Editorial

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Editorial

No Abstract

Editorial

No Abstract

Skills, organisational performance and economic activity in the hospitality industry : a literature review

This monograph aims to understand the pressures which push organisations to adopt particular routes to competitive advantage. The monograph aims to discover if the best practice high skill, high wage and high quality route is used in the hospitality industry. It seeks to determine the influence of companies' product market strategies and their in-company and external structural factors on skills levels, work organisation, job design and people management systems. The monograph looked at the notion of best practice approaches and then moved on to consider the best way to carry forward the future research agenda of reviewing the nature of human resource management (HRM) in the hospitality sector. Conclusions were drawn from a range of interviews and from existing work which has sought to address the issue of HRM in the hospitality sector

What is the future of foreign food experiences?

This article considers the impact foreign food experiences can have on an individual. Food can be transported across the globe and be a catalyst for understanding and integration, but it can also be used to emphasise the “otherness” that sets people apart from those around them. This may lead them to “gaze” on foods they are unfamiliar with distaste, or with a desire to understand and appreciate new culinary experiences. Using groups of international students who are in a “host” country, a live research project was created where they were asked to discuss their experiences of “foreign” food since arriving in New Zealand. Through a series of focus groups held as part of a research methods class, researchers sought to understand how students perceive and respond to “strange food”. Five themes were identified: universal foods; great discoveries; things they will never like; benchmarking; and home foods. Apart from the value of involving students as co-creators in a live research project, this study noted the importance of food in hospitableness and feeling “at home”, and raised the students’ awareness of what it felt like to be confronted by strange experiences. It also discovered that while foreign food experiences can break down barriers in a global village, it can also serve to highlight, emphasise and reinforce a feeling of “otherness”.Keywords: food, foreign student, New Zealand, otherness, strange, word clou

Exploring the key components of a contemporary hospitality servicescape: Architecture, theology and community

This article aims to contribute to the theoretical understanding of the hospitality servicescape. Through this analysis this article makes  recommendations to managers on how they can set about creating a genuine sense of welcome and hospitality in a contemporary setting. It uses a case study of Jabixhûs, a “prayer house” in the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden to investigate how religious convictions can blend with architectural expertise and a lifetime love of hosting “the other” to create a hospitable space where people can share experiences. The location of  Jabixhûs on the actual historical pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela and socially within the community in Leeuwarden provides a combination of influences on the religious hospitality experiences offered. As well as extensive observations, a phenomenological interview was conducted with its owners, designers and operators, supplemented by feedback posted on the accommodation’s Airbnb listing. The three theoretical servicescape-related themes identified are the provision of hospitality through architecture, theology and community. Management recommendations include the suggestion that the closer personal motivations and the hospitality offering are aligned, the easier it is to deliver ameaningful experience. A clear and authentic hospitality servicescape can help to ensure that this occurs. Keywords: architecture, community, hospitableness, hospitality, religion, servicescape, theolog

Editorial

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Terrorism, rugby, and hospitality: she’ll be right

In 2011, international attention was focussed on New Zealand, host of the Rugby World Cup (RWC 2011), which brought 133,200 visitors to New Zealand over a three-month period. This exploratory study, undertaken before the event, investigates the attitudes of hotel managers and staff as they prepared to host spectators, rugby teams, and media personnel. The aim of the study was to determine preparedness for an attack, and assess attitudes and approaches to risk management in relation to terrorism. Interview data collected from senior hospitality managers revealed a distinctly laissez faire approach to security, which is partly explained by Hofstede's (1984) low uncertainty avoidance category for New Zealand. This attitude is reputedly common in New Zealand, where it is proudly expressed as 'she'll be right'. It is hoped that this study will bring attention to the weak security measures in New Zealand, which would have been insufficient protection for life and property, had a serious terrorist attack been planned