What are the sources of information? There are many sources of information that can assist you – some of these are generic in nature and others are specific to the industry. Written material is much written material that can be used to obtain and update industry knowledge and information: Reference – on all manner of subjects such as travel options, destinations and attractions, cooking, mixing cocktails, housekeeping, management and all operational topics Guidebooks – numerous guidebooks exist on every major tourist destination/country. While these are often read by tourists to help them obtain a ‘feel’ for the country they are visiting, they can also be useful to staff working in those countries as a reference and resource. Many guidebooks are available online as free downloads, or can be purchased online. For professionals in the tourist industry it is always worthwhile to get an idea of what tourists expect when they visit us, so obtaining a few of these guides and browsing through them can be a very educational and rewarding experience. Trade magazines – which may be purchased from newsagents or obtained via subscription. Newspapers – many large circulation newspapers feature some aspect of the hospitality and/or travel and tourism industries on a regular/weekly basis – these features can included food, travel and attractions reviews; industry movements (of staff between different employers), travel articles about destinations and issues of interest. Find out the days these features appear and take the time to read them Libraries – public libraries and training institute libraries are a great source of material you do not have to pay for.
Nightclubs are popular hospitality venues. There are many different areas of work in a nightclub – bar, restaurant, front desk, security and entertainment. Some nightclubs are very busy and clients can often be demanding so employees need to be good at working well under pressure. Staff must also enjoy late shifts, loud music, working when everyone else is partying, and early morning finishes. Most nightclubs are stand-alone businesses operating only as nightclubs, while some hotels feature a nightclub within their premises. Resorts Resorts can a wide range of services including food and beverage, accommodation, functions/conferences, nightclubs, sporting activities, entertainment and leisure activities. Working in a resort can be a lot of fun, though the work is usually very demanding with very long hours. Most resort employees live in staff quarters at the resort, so they are always ‘available’ if needed: the lifestyle sounds idyllic but the reality is usually somewhat different to the dream. Other areas in the hospitality industry areas of employment in the hospitality industry include: Hospitals – and nursing and retirement homes Accommodation providers – such as guest houses, B & Bs, back-packer accommodation
Organising functions and activities Auditioning and hiring and/or entertainment Managing discos/nightclubs. Leisure Activities related to the Leisure department can include: Developing recreation and leisure activities – to meet identified customer need, and/or to attract customers Coordinating sporting activities – at resorts and Conducting fitness training – for in-house guests Providing health and therapy services – such as spa, beauty and welfare services Coordinating games and other fun activities for children and adults – at resorts and on cruise ships Specialist qualifications may be required to perform some roles in this area. Maintenance Maintenance may include: Managing plumbing, electrical and carpentry needs – including undertaking repairs to faulty items and the delivery of preventative maintenance Maintaining upkeep of the venue – by painting, decorating and refurbishment Maintaining gardens and outside – lawn mowing, watering, weeding, new plantings Providing general maintenance around the venue – including preventative maintenance and responding to maintenance requests Specialist certification may be required to perform some roles in this area.
It is often difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate between both industries as they frequently merge. Both industries support each other – it is not the case tourism supports hospitality or vice versa. Tourism may be seen as involving: Trips to local attractions and areas of sites and landmarks Use of tour guides Travel – to and from the country/area as well as transportation within the country/area Activities – such as attendance at theme parks, participation in ‘action’ holidays Visits to zoos, museums and other places of interest. See more information under ‘Tourism Businesses’ below. Hospitality may be seen as involving: Eating – eat-in and takeaway: all standards, types of cuisine, styles of service Drinking – alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including takeaway drink sales Accommodation – in-house rooms and facilities Rest and relaxation – gymnasiums, spa and wellbeing services. Meetings and Events A significant industry sector is referred to as the MICE industry/sector. MICE stands for ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions’ industry. This sector provides for professional management and organisation of meetings, conventions and events such as incentives, exhibitions, expositions, seminars and promotions.
Information they have obtained from what they deem to be reliable sources – such as friends and family, or trusted media writers, and reference books The amount of money paid – most customers understand they can realistically only expect value-for-money and not value (in relation to things such as quality, service levels and products) that significantly exceed the amount of money they have paid. Examples of guest expectations The following provide a comprehensive overview of the expectations customers/guests, visitors/tourists with them when they attend a venue: are competent – that is, workers know what they are doing and perform their designated role in a professional, competent and safe manner Timely service – they do not want to wait ‘too long’ to be served, to have their order taken, to be checked in, to be issued with tickets, to be seated, to receive their food or drinks To be respected – to have staff talk to them and treat them with consideration and respect taking into account any cultural issues that may apply Suitable facilities – customers insist the facilities provided by the venue match any claims made about them, are fit for the purpose, are sufficient in number, are safe to use and enable customers to attain their individual objectives when using those facilities Emotional satisfaction – to a varying degree all customers require their experienced to be an enjoyable one (although any definition of this must take into the account the individual activity). For example, an ‘exciting’ activity is required to be exciting; a restful experience must indeed be restful not stressful; a ‘luxurious’ experience must be exactly that and not a basic experience Safety and security – all visitors/customers expect their personal safety while at a venue (or when engaging in an activity) to be guaranteed, and expect their personal/private belongings will not be damaged or stolen To be welcomed – meaning they want to be recognised and have suitable attention paid to them, presence, their needs, their experiences, their problems and their
In relation to being able to provide useful and interesting information to visitors about your local manufacturing industry you need to be able to: Identify the manufacturing sectors – that is, the products manufactured locally Identify names of local manufacturers Describe the general production process for each manufacturing sector – you do not need a detailed knowledge but a comprehensive overview of the process involved is important to be able to give visitors an idea of what is involved. You should aim to, at least, be able to describe: Raw products used and these come from Stages in the production process – and what each stage contributes to the finished products Equipment used to produce the items Define relevant industry, production and product terms, and words Describe the products produced according to their individual characteristics Identify the volume of products/items produced Identify the export destinations for products Describe the benefit to the local community of manufacturing – in monetary terms and jobs. Government facilities In this context, ‘government facilities’ refers to buildings/facilities such as: Prisons Parliament buildings Law courts Libraries
Defence facilities Embassies Schools Hospitals. there are identified local government facilities you should identify information to pass on to visitors such as: What each facility does – the reason it is there, the major tasks it performs Number of people employed How it integrates with other government bodies and facilities Times for public tours and access/use – if applicable History of the building/facility – when built, dates and reasons for re-builds, refurbishments and upgrades. Attention must always be paid to security arrangements’ – such as passing on where visitors/members of the public are not allowed, access protocols, general prohibitions (such as a general ban on the taking of photographs at or near defence facilities). Infrastructure In this context infrastructure refers to facilities and public relating to: generation – through any means including coal-fired plants, hydro, wind, solar, bio-energy Transportation – including supporting new/upgraded roads/highways, railway, and terminals to support same including airports. For infrastructure in your local area it is useful to be able to inform visitors about: Start and expected finish dates Amount of being spent
Wash hands when required – such as after using the toilet; after handling a handkerchief or tissue; after handling rubbish; in between handling raw meat, fish or chicken and cooked/ready-to-eat food Food handlers should not wear nail polish – including clear nail polish Store and rotate food stock correctly – using the First In, First Out (FIFO) method of stock rotation. The above are just the basics of safe food handling – more detailed information relating to safe food handling practices is presented in the unit ‘Comply with workplace hygiene procedures’. Basics of liquor legislation
Complying with ethical practices Work All employers will expect you to display an acceptable work – this means you must: Arrive for work ‘on time’ – in practice this arriving 10 – 15 minutes early Be dressed and for work when you arrive – as opposed to arriving on time and then having to get ready
Keep promises made – be careful about making promises but always keep any promises that are made: it is always best to ‘under-promise and over-deliver’ than the other way round Treat people with respect – this applies to colleagues and customers: speak respectfully, and take cultural differences into account Hand in all ‘lost and found’ items – they cannot be kept and treated as your own ignore customers – everyone’s job is to help customers: offers of assistance should be made rather than waiting for requests for help/advice to be made Do the job you are paid to do – and then look to do a little bit Do not complain – do your job without complaining: if something upsets you, talk to management as opposed to complaining to colleagues and/or customers.