Employability industry. only a few hotels are

Employability and entreatment                                                                                                                                                                                       The hospitality industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries around the world.  The industry comprises of various sub-sectors which include the hotel sector, restaurant and resort. The tourism and hospitality industry is a sector that most countries around the world try to develop. The industry has been one of the major employers throughout the world. The hotel industry being a vital part of the wider hospitality industry occupies an important place in the economy of most countries, the industry has been forecasted to generate 555 billion U.

S dollars in revenue in 2016.  The hotel industry, being the most visible sector within the hospitality industry, is experi-encing a major setback that threatens the attractiveness of the sector to prospective investors. Even though various statistics shows that the industry has been growing at an astronomical rate, taking a closer look at these statistics, one will discover that the major growth in the industry can only be seen in the chain operated hotels and industry cooperate segments. Fur-thermore, the level of competitions within the hotel industry has increased so much in the recent decades, to the point that it poses a threat not only to new entrants into the industry but also to those companies that have been in the business for many years.

It is no longer a secret that many hotels are struggling to keep up with the level of competitions both within and outside the industry. Only a few hotels are able to sustain the pressure and make a profit in the long run. This has raised a fundamental questions such as what does the future hold for small and medium scale hotels? How can they make a sustainable profit in the industry?  A simple answer to these questions can be found in the latter part of this thesis. This research proposes to examine the role of marketing in hospitality settings, specifically in the hotel industry.

The aim of writing this thesis is to analyze the role which marketing plays in the development of hotel industry; the way marketing has changed the industry and how it can be used to further develop the industry and to create a positive brand image of a hotel in the minds of the customers.  This research addresses a number of questions which include (but are not limited to): How can marketing be used effectively and efficiently to promote a hotel as a brand? What arethe best marketing strategies to retain guests in a highly competitive market such as the hotel industry? What is the future of marketing in the hotel industry? It is common that every research project faces one or more limitations. In this respect, there is a high possibility that this research work might face some limitations, too.

These limita-tions include: subjectivity in opinions of the interviewee, interviewee not willing to give information about their business strategies which might be considered to be confidential to their company. However, effort has been made by the researcher to ensure that those limita-tions were overcome by: preparing documents which will prove the credibility of this re-search to the interviewees and also convince them that the information they provide during the interview will solely be used for the purpose of this research. Additionally, the fact that it is not possible for the researcher to be present in person to conduct some of the interviews is also a limitation to this study; however plans has been made to make sure that cordial relationship is established with the respondent in order to build trust prior to the date of the interviews.  Despite the variations in types of tourist accommodation from one country to another, the sector can be categorized into two broad categories under serviced and non-serviced tourist accommodation (Page 2009, 266; Cooper et al 2008, 343). A serviced tourist accommoda-tion is the type of accommodation that offers the guest with services ranging from cleaning, meals, bars to room services.

Additionally, people are usually onsite to provide the guests with such services and the price for the accommodation is often inclusive of the charges for the extra services, irrespective whether or not a guest uses the services. The serviced tourist accommodation dominated the industry before 1945 and examples include hotels, resorts, and bed and breakfast. On the other hand, the non-serviced tourist accommodation or self-catering accommodation as it is sometimes called is furnished just like the serviced accom-modation, they are made available to the guest on a renter basis.

The major differences be-tween the serviced and non-serviced accommodation is that in the latter additional services such as meals, bars and shops may be available onsite for a separate fee. Villas, chalets and cottages are perfect examples of the non-serviced tourist accommodation. (Middleton 2009, 364.)  As mentioned earlier, the hotel industry is one of the most important sectors in the tourism and hospitality industry. The World Tourism organization (UNWTO) stated that the globalnumber of hotel rooms has grown from 14 million to 17 million between 1997 to 2005 and the figure is expected to increase astronomically by the end of 2020. The growth in the hotel industry has been identified as one of the major facilitators in the development of Tourism and hospitality industry as a whole.

No wonder the governments of some countries give incentives to hotel developers and owners in order to further enhance their country’s tourism sector (Page 2009, 259). Of all the various types of accommodation available to the tourist, the hotel is the biggest and most visible sub-sector. It is usually viewed traditionally as an establishment which provides accommodation, food and beverage services on a pay basis to guests who are only for a short stay. However, the modern perception of a hotel is more complex than this due to the fact that not all of the hotels provide services such as food and beverages, at the same time, some hotels even offer additional services such as conference rooms to their guests. (Cooper et al. 2008, 343-346.)  At this point, due to the variations in what is considered to be a hotel in different countries, it is necessary to give a simple definition of a hotel in this research work.

Perhaps, the defi-nition proposed by the European Commission is suitable for this study. According to the Commission (Eurostat 2013) a hotel is a unit which provides stays for visitors, typically on a daily or weekly basis, principally for short stays. Furthermore, the Commission gives de-tails of services provided by such units to include daily cleaning and bed-making as well as offering food and beverages, parking, laundry services, recreational services to the guests.

It is also good to state here that