This HND Contemporary Hospitality Industry assignment discusses TAJ group of hotels and how they are expanding like anything all over the world.
Introduction to TAJ group of hotels
The company came into existence in 1902 and started its first hotel in Mumbai and since then they are in business and expanding like anything all over the world. The TAJ group of hotels are known for the converting the royal palaces and heritage building into the luxurious hotels which keep the essence of the building history (Paul, 2013). The business have also known for its customer service and amazing training given to the employee which promotes amazing services.
The company have believed in making the customer the part of the family and treat them like god by ensuring all their needs are met perfectly (Paul, 2013). People take away an unforgettable experience which stay with them forever. The properties where they build their hotels are very beautiful and exotic locations.
The TAJ group of hotels includes the important industrial towns and cities which range from beaches to hill stations and all major pilgrims and also wildlife destinations. Every hotel is epitome of luxury and comfort (Henderson, 2013). People who visit this hotel once become their loyal customers and only wanted to visit this property.
Introduction
Today tourism is one of the emerging sectors in the world and often claimed as world’s largest industries which produce huge profits and revenues (Boella, & Goss-Turner, 2013). Not only this, this is the platform which supports economy of a country in a big way by producing revenues and providing maximum number of employment. Tourism development has opened various avenues for people and hospitality industry is one which gets maximum profits out of it. The report will discuss in detail about the scope and scale of hospitality industry by taking the example of TAJ group of hotels. The report will understand the success story of this chain of hotels and discussed in detail different aspects of it with regards to tourism and hospitality industry at large.
Task 1
A) Analyse and discuss the scope and scale of the hospitality industry with a global perspective and examine the management structure of different hospitality organisation using your experience in your chosen organisation.
The scope and scale of hospitality industry is related to the range of hotels and restaurant which provide services and facilities to the tourist traveling in that particular city. This industry is one of emerging industry which has tremendous growth aspects and potential which can touch skies. In fact in employment terms also this industry is one of the largest industries which accommodate large number of people in itself (Boella, & Goss-Turner, 2013). There are so many people who are owners, investors and managers in this industry who address all the issues related to this industry. The industry all has to address the changing need of the people and there has been a major improvement in understanding the customer needs and preferences. Since customers are the one who run the industry and they are responsible for the success and failure of any hotel so it is very important to understand the changing trend. This sector is also booming on international platform also as people are interested in travelling abroad sometimes for the luxury and sometimes purely for the reason of entertainment and sometime for various work purposes (Boella, & Goss-Turner, 2013). Over the last many years, people travelling from one country to another have increased a lot and the people who got benefited because of this travelling are hospitality industry and airlines sector. But the maximum profit is earned by hospitality industry.
Recently the when there was a financial crisis in the world, then tourism industry was also affected a lot and in turn hospitality business also has to see the down fall. In fact the threat of the fiscal disturbance in the countries likes US, or when there is some political instability in Europe and other Middle East countries and also relatively very slow growth in many Asian countries has impacted many industries all over the world (Line & Runyan, 2012). Due to this hospitality industry has faced a lot of pressure from this uncertainty in the world.
The management structure of different hospitality industry on global platform is complex process and various countries are working hard in building this industry. The market is very diverse which consist of various type of ownership like direct ownership on chain of hotels, franchise system and contractual basis on which industry works (Line & Runyan, 2012). Then also there are many international hospitality countries which are devising many strategies to enter into global market. Following are some of those strategies: -
- Many renewed brands like McDonalds have started exporting its brand from the home country. These international brands are McDonalds, Marriott, and Oberoi or TAJ group of hotels.
- There is boarder scope for hospitality business which can be easily exploited. There are multiple reasons for which people travel across the world and many hospitality companies are making use of it (Spielmann et al, 2012).
B) Examine the role of professional bodies and hospitality related organisations such as the Institute of Hospitality.
The term hospitality is maximum used word and increasingly becoming more and more popular. This role of this industry can examined by number of ways and it can be any type of service like commercial, industrial or public service. There are four basic functions hospitality business ranging from relationship between a host and a guest, the relationship may be commercial and private which is also related with the knowledge and experience of the staff who knows how to handle the customers and provide service which results in maximum satisfaction and in the end adopting a process which meets the need of the customers (Spielmann et al, 2012). Services in this industry is not at all similar to that of other industry as the maximum importance is given to the services as it is the only thing which is being offered to the people unlike other industry where tangible goods are provided to the customer. Hospitality and tourism go hand in hand since effective hospitality is the only method to achieve success in tourism industry.
There are so many variations in hospitality industry like food and beverages, transportation, lodging and many other which can be provided to the customer. All the factors which come under hospitality are related with each other that are why in order to meet the need of the customers and make them satisfied it is important to cover all the factors in tourism industry (Spielmann et al, 2012). Like for example hospitality is required in restaurant where customer can feel comfortable and well treated and takes good experience back home. Similarly, while travelling also people should be treated well so that the customer can be comfortable during travelling.
Another very important point which needs a lot of importance is that tourism industry does not provide any tangible goods to customers which can be seen and felt. The only thing which is provided to the customer is experience which they carry all across the world and pass on to other people (Nadiri, & Tanova, 2010). The hospitality industry should make sure that the service provided should be best so that all people feel comfortable and plan to visit again. So when the room comes in a hotel, the only responsibility of the staff is just not the handing over the keys. It is also related to the staff being friendly, forthcoming and helpful to assist the customer and help them gain the best of experience.
In the end the role of the hospitality is to increase the repetition of guests visiting the place over and over again. This can be seen only when services provided by the staff are brilliant and customer wanted to come back and stay in same hotel. While travelling to an unknown place, people not only look for facilities and the price offered by the hotel (Nadiri, & Tanova, 2010). They also look for the best customer service and for this the company need not to promote their services aggressively. Good customer service speaks for them.
Task 2
A) Assess the emerging trends in the demand and supply for hospitality staffs and discuss how the industry attempts to meet the staffing requirements using your organisation as an example.
Planning commission of India claims that approx. £10,000 give rise to around seventy eight jobs in this sector in comparison to other sectors. Travel and tourism industry is the most employment intensive and the most aggressive industry in any country. Travel and hospitality business is one of largest employer in the world and number is only rising by leap and bound. People are getting into this industry and taking the career in this industry very seriously. There are still many developing countries which lack proper platforms where people can learn the suitable skills for this career. Regardless of the fact that it is one of the biggest employers in the world and contributes a lot in the economy of any country and in turn in world economy, the career growth is not that lucrative for the people (Nadiri, & Tanova, 2010). Also, there are not many good colleges where people can actually learn the skills and have proper training for it. Most of the time in many countries, this profession is taken up randomly and people learn most of the skills which is required for this on the job.
The industry requires lot of skilled worker though as this industry is all about services and satisfying customer needs. People who chose work in this industry requires lot of patience with the people and they should also have the ability to understand and handle various varied human nature. The industry requires huge number of people as in hospitality business there are lot of small-small task which cannot be handled by just one person and a lot of people required for various jobs.
B) Based on the roles and responsibilities of the hospitality staff, assess the skills and qualification requirement for the staff.
The staff recruited in the hospitality business should be multi-talented and should have various skills. Following figure elaborates in detail about the various skills required for travel and tourism industry.
- Branch manager is required to be at least done his or her graduation and also post-graduation and people with right skills with almost more than eight years of experience.
- Operational manager and sales manager should at least have done their graduation and masters and also have basic knowledge of the industry at large. People must also have the experience of five years in the industry (Ip et al, 2011).
- Team leader should be at least have done graduation and should have the experience of three years in the industry
- Employees at the lower level of the line can be fresher or can have experience up till three years and the person should have completed the basic level of graduation.
Task 3
A) Critically examine a few recent developments affecting the hospitality industry in the areas of operations, management, and other functions such as contracts and negligence or health and safety. Use your organisation for insights in your discussion.
Following are few recent developments that have taken place recently and are also affecting the hospitality industry in various areas of operations: -
- Sustainable development: - sustainable development and going green is one of the major issues these days. Every industry is under pressure to adopt practices which are related to sustainable development. In travel and tourism industry also companies have started looking for options which are green are the requirement of the world. Many people are coming up with options like environmental friendly hotels. Much hospitality business is taking up the challenge of green movement. The basic foundation of hospitality business which is needed to be sustainable covers three major points which are profit, people and planet (Ip et al, 2011). These days every hospitality business has to consider these three options which make them economically successful and beneficial for the society and environment.
- Labour cost issues: - till few years back the expense on labour is the only biggest expense hospitality business has to bear. So basically any trend or issue which is prevailing and affecting the labour cost should be taken with utmost seriousness. This also includes magnitude of the expense, time and efforts spent on it and labour costs. The cost spent on hotels is the biggest expense for any hospitality business. Even with the introduction of so many technologies and modern tools, nobody can replace the importance of human resource in this industry. While managing the cost spent on labour and employees is crucial, hotels also need to understand the significance of employees in the business (Ip et al, 2011). They are the one who directly deal with the guest and leave an imprint of the hotel in mind of the people. So this issue should be dealt very sensitively.
- Multicultural issues: it is one of the newest trends in this industry and since so many businesses are going global including TAJ group of hotels, it is very important to understand the culture of various countries and also recruit people from different countries who can bring the two cultures together.
- Higher education: there is substantial growth in hospitality business and which pose different challenges for the education system also which needs to include various curriculums related to this industry (Davidson et al, 2011). This is a challenge in front of education industry and they should take it seriously since it is one of the emerging markets in the world.
B) Discuss how the overall image of the hospitality industry is created and managed and assess the current situation of your chosen organisation in terms of the image.
Image hold a very important place for the success of any business and any hospitality business can only sustain when the image of the business in the market is quite good and popular. TAJ group of hotels is in business since 1902 and being one of the oldest hotel chains, TAJ is considered to be one of the best hotels in the market. People always considered it the best in the business. It takes a lot of efforts and hard work for any industry to build this kind of image which go on for more than hundred years. TAJ is known for the selection of properties where they build their hotels. They always emphasized on taking a heritage place and then converting it into a hotel. So all the TAJ hotels, all over the world are made in an old and heritage building. This chain of hotels is also known for the employee training and the services they provide to the customer. They believe in providing an experience to the customer which stays in their mind forever.
For any hotel image is everything and it is ground on which people build their building and the business can grow (Davidson et al, 2011). TAJ group of hotels have made sure that they maintain their image all the time by providing the best services and in the best properties where people love to go.
Task 4
A) Present potential trends and developments in the hospitality sector using justified predictions.
The competition in hospitality business have become fierce and all the organisations are coming up something new and interesting every day which catches the attention of the people all the time (Yoo et al, 2011). There are various emerging trend in the business which are discussed in detail as follows: -
- Millennial are the people who have reached the young adulthood in the year 2000 and they have become the core and the most important customers for the hospitality business. So many organisations in these sectors like airlines, hotels and travel and tourism companies are benefitting from this.
- Speed and precision is another trend which every business wanted to achieve in order to succeed in this industry (Guillet et al, 2011). Hotel business and other business in this sector are very upbeat and stay connected with the people through very social Medias.
- Customer service will also become even more aggressive from recent time. There are various level of customer service from basic, expected, desired, and a new term which going the round called WOW. The services have to improve so much and people have started expected so much from this hotel industry now.
- Leadership: - it is also very crucial aspect of this industry which is changing with the moving world. Forming the connection with the customers has become very important and good leadership is required to form this type of connection.
- Expectations from so many international visitors for various reasons have also increased. People across the world travel in so many countries for multiple reasons and hospitality business benefit a lot due to this reason (Kapiki, 2012.).
- Social media have also spread all over the world like fire. People are on social media all the time and connecting with people on the basis of social media has become very essential.
- Content marketing is another new and unique concept which is being discussed all the time. Marketing principles are replacing traditional marketing and advertising. The new mantra of hospitality business has become that brands should now act as publishers and engages in customer participation and potential market in the industry (Zhang et al, 2012).
B) Carry out an impact analysis for the predicted trends using your chosen organisation as an example.
TAJ group of hotels is in the business for more than hundred years now and they have adopted all the changes which happened along the way to stay on top. The customer service of this group of hotels is amazing and people look forward to be the part of the hotel through any way and experience (Lashley & Morrison, 2013). The company is expanding all over the world and known for the best training they provide to the customers and the culture they promote over the years. They are spreading like anything all over the world.
Conclusion
The report has explored dynamics of hospitality industry focusing on current issue and future prospective at the same time (Lashley & Morrison, 2013). The report has discussed in detail about the scope, scale and diversity of the hospitality business and its benefits to the economy. The report has taken example of TAJ group of hotels and how this chain of hotels has seen a major growth in the industry and now expanded all over the world.
References
- Paul, R. 2013. Taj: I will prevail. Exemplifying customer service in times of crisis.
- Henderson, J. C. 2013. Selling the past: Heritage hotels. Turizam: znanstveno-stru?ni ?asopis, 61(4), 451-454.
- Boella, M., & Goss-Turner, S. 2013. Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry: A Guide to Best Practice. Routledge.
- Line, N. D., & Runyan, R. C. 2012. Hospitality marketing research: recent trends and future directions. International Journal of Hospitality Management,31(2), 477-488.
- Spielmann, N., Laroche, M., & Borges, A. 2012. How service seasons the experience: Measuring hospitality servicescapes. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(2), 360-368.
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