Definition of Accommodation PDF

**DEFINITION OF ACCOMMODATION** Prior to understanding accommodation, let us break the two services involved in the hospitality industry.:\ 1. THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE OPERATIONS AND SERVICES\ - which involve restaurants and all food outlets that cater to the needs of the visitors.\ 2.THE ACCOMMODATIO...

**DEFINITION OF ACCOMMODATION** Prior to understanding accommodation, let us break the two services involved in the hospitality industry.:\ 1. THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE OPERATIONS AND SERVICES\ - which involve restaurants and all food outlets that cater to the needs of the visitors.\ 2.THE ACCOMMODATION SERVICES - which cover the services of hotels, resorts, and other types. ***Accommodation service*** is where the guest stays for them to take a momentary rest from all the movements and other activities encompassing tourism.\ ***Accommodation*** can be defined as a group of rooms or an entire building or establishment in which someone may live or stay. Accommodation is important to any tourists who want to travel to another destination or on a trip as visitors are always going to need a place to stay after every end of a tour day. Hence, we put the definition of accommodation as simple as ***a \"place to stay.\"*** Traveling to a destination may be very exhausting to the visitors; thus, an accommodation establishment is present in every destination to provide a temporary place for visitors to rest and recharge as they go along their itinerary. **IMPORTANCE OF ACCOMMODATION** The accommodation and lodging sector provides some importance in the tourism and hospitality industry.\ THREE MAJOR AREAS:\ (1) economic importance;\ (2) societal importance; and\ (3) environmental importance\ \ **Economic Importance**\ Like what was discussed on the previous topic, the accommodation and lodging sector provides a huge contribution to the tourism and hospitality industry in terms of revenue. In 2019, a total of P113.14 billion was contributed by the accommodation sector of our country on the national internal revenue (Oxford Business Group, 2021).\ The accommodation sector also boosts local employment. As the increase in demand for accommodation establishments continues, more businesses will require more local talents to be part of their company, thus increasing the employment rate of the industry. And lastly, the accommodation sector improves the foreign exchange status of a country. Many hotels provide foreign exchange services, which increase dollar reserves in our industry.\ **Societal Importance**\ Accommodation establishments have evolved from serving their ma purpose of providing a place to stay for their guests into a place of cultural convergence. Hotels, for instance, became a venue for international conferences and meetings. Hotels are a popular venue for such international conferences different sectors, industries, and associations.\ \ Accommodation also serves as a showcase of the local community's culture. Architectural and interior designs, staff uniforms, and even the unique service experience of most hotels embody the culture of the country. **Environmental Importance**\ The accommodation sector today has been viewed to be a firm supporter of environmental conservation practices. Modern hotels are shifting toward an environmentally conscious establishment. Hotels promote water and energy conservation. These practices are participated not just by the hotel staff but also by their guests as well. Tree-planting activities and coastal cleanup drives are among the popular corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities done by different hotels. For instance, Makati Shangri-La focuses on food consumption and sustainability by placing a lovely herb garden on their rooftop where they can source some ingredients for their kitchen needs. Belmont Hotel Manila and a lot of hotels have also replaced plastic water bottles with glass containers to reduce plastic waste. Crimson Hotel Filinvest City Hotel has been awarded the Anahaw- Philippines Sustainable Tourism Certification by the Department of Tourism (DOT) by creating hotel practices aimed at reducing carbon footprint in their daily operations (Chan, 2019).\ \ **WHAT IS LODGING OPERATIONS?**\ It was discussed on the previous topic that accommodation is an establishment that provides rooms and services for the guests to stay while they are in a destination. However, accommodation establishments, though essential on the performance of tourism activities, do require several processes for them to appeal to their target customers, provide profit to their owners, and contribute improvements to their community and industry in general. As what businesspeople say, \"No product will sell on its own,\" accommodation establishments like hotels must plan and perform strategies for their products and services be sold to the right customers.\ \ Lodging operations is an integrated business approach in which accommodation establishments perform several management functions for the business to maximize its resources and produce accommodation products and services needed by the target consumers, provide higher profit margin to its owners, and contribute substantial development to the entire industry.\ \ Let us examine the definition provided, First, lodging operations is a performance of management functions. Henri Fayol (1916) has introduced the four functions of management that provides managers in any enterprise a definitive step or process in managing their business. The four management functions are:\ (1) planning;\ (2) organizing;\ (3) leading; and\ (4) controlling.\ \ **Planning**\ As they say, \"Every successful business starts with an idea.\" Managers of accommodation establishments and lodging properties must start from the drawing board and craft a comprehensive, easy-to-understand, and feasible plan. The planning function is the most difficult function of management as managers have to create plans that will lead them in achieving the company\'s vision. For example, hotel managers, together with their department heads, must provide a clear plan in running the entire hotel operations. This consists of different plans that are interrelated and interconnected to each other such as Hotel Marketing Plan, Hotel Operations Plan, Hotel Financial Plan, Hotel Security and Risk Management Plan, and others. These plans aim at producing the Strategic Business Plan of the hotel. Planning is not a one-time affair. Managers who crafted the plan must go back to it each day of the operations to be reminded of the goals that needed to be achieved. Plans are not created just to accumulate dust on the shelf. Plans must also be clear to every member of the organization. Staff members must understand the operations plan of their department for them to perform their tasks correctly.\ **Organizing**\ Hotel managers are entrusted to organize the resources of the business. The must choose the right people with the right qualifications for the right positions The hotel manager with his/her department heads will also be authoring The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of every department in the hotel. Managers also set policies and guidelines for their staff to follow. Lastly, managers select the right business tools and methods to operate efficiently and effectively.\ Organizing hotel teams go beyond the visuals or an organizational chart wherein it directly implies who reports to whom. Every job title in the organizational structure includes a specific job description that may directly or indirectly affect the other job positions or departments. It is the duty of the manager to clearly identify and organize the duties and responsibilities of every staff to avoid redundancy and duplication of work, role ambiguity, and job confusion.\ \ Hotel managers set standards, policies, and guidelines in every department. For example, in the front office, staff must perform the check-in and check-out procedures based on the SOP of the department. Deviations from the SOP may result in problems in the department, and they and affect the work needed to be done by other departments. Companies also include compliance to the SOP as part of their code of conduct, and any infractions on it are punishable.\ **Leading**\ Among the four management functions, leading is the most personal one since it buds up from the personal perspective of every manager. Leaders are created differently, and their approaches toward leading a team differ from one another. Hotel managers, as the leaders of the organizations, must clearly understand their roles and responsibilities in running the hotel operations, establish team goals, motivate people to achieve their goals, mentoring and coaching every hotel staff to maximize their potentials, delegate simple and complex tasks to all hotel staff, and make sound business decisions that may affect the entire hotel operations. Leading hotel staff is easier said than done. Managers must deal with staff diversity, conflict resolution, distribution of authority, corporate politics, and even dealing with personal issues of their employees.\ **Controlling**\ Controlling as a management function simply tells hotel managers to evaluate every business process and analyze \"what worked\" and \"what didn\'t work.\" Evaluation comes in different forms and must be done periodically. The hotel staff is evaluated based on the performance of their duties, achieving goals, contribution to the organization, and other essential metrics. Hotel systems and procedures are being evaluated based on the outputs or results that they have yielded over time. Hotel profitability is being evaluated by the Profit and Loss (P&L) reports and other financial statements.\ Controlling is essential in every hotel business as it provides a clear picture of the performance of the hotel operations over a given period. The data in the evaluation report will help managers decide on the next steps that they have to do to improve their business performance. For example, hotel promotions are being evaluated periodically to know if the target consumers are aware of it and are purchasing it. If the evaluation shows that the promotional expenses outweigh the promotional revenue, the Sales and Marketing manager may decide to take down the promotion and plan for a different approach. The information gathered from this management function will be the basis for another plan for the hotel business. Thus, this makes the entire four management functions a cycle.\ \ In terms of lodging operations, they involve maximizing resources to produce relevant hotel products and services. As it implies, operations are the production of a company\'s goods and services so they will be readily available to its target consumers (in the case of hotel operations, they are the hotel guests). For lodging operations, there are several products that are being offered to the guests. These include guestrooms, in-room amenities, in-room entertainment, hotel facilities such as gym and pool, hotel food outlets, meeting and conference facilities, and business centers, and even the hotel lobby and the building design are part of the integrated\' products of the hotel. Hotel products set the mood, ambiance, and overall appearance of the establishment. Hotel services, on the other hand, provide the main differentiation of one hotel to another. Service is characterized as an intangible and high-customer contact aspect of the hotel business. As mentioned, it sets the major difference from one hotel to another, as each accommodation establishments have different service standard and different service provider orientations. Some hotels have grandiose and intimidating lobbies that may be viewed by guests as high-quality; however, the customer service provided by their staff is not in congruence with the perception of the product. Hotel services can make or break hotel organizations. In any terms, hotel products and services must be harmonious to each other to meet the brand promise and guest expectations. Lastly, lodging operation's ultimate goal of their business existence are the following: (1) provide accommodation products and services needed by the target consumers; (2) provide higher profit margin to its owners; and (3) contribute substantial development to the entire industry. Lodging establishments were built to provide accommodation for the guests as they perform activities for tourism. Second, the owners enter the business for them to increase their profit. Hence, lodging operations must always keep mind that the desire business profit must always be achieved. And lastly, accommodation establishments contribute significantly to the development of the industry as a whole. A part of the revenue of a hotel contributes to the internal revenue and gross domestic product (GDP)of a country. Thus, the tourism and hospitality industry is an essential industry for national development. CLASSIFICATION OF ACCOMMODATION Accommodation establishments are classified in different ways. Here are some criteria in classifying an accommodation establishment:\ 1. According to Function and Services\ 2. According to Location\ 3. According to Market Segment\ 4. According to Property Features\ 5. According to Size\ 6. According to Hotel Rating\ 7. According to Type of Ownership\ 1. **According to Location**\ Accommodation establishments are classified based on where they are located. Some hotels are located within the metropolis, some are in the suburbs, some are near the airport, and some are along the main thoroughfares like highways, and these are called motorist hotels or motels.\ \ 2. **According to Function and Services**\ Examples of these are the commercial hotels that serve a diverse kind of customers, convention hotels, which are mainly for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) guests and condotels for long-staying guests (LSGs).\ \ 3.**According to Market Segment** Accommodations are classified by the markets that they serve. Examples are luxury hotels that cater to more discriminate and high-end clients, integrated resorts or casino hotels that cater to casino-playing guests, and resorts that cater to guests who want relaxation.\ \ 4. **According to Property Feature**\ Accommodations are not designed the same. Some are meant for LSGs like condotels and apartments, which provide a kitchen area/kitchenette inside the room. Some accommodations are converted to historical buildings such as Paradors and Pousadas. Other accommodation establishments boast their high-quality and high-touch amenities and services despite their hotel boutique hotels. 5**. According to Size**\ Accommodation establishments differ in the number of guestrooms. Some hotels are under 100 rooms (small hotels), some are 151-300 rooms (medium-sized hotels), and others are above 300 rooms (large hotels).\ \ 6. **According to Rating**\ Accommodation establishments are classified by star ratings (1-5 stars). This implies the kind of facilities and services that they provide to their guests. The higher the star rating, the higher the quality of hotel facilities and services they have. It also denotes a higher price to pay to avail of the service.\ \ 7. **According to Types of Ownership**\ Accommodation may be classified as private hotel ownership (owned by an independent private company), local group of hotels (a group of different hotels owned by a local company), or international group (a group of different hotels owned by an international company and spans its operations across different countries).\ \ **LESSON SUMMARY**\ In this lesson, we discussed that accommodation as a sector of the tourism and hospitality industry is a primary activity in the performance of the phenomenon of tourism as visitors need a place to stay when they are in the destination. We also learned that the accommodation sector is important to our economy, society, and environment. We also made an in-depth discussion of the definition of lodging operations, which is an integrated business approach in which accommodation establishments perform several management functions for the business to maximize its resources and produce accommodation products and services needed by the target clients or guests, provide higher profit margin to its owners, and contribute substantial development to the entire industry. Lastly, we tackled the different classifications of accommodation establishments based on the seven criteria provided (location, function, market segment, property features, size, hotel rating, and type of ownership). Lesson 2 **THE ACCOMMODATION SECTOR IN A GLOBAL LEARNING**\ \ \ The accommodation sector has been acknowledged as one of the key economic drivers of economic activities in the tourism and hospitality industry. Hotels, resorts, and other accommodation establishments bring in significant developments in different dimensions of the industry, such as economic, sócio- cultural, and environment.\ \ **LEARNING OBJECTIVES**\ At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:\ identify the current trends in the accommodation sector at a global scale;\ share insights on different contemporary issues that the accommodation sector is facing;\ and identify the different opportunities in the global accommodation sector.\ \ **INTRODUCTION**\ In this ever-changing world, the accommodation sector has been affected by the current global trends, activities, and issues in connection with the visitors, host communities, government policies, and business climate; thus, this sector is a highly competitive arena. A hotel business may \"sink or swim\" when faced with challenging situations, such as economic downturn, changes in travel patterns and behavior, environmental regulations, and others. The role of accommodation professionals is to keep their brands afloat in times like these.\ \ In this lesson, we will discuss the different trends and contemporary issues that the accommodation sector is facing. Through this chapter, we shall also 1dentify opportunities on how accommodation establishments can keep up with the global challenges.\ \ CURRENT GLOBAL TRENDS IN THE ACCOMMODATION AND LODGING SECTOR\ \ The ever-changing industry of accommodation has undergone numerous shifts over the past decade. Here are some of the current global trends in the accommodations and lodging business sector:\ \ ***The Importance of Safety and Security and Sanitation and Hygiene in the Hotel Business***\ \ It is undeniably real that hotel establishments are a melting pot of different types of tourists and visitors. Each property has a distinct characteristic and prioritization in terms of safety and security and sanitation and hygiene. Hotel businesses today are leaning toward ensuring that all guests are safe and secured while they are staying on the property. With the emergence of the global pandemic brought about by COVID-19, hotels and other lodging establishments have strengthened their measures to ensure the safety of the guests.\ \ Thermal scanners are installed at the entrances of the hotels. while hand gels and sanitizers can be seen in every area where there is contact between the guests and employees. Wearing a face mask and protective clothing is highly recommended for every guest and employee. Contactless payment transactions are highly encouraged too.\ \ ***Contactless Payment System***\ Most accommodation establishments are now geared toward the norm of contactless payment transactions. This gives an impression of safe, fast, and hassle- OPPO A95e oe guests. EXamples of contactless payment systems are Google Pay. ***Smart Hotels***\ Smart hotels are a new concept in the hotel scene. Integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) into the hotel property\'s existing features adds up to the desire of the guests to stay with these kinds of accommodation. Smart hotels exemplify luxury and. at the same time, convenience to their staying guest.\ \ ***The Use of Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR)***\ The fourth industrial revolution (4th IR) has brought significant changes in the global business arena with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Virtual reality (VR) replaces the real world with visual and audio input, while augmented reality (AR) layers virtual elements onto the real world. These two new concepts have been added to the marketing and promotions of different hotels and lodging establishments.\ \ ***Robotics in Hospitality***\ Robots have taken over some processes in the hotel sector. Would you imagine that one day, your food order in the restaurant will be served by robots? Well, the future is happening now. Robots are now part of hotel operations: from check-in and guest registration, order taking, room service, and until check-out.\ \ ***Digital Guest Experience and Property Review***\ Digital guest experience is a new trend in sharing one\'s story on an online platform. YouTube Vlogs, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and other sources of guest reviews are all over the Internet. This trend can help acquire new clients, but it is also vicious when a bad review was left unanswered.\ \ **CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN THE GLOBAL ACCOMMODATION AND LODGING SECTOR**\ \ With the changes that occur in the tourism and hospitality industry, it is inevitable that the accommodation and lodging sector also experiences some issues and concerns that modern hospitality professionals need to address. Here are some of the contemporary issues in the global accommodation and lodging sector.\ \ ***Green Hotel Practices and The Pressures of Designing and Implementing Sustainable Accommodation*** Many hotels today are claiming that they are practicing sustainable accommodation management simply by presenting themselves as ***\"green\"*** hotels However, green practices do not synonymously go with sustainability. There are a lot of guidelines and frameworks issued in the context of designing and implementing sustainable accommodation management beyond the concept of environmental conservation. Sustainability involves a consensus effort of all stakeholders to make a sound decision that will keep the resources available for future use. Normally, most hotel businesses view the results of sustainable practices of their hotel property through the so-called triple bottom line approach wherein the business has to fulfill sustainability in three dimensions: (1) people; (2) planet; and (3) profit.\ \ **Global Hoteliers and Shortage of Employment**\ The accommodation sector is a labor-intensive job that requires every business to create and provide jobs employment to the community. Hotel management teams are always in the run to find the most qualified applicants for different hotel jobs available on their property. Extensive training is being provided to every hotel staff and thus requires the hotel management to invest more in hotel skills training, This is with the recent developments in Tourism and Hospitality Management Education brought by the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Tourism Professionals and the new Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order No. 62 series of 2017. **Technological Shift on Demands, Customer Satisfaction and Experience, and Hotel Prices**\ We can admit the fact that technology plays a very significant role in all the industries today. Massive and continuous in technology have brought a change in the playing field, especially in the innovations and developments accommodation sector. The integration of social media platforms and review elt has created a huge influence on consumer behavior. For example, a Facebook post that bears a certain name of a hotel can make people talk about it. A simple negative review of hotel facilities in TripAdvisor can result in some turn-away guests. Another issue involving this massive technological shift is the introduction of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is a way to make a website and brands relevant on the commonly used search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others. The technological shift also brought the integration of AI, VR, and AR to our doorsteps. The advent of the 4th IR has paved the way to a collaborative environment between organic hotel employees as well as the new technologies to better serve the guests.\ \ **Increasing Hotel Options Means Lesser Hotel Brand Loyalty**\ The competition in the hotel sector becomes stiffer as major international hotel chains expand their operations on the local scene. The options of the travelers have increased, resulting in a dwindling figure in the aspect of hotel brand loyalty. As business professionals always say, \"It is easier to sell your products to a returning customer rather than to convince a new customer to buy your products for the first time.\" Hotel brand loyalty is a key ingredient in the success of the hotel business In terms of repeat purchases. Repeat customers are easier to handle and impress since these types of guests already have prior knowledge of your property.Their expectations are almost at par with the service that you can deliver. So, with the increasing number of hotel options, the risk of maintaining a good number of hotel patrons seems to be a tough challenge for hoteliers these days. **OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GLOBAL ACCOMMODATION AND LODGING SECTOR**\ \ The future of the accommodation and lodging sector relies heavily on the current trends in the tourism and hospitality industry. As we have encountered in the year 2020, the challenges brought to the tourism and hospitality industry by the COVID-19 pandemic have severely affected the tourism statistics in all facets Based on the UNWTO 2020 report, a dramatic decline of -74% in global tourism arrivals has been recorded. Technically, it is the lowest recorded figure ever in the history of the industry. \ In terms of the regional impacts, the ASEAN region garnered the most decline in numbers of international visitors at -82% due to the strict travel protocols and closing of travel borders\ **\ Results by region, subregion, and country** **Results by country-grouping** With this in mind, the global accommodation and lodging sector has been under fire since the start of the year 2020. Hotels and other accommodation establishments must comply with international health and safety standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the national and local health and safety protocols where their property is located. This sudden shift in the business environment, as well as the operational requirements, has caused some of the hotels to reduce their operations, cut down costs, mass layoffs, and even file for bankruptcy. operations YTD(%)\ \ Hence, the future of the global accommodation and lodging sector can be summarized in three reasons:\ 1. Compliance with the "new normal" operations\ 2. Creating more effective marketing strategies to ensure the guests stay in the hotel\ 3. Integration of technology to augment customer service\ \ In this lesson, we discussed the different trends in the global accommodation scene, such as the importance of safety and hygiene in the hotel business, contactless payment systems, smart hotels, the integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), robotics in the hospitality, and digital guest experience and property review. These trends have shaped the accommodation sector of today. We also tackled the contemporary issues of the global accommodation sector wherein we dealt with green hotel business practices for sustainable accommodation, the emergence of global hoteliers, the shortage of employment in the sector, as well as the technological shift of hotel businesses. Apart from that, we also tackled the overview of the future of the accommodation sector from a global perspective. Though this, we were able to assess the needs of our industry in the coming years.