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Unit 2 Exploring Careers in Family and Consumer Sciences
and cruise ships. They can meet minimal stan-
dards of shelter or provide amenities such as
wireless Internet access, spa or recreational
facilities, food service, a concierge, and business
centers. Lodging employees have many differ-
ent duties as well. They make sure that guests’
needs are addressed and everything is kept in
order. They may also provide services for busi-
ness travelers, such as helping to arrange con-
ferences and providing meeting rooms and
electronic equipment.
The larger the organization, the more per-
sonnel it takes to run a smooth hospitality ven-
ture. Hospitality is a service-oriented industry,
and the service is provided by people. In large
hospitality organizations involving food and
lodging, service may be provided by dozens
or even hundreds of employees. For example,
when you check into a hotel room, employ-
ees who are working to make your stay enjoy-
able include the management staff, front desk,
bell staff, food service workers, housekeeping,
recreational facilities workers, landscapers,
and maintenance workers. Food service alone
includes many employee roles such as hosts,
food servers, room service staff, food prepara-
tion workers and cooks, dishwashers, table bus
persons, and management. Additionally there
are many auxiliary workers in marketing, sales,
interior design, accounting, and procurement.
So who is running the house? In the lodging
industry, general managers run hotels and resorts.
Issues in the News
International Travel and Globalization
A cruise around the world
or a summer in Europe have
been fodder for classic films and
novels, as affluent and educated
tourists have been interested in
international travel for decades.
Once available only to the very
wealthy, international travel has
become common among the
middle- to upper-socioeconomic
classes. Why has it increased and
how has it changed?
There are several reasons
why international travel has
increased, including lifestyle
changes, the global economy,
and advances in global
communications. International
travel involves extended or
lengthy trips less often than
it did in the past. Today it
frequently involves one- or two-
week voyages. Transportation
accommodations can be more
culture. Tourism dollars may
benefit the local economy
and promote perpetuation of
the culture. This is termed
sustainable tourism.
Many communities
are finding that developing
sustainable tourism activities
that share a similar philosophy
of respect for the host region
results in a joint preservation
ethic between tourists, the
hospitality providers, and the
local culture. This includes
respect for both the history
and the people and may result
in enhanced understanding
and appreciation of the unique
heritage of a community. This
relationship makes the tourism
activity sustainable because
the needs of both the tourist
and the locals are met while
not depleting the culture and
comfortable, convenient, and
much faster than in the past.
The rise of international
tourism represents a
tremendous opportunity
to access the educated,
affluent, and sophisticated
consumer. These are the prized
customers who can provide
repeat business to hospitality
providers. Thus, they have been
targeted by creative packaging
of services and marketing.
International travel
marketing often promises
experiences that will be life
enhancing. Such experiences
appeal to the more mature,
wealthy, and educated
consumer. For example, this
consumer values traveling to
a remote geographic area,
interacting with the residents,
and learning about the local