HFT3003 “Eyes of the World”
Part 1: On-site experience & observation: This on-site experience requires between one and four hours on site (alone). Take field notes immediately after your experience as a guest. Write your paper later, using the field notes as reference materials. You must recognize that 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 and target market, etc. based on the hospitality operation (chain vs. independently owned, American vs. ethnic), Furthermore, you should compare and contrast 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.). Describe your experience as it happened and in the first person only:
Be sure to reflect on all that you learned about being the guest in the setting experienced. Use past tense when you write. This paper will be well composed; typed, a minimum of three full pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins all around, no misspellings, grammatically correct, and using 12-point font. 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, and submission date.
Choose TWO the following three options: Hotel lobby, restaurant, or an event:
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). Also, 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. 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.
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?
Major Event: Attend a special event that is not business/career related. Plan to spend at least a half-day or evening alone, being a participant, doing whatever the situation calls for. Select something that promises to be fun, then see what happens to you as you interact at the event.
What is the function of this event to the visitor, to its community, and to those who organized and provided the event? How does it relate to the field of hospitality, and how does hospitality relate to the event you experienced?
Does planning the event require specific expertise? How were you regarded and treated by the event 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?
Part 2: Reflection and Suggestions 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 the hospitality organization or the type of the guests? What would you do differently as a manager to resolve these gaps?
Part 3:
What is the biggest threat to future food security?
For your midterm, you will research the threats to our food system and supply chain, does ecocide play a role, and how they might affect the human population.