact and use body language

• Respect and welcome all guests

• Value the magic• Initiate guest contact• Creative service solutions

Disney’s 5 Steps of Leadership

1. Provide clear expectations and standards

2. Communicate these expectations through demonstration, information, and examples

3. Hold cast members accountable for their feedback

4. Coach through honest and direct feedback

5. Recognize, reward, and celebrate success

Trends• Globalization• Safety and security• Diversity• Service• Technology• Legal issues• Changing demographics• Price value• Sanitation

The End