The Current Status of the Hospitality Industry
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In the past few decades, the hospitality industry has been going through immense developments under globalization’s effects on the world. The hospitality industry has played a significant role in promoting the well-being of the economy as it has offered employment opportunities to millions of people worldwide. This essay discusses the history and the current status of the hospitality industry under the changing global environment.
Globalization has led to the growth of this industry to a higher and improved level in customer service in the world. Market integration has led to the advancement of the hospitality industry. This industry is one of the world’s highest income-earning sectors due to the flocking number of customers. The hospitality industry has aimed to offer its customers the best experience in luxury since they provide home experiences away from home to their customers. This industry covers a wide range in the world from transport to accommodation to their customers. As compared to the hospitality activities in history, technological advancements have led to the growth of this industry, which has boosted its income rate. This growth in the sector occurred due to the industrial revolution in the world, which changed almost everything, and all the services are now offered using modern technology. Technology has enabled the industry to adopt new approaches to dealing with the dynamic changes in the business environment, which has promoted the attainment of its success.
However, the influx of Covid-19 has brought a lot of changes in this industry. The industry has been impacted negatively, and this has slowed and weakened the performance of the sector. According to the Marriot case study in 2020, the industry has incurred many losses compared to the previous years. The hospitality industry’s rate of income is said to have dropped drastically after the influx of Covid-19. For instance, in the 3rd quarter of the 2020 results, Marriott’s report indicated a loss of $355 between 2019 & 2020 in the operating income and a $287 loss in the net income between 2019 & 2020. There was an addition of 127 properties by the lodging department worldwide in the company to meet the health measures, and more others are still under construction. The hospitality industry’s addition of these properties ensures that the strict standards to prevent the spread of Covid-19, such as providing social-distancing, were adhered to.
The company has ensured an increase in the number of rooms in the hotels to meet the World Health Organization requirements and curb the spread of Covid-19. An improvement has been recorded in the third quarter of the Marriot 2020 results as most of the companies have been recovering slowly. Since the industry’s future is unpredictable as far as Covid-19 is concerned, the industry is working hard to ensure the growth is in progress through restructuring the company to meet the health requirements. The sector is also aimed at maximization of profits and minimization of the operating costs since the influx of Covid-19 is regarded as a low-income environment.
To ensure a balanced flow of income in the industry, all the company’s share purchases were halted, and at the beginning of the second quarter in February 2020, all the quarterly dividends were suspended. Due to the unpredictable changes associated with Covid-19 in the future, Marriot research cannot predict the hospitality industry’s fate. Still, everyone hopes that the negative impacts of Covid-19 on the company’s operations will drop in the future.