Restaurants Expect Growth in 2011

The restaurant industry is expected to post a positive growth in 2011 after a three-year period of negative growth. According to the National Restaurant Association, industry sales are projected to increase about 3.6 percent over 2010 sales (1.1 percent when adjusted for inflation). The restaurant industry seems to rise and fall with the stock market, and as the economy is slowly improving, so is the restaurant industry. Quickservice restaurants are expected to see a slightly higher increase in sales than fullservice restaurants. Restaurant industry job growth is also expected to surpass national job growth, adding jobs at 2.4 percent while the national economy is projected to have a 1.8 percent growth. The three companies the have the best relative performance in the market right now are Wendy's/Arby's group, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Starbucks.

For more info, visit:
http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/pressrelease/?ID=2039
and
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ%3AWEN

The Recession's Effect on the Hospitality Industry

The 2008-2009 recession hit every industry around the world very hard. One of the most affected industries, however, was the hospitality and restaurant industry. Before the recession, oil prices were at a all time high, and hotels and travel companies had already started to see a significant decrease in travel and tourism. When the stock market crashed, millions of Americans lost big investments or life savings. At the same time, the housing market collapsed and many homes in America were in foreclosure. Banks were not giving out loans or credit, so discretionary spending plummeted and consumers weren't traveling anywhere. Because Americans had no money to spend, they also were not eating out as often as they might be, so restaurants saw a decline in customers as well. The end of 2008 and all of 2009 was a very difficult time for the hotel and restaurant industry. It has only been since the end of 2010 that this industry has started to see a turn around in it's balance sheets. Consumers are slowly starting to gain confidence in the market once again, and there has been growth in the HRL industry. Nothing is stable yet by any means, but if the stock market continues to grow and Americans increase their spending, this industry will see some large growth .

For more info, visit:
http://digitalcommons.library.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1565&context=thesesdissertations&sei-redir=1#search=%22recession+effects+on+hospitality%22redir=1#search=%22recession+effects+on+hospitality%22

McDonald's Analyst

In the restaurant industry, specifically McDonald’s, analysts found that MCD’s earnings
in Europe were better than expected, however they were slightly below expectations in the US.
McDonald’s is said to be the best positioned played in the quick-service restaurant segment to
gain market share because it has significant market power. Many analysts are saying “BUY”
to HRL stocks because they have been seeing increases as of the past quarters. The main driver
of growth in this industry is consumer spending. Across the board, consumer spending has
increased in hotels, restaurants, and cruise lines because consumers are now more optimistic and
willing to spend money on vacations and luxury goods.

POSTED BY: KATERINA ARGYROU

Competitive Advantage

Every firm tries to have a competitive advantage but not all achieve this. Many of them do not really understand what competitive advantage is or how to achieve it. A competitive advantage in a Hotel company can be achieved by offering the consumer a better value than other competitive hotels by for example lowering their prices or providing quality services that competitors do not have. A strong competitive advantage can hardly be imitated by other competitive firms.

Competitive advantage can be created if a hotel for example has an activity that creates superior value above its competitors. Companies can differentiate themselves also by the service they offer, products, image, quality and innovations.

                 From my informational interview, Mr. Koulouvatos, told me that Hotel companies differentiate themselves using quality of products as their first priority. On top of the general categorization by stars, hotels even within the same star segment may differ in the level of service offered. Another difference might be in the product itself. Some hotels sell room only whereas others sell all inclusive packages where the guest does not have to pay for any out of pocket expenses. As Mr. Koulouvatos claimed “Obviously, proper marketing that leads to proper pricing is probably the most important factor in promoting our product.”

 POSTED BY: Katerina Argyrou (The blog I could not post last week and I sent by e-mail to Jess.)

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Bun-Comp/Competitive-Advantage.html http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Bun-Comp/Competitive-Advantage.html

Profit & Loss

What one needs to do in his business is control the number of sales the last 3 years and compare them with each other. The most important year is the present year but one need to examine the 2 years before to see if the company is going better or worse, has increased profits or not. If sales are higher the present year the company is safe.

What one needs to do after is to determine the cost the business has. Examples of these costs are licenses, loan amounts, food costs (for hotels), employers for restaurants and hotels etc.

Everything a business pay (hotels, restaurants) depends on their profits. If their profits are high their costs will increase as the company has more money to spend.

POSTED BY: Katerina Argyros

More info: http://hubpages.com/hub/Restaurant-Profit-Percentage

UK's Global Marketing Campaign

UK tourist authority, VisitBritain has predicted that over 300,000 tourists will visit the country in 2011, not only because of the pending wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, but because of economic recovery as well. They are planning to launch a global marketing campaign to promote the UK through the royal wedding, and will specifically target the US, one of Britain's most important markets. VisitBritain is not only planning on publicizing London, but also places like St. Andrews and Anglesey. These are places where the couple has met, spent time, and may be staying in the early stage of their marriage. If this isn't enough to attract photo-crazed tourists, the tourist authority believes that it will still attract tourists to the country later in the year due to the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games. They did not, however, provide any figures for how much the marketing campaign would cost. 

The UK has lost ground on American visitors in recent years, and tourism in general is still below its pre-recession levels. About 3 million more tourists came to the UK in 2006 than they did in 2010, and as the country's fifth-largest industry, tourism is a crucial part for the UK's economic survival. I feel that this marketing campaign is a very good plan for the UK to have, and the royal wedding paired with the 2012 Olympics seems to be exactly what Britain needs to put its tourism market over the top.

For more information, visit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703548604576037631066642992.html?mod=WSJ_Hospitality_leftHeadlines

Informational Interview on a Local Family Diner

For my informational interview, I met with Dora Wisniewski, the owner and manager of Tom’s Family Restaurant, a family-owned diner in Buffalo, NY. As the owner and manager at Tom’s, Dora is responsible for “…a little bit of everything.” She is usually working “on the floor”, where she will greet and seat people. She is constantly communicating with and coordinating employees, whether she is hiring and training a new girl or trying to fill a shift when someone has called in saying they couldn’t work their scheduled time. She also has to check inventory, and once a week she orders from different companies for food, paper products, and cleaning supplies. In Dora’s opinion, this is the main goal of the restaurant industry; customer satisfaction and retention.

            I found that it is not easy managing a restaurant. Even if Dora is not working, she is always “on-call”, because anything could happen at the restaurant even if she isn’t there. I asked her what her favorite part about her job is, and she told me that she likes being able to interact and work with different people all the time, and as a manager, she likes having responsibility and being able to influence her co-workers and customers in a positive way. 

classy hotels

Almost every industry has been affected by the economic downturn over the last couple years. In the hospitality industry, this has been obvious because much of the business comes from customers’ disposable income. One of the trends that has been influencing hotels, restaurants, and leisure is the demographic that they are now catering to. Wealthier families now compose a larger part of the consumer base than middle-class or poor families. In 2007 according to the 2010 Performance Monitor by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, 46 percent of all occupied hotel room nights were from guests in the under $75,000 income level. By 2010, this number decreased to 42 percent, while 11 percent of all hotel room nights in 2007 were from guests in the above $150,000 income level. This number increased to 14 percent in 2010. With this data in mind, companies need to figure out how to maximize revenues and attract different segments of the population. Advertising deals or discounts could attract more middle-class clients but another option is keeping prices high and trying to keep that upper-class clientele. This decision can by companies depending on revenue, location, and the companie’s purpose.

"Hip" Hotels Successful Despite Struggling Economy

            Over the past year, hotel companies have been some of the hardest hit businesses by the recent economic recession. However, despite the struggling economy, hotel companies have been competing to create a new generation of hotels, known as “lifestyle” or “boutique” hotels. The idea for these hotels is to create a more hip and urban environment to attract affluent travelers that want a more unique and trendy experience. The race to create these new hotels seems to have stemmed from the success of Starwood Inc.’s new W brand hotels, which have grown to forty hotels around the world in the past ten years. These hotels include lavishly decorated lobbies, stylish bars, and top restaurants, which have been reported to attract more outside customers than hotel guests. Hoteliers have noticed that these hotels have been more profitable than traditional hotels, even though they cost more to build than a standard chain hotel, because the atmosphere alone piques the customers' interest much more. As a result, many large hotel companies have jumped on the bandwagon in an effort to create a larger profit. 

             I believe that this is a really great strategy for large hotel companies because the only way to gain customer interest is to cater to their tastes and create a fresh, new look that will make customers want to stay at their hotels. The only problem I see with these hotels, which was mentioned in the article, is that if large companies continue to create more and more of these boutique hotels, the hotels will lose their "unique-ness" and won't be anything special to go to. Overall, I feel this is the right move for hotel companies and a great strategy to use to make money in these tough times.

          


For more info, check out: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703803904576152830316968572.html?KEYWORDS=hip+hotels

Conrad Nicholson Hilton

Hilton Hotels are one of the biggest brand Hotels in the world. The founder of the Hilton Hotels was Conrad Nicholson Hilton who was born in December of 1887 and died in January of 1979.

From his very early age, Conrad started having entrepreneurial skills as he used to work with his father in New Mexico. His first hotel was built in 1919 in Texas. His first attempt was not really successful and in 1925 he built the Dallas Hilton, which was the beginning of his success.  The Dallas Hilton followed the Abilene Hilton in 1927, the Waco Hilton in 1928 and El Paso Hilton in 1930. His first Hotel outside Texas was built in 1939 in New Mexico known as Andaluz Hotel. During the Great Depression Hilton faced some important problems in his career path. Many of his Hotels went bankrupt and he had to sell them. After a while, he achieved to get back his lost hotels. During 1946 and 1948 Hilton formed the Hilton Hotel Corporation and the Hilton International Company. Hilton’s Hotels were the world’s first international hotel chain.

During the 1950s’ and 1960s’ Hilton Hotels were built all over the world facilitating both tourists and business corporations. Hilton had built 188 Hotels in 38 different states in the United States.  

POSTED BY: KATERINA ARGYROU 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Hilton#Career

UK Alcohol Giant Acquires Turkish Spirits Company

Diageo PLC, a global alcoholic beverage company headquartered in London, England, stated that it will buy the Turkish spirits company Mey Içki Sanayi ve Ticaret AS for $2.1 billion. For the past six years, foreign liquor companies have been in disputes with Turkey because liquor importers have been asked to pay more customs tax on their imports. This dispute is finally approaching a resolution, and it seems to have helped convince Diageo to go ahead with the deal. Buying Mey will help Diageo expand its influence in the Turkish market, mainly because Mey has access to over 50,000 retail stores in the country and an 80% share of the Turkish market for raki, the national Turkish drink. Diageo hasn't made a major acquisition in about 10 years, but lately they have been showing an interest in expanding in developing markets, such as the ones in China and Vietnam. I feel this is a very wise and strategic move for Diageo because they will not only be expanding their company, but they will also be acquiring a strong presence in a country that has a growing market with a strong GDP. I also like the fact that they are focusing on making investments in markets with a fast-growing middle class because I feel that this is where they sell most of their product and can make the biggest profit.


For more info, check out:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271104576156612353607144.html?mod=WSJ_FoodAndTobacco_leftHeadlines#articleTabs%3Darticle

Disney World Hotels advantages

Disney World Strategies

Disney World Hotel offers to customer lots of advantages that make customers happy and satisfied.

For example, free shuttle service to and from the airport. Furthermore, Disney is well known for having professionally trained staff and service is impeccable.

they first concern is to service customers and answer customer’s question and concerns. Also, they offer Magic hours to customers, which allow customers to enter to the park one hour before customers outside the hotel.

Besides, people can enjoy Disney Hotels variety, themes and feel the magic of Disney. Is more thematic, makes people get into the mood, specially when they are on family’s trip.

Disney World are often more expensive than regular hotel but it worth it. People that have been there have good commentaries about it.

That's way hotel's staff prepare everything and plan methods to make you enjoy your trip and your stay there.

How did the crisis affect the hotel business in Greece this year?

     For sure, during the crisis, Greek hotels as almost every hotel in the world faced some difficulties. To

be honest people thought that the crisis would have huge consequences in Greek hotels. Apparently,

the situation was not as bad as expected to be. It Is true that hotel revenues have much decreased as

hoteliers have tried to keep their prices on the best price level (which is definitely much less than it

was) so that people have an initiative to travel and stay in hotels. Although hoteliers had to plan their

 steps, they tried to fire as much fewer employees as possible telling them that as soon as the crisis is

over and hotels starting to operate normally, they will have a position offered to them.

     It is hard for employees to stay calm but research have shown that in 2011 hotels will start to

operate as before and that prices will start increasing again. Hotels and tourism in general is expected

to start increasing.    

Posted by Katerina Argyros
http://www.grreporter.info/en/luxury_hotels_are_least_damaged_crisis/3635#

Fast-Food in the Persian Gulf

A major part of an industry’s revenue growth is the amount of consumers a company can reach with their product or service. If one is limited by lack of infrastructure, capital, or client base, then it is vey difficult to raise profits. The best way for a company to grow is to access the enormous international market that has been increasingly expanding with globalization. Recently, Tim Hortons Inc. signed a license agreement with Dubai-based Apparel Group to open up to 120 multi-format restaurants in Persian Gulf markets. The restaurants will be quick order, specializing in coffee and donuts in an effort to reach the growing commuter population. The area targeted includes Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Quatar, and Bahrain since the company has previous success when investing in the area. Since the announcement THI’s shares were up 0.2% to $41.74.

Oscar Jacob

Chinese New Year, Vegas Style

The three most popular times of the year for Las Vegas resorts are New Year's Eve, the Superbowl, and (can you believe it?), Chinese New Year. This past year, over 100,000 Chinese tourists came to Vegas to try their New Year's luck at the entertainment capital of the world. With the proliferation of gaming in China, these hotels earn some major revenue during the first quarter, mainly because these three events take place within three or four weeks of each other. The Chinese New Year is about two weeks long, which means there is plenty of time for Chinese tourists to come and enjoy the city. And, these hotels have figured out exactly how to "wine and dine" their Chinese tourists so that they keep them coming back every year. From importing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of authentic Chinese cuisine, to holding massive galas and shows featuring Chinese dancers, singers, and musicians, Vegas resorts have fine tuned the art of Chinese celebration. All that work has paid off, and its partially thanks to the enormous influx of gaming in Macau, China; the only city on the mainland where gambling is legal. In 2010, profit soared 58% and now, the highest-rolling players in China want to come where it all started; Vegas. As for the Las Vegas resorts and hotels, their Chinese friends are welcomed with open arms.

For more info, visit http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110206/ts_alt_afp/lifestyleuschinaholidaygambling and http://blogs.wsj.com/exchange/2011/01/03/theres-just-no-stopping-macau/?KEYWORDS=china+casinos

"Chipotle" food quality

CHIPOTLE : FAST FOOD WITH INTEGRITY

The mexican-food chain, explains menu and how it is natural as it tastes.

One of Steve Ells (founder and chief executive) is to run the hottest fast food chain and the other one is based on what is said about “food integrity”.

One of Ells techniques is to use only natural ingredients rather than buy ready made sauces. The flavor is better when uses natural ingredient because it doesn’t have artificial flavors.

All the pork Chipotle sells today,is raised naturally on family farms without any hormone nor antibiotic.

Even thought, we know it is not the healthier food in town but it is really quality food.

Coral I

Starwood Hotels

Starwood Hotels are one of the bigger hotel companies in the world; include resorts, spas, and residences. As almost every hotel, Starwood Hotels faced a huge recession during the crisis. Their profits decreased dramatically and clients stopped traveling. Stock prices fell and as profits decreased costs seemed to be even higher. In general hotel industries had to deal with “the most dramatic declines in history”.

Recently, Starwood hotels after their effort not to shut down started facing a recovery. From last year, demand for hotel rooms stated increasing again and more and more clients were willing and able to travel. Even these are good news; hotels need a lot of time to overcome all the loss they had. Manager’s next step is to push up prices again as during the recession prices were cut. As read in the WSJ, Starwood Hotels now had earnings of $339 million compared to the $107 million loss they had a year earlier.        

Posted by: Katerina Argyros

From: Wall Street Journal, Marketplace, p. B12, Friday February 4, 2011

Real Beef!

Real beef?

Taco Bell lovers: I have good news for you. As we knew, taco bell had a lawsuit last week for using "fake beef" they clarify the situation. The beef is at least : 88% beef and the rest are spices, herbs, and condiments they use to make those products last more and give customers the quality they deserve. They were just trying to get us the best of their products, taking care of their food and beverages.

They were just "trying to give us (customers) the best. That's why Greg Creed who is the president of Taco Bell chain makes a public explanation of all the misunderstanding because they are kind of upset of what media has told about their services. I'm totally agree with Taco Bell personal because media can ruin a restaurant reputation and is in their hands to take care of that reputation in order to maintain their jobs.

this is the link I read the article : http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/01/28/taco-bell-the-beef-its-real/?KEYWORDS=taco+bell

Posted by: Coral Israel

Abu Dhabi Hotel Sets Green Example

At a time when the environment and global warming are pressing issues for the entire world, going green is a priority for many industries. Not only does going green do one’s part in slowing greenhouse gases and preserving resources, it provides a favorable image for the industry due to their commitment to social responsibility. The Cristal Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE has been making remarkable investments into recycling programs as part of a ‘Clean Up UAE’ campaign. It now recycles six products, namely paper, plastics, aluminum cans, glass, Tetra Pak packaging, cartridges and toners. The hotel’s effort in keeping environmentally friendly has not gone unnoticed in the Middle East as the Cristal Hotel Abu Dhabi was short-listed for the Arabian Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2010 by Emirates Environmental Group. Specific actions the management has taken is switching to compact fluorescent lamps in all of its rooms, turning off heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment when not required, adjusting chilled water temperature for air conditioning according to atmospheric temperature, and regulating domestic water temperature to reduce compressor load. The need for this was specifically addressed my manager Immanuel Williams who said, “The hotel industry is often considered as one of the most waste-producing businesses in the world. We aim to change that perception here in Abu Dhabi by adopting sustainable strategies to complement our local growth.” This effort no doubt will prompt hotels in the Middle East to adopt the same policies and give the Cristal Hotel the reputation of luxurious accommodations that meet the highest environmental standards.

Hotels and the crisis

As Alexandra mentioned, not only restaurants have been hit by the economic crisis, but also hotels and especially luxury hotels. However, even the recession not every hotel market was affected. Hotels for leisure travelers were much less affected.

In 2009 the majority of people said that the crisis did not affect their intentions to travel. However, we see business companies cancelling meetings to avoid traveling. The reason why the business travel suffers more is that leisure travelers are more sensitive to worsen the economic condition than business travelers. Hotels needed to cut down the cost, but many hotels by this attend did not manage to survive and shuted down.

As demand fell, the number of hotels and bed spaces declined as many small independent hotels were forced out of the market. The consumer started putting more pressure on room rates and started expecting more 'value for money' from the hotel industry.

Recession kept hitting hotels not only throughout 2009 but also 2010. It took five years for average room rates to reach pre-recession levels.

POSTED BY: Katerina Argyrou

Corporate Social Responsibility in a Recession?

Over the past year, chain restaurants have been hit hard by the economic recession. Many have been trying to find way to cut costs in order to save money and still keep customers coming. Chili's Grill and Bar has been implementing new labor strategies to cut costs in response to the impending health-care law, which mandates expanded employee coverage. They have removed expensive kitchen equipment and will be replacing it with higher-efficiency models. They have also had to condense certain job positions in order to expedite tables faster. After reading this article, it made me wonder if this was having any effect on Chili's reputation. One of, if not, the most important benefit of corporate social responsibility is having a positive reputation in the marketplace. Chili's is known for having their "hand-mashed potatoes" and "authentically smoked ribs". But, if they do away with their giant rib smokers and switch to instant potatoes in an effort to save time and money, there are customers that will notice and dislike it. That is one of the most difficult issues that restaurants have to deal with; quantity vs. quality. In these tough economic times, restaurants have really had to tighten their belts. However, how far are they willing to go? At what cost is it actually worth to "skimp out" so that they can save a few bucks? Restaurants need to make sure they keep expenditures low, but they must also keep a listening ear to the public so they don't make any crucial mistakes they might regret.

For more information, visit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704307404576080340742759346.html?KEYWORDS=restaurants

--Alexandra Ladas

Hotel Porn

Running a hotel is like trying to keep all the pieces of an antique clock working smoothly together. Within a hotel, there are countless functions that need to be carried in perfect synchronization if the customer is to be 100% satisfied. Rooms need to be cleaned, breakfast is to be served on time, and the valet should return a guest’s car promptly. These various functions give hotels opportunities to make a quick buck by charging for everything. Couple hundred a night is one thing, but meals, room service, entertainment, and other services quickly add to the bill. An ethical issue that this industry faces is deciding what services to provide to customers.

This week Marriott International, one of the nation’s leading hotel groups announced that it would no longer be allowing access to pornographic movies from their entertainment system. The decision comes hand-in-hand with the Marriott’s upgrade to new on-demand entertainment technology to compete with Netflix, iTunes, and Springbox in the battle of in-home entertainment. Along with Omni, which went porn-free in 1999, Marriott has committed to a family-friendly image in exchange for the revenue received from adult movies. This is a decision aimed to protect children from viewing immoral content and to maintain the reputation of the Marriott’s hotels. The company could have chosen to allow porn, but in this case the ethical decision outweighed the potential revenue. As spokeswomen for the company Caryn Kboudi said, "The ownership decided that it was not a way that we wanted to make money,"

Posted by Oscar Jacob

For the entire story go to http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2011-01-21-hotelporn21_ST_N.htm?csp=webslice

Hotel Ethics

To start with, what is ethics concerning a business company? Ethics is a moral perspective of what is wrong or right. As our guest speaker said in his speech, a company has to make sure that everyone’s basic liberties are equal and equally protected. Businesses have to look the perspective of the whole (meaning people who interact in or with a company) and not of individuals. Hotels have ethics as every company does.

When the hotel management decides to hire employees they have to follow different criteria, such as: integrity, responsibility, understanding of the field and unity, while keeping in mind the main goal of being excellent at their profession and helping the hotel be better (http://www.foodreference.com/html/artethics.html). Promises made by a hotel’s manager must be fulfilled. Both quality and price must correspond to what a client will face once getting in the hotel. For example, a hotel near the beach that promises a 5 minute walk to get there and is actually 20 minute walk fails to meet this promise and has acted unethically. Once the code of ethics is decided by the directors of a hotel, it must be available to all employees.

In a world with millions of hotels, the hotel market place is certainly very competitive. There are hotels where someone needs to pay $1000 a night, and others that cost $ 100 per night. There are successful hotels and hotels that wait for a miracle to happen and receive more clients. In our world both wealthy and not so wealthy people exist thus these hotels have to focus on their ethic code and be sure to meet all of their promises.   

Some examples of ethics that hotels face are: stealing, attitude of employees (polite or impolite), employees that are not enjoying their work, discrimination etc.

Posted by: Katerina Argyrou

The Ethical Restaurant

In the restaurant business, if the customer is the most important person, then the next most important would have to be the employees. I mean, without employees, there would be no actual business for customers to go to. Finding employees for a restaurant is a 24/7 job. Whether it's students in need of summer money or seniors just looking for a way to pass the time, there is always a demand for an entry-level restaurant position. Sometimes, there are employees that stick around for years and make very close ties with their managers; the business becomes a second family for them. But no matter how long a person has been employed at a restaurant for, there is always a possibility of a dishonesty in a company. Just this past December, Chipotle Mexican Grill had to fire a number of workers between their 50 Minnesota locations after an audit by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). Many of the documents that Chipotle provided the ICE were suspected to be illegitimate, and if the employees in question could not clarify or come up with new documents, they were let go. This puts the restaurant owners in a difficult position. They want to hire the best workers they can find, but they don't want to be discriminatory. The managers of these restaurants weren't doing anything wrong; they hired employees who needed these positions and because they needed to fill jobs. So what do they do when a situation like this arises again? A young woman who may not be a legal immigrant of this country, but has a family to provide for? Should the restaurant owner turn her away, or allow her to work as long as they don't get caught? Is this owner dishonest, or simply a helping hand? It's all about ethics, and what is ranked higher on each individual's list of what is right and what is wrong.

More information about this blog on:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704754304576096343224264206.html?KEYWORDS=restaurants

--Alexandra Ladas

Article by Coral Israel

 this is the article i read: http://hotel-management.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-18101-hotels-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.aspx
Jan. 24^th – Business Ethics

• What are key ethical issues this industry faces?
• What are some examples of ethics challenges that industry players have experienced?

• What are key ethical issues this industry faces?

We all want our business to succeed on the best way talking about morality and about the best for our business . But when there are challenges on our path some people tend to forget what ethic means. For example some employes tends to mistreat other employees. When they abused from other’s services they are violating ethical issues.

People can lose their jobs for doing this.  As we can see with the title of this articles, we have the good, the bad, and the ugly and when it comes we have to face them. The key ethical issues this industry faces could be : theft, abuse of trust, abuse of work, betrayal of laws. Even if someone is abusing of time (tardiness) this person is abusing ethical issues.If we don't have an ethical base to follow we forget about moral issues. We as human beings have to respect ethics to be treated the way we want to be treated.

  What are some examples of ethics challenges that industry players have experienced?

• dealing with employees issues (misunderstandings) 
• theft
• drugs or alcohol issues
• non motivated employees
• gossips between employees 
• Racial conflict
• gender conflict

Those are ethics challenges that industry players have to experience day by day and they have to find a solution to solve the problem for the sake of the company and employees. To work with professionalism and to encourage other companies to follow an organized structure. If those problem are solved then our Hotel, Restaurant or Leisure would be able to work better. Without disagreements and peacefully as a real company. We have to be tolerant and to accept others without making any discrimination.