Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry consists of broad category of fields within the service industry that includes hotels,  restaurants, hotel rooms, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry that mostly depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income.

A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or even an amusement park consists of multiple groups such as facility maintenance, direct operations (servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, bartenders, etc.), management, marketing, and human resources.

There has to be a provision for advance room reservations, to facilitate the prospective guest to book rooms much in advance of the check-in dates.

The hospitality industry covers a wide range of organizations offering food service and hotel rooms. The hospitality industry is divided into sectors according to the skill-sets required for the work involved. Sectors include accommodation, food and beverage, meeting and events, gaming, entertainment and recreation, tourism services, and visitor information.

Usage rate is an important variable for the hospitality industry. Just as a factory owner would wish to have his or her productive asset in use as much as possible (as opposed to having to pay fixed costs while the factory isn't producing), so do restaurants, hotels, and theme parks seek to maximize the number of customers they "process".

Over the last decade and half the mad rush to India for business opportunities has intensified and elevated room rates and occupancy levels in India. The successful growth story of 'Hotel Industry in India' seconds only to China in Asia Pacific. The Hotel Industry is inextricably linked to the tourism industry and the growth in the Indian tourism industry has fueled the growth of Indian hotel industry. The thriving economy and increased business opportunities in India have acted as a boon for Indian hotel industry. The arrival of low cost airlines and the associated price wars have given domestic tourists a host of options. The 'Incredible India' destination campaign and the recently launched 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' (ADB) campaign have also helped in the growth of domestic and international tourism and consequently the hotel industry.

The hospitality industry has come of age in India, keeping view of the ever growing demand for rooms in the country, and the phenomenal growth of the industry a number of hotel management institutes  have come up that are offering quality hospitality education to the aspirants who wish to make a career in the hotel  industry. These hotel training schools are offering a number of hotel management courses. These universities and colleges are capable of producing quality professional for the industry there is long list of colleges that the students can choose and also the hotel indusdty can fall upon for trained hotel professionals.

The hotel industry in India is going through an interesting phase. The industry has a capacity of 110,000 rooms. According to the tourism ministry, 4.4 million tourists visited India last year and at the current rate, the demand will soar to 10 million by 2010 – to accommodate 350 million domestic travelers. The hotels of India have a shortage of 150,000 rooms fueling hotel room rates across India. With tremendous pull of opportunity, India has become a destination for hotel chains looking for growth.

Due to such a huge potential available in this segment, several global hotel chains like the Hilton, Accor, Marriott International, Berggruen Hotels, Cabana Hotels, Premier Travel Inn (PTI), Inter Continental Hotels group and Hampshire among others have all announced major investment plans for the country and are offering attractive hotel deals  for the guests..

The Government's move to declare hotel and tourism industry as a high priority sector with a provision for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) has also provided a further impetus in attracting investments in to this industry.

It is estimated that the hospitality sector is likely to see US$ 11.41 billion rise in the next two years, with around 40 international hotel brands making their presence known in the country by 2011. Simultaneously, international hotel asset management companies are also likely to enter India. Already, US-based HVS International has firmed up plans to enter India, and industry players believe others like Ashford Hospitality Trust and IFA Hotels & Resorts among others are likely to follow suit. The Indian Hotel Industry at present is offering rooms to clients in the most expensive and cheapest hotels alike.

One of the major reasons for the increase in demand for hotel rooms in the country is the boom in the overall economy and high growth in sectors like information technology, telecom, retail and real estate. Rising stock market and new business opportunities are also attracting hordes of foreign investors and international corporate travelers to look for business opportunities in the country.

Also India has been ranked as the fourth most preferred travel destination and with Lonely Planet selecting the country among the top five destinations from 167 countries; India has finally made its mark on the world travel map. Thus, the increase in the need for accommodation has hugely increased the demands for hotels which in turn has boosted the growth of the hospitality sector in India especially that of the hotel industry.