HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Research Report and Review: Hospitality Industry

Research Report and Review: Hospitality Industry

Introduction

The Hospitality Industry has over the years become the largest industries in both global and national contexts. It has emerged as a huge industry in UK and according to a report by Oxford Economics, the industry is found to be the UK's fifth largest employer and it continues to grow at a rapid pace. It is a vast and complex industry and has areas and roles that can suit all skills. This report analyses the structure of the hospitality industry, assess the role of hospitality related organisations and professional bodies, look at the staff roles and responsibilities in the hospitality industry, identify the issues affecting the hospitality industry and finally put forward some predictions regarding potential trends and developments in the hospitality industry.

Scale, Scope and Diversity of the Hospitality Industry

Hospitality industry comprises of all those business and institutions that provide any combination of the three services of food, drink and accommodation (Knowles, 1996, p. 2). In this regard, this would include restaurants, bars and clubs, hotels and caterings, cafes, take-away food shops, canteens and messes, tourist and short-stay accommodation, camping and caravan sites, holiday camps and other places of analogous nature.

The sector can be divided into the public and the private sector while they can further be divided into subsectors. The private sector provides both serviced (Hotels and guest houses) and non-serviced accommodation (Apartments, villas and cottages especially for tourists and guests) while it also offers a range of non-accommodation hospitality services (restaurants, fast-food outlets, bars, pubs, clubs, canteens, etc.), (Page & Connell, 2006). The public sector would include government related hospitality organisations, trade associations, and educational establishments and training organisations that help in providing the necessary training and professional development needed for this fast growing industry.

The industry also has strong ties with the travel and tourism industry which brings in more diversity to the industry and a capacity to offer a range of career options which makes it a source of great income. The industry makes a major contribution to the UK economy and has a large number of people working in various sectors of the industry. It employs over 2.4 million people and is the main source of income and employment in some parts of the country. The industry has continued to grow and the numbers of establishments are increasing manifolds day by day. This can be understood by the fact that in 2012, 8000 new hotel rooms were opened in London alone and around 5000 more are expected to be added to the current ones in the year 2013 (Shepherd, 2013).

Since the hospitality industry has a structure that is expanded to cover a lot of different areas, it brings in a lot of diversity in terms of what it provides and who it provides for. People have various choices and the industry needs to cater to the needs and choices of different individuals who are quite distinct in their demands and ...