hotelguru

UNDERSTANDING THE HOTEL BUSINESS  The Service Culture The hotel industry grew and flourished through the centuries by adapting to the chang￾ing social, business and economic environment that marked human progress . During modern times, these stages have been labeled for easy reference. The 18th century was the agricultural age; the 19th, the industrial age. The 20th century has been the age of service. The sale of services, such as medicine, banking, education and hotelkeeping, has outpaced the manufacture and distribution of goods. The 21st century has opened with that same service culture even as it launches what is likely to be the age of technology. A Cyclical Industry Hotelkeeping is a cyclical industry that closely follows the nation's economic phases. Wide swings carry the hotel business between peaks of exceptional profits and troughs of out￾right distress. Unfortunat ely, the industry both lags the general recovery and precedes the start of the decline . This rollercoaster