This work addresses the different conceptions and criteria that support the effect of hospitality as a basic factor for tourism entities, aimed at achieving the effectiveness and efficiency of tourism management and a quality service that satisfies the customer.
For its preparation, a bibliographic study of updated sources and recognized authors on this increasingly important topic was carried out to ensure the coordination of individual efforts to achieve business objectives and excellence in tourism services.
Development
1. Hospitality background. Origin of the term.
For millennia, man lived in caves. The first houses he built were huts or tents made with skins, tree branches, and other vegetables. In the war expeditions these same techniques were used to shelter the troops on their journeys and during long sieges.
The origin and history of hospitality is of great interest and fascinating. The origin of this is not the needs of commerce and transport in ancient times, but that, before the mercantile expeditions arose, there were already war expeditions, fences and sites to the enemy cities to conquer.
As long as it is correct to think that war preceded trade, we can suppose that the first solutions to the problem of satisfying the needs of eating, drinking, and resting while on the move must have been provided by the military leaders of the earliest times.
Troop movements were very slow in the past, the march was made at no more than four or five km / hour. The troops needed months and even years to approach their war objective.
During such long periods of time it was necessary to solve problems of overnight stays, food and occupation in the inactivity of a large number of warriors, many of them mercenaries. The solution consisted in the installation of camps, true temporary cities built with light materials, in which kitchens, dining rooms, urinals, first-aid kits, surveillance bodies and even, in certain cases, means of distraction to make the wait more bearable. until the moment was ripe for the attack.
We can, therefore, consider as the first form of traveling hospitality the car produced by those in charge of the quartermaster at the service of military expeditions.
Merchant expeditions, with fewer members than the military, must have imitated these forms of itinerant hospitality. The subsequent generalization of trade led to the appearance of commercial hospitality services in the same cities visited, whether transit or destination.
In the most remote antiquity there were no accommodations open to the public in the modern sense that offered accommodation to travelers in exchange for the stipulated price to foreigners, hospitality was offered in a generalized way as it was a social obligation and a public tax imposed on the subjects. Those who made a trip abroad were not sure of finding a pleasant reception. Foreigners were received at the establishment and, upon leaving, were asked the name, permanent address and purpose of the stay.
The rulers took care of providing support facilities for travelers both on the roads and in the inhabited nuclei, in which minimum conditions of food, overnight stay and protection were provided. Many of these facilities were, at times, mere sheds on the outskirts of the villages.
In support of caravans, hospitality services known as caravansary, caravansar or caravantserai have been developed since ancient times, facilities financed by the rulers and designed to accommodate large numbers of people in transit, they were large buildings with a single door, rectangular in shape and closed on themselves that left a playpen in the center for the beasts.
During the dark centuries that passed in Europe until the dawn of the Renaissance, it can be said that the only offer of hospitality services was that which came from the Christian monasteries. These religious services responded to a pious practice recommended by the monotheistic, Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan religions, and were sufficient to meet the low demand that existed for several centuries. The nobles were able to continue to receive the hospitality of their peers, as in the past, as well as the high ecclesiastical hierarchies. For their part, the monks and the lower clergy took refuge in the hospitality of the monasteries, available also for the few lay people who dared to move from one country to another.
The low demand for hospitality services that existed during the Middle Ages was met by the supply of non-profit institutions. The demand did not justify the opening of private establishments dedicated to offering hospitality services.
According to its etymology, hospitality derives from the Latin hospitalitas, that is, a virtue that is performed on pilgrims, needy and destitute, collecting them and providing due assistance to their needs.
The term hospitality owes much to the Romans. Derived from the Latin hospitium, related words: inn, hostelry, hotel, guest.
Hospitality: (From lat. Hospitalĭtas, -ātis). F. Virtue that is exercised by giving them due assistance in their needs. - 2. Good reception and welcome made to foreigners or visitors. - 3. Stay of the sick in the hospital.
Hospitality: That way of behaving, according to which we welcome strangers as if they were not. (Plain 2000)
Hospitality: Basic factor or foundation of tourism, quality and attitude of welcoming visitors kindly (Gallegos, 2002).
"There are many who know the concept but few who put it into practice." (Gallegos, 2002)
2. Scope of hospitality.
The old catechism of Christian doctrine speaks of feeding the hungry, drinking the thirsty, and lodging the pilgrim.
For thousands of years, man has had three ways to meet his needs to eat, drink, and sleep outside of his permanent residence:
- Carrying supplies (supplies or per diem) Accepting the hospitality of the peoples you encounter on your itinerary Appropriating (peacefully or violently) the resources you find
It is evident that in the past the needs for hospital services were satisfied with some combination of the three methods.
In this case and taking as reference the concept that hospitality as the way in which we welcome strangers as if they were not, hospitality creates a peculiar atmosphere whereby someone feels at home, as if they were in his, this is achieved by applying the principle of proximity: The alien becomes close.
Love and hospitality are words that become indispensable in colloquial language: love those who are hospitable and vice versa.
3. Tourism as a socioeconomic phenomenon and Hospitality.
The progressive increase in demand brought about by the revival of the economy that followed the great discoveries of the 16th century, sparked a growing interest on the part of private initiative.
Sales and inns arose on the busiest routes, which were also those that received the first attention to improve them by the rulers.
The development of a relatively dense network of hostels, inns and hotels in small and large cities began. The most famous were the so-called posadas de postas, establishments that offered stagecoach passengers, walkers and knights services of rest, refreshments, overnight stays and food, as well as rent or change of saddle and stables and feed for the horses.
English inns (inns) appear at the end of the 17th century. They were commercial establishments dedicated to providing lodging services (lodging and food) to outsiders and they represented a notable advance. They offered individual rooms, which in its day was an invaluable contribution, and which, when generalized, set the threshold for quality. The term inn is used in England to form the expressions inns of Courts (London buildings owned by the four companies that appropriated the admission rights of those who aspired to practice law) and inns of Chancery (also London buildings that were used as a residence of law students managed by authorized companies).
In both cases it was a question of lodging integrated in institutions related to education, similar to the teaching boarding schools and the so-called Major Colleges in Spain. The English inns are the most advanced model of the artisan period of the inn and a precedent of the hotel model that developed in France at the end of the 18th century, which marked the birth of the 19th century hotel industry, imitated ad nauseam ever since in all the countries of the world, become a universal archetype.
The new accommodations were inspired, in part, by the English model of the inns, and were often located in port cities, serving the needs arising from the development of maritime transport.
Compared to the previous model, modern accommodation was no longer integrated or inspired by modest urban family dwellings and adopted the model of the luxurious palaces of the French aristocracy. Hôtel is the name given to luxury mansions in France. Hôtel de Ville is called in France the Town Hall. The French Revolution had caused the flight of the aristocrats and the abandonment of their mansions. The entrepreneurial bourgeoisie soon acquired them to dedicate them to their own housing, if they could, or to the provision of luxury hospital services, aimed precisely at royalty, the residual aristocracy and the emerging high bourgeoisie. The term hotel became universal, lost its original meaning and was reserved to designate luxury accommodation.
Until then, accommodation services were provided by untrained personnel and in makeshift facilities. With the appearance of the hotel, we enter a stage characterized by the provision of food and accommodation services through modern commercial companies, in which new commercial services are continuously integrated and offered to guests. Although in the first moments many of them remained in family hands, they soon passed to those of powerful and dynamic joint-stock companies, many of them transnational in nature.
But the increased traffic of foreigners in certain places brought with it a growing demand and hospitality was transformed into services that could be provided for a price. Eating, drinking and sleeping are biological needs that humans have to satisfy regardless of where they are. This does not make the term hospitality lose its meaning and the emergence of tourism as a socio-economic phenomenon makes hospitality inseparable from tourism.
There is nothing that better represents the mission and purpose of the hotel business than hospitality, that is, the quality and attitude of welcoming visitors. This principle contains all the wisdom and knowledge that we can develop in relation to clients / guests.
Any technique or science applied to hotel management is useless if we do not get everyone into the habit of hospitality.
Nowadays when we talk about the problem of the poor quality of the services provided in the hotel industry, we could consider that if the origin of it is not in the ignorance of the meaning of the word hospitality, since many times efforts and resources are committed in magnificent facilities, in modern equipment or in decorations, but he forgets the most important thing, which is nothing more than being hospitable to those who choose us to enjoy a pleasant rest.
So we all have to follow the principle presented by an air advertisement: "We solve your problems, we commit ourselves personally, always close to you."
4. Hospitality in the different processes of Tourism.
The Tourism process begins from the decision to make a trip until the tourist returns to their habitual residence, in this process a group of entities are involved that will provide the visitor with all the services that it requires. It is important to consider that despite the fact that the origin of the term places hospitality only in accommodation and catering entities, hospitality cannot be revealed in entities linked only to the restoration and accommodation process.
Make the person feel good, it is not only the responsibility of the waitress or the gastronomic clerk, in an Information Agency you must also take into account elements related to good treatment, courtesy, respect.
The Tourist can reach the service provider through intermediaries and courtesy and respect should always prevail in this relationship. Even in non-traditional intermediation (the Infomediación); since the messages that are directed to the tourist must be conceived from the point of view that they are directed to human beings and that this should arrive showing towards them the greatest possible humanization of the process, not as the cold use of a computer resource.
5. Features that reflect hospitality in tourism
The tourism books include in the hospitality the courtesy and kindness in the treatment that the residents of a place give to outsiders. Turisperites often confer the virtues of courtesy and kindness on techniques to increase the flow of outsiders.
It is important to define which words can be that reflect hospitality in tourism at any stage of the tourism process.
Welcome Welcome: relaxed and smiling expression of the recipient, kind words of welcome: It happens that not only does it not bother us, but we are very grateful for having chosen us.
Kindness: the right phrase at the right time, the right detail at the right time, looking into the customer's eyes.
Cozy atmosphere: the greeting as soon as you enter, natural plants, flowers, adequate temperature, lighting, natural light, presentable well-uniformed staff, appropriate decoration.
Warm Atmosphere: kind words of welcome, help from the entrance, questions to know your most immediate wishes.
Friendship: The client is a friend whom we respect, value and give the best of ourselves.
Host: We are happy to host our customers, and we welcome and treat them with affection and joy.
Individualized attention: Good morning, nice to see you again, Mr.…, right away Mrs.…, let me help you, we have prepared, as always, your room…
Help: the client always needs our help and we must provide it with generosity, professionalism and kindness. Let us remember "I accompany you."
Kindness: very positive attitude to act with the client. Willingness to listen without misgivings.
Quality: Customer satisfaction upon arrival, during check-in and departure. "As I expected, I feel good."
Comfort: spaces, furniture, equipment and endowments designed, manufactured or made for the service to be provided. A comfortable chair, a mattress that allows you to rest, a room that does not suffocate, a pillow that does not cause a headache.
Share: We want to offer you the best of our facilities and of ourselves.
Understanding: put yourself in their shoes, practice empathy and it will be easier to understand the customer and their needs.
You know their name: our clients have names and surnames, we must know them and use it when we address them, they feel better.
Details: little things at the right time: a candy, a flower, a drink, a newspaper, a good pillow, a light to read comfortably.
Availability: always ready to assist you, it does not bother us, we are here to serve you.
Efficacy / efficiency: don't worry, we'll fix it for you right now, I'll send it to you with the waitress. The luggage is already in your room.
Environment: what surrounds me pleases me, nothing out of tune.
Care: everything arranged, clean, shiny and orderly.
Familiarity: serve the customer in a relaxed way. Make it feel like home. Apply small doses of familiarity that make you feel comfortable, safe and confident.
Loyalty: you have to be loyal to your customers, they trust us.
Generosity: We are pleased to offer you a drink in our bar. Today, we are pleased that you are staying in the suite. I would like to invite you and your family next weekend.
Gratitude: The car problem was solved quickly, the doctor came and took care of us right away.
Honesty: we give you the best at the right price. Yes, we have the room you want. Today you can take advantage of this discount.
Guest: Our client is our guest, he is a guest that we receive in our home.
Information: the restaurant closes… if you need… you will find it… in…, from… we will serve breakfast.
Freedom for the client: feel at home, we are only interested in what you want us to be interested in, we are aware of you, but you do not realize it.
Do not overwhelm: do not harass, do not press, do not know more, let him feel calm.
Nostalgia: how kind they were, how well they took care of us, we will return.
Patience: the client can be tiresome, he may be constantly asking, he may want to be attended to quickly, to have his room changed 3 times, you have to be patient, our mission is Hospitality.
Professionalism: Training, attitudes, company culture, knowing how to say, knowing how: Without professionalism, hospitality will always lack guidelines.
Speed: After checking in, when I get to the room I already have my luggage… When I call the reception, they immediately answer… They have not taken 15 minutes to serve me breakfast… I have asked for the amount and they have delivered it instantly.
Responsiveness: always ready for customer requests or suggestions.
Respect: the customer is always Sir or Madam, this is the dividing line. What we like does not have to please her.
Responsibility: do not worry, we will take care of…, I beg your pardon, we were wrong, but we will congratulate you…
Security: tranquility, confidence like at home, do not worry about your rest.
Simplicity: express yourself in simple words, do not use professional jargon that the client is not interested in. Good morning sir, we can help you, the hotel is full but we will provide you with a room in another very close.
Sympathy: cheerful expression, words that reflect trust, affectionate and respectful attitude, simplicity of speech, cordiality, jovial tone that makes communication easier.
Solidarity: the client arrives tired, has problems, did not reserve a room and the hotel is full. Practice empathy and offer as much support as possible.
Conclusions
In order to talk about Tourism, hospitality must be applied to its fullest extent, because otherwise, as Gallegos affirms, in Hotel Management a new vision, we would talk about planting a tree without fertilizer, which could grow and survive, but which will never come to receive the respect and admiration of your customers and you will run the risk of being forgotten.
Bibliography
• Álvarez Cedena, JL (2001) The birth of modern tourism. Conocer Magazine (Mexico) No. 2. P. 6 - 12.
• Ayala Castro, Héctor y Col. (2002) Operations and Production Processes and Services in Tourism. Notes. Master in Tourism Management. School of Higher Studies in Hospitality and Tourism. CETUR- UH. Havana, July 2002
• J. Norval (1936) The Tourist Industry. Translation by Francisco Muñoz de Escalona (2004). Edited by eumed • net
• Muñoz de Escalona, Francisco (2004): Autopsy of Tourism: The expiration of the distance. Edited by eumed • net
• Gallegos, Jesús Felipe (2002). Hotel management. A new vision. Madrid. Spain: Thomson Editores Spain Paraninfo, SA
• Valdés Castillo, Idania, Gómez Fernández, Miriam (2006). Hospitality Dossier. Havana: School of Higher Studies in Hospitality and Tourism.
