PATENT OWNER
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`
`EXHIBIT 2040
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`PART 2
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`

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`Dimensions
`of the
` Hospitality
`Industry
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`

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`

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`
`Dimensions of the
`Hospita ity Industry
`
`A Career Overview
`
`
`
`After reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:
`
`‘I Distinguish between the manufacturing and service sectors in an
`economy.
`
`2 Define hospitality and describe the scope of the hospitality industry.
`
`3 Identify the two principal segments of the hospitality industry and list
`the major types of businesses in each.
`4 Describe the relationship between the hospitality and the travel and
`tourism industries.
`
`5 Discuss the historic role of entertainment in the hospitality industry.
`
`6 Distinguish between travel agents and tour operators.
`
`7 List and explain the elements that make the hospitality industry
`unique.
`8 Discuss the special characteristicsthat distinguish hospitality and
`other service businesses from those that manufacture products.
`
`9 Define the terms moment of truth, cycle of service, and employee
`empowerment and then discuss the significance of each for the
`hospitality industry.
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`

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`4
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`Part one > Introduction
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`10 Identify the principal thrust of total quality management and its
`significance for hospitality management.
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`11 Discuss career opportunities in the hospitality industry and the
`qualifications commonly sought by hospitality employers.
`
`12 Describe the advantages and disadvantages associated with
`careers in the hospitality industry.
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`
`
`Imagine yourself in an occupation that allows you to work in almost
`any part of the world, gives you the chance to meet famous people——
`movie stars, recording artists, political leaders, and others—offers an
`elegant work environment in luxurious surroundings, and lets you
`climb that well—known ladder of success, advancing in rank and posi-
`tion as fast as your abilities will allow. Don’t think of it as‘ only a
`dream; it’s reality for many people just like you—people who decided
`on careers in hospitality, a worldwide industry that continues to grow
`faster than most people can imagine and that cries out for young men
`and women to help manage the hotels, restaurants, and related busi-
`nesses springing up in every corner of the world. There are vast num-
`bers of opportunities for anyone interested in people and willing to
`work hard. And it’s one of the most interesting industries in the mod-
`ern world economy.
`Hospitality is just one part of a larger group of industries that
`make up the service sector of the economy. The economy can be
`divided into two sectors: the first includes Companies that make real
`physical items that people can touch——these are known as products,
`and the sector that makes them is known as the manufacturing sector;
`the second—the service sector—is made up of individuals and organi-
`zations that perform services for people and businesses. The service
`sector includes a broad range of fields—law, interior decorating, den-
`tistry, accounting, nursing, automobile repair, foodservice, haircutting;
`the list goes on and on, almost without end. Hospitality is a major part
`of the service sector.
`
`In years past, the manufacturing sector was the major force in the
`economy, accounting for the largest part of the economic growth that
`so changed the United States in the nineteenth century and the first
`half of the twentieth century. However, in the years since 1950, the ser-
`vice sector of our economy has been growing much faster than the
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`Chapter one > Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry
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`5
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`manufacturing sector, and the hospitality industry has been growing
`faster than most other service industries. All kinds of career opportuni-
`
`ties are opening up every day in every part of the hospitality industry,
`and the number of jobs keeps growing.
`Ever since the 1950s, hospitality has been a key industry in the
`economic life of many nations. It has become a world leader in provid-
`ing jobs and new opportunities for people from every age group and
`from all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups. Most economists
`predict that hospitality will continue to grow worldwide in the years
`ahead. That would mean ever greater numbers of career possibilities
`for the men and women who train to become hospitality professionals
`and prepare to seize these new opportunities.
`As we begin our investigation into the hospitality industry, we will
`devote this first chapter to some basic elements: identifying the scope
`of the industry, contrasting it to other industries, and pointing out its
`distinctive characteristics. Finally, we will point out some of the oppor-
`tunities the hospitality industry offers the men and women who pre-
`pare to take advantage of it.
`
`
`
`The word hospitality has ancient roots, dating from the earliest days
`of Roman civilization. It is derived from the Latin word hospitare,
`meaning "to receive as a guest." Several related words come from the
`same Latin root, including hospital, hospice, and hostel. In each of
`these, the principal meaning focuses on a host who receives, wel-
`comes, and caters to the needs of people who are temporarily away
`from their homes. To receive as a guest is a phrase that implies a host
`prepared to meet a guest’s basic requirements while that guest is away
`from home. The requirements of a guest in these circumstances have
`traditionally been food, beverages, and lodging or shelter. Many would
`add to this some form of incidental entertainment, even though a num-
`ber of hosts clearly have limited or ignored this as an element of hospi-
`tality.
`
`P The Basics
`
`The traditional view takes us to the heart of the hospitality industry. If
`the word hospitality refers to the act of providing food, beverages, or
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`6 P
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`art one > Introduction
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`lodging to travelers, then the hospitality industry consists of busi-
`nesses that do this. Some may offer entertainment, incidental or other-
`wise. But we choose to treat this as part of travel and tourism rather
`than food, beverage, and lodging——the basic elements of hospitality.
`The reason for that will become apparent later in this chapter. For this
`text, we will define the hospitality industry as businesses that provide
`food, beverages, or lodging to travelers.
`This brings up two important distinctions between the hospitality
`industry and other service enterprises.
`
`1. The hospitality industry provides food, beverages, lodging, or
`some combination of the three that other businesses would provide
`only on the most incidental basis.
`
`2. The hospitality industry provides services primarily to travel-
`ers in a broad sense of the term. By contrast, other service businesses
`ordinarily deal with customers who are local residents rather than
`travelers.
`
`Our definition also distinguishes the hospitality industry from busi-
`nesses in the manufacturing sector of our economy. Manufacturers do
`not normally sell services. Instead, they make products that are sold to
`consumers through regional systems of local wholesalers and retailers,
`with some notable exceptions.
`There are those who will be quick to point out a potential problem
`with our view of the industry. Clearly, sometimes a service provided for
`travelers is also provided to local residents. Restaurants and hotels that
`provide food, beverages, lodging, or some combination of these to resi-
`dents of their local neighborhoods are excellent examples.
`Those concerned with the question of the residential or nonresi-
`dential nature of customers in a hotel dining room will soon recognize
`the futility of attempting to make useful distinctions. Regardless of
`where the customers live, the staff must offer the same menus and pro-
`vide the same level of service to all. Although the hospitality industry
`evolved as a means of providing food, shelter, and entertainment for
`travelers, these services appeal to local residents as well, and increas-
`ing numbers have come to take advantage of them over time. Today,
`some hospitality enterprises may service local residents only and never
`attend to the needs of any travelers. For practical and definitional pur-
`poses, then, those providing food, beverages, and shelter are consid-
`ered part of the hospitality industry whether or not their customers are
`actually travelers.
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`chapter one > Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry
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`7 F
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`rom the previous material, it quickly becomes apparent that there
`may be any number of businesses in the hospitality industry. The defi-
`nition is really quite broad; therefore, at this point we will discuss
`some of the varied enterprises that make up each of the two principal
`segments of the industry—food and beverage on the one hand, and
`lodging on the other.
`
`P FOOCI and Beverage SEQIIIEIII
`
`Everyone is aware of the seemingly limitless array of organizations
`that provide food and beverage service to the public. Today, these
`include every conceivable type of establishment between a brightly col-
`ored fast-food1 restaurant and one offering elegant, ultraexpensive
`continental or French cuisine. No matter what type of food travelers
`and nontravelers alike desire, there must be foodservice available to
`
`lunch, dinner, supper,
`
`them at the appropriate hour for breakfast,
`snacks, and so on.
`The public looks for foodservice everywhere: hotels, motels, facto-
`ries, dormitories, highways, cruise ships, city streets, trains, offices,
`airlines, national parks, airports, bus terminals, shopping malls—any
`place outside the home where people can be found shopping, driving,
`working, or playing. There are commercial restaurants of every
`description around us every day: fast-service restaurants selling ham-
`burgers, chicken, pizza, pasta, and hero sandwiches; ethnic restau-
`rants selling Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Latin American, German,
`Indonesian, Indian, and dozens of other types of meals; specialty
`restaurants serving seafood, steaks, pasta, chicken, and vegetarian
`items; restaurants organized around particular themes, such as rail-
`road cars, English pubs, railroad stations, medieval pageants, opera,
`and the circus; and a range of others-—expensive, inexpensive, noisy,
`quiet, elegant, dingy, brightly lit, and dark; serving great food, decent
`food, terrible food, and every other kind you can imagine.
`
`1Although the term fast food is very common, many believe fast service or quick ser-
`vice are more suitable terms. We will use all three interchangeably in this text; those
`learning about the hospitality industry should be familiar with all three.
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`8
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`Part One 9 Introduction
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`in continental cuisine-
`No matter what type of food people desire—fast food, ethnic cuisine, or the finest
`the foodservice segment of the hospitality industry is there to provide it. Shown above are Chiam Chinese
`Cuisine, New York City; Le Regence Restaurant in the Plaza Athenee Hotel, New York City; and a Burger
`King restaurant. (Photos courtesy of Chiam Chinese Cuisine, New York City and Exclusive Hotels by Forte.
`The photograph of the Burger King® restaurant is reproduced with permission of Burger King Corporation,
`1996, Miami, Florida.)
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`Chapter One > Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry
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`9
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`There are all sorts of foodservice establishments outside the usual
`
`restaurant settings. Examples are found in Disney World and other
`theme parks, in schools and colleges, in hospitals and homes for senior
`citizens, in prisons and halfway houses, and in shelters for the home-
`less. There are carts in the streets and vending machines everywhere;
`even supermarkets and other food stores are offering in—store food-
`service.
`
`Those familiar with the history of our industry will recognize that
`taverns traditionally have been establishments that sold both food and
`beverages and provide some form of entertainment, however limited.
`Some taverns even made overnight accommodations available for trav-
`elers. In fact, in the seventeenth century, laws were passed in New En-
`gland requiring that each community provide a tavern for the “enter-
`tainment of travelers.”
`
`The tavern, pub, inn, ale house, or public house served as a social
`center——a place to which travelers and local residents could go to find
`“entertainment,” and it served society in this manner throughout the
`eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, long before the invention of such
`pervasive modern devices as phonographs, movies, radios, televisions,
`videos, tape decks, and compact disc players. People gathered in the
`taverns, where local residents could mingle with travelers, to share
`news of wars, plagues, famines, or natural disasters and to discuss
`local politics or gossip about their neighbors. Sometimes it was only to
`find a quiet, warm place by the fire; normally it created an occasion for
`a mug of beer, a tankard of ale, or even a glass of wine.
`During the twentieth century, the role of the establishments selling
`beer, ale, wine, and other beverages has changed to some extent. As we
`shall see, the role of taverns has expanded and evolved in the modern
`world. Their role as entertainment centers has diminished, but they
`are meeting new needs in society, needs that did not exist before the
`introduction of some of the modern world’s technological innovations.
`Most are no longer called taverns; they are now known as bars, clubs,
`and cocktail lounges.
`Hotels and restaurants have long been in the business of selling
`drinks——-as accompaniments to food, or because their customers
`began to expect it, or because they discovered it was profitable. The
`terms food and beverage became ever more closely linked, and both
`hotels and restaurants began to use terminology that illustrated the
`linkage; “food and beverage manager” and "food and beverage depart-
`ment” became common and remain so. Because our industry treats
`food and beverages together as one segment of the industry, we will do
`the same in this text.
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`10
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`Part (me e Introduction
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`F The l.0d§iIl§ Segment
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`The lodging segment of the hospitality industry includes the more
`familiar kinds of establishments that have long offered shelter to trav—
`elers——-the hotels and motels that we see on city streets; along high-
`ways; near beaches; and close to airports, ski slopes, theme parks,
`lakes, and national parks. Those who are less familiar with the indus-
`
`The lodging segment of the hospitality industry includes hotels, motels, inns, and other familiar kinds of
`establishments that have long offered shelter to travelers. Shown above are some of the best—known names
`in lodging~—Red Roof, Hyatt, Embassy Suites, and Sheraton. (Photos courtesy of Red Roof inns, lnc.; Hyatt
`Hotels and Resorts; Embassy Suites Hotel photo courtesy of Promus Hotel Corporation; and ITT Sheraton
`Corporation, Boston.)
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`Chapter one > Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry
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`1]
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`try may not realize that some lodging facilities—called inns, motor
`hotels, lodges, or motor inns—are simply hotels or motels using differ-
`ent names. There are also lodging establishments using some very dif-
`ferent terms and selling some very different lodging concepts from
`those of the traditional hotels and motels, such as the bed and break-
`fast, resort hotel, resort condominium, conference center, extended
`
`stay, time—sharing, and all—suite—all terms that must be addressed in a
`discussion of the lodging segment. Then there are lodging establish-
`ments that are known for the special facilities they offer: ski lodges in
`Colorado and casino hotels in Las Vegas and Atlantic City are good
`examples. Definitions and discussion of the various types of lodging
`establishments are found in chapter 7.
`In many ways, campgrounds and transient trailer parks are lodg-
`ing establishments and, in their own special ways, so are school and
`college dormitories, summer camps, and health spas. All attend to the
`lodging needs of those away from home.
`In other parts of the world, the signs for lodging establishments
`may display some unfamiliar words. Some examples include para-
`dor—an old Spanish monastery or castle converted for use as a hotel;
`pension or pensione—a French or Italian home at which guests are
`provided with room and board; chateau—a French castle or elegant
`country home used as a hotel; ryokan——a Japanese inn at which tradi-
`tional customs.are observed; and hostel—a lodging facility at which
`inexpensive accommodations are provided for students and others,
`typically on a not—for—profit basis.
`Lodging signs also bring us some of the world’s best—known names
`in hospitality: Hilton, Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Ramada, Days .
`Inn, Quality Inn, and Hyatt, to name just a few. All these, and many
`others, help make up the dynamic and growing lodging segment of the
`industry.
`
`
`
`
`
`Two key terms that arise in any discussion of the hospitality industry
`are travel and tourism. They are typically used together as an
`umbrella term to refer to those businesses providing primary services
`to travelers. These include the traditional hospitality businesses and a
`number of others closely linked to them. The term travel and tourism
`includes food and beverage operations, lodging operations, and related
`enterprises in the fields of entertainment, recreation, and transporta-
`tion, as well as travel agencies and tour operators.
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`12
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`Part One > Introduction
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`P Entertainment and Recreation
`
`Entertainment has its roots in the traditional duty of a host to enter-
`tain his guests, whether neighborhood residents or travelers from afar.
`Hosts have always felt an obligation to minister to any of their guests’
`needs, not only for food and beverages and for lodging but also for
`entertainment.
`
`tavern keepers, and their
`innkeepers,
`Beginning centuries ago,
`descendants have attended (in varying degrees) to guests’ needs for
`entertainment. Some simply talked to their guests; others told stories
`(some truthful, others interesting or humorous lies); some provided
`games (e.g., darts, draughts, backgammon, or chess); and others hired
`jugglers and traveling minstrels.
`Today, entertaining guests includes the modern equivalents of
`these ancient traditions, but it has not been limited to these. The con-
`cept of entertaining guests is far broader. Guests are being offered all
`manner of inducements in the form of entertainment and recreational
`
`activities to attract them to particular properties; golf, tennis, casino
`gambling, backpacking, concerts, swimming, boating, and handball
`are all examples of this.
`In some cases, governments and businesses have worked together
`to turn communities into desirable destinations for travelers. For
`example, casino gambling and celebrity entertainment are two of the
`principal reasons that people go to Las Vegas, Nevada. The more tradi~
`
`Sometimes
`
`government and
`business work
`
`together to turn
`communities into
`desirable
`destinations for
`travelers. Las
`
`Vegas, Nevada,
`famed for casino
`
`gambling and
`celebrity
`entertainment, is a
`prime example.
`(Photo courtesy of
`The Las Vegas
`News Bureau.)
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`Chapter one > Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry
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`1 3
`
`tional elements of the hospitality business are almost incidental play-
`ers there.
`
`Disney World has taken a logical next step, developing a resort
`environment that includes a vast array of food and beverage, lodging,
`and entertainment
`facilities. The entertainment
`facilities include
`
`shows, rides, and exhibits so spectacular that guests have no interest in
`looking for any entertainment outside the Disney environment during
`their visit. This is one example of a complete recreational center that,
`in itself, has become a travel destination. To guests, the food, beverage,
`and lodging is relatively incidental; they travel to Disney World for the
`spectacle of it all.
`
`P Transportation
`
`All travelers require somemeans of getting from one place to another.
`That is a major purpose of the transportation business—making it pos-
`sible for people to go from one place to another. There are many ways
`to do this, from the primitive and simple to the modern and complex.
`One can ride on the back of an animal or in a supersonic jet, or select
`from among any number of other possibilities. The more common pos-
`sibilities are automobiles, recreational vehicles (RVs), buses, ships,
`
`trains, and airplanes.
`Those preparing for professional careers in any part of the tradi-
`tional hospitality industry should be aware of the long-standing impor-
`tance of transportation to the survival of hotels, motels, restaurants,
`and closely related enterprises. Links between the transportation and
`hospitality businesses are as old as history, and developments in one
`have normally brought about changes in the other. Nations and states
`with the best transportation networks have usually developed the
`healthiest economic systems and the most advanced hospitality indus-
`tries.
`
`F Travel A§ElI€iES and TOIII‘ 0|)E|'aI0|'S
`
`Travel agencies and tour operators are comparatively modern addi-
`tions to the world of travel and tourism. Neither existed before the
`
`middle of the nineteenth century, but both have become central to the
`survival of many businesses in the hospitality industry.
`A travel agent is one who sells travel services in a travel agency.
`Transportation and lodging are the most common services they sell,
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`

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`14
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`Part One > Introduction
`
`although meals are sometimes included in the price of lodging.
`Although a travel agent makes a large number of individual reserva-
`tions for airline tickets and hotel rooms for some clients, much of the
`
`business volume in travel agencies normally consists of selling travel
`services assembled by others into packages. In the travel business, a
`package is a bundle of related travel services offered to a customer at
`a single price.
`.
`There are many types of packages available through travel agencies.
`Some include only a limited number of services———an*airline ticket and a
`rental car, for example, or a hotel room and tickets for a ski lift. Other
`packages are more inclusive and may provide the buyer with a
`round—trip airline ticket, rental car, hotel room, all meals, access to such
`features as golf courses and tennis courts, and tickets to various events.
`Most travel agencies selling packages do not put the packages
`together. This is done by tour operators——wholesalers who make the
`necessary contacts with hotels, airlines, and other providers of travel
`services. They devise packages that they believe will appeal to retail
`buyers. Like all wholesalers in all businesses, they are volume pur-
`chasers who are able to negotiate lower prices because of their
`high—volume purchases. They are typically able to offer any collection
`of travel services at a price lower than the individual consumer or his
`travel agent would be able to arrange.
`Many resorts owe their survival to travel agents and tour opera-
`tors. So "too do other hospitality enterprises that depend on the sales
`volume provided by guests at these resorts. Resorts on some of the
`Caribbean islands, for example, find that up to 80 percent of their
`guests have been booked byvtravel agents. The vast majority of other
`international travel arrangements are made by travel agents.
`
` ./§i"S§‘:l&,.
`
`People who manufacture durable goods almost never meet the final
`purchasers of their products. Toy manufacturers do not see the chil-
`dren who use their toys and seldom know the real extent to which chil-
`dren are pleased or disappointed with their toys. Some customers may
`write the toy manufacturer to express pleasure or disappointment, and
`some may return toys to the manufacturer for repair or replacement,
`but that is usually the extent of their customer contact.
`By contrast, people in the service industries typically deal directly
`with their customers, meeting them face—to-face on an ongoing basis.
`Hotel employees, for example, provide services directly to customers.
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`Chapter one > Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry
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`15
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`They are in daily contact with guests and often receive immediate feed-
`back about the hotel’s quality of service. Many customers express their
`feelings about the service by complimenting or complaining to the
`staff. For many customers, the level of service is defined by a specific
`event or by contact with a particular member of the staff. A clean room
`may lead a guest to believe that he is staying in a hotel that offers
`A excellent service. Poor service in the dining room may lead another
`guest to think that all service in the hotel is poor. A friendly and helpful
`desk clerk or a housekeeper unwilling to provide extra towels may A
`make a world of difference in the minds of guests distinguishing
`between excellent and poor service.
`A customer has particular expectations about the level and quality
`of service to expect. If the service meets or exceeds those expectations,
`the customer is likely to be satisfied. If not, she is likely to be unhappy.
`In fact, an opportunity to transform a first—time customer into a loyal
`customer may be lost because of poor service. The quality of service is
`critical in the success and survival of a hospitality business.
`Hospitality managers have traditionally tried to ensure the quality
`of service by providing training to staff. That training was aimed at
`uniformity. Most believed that by training each staff member to use
`certain specific service techniques and procedures, they were estab-
`lishing standards for excellent service.
`Some hospitality managers—the more enlightened ones—have
`come to realize that service need not necessarily be exactly the same
`for every customer. Service should be of high quality, of course, but
`some have found it advantageous to tailor service to the specific needs
`and perceptions of individual customers.
`
`
`
`Jan Carlzon, former president of Scandinavian Airlines, wrote a book
`published in 1987 in which he employs the term moments of truth.
`This term describes contacts between customers and businesses that
`
`give customers impressions of the businesses and from which cus-
`tomers make judgments about the businesses?
`A customer makes a judgment about a business each time he has
`contact with any element of that business. For example, in a hotel, a
`guest may first make contact with the hotel business when his taxicab
`
`2Jan Carlzon, Moments of Truth (Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Co., 1987).
`
`

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`16
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`Part one > Introduction
`
`‘
`
`stops in front of the entrance. The initial impression made by the out-
`ward physical. appearance of the building may be the first moment of
`truth. If the guest expects the taxi door to be opened by a doorkeeper,
`his presence or absence may be the next moment of truth. The next
`may be found in the doorkeeper’s attitude or demeanor or the manner
`in which the job is performed. Other moments of truth come from
`guests’ contacts with desk clerks and bellstaff, rides in the self-service
`elevator, and first reactions to their assigned rooms.
`Many other moments of truth occur during the course of a guest’s
`stay in a hotel. Finally, a guest’s overall impression reflects every con-
`tact made during the period and includes a number of judgments
`about the business: how efficiently it is run, whether or not it is cus-
`tomer oriented, how competent the employees are, how well the estab-
`lishment meets the needs of its customers, and the level of its service
`quality. In a fully occupied hotel of five hundred rooms, there are thou-
`sands of moments of truth occurring every day.
`The sum total of_ the customers’ moments of truth becomes the
`perception and impression of a hospitality business and its service
`quality. If the majority of customers judge the moments of truth to be
`positive, the business will have a positive reputation. If not, the busi-
`ness's reputation will be negative, and decreasing levels of sales will be
`likely.
`
`
`
`Karl Albrecht, in his 1988 book, At America’s Service, carries this con-
`cept further. He states that a customer views an organization in terms
`of the chain of events from the beginning of his experience with an
`organization to the end of the experience. He refers to this chain of
`events as a cycle of service. Albrecht states that a cycle of service “is a
`natural, unconscious pattern that exists in the customer's mind, and it
`may have nothing in common with your ‘technical’ approach to setting
`up the business."3
`Albrecht points out that service businesses are often set up and run
`in a fashion designed to achieve some specific goals established by
`owners or managers and that working to achieve these goals may
`impede one’s ability to provide positive moments of truth and satisfy
`customers’ needs. For example, a hotel may be run to achieve maxi-
`
`3Karl Albrecht, At America's Service (Homewood, Ill.: Dow Jones-Irwin, 1988), p.33.
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`chapter one > Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry
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`1 7
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`
`' he St. Regis Hotel in New York City pampers its guests like _
`.- no other hotel in the city. It has a staff of forty~two maitre d’é-
`tages (butlers) on call twenty-four hours a day to handle guests’
`requests. All maitre cZ’e’tages must speak at least two languages.
`The 322-room hotel patterns its service after service-oriented
`hotels in Asia and caters to each of its guests special needs.
`
`Each maz‘tre cZ'étages is trained for two months by Ivor
`Spencer, who trains the staff at Buckingham Palace. They
`learn everything from how to serve proper English tea to how
`to inspect guest rooms. The checklist for each guest room has
`about three hundred details that must be inspected.
`
`One couple checked into the St. Regis and wanted to watch a
`baseball game on cable. The St. Regis did not get that cable
`channel, but it worked out a one—time deal with a cable company to
`bring in the proper channel to meet the needs of this couple. Guests’
`preferences are recorded so that the next time they stay at the hotel,
`the staff will be able to anticipate their needs.
`
`Adapted from an article in USA Today, July 15, 1992.
`
`mum profit. In the eyes of management, this may mean that they
`should establish policies that minimize staff and maximize their effi-
`ciency. This may translate into instructions that the housekeeping staff
`should be intent on getting rooms ready for occupancy each day with-
`out regard for special requests of arriving guests. It may mean estab-
`lishing policies in the kitchen and bar that do not allow servers to take
`orders for items other than those listed on the menu. Or it may lead to
`minimizing supervisory staff to a point where customer problems can-
`not be appropriately handled.
`The guests, on the other hand, are not aware of these policies and
`are concerned with their own comfort and enjoyment of the hotel facil-
`ity. They experience moments of truth from the beginning of their stay
`to their departure and, taken together, these represent a cycle of ser-
`vice that leaves an overall impression of satisfaction or dissatisfaction
`with the hotel.
`
`It is important to note that the policies identified above may work
`very well in an enterprise producing durable goods. There, a good
`
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`
`18
`
`Part one > Introduction
`
`manager may be considered one who is best able to establish and carry
`out specific policies and routines that minimize costs and maximize
`output. Inthe production of durable goods, important goals include
`producing appropriate numbers of units at the minimal cost, each of
`which meets the quality standards established for the item. In that set-
`ting, disaffected workers and difficult working conditions may not be
`of real consequence as long as the products sold to customers meet the
`quality standards established by management and production volume
`can be maintained at suitable levels.
`
`The results of such policies in a service enterprise, however, would
`necessarily be very different. In hospitality, where our products are ser-
`vice, policies must be customer oriented and service oriented. If both
`managers and staff members do their best to ensure positive moments
`of truth for customers, the resulting cycles of service are more likely to
`produce satisfaction. Policies and procedures must be sufficiently flex-
`ible so that staff members have the ability to provide individualized
`service for guests.
`
`
`
`In recent years, growing numbers of hospitality managers have begun
`to take the moments of truth concept very seriously and are now tak-
`ing steps to ensure that more of the moments of truth in their estab-
`lishments are positive. To accomplish this, many have changed the way
`they go about managing. A number of managers and organizations
`have adopted a management style that some refer to as total quality
`management (TQM). Some use the term service quality manage-
`ment (SQM) to refer to the same set of basic ideas. Regardless of the
`term one uses, the underlying principles are the same.
`One of these principles is considered key: offering customized
`rather than standardized service; in other words, tailoring service to
`the needs of guests and customers. To accomplish this, m