Step 1: On-Site
For this assignment, you will visit a hospitality site alone and experience the site for one and four hours as a guest.
Choose TWO the following three options: Hotel lobby, restaurant
Hotel Lobby:
Think about which hotel you might visit and your reason for doing so. Do not go to a hotel with which you are already familiar (you work there or have spent considerable time there).
Consider what you wear and how it will affect your presence to others.
Sit for half an hour doing nothing, just relaxing.
Go to the front desk or concierge and request a brochure for the hotel. Return to your seat for the remainder of the time.
During your experience, take in as much as you can of the atmosphere and ambiance.
Reflect:
What stands out to you as you relax in the lobby area?
What is the function of the lobby? Is it of value?
How were you regarded and treated by hotel personnel and other guests?
What would you say about this establishment’s service ethic?
Did you notice any differences in service based on the type of guests?
Table Service Restaurant:
Select a restaurant unfamiliar to you where you can go alone for about an hour. Order whatever your budget allows. Do not read or use your cell phone. Again, take in the experience. Be conscious of how you feel and why. Do not write about feeling lonely! You are observing the service operation of a restaurant. Be sensitive to your experience as a guest: be observant!
How was the service, and how did you react or behave?
How similar do you think the experience of other guests is to yours? Why?
How were you regarded and treated by the restaurant personnel and other guests?
What would you say about this establishment’s service ethic?
Did you notice any differences in service based on the type of guests?
Step 2: Document Observations
Take field notes immediately after your experience as a guest.
Step 3: Write Your Paper
Write your paper later, using the field notes as reference materials. You will need to address the criteria below. You should describe your experience as it happened and in the first person only: “I felt”…”I found myself wondering”…”I worried that”…”I think they should have”. Be sure to reflect on all that you learned about being the guest in the setting experienced. Use past tense when you write.
Criteria:
You address how global issues and systems are experienced differently at local scales in the hospitality and tourism industry.
These could include differences in service standards, etiquette and accepted behavior, clientele, target market, etc., based on the hospitality operation (chain vs. independently owned, American vs. ethnic),
You compare how these global issues and systems are experienced at different scales in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Additionally, these may include diversity representation (gender, age, ethnicity, etc.).
Reflect on all that you learned about being the guest in the setting experienced.
Reflection and Suggestions
Please provide your reflection, your major takeaways, gaps you identified, and suggestions to resolve these gaps or actions you would want to have taken if you had the opportunity to do so. For example:
Did you find any product or service gaps based on the type of hospitality organization or the type of guests?
What would you do differently as a manager to address these gaps?
Requirements:
This paper will be well composed; typed, a minimum of three full pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins all around, with no misspellings, grammatically correct, and using 12-point font.
Cover Page: A cover page will be used to give details, including (as appropriate)
the title of your experience (be creative!)
location
date of the experience
your name,
submission date