What is Hospitality?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hospitality as “the activity or business of providing services to guests in hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.” This is a good definition in the context of the hospitality industry – hotels, restaurants, cruise lines, tourist attractions, events, transportation, and travel services. Dictionary.com offers a similar definition but also includes “the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers” and “the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” The perspective shows that the concept of hospitality can apply to just about ANY type of business. After all, shouldn’t every business want its customers to be treated in a warm, friendly, and generous way? Danny Meyer, founder and former CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group thinks so. He expands on the definitions of hospitality by declaring that “hospitality is probably the single most powerful business strategy that doesn’t get taught nearly enough in business school.”

Hospitality Is a Service Industry

Businesses provide products, services, or a combination of both. Products are physical goods—sneakers, clothing, smart phones. In the hospitality industry, businesses provide services and experiences to guests (and in this industry, we generally refer to customers as guests): a meal with friends, a family stay in a hotel, an afternoon at the Dutchess County Fair, and a flight to Miami.  Service ‘products’ are also found in a wide variety of industries: utilities, educational institutions, consulting firms, medical care providers, and banking, to name but a few.

There are unique characteristics of services that set them apart from goods; it is important to understand the differences. Services are intangible, perishable, inseparable and variable, and they require high buyer involvement.

Intangibility

With the purchase of a good, you have something tangible—an item that can be seen, touched, tasted, worn, or displayed. Intangible services, on the other hand, cannot be “touched” beforehand. An airplane flight is an example of an intangible service because a customer purchases it in advance and doesn’t “experience” or “consume” the service until they are on the plane. Another example is attending a professional football game. You spend money on a ticket and spend nearly three hours taking in the entertainment. After the game, you leave. Unless you have purchased a good at the game, you will not take anything tangible to take away (except, perhaps, the ticket stub).

Perishabilty

Services are consumed at the same time they are being produced. For example, a tourist attraction produces entertainment or pleasure at the same time it is consumed. Similarly, the service provider is often present when consumption takes place. Dentists, hotel staff, hair stylists, and ballet dancers are all present when the service is used.

Perishability also impacts inventory. Services and experiences cannot be stored; they are highly perishable. In contrast, goods may be held in physical inventory in a lot, warehouse, or store until purchased, then used and stored at a person’s home or place of work. If a service is not sold when available, it disappears forever. Using the airline example, once the airplane takes off, the opportunity to sell tickets on that flight is lost forever, and any empty seats represent revenue lost.

Inseparability & Variability

Because service products are so closely related to the people providing the service, ensuring the same level of satisfaction every time is very difficult. Dentists have their bad days, not every baseball game is exciting, and the second vacation to Walt Disney World Resort may not be as wonderful as the first. Variability in experiences may be caused by location, time, topography, season, the environment, amenities, events, and service providers. Because human beings factor so largely in the provision of services, the quality and level of service may differ between locations or may even be inconsistent within one specific restaurant or hotel.

High Buyer Involvement

With many services, the customer may provide a great deal of input into the final form of the product. For example, if you wanted to go on a Caribbean cruise, you would visit a number of websites describing the various cruise locations, review the available options for cabin location and size, islands visited, food, entertainment, prices, and whether they accommodate children. Although the task would be very time consuming, you could, if you wanted, practically design every moment of your vacation.

Service Businesses Require…Customer Service

Built into the above definitions of hospitality is customer service. While there are many other factors that contribute to the success of a hospitality and tourism business, one of the most critical is customer service. Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to customers throughout the customer journey, before, during, and after the sale. Quality customer service is an experience of feeling valued or heard. Sometimes it’s an intangible component of why a guest may prefer one tourism or hospitality provider over another. There is something about quality customer service that you often can’t put your finger on — but you know it’s there. And it’s a critical factor for success, both as a means of satisfying ever-increasing customer expectations and as a way to achieve business profitability.^[1]

Customer Experience and Moments of Truth

Customer experience is the result of an interaction between the customer and the company.  It is how customers perceive their interactions with the company or brand. A customer touch-point or moment of truth is a point in time when the company connects in some form with the customer (e.g., website, phone, email, social media, retail store, returns, service, and products).  There are many different customer touch-points: when a customer phones the contact center for support, when a customer first visits the company website to review its products, or when the customer visits the store.  The customer will get an impression of the company from each of these interactions.  If the store is unclean, the products are difficult to find, or the staff are rude, this could leave the customer with a negative impression of the company, and they might perceive the store in a negative way, thus, having a negative customer experience.  The customer’s perception IS the customer’s experience.

For example, if you make a hotel reservation but need to change your checkout date because of a scheduling conflict. You might wait until you arrive and check-in, speak with the front desk staff about your reservation, request the change, and wait for them to update your booking. You might even call the hotel beforehand to inquire about availability or other details. In this scenario, your perception of the hotel and your overall experience will be influenced by several factors:

• Availability of parking at the hotel
• Ease of accessing the hotel lobby
• Wait time at the front desk
• The ability of the hotel to make a change to your reservation
• The manner in which the front desk staff speaks to you (courteous, professional)
• The efficiency of the front desk staff in making the reservation change (system speed, knowledge)
• The manner in which the hotel staff speaks to you on the phone (courteous, professional)

Companies work hard to create a positive experience for customers, but things do go wrong at times, and some customers will perceive that the company has not met their expectations in some way, thus, leaving those customers with a negative impression or perception of the company.

Service recovery occurs when a customer service professional takes action that results in the customer being satisfied after a service failure has occurred. Often service failures are not the fault of front-line staff, and at times, may not even be the fault of the business. Failure may be the result of an error made by another employee, by the guest themself, or by a technical error. Regardless of where the problem originated, when customers bring it to the attention of the staff, they have certain expectations for resolution.

Disappointed customers often want:

• An empathetic ear. Sometimes they simply want to vent. They want to know that the employee or manager is listening and cares.
• An apology. In some cases a sincere apology is enough.
• A solution. Typically customers bring issues to the attention of staff because they want them fixed.
• Compensation. Upset customers are looking for compensation, but not always.
• Follow-up. For some people, it’s important to know that their concerns are brought to the attention of management and are fixed for future customers.
• Reassurance. Customers want to know they’re in good hands.

Over time, as the customer has more and more experiences with the company, these experiences may shape the customer’s perception negatively or positively, and too many negative experiences will most likely cause the customer to discontinue engaging with the company; they will visit a competitor’s business instead.

Working in Hospitality

The hospitality industry employs more than 300 million people worldwide – that’s nearly 10% of the global population.^[2] The United States boasts a similar percentage, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting 16.82 million people working in the hospitality and leisure industry. as of December 2023.^[3] Here in Dutchess County, 8.8% of the local workforce is employed in hospitality and tourism.^[4]

An industry as large as hospitality is bound to have employment and career opportunities for anyone. Hospitality organizations hire employees in all of the traditional front-of-house and back-of-house roles, however as every hospitality business is a business, they must also fill administrative roles such as human resources, marketing, and finance positions. Having these more traditional roles within a hospitality organization can offer unique perks and benefits that other companies do not provide. The bottom line is that, whatever your interest or passion, the hospitality industry has career opportunities for you.

Working in the hospitality industry offers a career experience that is both challenging and rewarding. At the core of any hospitality career, is an interest in people and a sincere desire to be of service to others. Hospitality employees are at the forefront of delivering exceptional guest experiences, whether in hotels, restaurants, resorts, or event venues. The industry is known for its fast-paced environment, requiring individuals to be adaptable, customer-focused, and skilled in problem-solving. Despite the demanding nature of the work, hospitality careers provide unique opportunities for personal and professional growth, international exposure, and the chance to build lasting relationships with colleagues and guests from around the world.

Hospitality management is often considered a 24/7 job due to the industry’s demand for round-the-clock service. Hotels, restaurants, resorts, and other hospitality venues operate day and night, catering to guests’ needs at all hours. As a result, hospitality managers must be prepared to handle situations that arise at any time, whether it’s ensuring smooth operations during late-night shifts, addressing unexpected issues, or maintaining high standards of service during peak hours. The role requires a high level of commitment, flexibility, and the ability to lead and support a team that works across various shifts. While this aspect of hospitality management can be demanding, it also offers a unique and dynamic work environment where no two days are the same, and the opportunity to make a significant impact on guest experiences is ever-present.