HOSPITALITY

Hospitality means making a tourist feel totally welcome, not only as your guest , but also as the guest of the complete family of the hotel.

Hospitality can be termed as a deliberate, planned, and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and the public i.e the business of making and keeping friends, and promoting an atmosphere of better understanding. As per the oxford dictionary: Hospitality is defined as Reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers with goodwill.

Hospitality means anticipating and satisfying a guests needs.

HISTORY
The history of fine catering trade, dates back into China, in the 4th millennium B.C. During the time of prosperity in old Egypt the culture of eating and drinking was already very important. The first real inns and hostels were established in ancient Greece. Here, the catering trade emerged from commonly practiced hospitality which was by no means always given for free. This development continued during the roman empire. At first, accommodations for soldiers emerged along trading routes and military roads, which were later on opened to all travelers. In Europe during the early middle ages, first signs for a renewal of the catering trade could be seen in monasteries which mainly covered the needs of the numerous Christian pilgrims on their way to Rome In the 19th and 20th century technical innovations, improvement of transport routes, increase of the population and an extraordinary rise in travelling gave gastronomy a quick lift which made it an important factor for transport and national economy.

Hospitality Industries
Hotels/motels Resorts Vacation ownership Hostels Caravans Camping Airlines Cruise ships Recreation equipment Food producers Shopping malls Natural attractions Gaming entertainment Travel agencies Convention bureaus Tour companies Hotel/rest. suppliers Arts venues Cameras and film

Entertainment venues
Restaurants Fast food Wine merchants Theme parks

Service stations
Sporting events

CSR
The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata works closely with Sarada Seva Sangh, a public charitable trust. The organizations primary responsibility is the betterment of rural women. They encourage women to make handicrafts and embroidered products. The trust receives a share of linen and uniforms from the hotel. In addition they are allowed to set up display counters of their items in the hotel lobby three times a week. The items are available for guests to purchase and the proceeds of the sale go to the organization. The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata is also associated with Purbachal Udayan Sangha, - an organization which works towards upliftment of slum dwellers in Kolkata. This organization specially focuses towards victims of natural calamities and urbanization. The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata lends its support by making a one-time monetary contribution of Rs. 50,000/that meets the expenses towards books and medicines for the children and women of the slum dwellers. Twice in the year a contribution of 250-300 food packets prepared by the hotel is distributed amongst the slum dwellers.

CSR BY ITC
E choupalITCs globally awarded e-Choupal initiative is a powerful illustration of a unique business model that delivers large societal value by co-creating rural markets with local communities. The e-Choupal digital infrastructure enables even small and marginalised farmers in rural India, who are de-linked from the formal market, to access relevant knowledge, market prices, weather information and quality inputs to enhance farm productivity, quality and command better prices making them more competitive in the nationaland global markets. Customised agri-extension services and farmer training schools through a focused programme Choupal Pradarshan Khet enable farmers to access best practices in agriculture and improve productivity. Together, the digital-physical-human infrastructure has led to the creation of an efficient two-way channel raising farmer incomes and productivity, transforming rural communities into vibrant markets.

VARIOUS CHALLENGES
There is still need to improve air connectivity; rail and road connections as well as general infrastructure like power and water.

The result of the industry's success. As competition increases, there is a definite pressure on ARR and operating margins. The industry market will definitely shift from being demand-driven to supply-driven and that the hotel companies will need to revisit their strategies and, of course, their prices.

Some players are already preparing for the difficult times when the ARRs are expected to fall by 30-40 percent in the next 3-4 years and then the distinguishing factor for the hotels will be the offer in its entirety rather than just the price or the facilities that the hotels offer.