History of hotels is very closely related to the history of civilization. Evidence of guests being offered hospitality services has been there since biblical times. For rest and recuperation of the guests, the Greeks built thermal baths in their villages. Later on, Romans started building mansions for people travelling for government businesses. They were the ones who introduced thermal baths in England, Switzerland and the Middle East. (Tewari.J 2009)
The hospitality industry in India started at the time of the Indus valley civilization and Vedic era. As there are many temples in India, people started travelling within the country for religious purpose. It began with dharamshala, seria’s that would cater to those who used to attend the pilgrims for religious functions; they catered to basic needs of people like Food, Water and a secure place to stay. The colonial period was a start to organize the hospitality industry.
After India got its independence in 1947, late Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s then prime minister, looked at tourism as an economic boost for the country, which lead him to build the first ever government investment in the hospitality sector named the “Ashoka Hotel” in New Delhi. The Indian Tourism Development Co-operation (IDTC) was established in 1966. In the modern era there was a huge leap in the country for hotels. Before globalization, Oberoi and Taj hotels in India were the only ones that maintained high standards of service and qualities in Indian hospitality industry.
After globalization other groups also came into the country like the ITC welcome group, The Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Starwood properties, Intercontinental and many other. These foreign properties changed the look of hospitality sector in India. The domestic group, after seeing the changes in the standard of service and qualities, which was brought by the foreign companies, made the domestic companies change their standards of service. (Tewari. J 2009) ‘’Service is an action or an activity, which can be offered by a party to another party, which is basically intangible and cannot affect any ownership.
Service may be related to tangible product or intangible product. ”(Kotler. P. 1997) Through this definition we can say that service is most of the time an intangible product, which cannot be seen, or felt, and is offered by one person to another. Service that is offered can be in any form and can be offered by any person. It’s not necessary that only a particular category of people can offer or receive service. Service is not owned by anyone. It is a gesture of giving or offering anything without expecting anything in return.
Accommodation: The reservation in the olden days was done manually the in two methods system; The Dairy system and the Whitney system of reservation. The dairy system would act as a booking dairy, it would check room status, know the expected arrival guest and also the black listed guest. Now due to technology everything has become automatic system and the manual system is now getting outdated. The automated system on a click gives you the availability of rooms, the check outs the expected arrival guest.
It is also equipped with automatically check the occupancy percentage. As technology is boosting up, hotels are making most of the use of technology by having speedy check-ins and check out with the use of the guest mobile phone. By the use of mobile phones of check out and check in the guest down the line may have the process of doing billing through their phone. Through this the guest do not need to wait at the casher for a long time to play the bill but directly pay the bill through their phone. (Tewari. J 2009)
The security in the past was not strict for both the guest as well the staff, but after the terrorist attacks the security system has tighten up. Before the attacks the guest would directly walk in the hotel without any check in the hotel but due to the attacks the guest and the staff are both checked manually with the scanning of the their bags. Down the line due to the advance of technology because of the biometrics system people may much safer as compared of today by the eye scan, thumb impression, body scan for the guest.
Lighting before in the public areas and guest rooms were standardized, where they did not have their preferences but after the mood lighting technique in which the guest can create the atmosphere according to their mood and interest. It is done by digitalizing art in the guest room and public areas of the hotel. They can be changed by seasons or by the time of the day, Example: Kimpton’s epic hotel. In the coming years hotels may come up with the concept of mood paintings along with lighting, where in the painting changes according to the mood and the time of the day.
Guest coming for their honeymoon they may have the luxury to change the paintings in the room that will boost their mood. In the past hotels did not allow the guest to keep their pets in the hotel and the hotels did not have any facilities to accommodate pets but Hotels have now been keeping heavy petting system so in which guest can keep their pets (Dogs and Cats) in the hotel. Special facilities are been kept for these pets such as walking service for them; they provide food for pets and a menu for them. They also provide daily required amenities required by the like toys, water bowls, beds etc. Example: Hotel Palomar.
Down the line hotels will have an entire pet hotel where in the guest can keep their pets in the hotel with every floor separate for different types of animal. (Hotel palomar webpages) The hotel design and paint in the past were standard for different types of rooms, where the design or paint could not be changed according to the guest preference but due to The “Draw Your Design” concept which is interesting that attracts the guest is that white boards, chalk boards and paint which is are given to the guest wherein they can create their own designs on it, Example: Jupiter Hotel, white boards and markers at Hotel Keen.
Due to technology advancing with the iPad system guest do no need to draw on the boards, where in they have to draw on the I-pad and their creativity will be directly projected on the wall. As for regular guest they can save their designs on the iPad and whenever their check in is there the hotel can directly change the rooms design by the saved data in the iPad. Before hotels were not has concern about being Eco friendly and saving mother earth. Hotels would use plastic in all sorts of things like packaging etc.
Now due to global warming coming has a major problem in today’s generation so to support the cause hotels are now on the concept “Go Green” for which the conference rooms and guest room’s amenities which are placed are all eco-friendly and organic ingredients Example: The Orchid, in a coming few years hotels will not eco-friendly and organic ingredients but also they will have recyclable and biodegradable packing units. Especially biodegradable plastics which will be easy to recycled, which is not toxic and most important good for the environment. Hotel Orchid webpages) In the past hotels would souvenirs to guest, they would be given key cards or a small mementos to be taken home as a remembrance of their stay in the hotel. Hotels are now giving the experience and taste to the guest even when they are at home by giving them edible souvenirs. These souvenirs will be a mini taste to hit the buds of their tongue, Examples: Adour Macarons at St. Regis New York. Due to advancing technology hotels will be giving the guest their photograph clicked within the hotel with few of his staff that catered to the guest.
In the past as there was a very few percentage of women business travelling, so hotels did not find it necessary to reserve a floor for women but as the world’s women business travelling population is increasing hotels have now come up with the women floor, The ITC welcome group have come up with “Eva Floor” where in the entire floor is reserved only for women with the amenities as well as the hotel staff will be only women entertaining and catering the guest, so alone lady travelling guest will feel more comfortable in “Eva Floor” as compared to the regular floors.
Down the line when the women business travelling population and women on leisure increase there might be a full hotel only for women, in which there will be separate floors for expecting mother’s, women who have come for a medical reason, having kitty parties etc. All the floors will different amenities according to the needs of the women. ( Hotel Itc webpages) Barron Hilton came up with the idea of Lunar Hilton. This hotel will be located below the moon’s surface. It would comprise of hundred guest rooms.
It will have all facilities for entertaining a guest and will have add on facilities like a medical center, a multi-denominational church, a working agricultural land, swimming pool and also have a beach of its own. Due to the sunrays affecting the hotel as well as the people, the entire building will be having heat resistant tiles. The hotel will have two wings which will contain solar panels that will harness the suns power. For safety reasons there will also be backup life-support systems. Thus when it is practically possible to have hotels in the space, Hilton wants to be the first one to do that.
So hopefully in the near future we will see Lunar Hilton hanging below the surface of the moon. (Hilton. B 1967) Food and beverage Trends: Traditionally in the past fats like bacon were meant to be eaten and not to be drank. But now the hotels have come up with a new concept of “Now we drink the fat, not just chew it. ” It is a process called fat washing in which mixologists are mixing fat with liquors Many people because of their health issues find that this trend is unhealthy but the fact is that people do not drink the fat, it is only the taste of the bacon in the drink.
In the tradition and authentic way wines were served from bottles to glass in hotels restaurants but It’s time to move out from the bottle packing age as hotels now serve wine not from the bottle but directly poured from Kegs, Barrels to the glass. Down the line in the near future hotels can offer self-service to the guest by providing them unlimited liquor that are matured in barrels by taking a cover charge and at a limited period of time. Andrew In the traditional way where wines were kept for maturing in wooden barrels now cocktails are kept for maturing for several weeks also for betterment of taste.
This results in an oaky flavor’s of vanilla and caramel. Down the line companies may start out distribution of matured cocktails in bottles. Cocktails are a fusion of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages mixed together which are supposed to be sipped. But now a days a new concept of molecular mixology has come up in which scientific equipment’s and ingredients like nitrogen, alginates and chloride are used to create new flavor’s, textures and many more, in which the guest can now eat a cocktail instead of sipping it down.
The menu cards before was all printed on different paper for different properties but due to the introduction of the iPad system which is booming up in the hotel industry, this system is the replacement for menu cards to virtual menu cards, this menu is not only for menu selecting and for ordering food but also seeing photos of the dish and also notify the chef their preferences, Example: Mundo Global Tapas, Sydney restaurant.
In future hotels instead of hiring a sommelier for selecting wines for guests in hotels now due I-pad system an application which will be used for wine pairing where in the guest can browse and make a selection of their preferred wine from the wine menu. Reservations of hotel restaurant was done by making a call to the hotel which was later done manually but now many restaurants are taking up the application “RezBook”. This allows the guest to do their table reservation through this application on their mobile phone itself.
In the past mini bars used by the guest were manually checked for the consumption of anything which in deed that the guest would check out before only without paying for the mini bar consumption leaving the bill going in the miscellaneous expenses which would lead into a loss to the hotel but after mini bars in hotels is now on an advance version where in the front desk comes to know when a product is being used from the mini bar by the use of infrared and tagging system.
Before bars were standardized which had music, drinks and a different ambiences according to different properties but due to the birth of the high energy bars which sets the guest atmospheric into a vibrant world by the ambience, décor, menu and drinks Example: Wink- Vivanta by Taj. In an other 10 years Down the line hotels in the future we may see an entire energetic hotel for the young generation for the leisure and their enjoyment. Food: Previously, convections and microwaves were used in the hotel industry for cooking, roasting and baking. There were separate streamers for steaming.
And currently there are combination ovens, which is a combination of convection and steamer. While cooking a piece of meat in the combination oven, you can get a roasted curst from outside and steamed, moist meat inside. There are combi-ovens also in which you can cook two-three dishes simultaneously in the oven without worrying about the flavors and smell infusing in each other. In the future we can see a vending machine style of ovens, which are connected to an iPad, where you can place your order on the iPad and your whole meal will get ready in the vending machine style of oven.
When McDonalds started, people had become crazy about burgers and fries. People started consuming junk food at an increasing rate. It was not only burgers and fries that came under junk food, pizzas, pastas; subway sandwiches chips etc. are also included in this category. But as people realized that these foods were affecting their health, they started opting for health food. Currently people have become more health conscious and watch what they eat. Some people count how many calories they consume in a day. They prefer having home cooked food or low fat food.
As today’s generation is prone more to stress, their cholesterol level tends to increase. So to keep the cholesterol level in check and under control, people consume food low in fat. Some people are health conscious by choice where as some people have become health conscious due to health issues. But in the end, health food industry is booming now. Down the line, in the future organic health food will come in the picture, where fresh local produce will be used to make health food for the guests. Desserts were previously made using liquor like rum, whisky and vodka.
But now a day’s even beer is used to make desserts. Beer based desserts are becoming more popular. People who prefer beer to other alcoholic beverages are opting for these new beer based desserts. Examples: Cherry Kriek Beer Ice Cream at Café Boulud (New York, NY) Problems and issues faced by managers in relation to service provision: Customer Service: One of the major issues that the manager has to face in the hotel industry is dealing with difficult customers. Dealing with these customers takes patience, and the manager should know what steps can possibly be taken to resolve that problem.
A manager usually has the power to provide a free meal, or even to give a room for a night for a guest when there is a difficult problem. Given the current situation, the manager has to decide what is appropriate and what should be done. For example, a customer who finds glass in their food expects that meal to be replaced and to be free. A person may also expect a hotel room to be free for at least one night if there was a problem with the room’s plumbing, the reservation or something similar. It is the job of the manager to clam down the guest and solve the problem without giving too many free items away.
Maintenance problems: Maintenance problems can often arise with hotel and restaurant management. At times, due to certain unavoidable circumstances there might be some problem in maintenance like blockage of a pipe causing water blockage or any other maintenance problem. The manager has to figure out how to solve the issue quickly with ensuring that no customer faces that problem again and with minimal after effects. Food and timing: The timing of food being ordered and delivered to the table can become a big problem because at peak hours restaurants get busy and the chefs have to keep up.
When they do not, or if food arrives at the table cold, a manager has to solve the issue with the employees and satisfy the customer by offering him a suitable solution. To conclude, the current and upcoming trends of the hospitality industry will take it to a completely new level. The ideas and concepts, which were just a small thought earlier, are now becoming latest and ongoing trends in the hospitality industry. The advanced technology is also playing a very crucial role in the progress of this field.
The future is also very bright. The concept of building the hotel in space is a must watch. The future trends in the service sector will also create a stir amongst the guests. The advanced technology and the ideas and concepts will surely help the hotel industry to grow way beyond what it is today. All the different sections of the hotel industry along with its architecture and interiors will expand beyond its horizon. The current and future trends will leave the guests stunned and mesmerized and it will be beyond their imagination.
