The Contemporary Hospitality Industry: Roles, Skills, Gaps, and Factors

This report explores the different operational roles within the hospitality industry, examining the skills required for these roles and the current skills shortages. It analyzes the impact of skills gaps on hospitality businesses and provides valid solutions for addressing them. The report also assesses the political, economic, social, technological, legislative, and environmental factors affecting the development of organizations operating within the hospitality industry.

The Contemporary
Hospitality Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
A range of different operational roles within the hospitality industry.........................................3
Examining the skills required for roles within the hospitality industry and current skills
shortages......................................................................................................................................4
The skills gaps within the hospitality industry in relation to a range of different operational
roles..............................................................................................................................................6
Analysing the impact that skills gaps have on hospitality businesses and make valid solutions
for addressing these skills gaps....................................................................................................6
Assess the political, economic, social, technological, legislative and environmental factors that
affect the development of organisations operating within the hospitality industry.....................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality industry is a kind of business where the people visit for the different purposes
and obtains the best accommodation and services the business provides. The hospitality industry
simply includes the hotels where they provide the short term lodging with and without food
services and facilities. This kind of business is a one of the major source for accelerating and
rising the economy of the country where it helps a lot in growing and developing the economy of
the country at definite level (Lyssimachou and Bilinski, 2022).
However, the report will illustrate the brief areas of the hotel business where it will also
include the contemporary issues in the hospitality industry and examines the industry for the
potential investors who are looking for new business opportunities in the UK. The hospitality
Hilton is one of the successful and growing hotel industry which is situated at United Kingdom.
However, the report will highlight the different function, roles and areas of the hospitality
industry and provides the appropriate outcome.
MAIN BODY
A range of different operational roles within the hospitality industry
The operational management is an important business department of the hospitality
industry where they are involved in utilizing the given resources in the efficient manner from
where they can be able to deliver the services to the customers and guest in definite manner and
can be able to achieve the set goals and targets respectively. In the hospitality industry, the main
role of the operational management is to provide the best services to the customers from where
the business can be able to grow and develop effectively and consumers also can obtain the
benefits.
The hotel Hilton operational department has different types of roles and responsibilities
which has been evaluated where it includes the working like housekeeping department, food
production department, food and service management, front office, marketing department, HR
department and accounting areas where these mentioned departments are the most important and
significant roles the operational team played in the Hilton hospitality (Lamo, 2019). The hotel
business provides the accommodation, food and beverages and travel and tourism facilities
where they are required to understand and adopt the wants and desires of the customers from
where they can easily grow and develop their business in definite manner. Here, performing

some operational roles within the hospitality industry from where it will allow to understand it in
better manner.
Housekeeping Department: The housekeeping department at the hospitality industry is
important to be recruited and appointed by the management as they are having the responsibility
of cleaning, maintenance and proper dusting of the hospitality industry. However, this
department comes under the operational management where they are required to keep their focus
on such cleaning areas which will enable the customers to visit the hospitality industry from
where the productivity can be increased in efficient manner (Breier, Kallmuenzer, Clauss and
et.al., 2021). Thus, it will also maintain the proper hygiene and safety areas of the consumers,
guest and staff members which will result in lower turnover and increasing of the productivity.
Food production: Food production is also known as kitchen department where they are
responsible for preparing and cooking the food items. The staff members who are responsible for
all these working areas are chef, cook, kitchen manager. However, this department has the duty
to prepare the food in hygienic environment and required to implement the food safety rules in
strict manner and in appropriate way. Thus, the operational department have a duty to examine
and manage the hygiene in the kitchen area which should be very proper and safe for the
consumers and staff as well where it will allow to obtain the good and excellent feedbacks from
the consumers.
Front office department: It is the place where the guest first come to contact and take the
information about the services and facilities of the hospitality. The front office department has a
duty to provide the proper welcoming of the guest and consumers in professional and familiar
manner where it reflects the attitude and impression of the hotel staff and hospitality
environment. From this place only, the booking of the rooms can be done and if the consumer
have any kind of complaint in relation to staff or hospitality areas they can directly contact the
front office department to resolve their issues immediately.
Examining the skills required for roles within the hospitality industry and current skills shortages
Working and making a career in tourism and hospitality industry required to obtain and
learn the different kinds of skills and abilities to perform well in their particular roles (Sigala,
Kumar, Donthu and et.al., 2021). The hospitality industry is quite huge and having a number of
responsibilities and roles of the staff member where to become a part of the hotel industry an
individual employee and person has to obtain the skills and abilities which includes team

working, multi-tasking, communication skill, time management and such more. The
communication skill is important to be obtained and learned to interact with the guest and
customers in efficient manner from where the guest can be able to resolve their issues
effectively.
Along with this, the multi-tasking skill should be acquired by the individual who are
working in the hospitality where in the hotel industry there are number of working areas and
processes the employee has to do within a perfect time. However, an individual should learn and
grab the skills in relation to team working and time management area where the customers can
get the best outcome and result by the hotel industry, and they can be able to obtain the higher
growth and success in definite manner (Ivanov and Webster, 2019). Thus, there are many
hospitality industries where they do not focus on the skill and abilities of the staff members and
recruit them in their organization which results them in indefinite manner. In the research, it has
been evaluated and identified that an individual who is or who wants to work in the hospitality
industry has to obtain the effective and essential skills where the skills gaps provides the
difficulties to the business in wider manner.
It has been evaluated that people or staff of the Hilton is not skilled in wider and highly
manner from where the organization is getting some issues where the industry can organize the
appropriate training programs to fulfil the skill gaps and shortages at the hospitality industry and
can be able to obtain the definite and successful results and outcome. The customer service skill
is the main and essential skill, an individual employee and staff member of the hotel industry
should have and learn as the customer satisfaction is the one of the major purpose and reason to
attract the customer's in wider manner (Garavan, Matthews-Smith and et.al., 2021). Thus,
providing and organizing the training session and programs at the Hilton will allow and enable
the individual person to put their best efforts in the working process by improving heir skills and
abilities and can approach the customer effectively and in wider manner. Skill plays an important
and crucial role in any kind of business where the Hilton hotel also have the responsibilities to
encourage and enhance the abilities of the employee and staff members by providing the
convenience of learning and improving the abilities at definite level. This action will also lower
down the employee turnover and helps to increase the productivity level respectively.

The skills gaps within the hospitality industry in relation to a range of different operational roles
The hospitality industry Hilton has different range of operational roles where the front
office department has required to improve their communication and customer handling skills
where it is the important ability they should consider. Also, the housekeeping department has
required to improve their time management skill and customer oriented so that they can be able
to provide the satisfaction to the customer by improving these skills in definite manner.
Analysing the impact that skills gaps have on hospitality businesses and make valid solutions for
addressing these skills gaps
The impact of skill gaps provides the lower customer approaches and decline of the
productivity where it is important to improve the skills and abilities by the different operational
management people (Achmad and Yulianah, 2022). The Hilton hotel can provide and organize
the training session which will help them to enhance the skills of their staff and can provide
effective outcome.
Assess the political, economic, social, technological, legislative and environmental factors that
affect the development of organisations operating within the hospitality industry
Political: Hilton resorts and hotels are ranked among the most popular and well reputed hotel
chains spread all over the world (Elbanna., 2016). Political stability within a country where the
hotel operates in is very necessary for the hotel's working. A hotel is specially for the purpose for
welcoming, entertaining and providing the best services mostly to the tourists that visit the
country, but if the conditions of the country on a political basis are not good enough the rate of
tourism will also reduce which will further harm the revenue generation levels of the company.
Recently the news of UK leaving the European Union has been widespread, this news
will have a huge impact on the whole hospitality industry present in different regions of the UK,
as the number of visitors visiting UK will reduce and the tourism will decline, due to this the
income levels of the Hilton hotels will decline too.
Economic: The economic factor puts the great impact on the hotel industry in direct and indirect
ways. This factor includes the areas such as inflation rate, interest rate, growth rate, GDP of the
country. However, due to Covid19 pandemic, the hotel named Hilton has faced the issue and
having low interest rates to incentivize the various investor to make the investment in the
country.
Social factors

The views and personal opinions of a person with respect to a specific industry plays an
essential role in the growth and development of an industry within a nation. There are many
individuals who do not consider the hospitality industry as a valuable profession within the
market and therefore, do not like working within the same (Frederick, and Parappagoudar, 2021).
These views and personal beliefs of the individuals within the United Kingdom restrict a range
of people from working within the hospitality industry as they think while working within this
industry an individual has to carry out tasks which includes cooking, cleaning, sweeping which
in their opinion are not valuable. This affects the hospitality sector and leads to a shortage of
labour and employees within the industry.
Technological factors
The advancement of the technology within the hospitality industry has greatly affected
the growth of the businesses falling under the category of the same. With the technological
advancement, customers now have the opportunity to book their stays online, order food for
themselves while sitting at home (George, 2021). There are many apps such as Uber eats,
Hungry house which provides the customers with instant food delivery services and allow the
customers to enjoy these exclusive services. Also, it has been identified that the hotels and
restaurants are making effective utilization of the technology in order to provide their customers
with enhanced customer experience within the hospitality industry.
Legal factors
The businesses that falls within the category of the hospitality industry had to abide by a
variety of rules, regulations and regulatory frameworks within the nation. For instance, the
restaurants operating within a country had to comply with the requirements of the hygiene and
food standards in order to ensure the health and safety of the customers within the industry
(Jaujan, Makin, and Jamil, ). It has been determined that the United Kingdom has one the
toughest and tight laws with respect to the food standards and safety which the hotels need to
abide to in order to remain competitive within the industry. It is important for the hospitality
industry to make sure that they are choosing the right products which are valid, authentic and
legal to use within the country. Also, the hotels and other accommodation facilities need to
provide their customers with hygienic and healthy spaces.

Environmental: People have now become more inclined towards the concept of environment
protection (Singjai. Winata. and Kummer., 2018). Hence, it is a very essential requirement of the
company to be precise about its waste management techniques and strategies for the growth and
maintenance of the environment. This is mainly because the individuals in the market place have
started to closely check and evaluate such aspects about a company.
Specifically for the Hilton hotels the majorly affecting environmental factor is climate
change. Also, due to its operation in different countries it has to follow the environmental norms
that are defined by each of the country accordingly. People appreciate the companies that take
measures regarding environmental development. Due to which the goodwill and reputation of the
company in the market enhances. This is basically beneficial for the company in a lot of ways
and mainly in the long term. Hotels are precisely required to take certain steps for the betterment
and saving of the environment. The Hilton hotel must examine the required environmental
factors deeply and closely for the satisfaction of its stakeholders.
SWOT analysis
Strengths
Hilton being a huge hotel and resorts brand has an enormous level of recognition
throughout the hospitality industry and the market (Rhou. and Singal., 2020). The company also
implements many technological innovations for the improvement of customer experience and
consistent and continuous up-gradation in the processes conducted by the business. Also, the
employee retention of the company remains good and remarkable. The number of hotels Hilton
has is 530 plus hotels in around 78 countries throughout the world, hence it is recognized on a
global level. The company has been in the hospitality industry and the market for more than nine
decades which makes them expert in the field and also reliable. Due to the reliability, trust and
goodwill the reputation of the company within the market is amazing.
Weaknesses
There are not many weaknesses of the hotel overall, but some of them impact the
working of the hotel on a huge level (TAKACS. and VADUVA., 2017). As the company works
in many countries each of the country has different government norms and standards that need to
be followed. Operations of the company are highly affected throughout the globe due to the
differentiated and diverse parameters and policies of the government. Also, the company has an
amazing brand recall but still the market share is limited.

Opportunities
There are many opportunities that can be grabbed by the Hilton hotels, some major
opportunities present in the market are, firstly, there are a huge number of countries that have
been going through a phase of economic growth and have emerging markets, the hotels have
high potential within these markets (Martinez., 2017). The hotel will grow only if it provides the
best services to the customers, so innovation in this aspect of the company is also required and
necessary, and through this hotel can have massive growth ratios. Betterment in the use of
technology and digitalization can also help in improvisation and lastly many countries ,
specifically including India are facing a boom in the hospitality sector which can be
advantageous for the company.
Threats
There is a lot of competition in the hospitality industry and mainly with regard to Hilton
hotels the competition is mainly on the price point. The growth rate of the industry has been
stagnated since a while which can be very disadvantageous for the company. Also, the presence
of political and economic turbulence in most of the countries is also harmful. Also, many brands
have been entered the market with high stability and fast growth rate, which is obviously a major
threat to the Hilton hotels.
Impact of external factors on hospitality industry
The external factors can cause indirect or direct effects on the operations of the business,
revenues generated and human resource. Due to the inconsistent nature of the external
environment of the company there are many issues that are beyond the control of the company,
but they can still be recognized and the consequences can be minimized. Customers are the most
important part of any business, and due to any inconvenience in service providing, they can shift
to new hotels, which will obviously decrease the growth and the competitive advantage too.
Also, the productivity of the employees decreases due to consistent adaptation of changes.
Impact on potential and current trends
External factors have a huge impact on potential and current developments and trends,
such as, the companies have to have technological advancements and also due to these
advancements they can grow at faster pace and be updated. Also, due to these factors the
employees and the whole company needs to be more adaptable in regard to the constant changes.

CONCLUSION
Hospitality industry refers to the industry which basically focuses on providing services
to its customers, these industries include businesses like hotels, restaurants, resorts, etc. This
whole report precisely provides a brief introduction about this industry and its diversified
operational roles. Also, the skills that are required for the particular roles in the industry and the
shortages in the current skills are also described above. The skill gaps that are present within the
hospitality industry and the impact of those skill gaps in particular is also defined in the above
report. The PESTEL analysis and SWOT analysis of Hilton hotels in particular is provided
above. And lastly, the impact of the external factors on the development of hospitality industry
and on the potential and current trends is described in brief in the above discussion.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
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in the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 crisis. International Journal of Hospitality
Management. 92, p.102723.
Elbanna, S., 2016. Managers' autonomy, strategic control, organizational politics and strategic
planning effectiveness: An empirical investigation into missing links in the hotel
sector. Tourism Management. 52. pp.210-220.
Frederick, D.P. and Parappagoudar, S.K., 2021. A Descriptive Analysis on Sustainable Business
Strategy of Online Food Service Industry.
Garavan, T., Matthews-Smith, and et.al., 2021. Strategic Talent Management in the Hospitality
Industry. In Talent Management Innovations in the International Hospitality Industry. Emerald
Publishing Limited.
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George, R., 2021. The Tourism and Hospitality Marketing Environment. In Marketing Tourism
and Hospitality (pp. 183-219). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
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Jaujan, M.F., Makin, R. and Jamil, J., A Sustainable Marketing Theoretical Paradigm & Practise
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institutional ownership of firms in the hospitality and tourism industry?. Tourism Economics,
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Martinez, B., 2017. A SWOT analysis on Millennials in the workplace: increasing manager
success with Millennial employees in the hotel industry.
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industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 84, p.102330.
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Hospitality and Tourism Management: Research contributions and influence. Journal of
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Singjai, K., Winata, L. and Kummer, T.F., 2018. Green initiatives and their competitive
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TAKACS, J. and VADUVA, S.A., 2017. A swot analysis of the global hospitality
industry. Revista Economica, 69(6).
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