The Tourism, Hospitality and Event Industries - Literature review Example

Introduction to Hospitality, Tourism and Events Student’s Name Subject Professor University/Institution Location Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Fundamental features of the industries 4 Customer Service drive 4 Teamwork 5 Flexible work schedules 5 Convergence 6 Reliance among the industries 7 Host/Guest concept 7 Reciprocity 8 Customer service 9 Supply chain management 9 Relationship marketing 10 Environmental sustainability 10 Conclusion 11 List of References 12 Executive Summary The tourism, hospitality and event industries have close relations and are some of the biggest industries in Australia. Customer service is central to the three industries and determines success of companies operating in these sectors. Teamwork and flexible work schedules are also fundamental features of the three sectors. The tourism, hospitality and event industries converge in the provision of various services and products. They also depend on one another for supply of information, goods and services. This research paper will also address the importance of host/guest concept, reciprocity, customer service, supply chain management, relationship marketing and environmental sustainability to the industries of hospitality, event and tourism. Introduction to Hospitality, Tourism and Events Introduction Hospitality, tourism and events form three distinct but, closely related sectors. The three sectors fall under Australia’s biggest industries. Although each sector presents a separate collection of responsibilities and roles, a big percentage of industry workers tend to work in the three sectors throughout their career life. Knowledge and skills in the three industries open job opportunities in places such as restaurants, hotels, clubs, airlines, resorts, catering companies, casinos, tour operators, travel agencies, event management firms and convention centres across the globe (Jayawardena 2000, p.67). This research paper will talk about the fundamental features of the three sectors and how they unite and rely upon one another. It will also discuss the importance of host/guest concept, reciprocity, customer service, supply chain management, relationship marketing and environmental sustainability. Fundamental features of the industries Customer Service drive The quality of customer service that the workforce of a given company operating in the hospitality, events and tourism industries offer to clients, highly determines the success of the company. A big percentage of business transactions in the three industries involve direct interactions between employees and customers. According to Service Skills Australia (2011, p.11), people working in the hospitality, events and tourism industries ought to have high quality customer service. They should also be in a position to build good relations with clients. Customer service is considered important in the retention of customers as well as in attracting new customers. High quality customer service leads to high customer satisfaction which is essential in organisational success. Charantimath (2003, p.157) maintains that, a satisfied customer will always come back and contacting business with the same customers brings about customer loyalty. Moreover, he or she will try telling his or her friends about the quality of service of the company, which will help in attracting new customers. Teamwork Drawing from Kusluvan (2003, p.11), it is the collective efforts of all the staff rather than individual effort in a company which counts. The delivery of services in the tourism, hospitality and events sectors requires the skills of various professionals and thus cooperation among the professionals involved is very important. For instance, in a tour agency, a tourist may receive very good accommodation services in a hotel, but after leaving the hotel room, he is assigned an unfriendly tour guide. In such a case, the tourist cannot rate his tour experience at 100 percent. Therefore, every professional who is involved in a given service should give their best for an all round quality service. Kusluvan (2003, p.13) further says that, teamwork is seen in interdependence among professionals in the hospitality, events and tourism sectors. For example, in a hotel setting, a waiter receiving a food order from a guest will rely on the efforts of a chef in order for him or her to be able to deliver the food on time. Flexible work schedules James (2005, p.33) argues that, people working in any of the three industries fall under three types of work schedules namely, full-time, part-time and casual. In most cases, employees are able to choose from the part-time and full-time work schedule. Part-time schedules are very convenient for workers who are still studying or mothers. Most companies in the hospitality, events and tourism sectors operate for long hours and thus their employees work under shifts, where some come in for the day shift and are released by those working for the night shift. According to Vallas (2001, p.111), work shifts enable companies in the hospitality, events and tourism sectors to cater for the needs of different customers through being able to have employees to attend to customers at different times of the day. Convergence According to Jones (2006, p.23), the tourism industry converges with the hospitality and event industries in several areas. To start with, the tourism industry offers accommodation facilities to its clients, who are mainly people travelling to places which are far away from their homes to have fun. The hospitality industry also offers accommodation facilities such as hotels and lodges, which are mainly used by the general public. Moreover, the tourism industry converges with the events industry in terms of entertainment activities. Most tour operators and agencies provide their clients with a package which include tourist activities like boat riding, hiking, skating, casino events and a ride to game parks. The event industry operates entertainment venues such as amusement parks, water sports, casinos and theatres. Jones P. (2012, p.201) maintains that, the hospitality industry and the event industry also converge. The former offers beverages and food stuffs through hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs. The event industry also offers food and beverages during events like wedding, dinner parties and teambuilding events of companies. Furthermore, both industries converge in offering convention services like conferences, seminars and workshops. Entertainment is also offered in both industries. The three industries converge in terms of the services and products that they offer. Reliance among the industries The tourism, hospitality and event industries rely upon one another for their success. The tourism industry relies on the hospitality industry for the supply of food stuff and beverages. Tourists go to hotels, restaurants and bars to get beverages and food services. Moreover, the tourism industry depends on the hospitality and event industry for conference facilities in case it needs to hold events like seminars and conferences. In addition, the tourism industry relies on the event sector for provision of tents for tourists who want to go camping. It also gets entertainment services like discos and clubbing from clubs which fall under the hospitality industry (Prideaux, Moscardo & Laws 2005, p.114). Baum (2009, p.146) says that, the hospitality industry relies on the tourism industry for transportation services to vacation and business destinations. Tour guide services are also available from the tourism industry. Moreover, the tourism sector supplies the hospitality and event industry with information on recreational sites and game parks. Besides, the hospitality industry gets tents from the event sector for holding meetings outside the conference rooms. The event sector also relies on the hospitality industry for a number of services like accommodation facilities, beverages, and wedding, birthday and anniversary cakes. More so, it needs transportation services from the tourism industry to take people to places where events are taking place. For instance, a manager attending an organizational meeting in another country has to use air transport which falls under the tourism sector. Host/Guest concept According to Hemmington (2007, p.6), hospitality refers to a relationship between a host and a guest. The host-guest concept defines hospitality as entertaining guests and strangers and showing generosity, kindness and being bountiful. This concept is very important in the tourism, hospitality and event industries because it enables the companies taking part in these industries to give their best in offering services to clients. Putting aside the commercial aspect of a company, hosts are expected to treat their guests in such a way that, the guests do not feel sidelined. Guests should be treated with respect, as equals and their needs should be met. Brotherton (2003, p.22) asserts that, the concept advocates for responsibility of the host towards guests. In this case, members of staff such as tour guides, hoteliers, waiters and receptionists are regarded as hosts to tourists as well as people who come to seek for accommodation services, information, food and beverages. It is the responsibility of staff to ensure that, the needs of each guest are met. Application of the host-guest concept in the three sectors helps in achievement of high degree of customer satisfaction, which in turn helps in retaining customers. Reciprocity Kolyesnikova & Dodd (2009, p.806) defines reciprocity as, reacting to a positive deed with a positive deed that is, rewarding acts of kindness. In the hospitality, event and tourism industries, employees are ever interacting with different customers and thus applying the concept of reciprocity is important. Reciprocity also implies treating other people in a manner that you would expect them to treat you. In attending to customers, employees should not necessarily do it while expecting a monetary reward; however they should do it willingly knowing that, someday they may need the assistance of a customer. In most cases, customers reward a good service by remaining loyal to a company and telling others about the company’s products and services. The current business environment is full of competition and customers are looking for differentiated products and services. Therefore, reciprocity is very pertinent in such an environment because it helps in managing competition through customer loyalty and word-of –mouth advertising (Sundaram, Mitra & Webster 2008, p.527). Customer service According to Knutson & Stevens (2009, p.413), the tourism, event and hospitality sectors rely on reliable, effective customer care to get industry accolades and affirmative media reports, win repeat clients and boost their revenue. Effectual customer care representatives are able to tackle guest issues and complaints in an efficient way, which promotes positive product perception and also preserves the reputation of the business. A good reputation is essential in these sectors to avoiding losing customers to competitors. Low satisfaction of customers may result to lack of business which can further lead to collapse of a company due to lack of market for its products or services. Supply chain management This is a business practice, which intends to enhance the manner in which a business obtains its raw materials as well as how it delivers the finished products to consumers. Supply chain management forms an important element in the areas of tourism, hospitality and event because it leads to operational efficiency. It improves customer service by ensuring that, the correct product range and quantity reach the consumer on time. It also ensures that, the products are availed at the customer’s expected location and that the customer is given after-sale services where applicable. Moreover, SCM facilitates streamlining of daily flow of products with ability to work around interruptions for improved efficiency (Kandampully 2012, p.132). Relationship marketing According to Kumar (2010, p.17), this is a marketing strategy whereby a firm establishes a long-term rapport with customers so as to guarantee continued loyalty. Direct contact is essential in the hospitality and tourism industries. Internal relationships among employees help in the production of quality products and provision of quality services. Good customer relationship leads to a better comprehension of the needs of customers which are catered for by the goods and services of a company. Quality together with customer satisfaction enhances customer retention as well as profitability. In this case, relationship marketing acts a competitive marketing policy to the company. Sheth, Parvatiyar & Shainesh (2001, p.85) further argues that, relationship marketing in the hospitality sectors assists in building and fostering partnerships with other businesses. For instance, a hotel will need to partner with media companies for effective advertising activities. Environmental sustainability Sharpley (2009, p.10) defines environmental sustainability as maintaining the practices and aspects which contribute to a quality environment in the long run. Business activities in the event, hospitality and tourism industries need to be eco-friendly because the businesses in these sectors depend on the environment for the supply of water, food and clean tourist sites. Hotels and resorts which are located near the shoreline or other water bodies need those sites to conduct tourist activities like swimming and water sports and thus they should keep them clean. Moreover, embracing environmental conservation by convention centres can help in marketing their services and enable environmental organisations to hold meetings in their centres which bring in profit to the centres (Swarbrooke 2011, p.198). Conclusion Hospitality, events and tourism sectors have close links. The sectors have three fundamental features which are customer service drive, teamwork and flexible work schedules. Moreover, the three sectors converge with reference to the kind of services and products that they offer. They also rely on each other for information and other services. The use of host-guest concept enhances customer satisfaction. Reciprocity facilitates customer loyalty and word-of –mouth advertising. Customer service helps in retention of customers and preserving the reputation of a company. Supply chain management enhances efficiency while relationship marketing helps in meeting customer needs. Environmental sustainability acts as a means of advertising. 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Knutson, B & Stevens, P 2009, The Service Scoreboard: A Service Quality Measurement Tool for the Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Education and Research Journal, 14(2), 413-420. Kolyesnikova, N & Dodd, T 2009, There is no such thing as a free wine tasting: The effect of a tasting fee on obligation to buy, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 26(2), 806-819. Kumar, P 2010, Marketing of hospitality and tourism services, New Delhi, Tata McGraw Hill Education. Kusluvan, S 2003, Managing employee attitudes and behaviors in the tourism and hospitality industry, New York, Nova Science Publishers. Prideaux, B, Moscardo, G & Laws, E 2005, Managing tourism and hospitality services : theory and international application, Cambridge, CABI Publishing. Service Skills Australia 2011, Tourism, Hospitality and Events environmental scan, Victoria, Service Skills Australia. Sharpley, R 2009, Tourism development and the environment : beyond sustainability? London, Earthscan. Sheth, JN, Parvatiyar, A & Shainesh, G 2001, Customer relationship management, New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. Sundaram, D, Mitra, K & Webster, C 2008, Word-of-mouth communications: A motivational analysis, Advances in Consumer Research, 25(3), 527-531. Swarbrooke, J 2011, Sustainable tourism management, New York, CABI Pub. Vallas, SP 2001,The transformation of work, New York, JAI. Read More