Hospitality Segments Business Tools and Systems PDF

**FOOD AND BEVERAGE** - The **food and beverage sector** grew out of simple origins: as people travelled from their homes, going about their business, they often had a need or desire to eat or drink. - Others were encouraged to meet this demand by supplying food and drink. - As...

**FOOD AND BEVERAGE** - The **food and beverage sector** grew out of simple origins: as people travelled from their homes, going about their business, they often had a need or desire to eat or drink. - Others were encouraged to meet this demand by supplying food and drink. - As the interests of the public became more diverse, so too did the offerings of the food and beverage sector. **A. What is a Restaurant** - A restaurant is generally an establishment where the public may obtain meals or refreshments. - The term Restaurant has its origins in Paris, where one A. Boulanger started as a soup vendor in 1765. A sign on the door said "restaurant", referring to the restorative quality of the soups and broths served within. - Mr. Boulanger convinced them for the first time to leave their own personal kitchens and venture to this new form of dining called a "restaurant"; the French verb restaurer, meaning "to restore or refresh." - Restaurants now serve a larger role in society, they have become places of social contact, of discovering new cultures and tastes from far-away lands, of spending an evening with your loved ones, of clinching business deals over a glass of wine, and so forth. **A1. Restaurant Categorization Factors** 1. **Formality Spectrum** - The decor of a restaurant, along with how guests are expected to dress, determines how casual or upscale an eatery is. - Table service versus counter service and the attentiveness of the servers are also indicators. 2. **Price** - Restaurants fall under a price range of inexpensive to quite pricey. - Dollar signs denote the average price of a meal at its business listings, providing a convenient way to look at restaurant pricing - \$ inexpensive \$\$ moderately priced \$\$\$ pricey \$\$\$\$ priciest 3. **Food** a. **Type of Food.** Menus may be based on a cuisine from a certain region, or on specific types of food (i.e. pizzerias and steakhouses, or according to certain diets (like plant-based ones. b. **Quality of Ingredients.** Quality relates to what the ingredients are, where they're from, and how they are prepared. For example: (i) fresh, local, and organic ingredients vs. processed food made with preservatives, (ii) made-to-order, deliberate preparation process, or it may prepare large quantities quickly in bulk. c. **Presentation of Meals.** Some restaurants feature highly aesthetic dishes (with garnishes), whereas other restaurants utilize a more modest, simple presentation. Some restaurants only serve food in disposable take-out items and others serve on the finest dinnerware. **A2. Different Types of Restaurants** 1. **Fine Dining (\$\$\$-\$\$\$\$).** Most of the population might only visit high-end establishments for special occasions, such as an anniversary, birthday, or wedding. 2. **Casual Dining (\$\$).** The ambiance of casual dining restaurants varies greatly based on the brand and intended customer base, but most of them features are moderately-priced menus, table service, low-key atmosphere and/or unique décor. 3. **Contemporary Casual (\$\$).** These types of eateries are modern and trendy with a distinct brand. Many follow eco-friendly protocols and serve unique, healthy food options featuring fusion cuisine. 4. **Family Style (\$\$-\$\$\$\$).** Some family style restaurants only feature shareable platters. Other restaurants offer a family style option along with the option for individual dishes. B 5. **Fast casual restaurants (\$-\$\$)** cater to people looking for a quick bite that\'s healthier than fast food but more affordable than sit-down, casual restaurants. 6. **Fast Food (\$).** Characteristics shared by most fast food places include focus on quick service, counter service or drive-thru, usually a chain and serves standardized meals made of processed food, casual ambiance, and foods that are served in disposable items, like plastic containers, paper food trays, and to-go bowls. 7. **Café (\$-\$\$).** Whether you need a quick cup of coffee on your way to work or are catching up with an old friend, cafes provide a versatile space for different purposes. Aside from coffee, they also usually serve, tea, pastries, and small items for breakfast and lunch. 8. **Buffet (\$\$).** Buffets allow guests to customize their dining experience by providing an array of options to choose from. Some are referred to as \"All You Can Eat\" restaurants, and most feature a theme, such as buffets that specialize in Chinese or Indian food, etc. 9. **Pop-Up Restaurant (\$\$-\$\$\$).** A new trend that allows owners, chefs, and guests to try new food and restaurant concepts and creations. Some of the qualities of a pop-up food concept include: (i) Creative, contemporary concept, (ii) inclusion of counter service, food stand or food truck service, or full table service, and (iii) locations varies from shipping containers and old unused buildings to outdoor spaces and rooftop gardens. 10. **Ghost Restaurant (\$\$).** Ghost restaurants minimize overhead costs, so owners and chefs can focus on efficiency and developing quality culinary creations. They have more flexibility to alter their menus, as they don\'t need to change physical copies and only need to update their online websites. **B. Bar and Beverages** - Bar is defined as a counter where goods and services of a specified kind are sold and dispensed. - Specifically, in hospitality industry, it is defined as a counter where food and/or beverages are sold. - However, in food and beverage business, the term \'bar\' invariably means the beverage bars - particularly the ones that serve alcohol. **C. Why Implement Technology in Restaurants?** 1. Customer feedback. 2. Efficiency 3. Cost cutting Examples of How Technology Helps Restaurants Grow a. **Branded Mobile Apps**. - Every restaurant tech in the Digital Age is, in some way, impacted or improved by the introduction of a branded mobile app. - Mobile apps offer the opportunity for a restaurant to: - A new, convenient channel for customers to place online orders for pickup or delivery. - New payment options that allow customers to pay with their mobile device, instead of their wallet. - Reserve a table without having to place a call. - Improve client retention and diner frequency with app-based loyalty programs b. **Social Media Analytics.** The more you can learn about customer's behaviors and how they interact with your brand or restaurant, the better you can strengthen the customer relationship and help cultivate more hyper-loyal eaters. Then, it's up to your food to do the talking. **D. Application: Back-Of-The-House Technology** - The kitchen, or back of house (BOH), is another area of the restaurant that utilizes technology to improve efficiencies and create innovative dishes. - Back of house operations are half of the recipe for a successful restaurant operation. - There are tools for the way ingredients are handled all the way from when they are received to when they reach a guest's plate. - It consists of product management systems and kitchen display systems. a. **Product Management Systems** - for purchasing, managing inventories, menu management, controlling labor and other costs, tip reporting, food and beverage cost percentages, human resources, and financial reporting. b. The **Kitchen Display System (KDS)** is another technology that is used to track how long it takes for menu items to be prepared, and can also organize kitchen flows. **E. Application: Front-Of-The-House Technology** a. **Point of sale systems** are systems that enable the business transaction between the client and the company to be completed. POS system is a computerized network that consists of the main computer linked with several checkout terminals and supported by different hardware features starting from barcode scanners and ending with card payment terminals. PMS/RIS: \| POS-KDS: **TRAVEL AND TOURISM** - The term travel originates from the Old French word **travail** which meant heavy labor. Travel refers to the movement of people or objects such as airplanes, boats, trains and other conveyances between various distant geographical locations. - Another etymology for the word tour as suggested by Theobald in 1994 is that it is derived from the Latin, \'tornare\' and the Greek, \'tornos\', meaning \'a lathe or circle and the movement around a central point or axis\'. - Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A. **Components of Tourism Industry** 1. **Travel Agent.** A travel agent provides information to the people on various travel destinations, advises them of available holiday packages to suit their tastes and budget and chart their travel plan. He would generally sell the travel associated products like currency exchange, car rentals, insurance etc. 2. **Tour Operators.** These tour operators may be the wholesale operators who operate tours only through retail travel agencies or they may be direct sell operators who market their product directly to the public. a. Accommodation (hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses) b. Travel services (airport pick and drop, sightseeing, excursions etc.) c. Transportation (by rail, road, air, etc) 3. **Lodging and Catering.** These components consist of (a) those who provide accommodation to the people in the form of hotels, resorts, apartments, camps, guest houses etc., and (b) service providers who take care of the catering needs of the people. 4. **Various Kinds of Transport.** Transport providers are those operating any major form of transport (airlines, cruise lines, car rentals, and rail companies). A tourist's choice of transport would depend on the travel budget, destination, time, purpose of the tour, and convenience to the point of destination. 5. **Information & Guiding**. The tourist information and guidance providers include a number of service providers such as those offering insurance, recreational, communication, and banking services; government agencies; tour guides; industry associations; packaging agents; ticketing agents; and holiday sellers. 6. **Tourist Attractions.** The principle of attraction is to establish the need for the attraction in a particular location to invite more footfall. It may be a huge theme park, a museum, a gallery, a heritage building, an educational center etc. B. **Technology in the Tourism Industry** 1. **Mobile Technology.** The cell phone has become our tour guide, travel agency, best restaurant locator, map, and more. It\'s by our side during the entire purchase journey. This way, the user has all the pertinent information about their trip in the palm of their hand using an app that they already use. 2. **Augmented Reality.** Through augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), it's possible to "teleport" ourselves to the most remote corners of the globe without getting off the couch. I.e.: o the Great Wall of China, Mt. Everest, Grand Canyon. 3. **Internet of Things (IoT).** They include integrating sensors connected to the Internet inside items like cars, suitcases, buildings, and more. 4. **Virtual Assistants.** AI-powered virtual assistant creates an interactive and personalized experience for consumers and, through which, firms can employ and adapt to their needs. 5. **Big Data.** Big data describes large and diverse datasets that are huge in volume and also rapidly grow in size over time. Big data is used in advanced analytics to solve business problems and make informed decisions. This way, they make a better segmentation for their campaigns to increase their efficacy and optimize the investment required for these campaigns. C. **Application: Systems Used in Travel and Tourism Industry** - **History and Evolution** - Before the development of CRS, tourists had to depend on the information provided by suppliers through printed brochures, flyers and listings in local and regional travel guides. - A traveler who wanted to book a flight would go to an airline or a travel agent, who would find a file with the flight's availability and physically check off a seat on a card. - As airline operations ramped up, it was nearly impossible to scale this system. - Furthermore, the promotional materials were costly, labor-intensive and information remained static when the data needed to be changed frequently. - **Thus, the birth of CRS.** Through the partnership of American Airlines and IBM using technology originally designed for the US Air Force to coordinate flight operations, they created SABRE (Semi-Automated Business Research Environment). - Other airlines followed with United Airlines, which eventually led for their computer systems to be sold to different travel agents/cies. - The rise of CRS not only paved way into a complex market: hotels, in particular, saw the opportunity to also increase their global reach and sell more bookings as a result. - To adapt to the changing consumer and stakeholders' needs, the CRS later evolved into what was now known as the Global Distribution System. a. **Computer Reservation System** - Computer reservation system (CRS) is probably the most widely used technological tool in the tourism industry. - It is basically an electronic system used to promote sales and provide fast and accurate information about availability, price, and bookings of products and services. - It was originally designed and employed by airlines for flight ticket reservation, but nowadays CRS is used to store and distribute information about tourism products and services to the public either directly or through intermediaries, which also allows reservations to be made (Beaver 2005). - The **main objective** of the integrated global CRS has been to make a complete one-stop service possible. b. **GDS** - A global distribution system (GDS) is a network, which allows travel agents to access hotel inventories and sell rooms to their clients. - For those in the hotel industry, this functions as an important method for distribution, allowing access to a wider customer base. - A GDS is a worldwide conduit between travel bookers and suppliers, such as hotels and other accommodation providers, as it communicates live product, price and availability data to travel agents and online booking engines, and allows for automated transactions. Big Data: **HOTEL (FRONT OFFICE MANAGEMENT)** - The front office is also known as the face of the hotel. It is the first guest contact area and also the nerve center of the hotel. - All the activities and areas of the front office are geared towards supporting guest transaction and services. - The front office is also called the nerve center of a hotel. - As this department is located around the foyer area of the hotel and is visible to the guests, patrons and visitors, they are collectively called "Front Office". - Should guests have any problems or require to appreciate or comment, they would normally go directly to the Front Office, because it is convenient to contact and converse with other departments. - It involves in providing valuable services to the guests during the entire **guest cycle** consisting of a. Pre-arrival b. Arrival c. Occupancy; and d. Departure - This department is one of the major operational and revenue-producing departments of the hotel which generates two-thirds of the revenue earned by a hotel from the sale of the guest rooms. The operational function of the Front Office Department: a. **Guest Registration:** Does all guest registration-related activities like Check-in, room assignment, welcoming, room rate etc. b. **Guest Service:** Fulfills any Guest Services related activities. c. **Guest History and records:** Creates and maintains a guest profile, history, likes and dislikes, collect feedback etc. d. **Guest Database:** Develops & maintains a Comprehensive Database of Guest Information e. **Updates Room Status:** responsible to update the correct room status like CI, CO, DNCO, DND etc. f. **Reservation:** This section is responsible in registering the room reservation from various sources, with recordings, filing of reservation records, and revise on the appropriate time to make sure that guests would have their rooms upon entering the hotel. g. **Postage and Parcels:** This section is to facilitate guests pertaining to the posting of letters, telegrams, and parcels. h. **Telephone:** This section is to facilitate guests pertaining to the telephone both internally and externally, and to wake guests up in the morning upon request. i. **Finance and Foreign Exchange:** This section relates with the Accounting Department, through the collection from guests through their services, and also give the foreign exchange service. j. **Inquiry:** This section is to answer questions and inquiries of guests. Therefore, this section would have to be alert with all the movements of the hotel. k. **Bell Desk and Concierge:** Provide all services related to Bell desk and Concierge.