Hospitality: Importance, Competencies, and Ethical Issues

This article explores the importance of hospitality in the business world, the competencies required for success, and the ethical issues faced by the industry. It discusses the nine principles of hospitality management, the impact of culture on the industry, and the challenges faced by the industry such as food wastage, hiring skilled employees, and rising operating costs. The article also highlights the key competencies required for success in the industry such as skills, knowledge, and complementary services.

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Hospitality is defined as the relationship between hosts and guests in general and the
process of dealing with customers from a business point of view. Hospitality in a business is a
crucial component so that the organization can earn goodwill in its target market (Boella &
Goss-Turner, 2013). In last few years with the increase of in competition, hospitality
management has been the key to increase in market share.
The term hospitality management can be defined by its nine simple and basic principles.
These principles discuss what hospitality as an attribute of a firm is and what objectives underlie
the implementation of the same. The nine principles of hospitality management include –
welcoming, friendly and courteous, knowledgeable, efficient, well timed, flexible, communicate
effectively, instilling a sense of trust and exceeding expectations of the concerned cohort of
customers. The basis of the hospitality industry lies on the basis of treating customers with
utmost precision based on the principles mentioned before. A friendly and warm gesture assures
the guest and creates a relaxing feeling and also helps them to enjoy the experience. In the
hospitality sector, knowledge is a very crucial attribute and in this context, the mention of
customer servicing is of substantial importance. The customer service representative needs to be
knowledgeable so that they can handle the guests and the customers effectively. Guests will be
impressed if the servers work smoothly, easily and quickly. The next attribute in the hospitality
industry that needs to be focussed on is punctuality. The services provided need to be well timed.
The service provider needs to be proactive in understanding when the needs and requirements of
the guests need to be addressed instantaneously. The next attribute that needs attention is that of
consistency. In other words, the quality and variety of services provided by the industry need to
be contiguous and homogeneous in nature. This is essentially what ensures the trustworthy
relationship of a firm with its customers which compels them to become regular customers.

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Communication is another attribute necessary for smoother interaction with the customers. If
there is any communication gap then the organization will not be able to deliver quality services.
There should be trust between the guests and the server. Building trust will help the customers
feel secured and safe. The repetitive customer uses the same services for seeking the same level
of satisfaction, but an organization needs to find ways to deliver better services each time the
customer visits or even innovate newer and more efficient services and goods.
Conrad Lashley helped to understand the hospitality activities in three different
domains – the cultural domain, the domestic domain and the commercial domain (Lashley,
2015). When these three domains are put together they represent the hospitality activities and
help identify the services that are overlapping and the ones which are independent. The domestic
domain explains some of the issues related to the hosting of the guests. The cultural domain of
the hospitality explains the need for studying the social context in which the activities take place.
The commercial domain explains the issues related to the commercial environment of the
organizations. The issue in the domestic domain contains problems like labour shortages. The
growth in the shortage of skilled and qualified employees is an issue that is affecting the
hospitality industry a lot. The construction cost can be high in some of the countries which affect
the hospitality industry in those countries in an adverse manner. The changing demographics in
the society and the impact of the changing travel trends of the people affect the hospitality. The
commercial domain explains the issues related to the financial market of the industry. The
emergence of the new markets in the industry which increases the competition in the market is a
serious issue in the hospitality industry.
The culture of the region has a direct influence on the hospitality industry depending
upon the country. Culture plays an important role in any business (Williams, 2012). The

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hospitality business is highly influence by the culture of the society. When it comes to the
international hospitality management the culture of the particular country or society needs to be
given the highest priority. The culture differs from time to time and place to place. The culture of
the society plays an important role in deciding what type of service the customer will like and
will also help the business organizations to fulfil the needs and desires of the customers.
The culture of Australia for example affects the hospitality business in a way which is
different from other countries (Kelsey, 2015). Australians are one of the greatest travellers and
the hospitality business of New Zealand are working on building resorts and hotels near the
tourism spots so that the customers don’t have to travel far for accommodation. The Australians
have a drinking culture and this is the reason most of the hotels in the Australia have free access
to alcohol and this has helped the customer to enjoy after a day of hard work. Australians are
focused on the quality of the products that they are using; they try to use the products which are
good in quality. The hospitality industry and other industries in Australia focuses on the quality
of the services and the products they deliver. The hospitality business ensures that they give
highest level of satisfaction to the customer. The organizations never compromise with their
products qualities. Australians are also a technology freak, hotels in Australia provide free
internet access to its customers. Understanding the culture of the organization has helped the
organization in making the organization more effective.
The hospital industries face many ethical issues that affect the business organization. The
hotel industry is facing the problem of food wastage. The customers who are visiting in the
restaurants orders a huge amounts of food dump a huge amount of food every day (Balaji &
Arshinder, 2016). The wastage of food can affect the next generation in sustaining in the
environment. Apart from this many restaurants and hotel’s inventory management system are

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poor. As a result they throw out a lot of expired or damaged food items. This also affects the
revenue of the organization. Another issue that the organization is facing is hiring the best staff
for their organization. Finding the best staff for their organization is a challenge for the
hospitality industry as the employees need to understand the psychology of the customer and
what the customer wants from them is a challenge for the organization. The number of the
skilled employees is also decreasing or can it can be said that the growing number of
organizations in the market is causing the deficit of the organization. Another issue the business
organizations in the hospitality industry are facing is the rise in the operating cost of the
organization. The penalty rates are still a big issue for the organization. 71% of the employees in
the hospitality industry explained that the penalty rates that are imposed are too high and is
affecting the growth of the organization (Bendoly, 2013 ). Eftop fees and the credit card fees are
also one of the major issues facing the hospitality industry (Cho, 2012). The quality of the food
is decreasing as the restaurants are focusing on earning a high level of profit margin. This is
decreasing the customer satisfaction. For example, in 2012 Pizza hut has been in a scandal of
using expired food items in their products this created a lots of buzz in the industry (Barbarossa,
2018).
The hospitality industry deals with a wide range of businesses and professions including
the lodging and the food services. All the business organizations in this industry need to
understand the importance of the competencies that affects the organization. The competencies
are the particular areas or activities that help an organization in gaining a unique selling
proposition in the market. The basic and the most important competencies for an organization in
the hospitality industry are skills. To survive in the hospitality industry the organization needs to
have skilled labours. Having skilled employee in the organization, helps the organization in

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providing better customer satisfaction. Another key competency is knowledge. Servers in a
restaurant need to be knowledgeable about their products. This helps them to assist the customer
regarding any issue in the organization. The competency helps the organization in staying ahead
of their customer. The organizations are giving many complementary services to their guests and
the customer so that they can get more satisfaction from them. For example, many organizations
are giving their customer free pick and drop facility to the airport, which helps in avoiding the
traffic after a hectic journey. There are many hotels that provide complimentary breakfast to their
customers. Apart from this, many business organizations are providing free wifi facility to their
customers (Adesina, 2015). These are some of the key competencies that the hospitality
industries are using nowadays to gain a good number of market share in the industry.

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References:
Adesina, K. I., & Chinonso, I. (2015). Service delivery and customer satisfaction in hospitality
industry: A study of the Divine Fountain Hotels Limited, Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of
Hospitality Management and Tourism, 6(1), 1-7.
Balaji, M., & Arshinder, K. (2016). Modeling the causes of food wastage in Indian perishable
food supply chain. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 114, 153-167.
Barbarossa, C. (2018). Consumer reactions to food safety scandals: A research model and
moderating effects. A handbook of food crime: Immoral and illegal practices in the food
industry and what to do about them, 385.
Bendoly, E. (2013). Real-time feedback and booking behavior in the hospitality industry:
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of Operations Management, 31(1-2), 62-71.
Boella, M., & Goss-Turner, S. (2013). Human resource management in the hospitality industry:
A guide to best practice. Routledge.
Cho, G. (2012). Electronic funds transfer: new legal issues?. International Journal of Technology
Policy and Law, 1(2), 168-182.
Kelsey, J. (2015). The New Zealand experiment: A world model for structural adjustment?.
Bridget Williams Books.
Lashley, C. (2015). Hospitality and hospitableness. Research in Hospitality Management, 5(1),
1-7.

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Williams, A. (2012). Understanding the hospitality consumer. Routledge.