Managing the Hospitality Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing the Hospitality Experience - Essay Example This is achieved through an effort to entertain guests (Jones 2002). According to Jones (2002), hospitality should be an experience rather than a service. Guests’ experiences should be attractive to both their families and friends. Guests are craving for authentic local experiences that will establish an emotional connection (Hemming ton 2007). An excellent example is the Andaz5th Avenue Hotel. According to the general manager of Andaz5th Avenue Hotel, the experiences include fashion, events and food. According to USA today valuable and rare experiences are significant driving factors in the hospitality sector. 31 per cent of customers said destination hotels are perceived to be a hidden gem. 26 per cent of the interviewed customers said they loved to share photos of the hotels they stayed. Creating the elusive guest experiences to different customers is achievable but demanding. The expectations of guests are divergent and differ with times and seasons. Another compelling exa mple is the Renaissance Hotel. Renaissance hotel brand has introduced an ad targeting both leisure and business travelers. The brand insists that business guests who insist on free Wi-Fi and breakfast must have an experience, as well. Dan Vinh, Renaissance vice president, said the hotel hopes to offer a unique experience. He believes guests are stimulated by the environment in order to be productive. Q2. According to Visser, hospitality entails sharing of security, food and shelter with a stranger within the community who has no friend or relatives. The act of providing and receiving generosity creates mutual trust. According to Doud, generosity is a gracious act. He argues that, the use of the word stranger in the definition of generosity tends to imply that the receiver of the generous act does not deserve it because they are not acquainted to each other. The word grace implies a respectful attitude given towards people who do not deserve or earn a worm consideration. Hospitality is also hereditary. Once an act of hospitality has been done to a person or household, the same is extended to the descendants and passed on from generation to generation. This establishes a long term bond (Kandampully & Sparks 2001). Bonds established through hospitality were supposed to be temporal. The agreed period was three days, and the guests were expected to reciprocate by not overstaying. Hospitality had territorial limitations. Protection was offered within the period of stay and the boundaries of territorial influence. For instance, Arabs only offered protection as long as the guest was in within their home. Beyond that, the guest could end up become a victim of the host. Therefore, the guests used to leave at night and without any farewell to the host for fear of being pursued by the host. According to Pitt-Rivers, hospitality was not necessarily a mark of friendship. Providing hospitality, according to Pitt-Rivers, was an act of sanctity where a hostile stranger and a h ost were neutral to each other. Hospitality was an act of self interest because certain gains were expected. According to Selwyn, hospitality gave way to a transformation where the aggrieved regained their trust and friendship in the course of exchange of services. Hospitality is known to transform friends into closer friends. Hospitality is an act of selfless will where acceptance and trust are propagated. This causes hospitality to be a source of symbolic ties that create unique connections between people.