Personal Reflection on the Hospitality Industry and Future Career Plans

¶ … Hospitality Industry

The economy is made of three major sectors with varying economic activities i.e. agricultural, manufacturing, and service industries. The service industry differs from agricultural and manufacturing sector given that it's a tertiary segment that offers intangible products, which contributes to its consideration as a soft part of the economy. As the name suggests, the service industry basically deals with activities relating to production of services (intangible goods) instead of end products (tangible goods). Services are not only provided to customers but also offered to other businesses depending on the nature of their operations and business needs. Given the broad nature of service, this industry consists of numerous segments including entertainment, hospitality or tourism, public health, education, financial services, information technology, consulting, mass media, waste disposal, professional services, and retail sales. These different segments are some of the major examples of service sector industries, which is very wide because of variations in business and consumer needs.

The segment that I wouldn't consider in the service industry is financial services sector, which includes banking, investment management, and insurance. The financial services segment entails provision of economic services by the finance industry or businesses whose main task is to manage money and all financial-related aspects. This segment in the service industry is not attractive to me because of its complex nature given that financial transactions are usually complicated, especially when handling huge amounts of money. Moreover, it requires a high level of knowledge, which is a major hindrance for starters.

One of the segments in the service industry that is most appealing to me is the hospitality industry, which is much broad as compared to other industries. The attractiveness of the hospitality industry is because it focuses on customer satisfaction ("What is the Hospitality Industry?" n.d.). Even though all businesses focus on customers, the hospitality industry entirely depends on satisfying customers by making them happy. The extreme focus of this sector on customer satisfaction and happiness is because it's based on offering luxury services. Therefore, one of the defining aspects of the hospitality industry is its dependence entirely on customers' happiness and satisfaction.

The second defining aspect of the hospitality sector is dependence on disposable income and leisure time. As a result of this, most of the businesses in the hospitality industry are established for wealthy patrons and tourists. However, in case of recession or decrease in disposable income these businesses are negatively affected because customers don't have additional money to enjoy services provided by the hospitality industry. Third, the hospitality sector relies on themes to attract customers since that's how businesses distinguish themselves. The use of themes enables customers to make decisions regarding the level of each business and determine brand loyalty ("What Exactly is the Hospitality Industry?" n.d.). Actually, brand loyalty is more important to business in the hospitality industry because excellent customer service is the key to developing a huge customer base in light of the increased competition.