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284 hospitality
the accommodation sector, are merged with the
intent of improving market share and increasing
competitiveness. In theory, horizontal integration
leads to economies of scale and thus to cost
savings and price reductions. This allows the
company to become more competitive, nationally
and/or internationally.
See also: vertical integration
hospitality
FRANCISCO SASTRE, SPAIN
IMMACULADA BENITO, SPAIN
The term `hospitality' has emerged as the name by
which lodging and food service managers would
like their industry to be perceived. As well as
simplifying and shortening the phrases `lodging
and food service' �as used in the United States) or
`hotel and catering' �UK terminology), it also
conveys an image that reflects the tradition of
service that goes back over many centuries to the
earliest days of innkeeping. Many industry associations,
academic journals and publications have
adopted this term, even though it is not necessarily
widely used by the general public. For instance, in
the United States the Council on Hotel Restaurant
and Institutional Education �the Hospitality
and Tourism Educators Association) calls
their quarterly publication the Journal of Hospitality
and Tourism Research; likewise in the
United Kingdom, the Hotel and Catering International
Management Association �the industry's
professional association) changed the name of its
journal to Hospitality. The term has also been
adopted by universities and colleges which offer
programmes in hospitality management.
Definition of the word `hospitality' is relatively
straightforward. A typical dictionary defines it as
`kindness in welcoming strangers or guests'. However,
defining the hospitality industry is much more
difficult. This is because different sources, such as
government agencies, market intelligence consultants
and other experts, use different criteria for
defining the industry. In essence, hospitality is
made up of two distinct services: the provision of
overnight accommodation for people staying
away from home �lodging), and the provision of
sustenance for people eating away from home �food
service). Lodging is made up of two main sectors:
commercial lodging is predominantly hotels, while
`institutional lodging' comprises hospitals, universities,
prisons and so on. The food service industry
is also made up of a number of different sectors.
These include restaurants, offering fine dining,
speciality menus or quick service; social catering;
contract food service; in-flight catering; and
various types of institutional catering, such as
schools and hospitals.
In 1952, Walter Bachmann wrote that a hotelier
and restaurateur was both `host and businessman.
. . . The host should be cheerful and happy,
an artist in living who enjoys everything that is
good and beautiful'. This concept of hospitality has
existed for thousands of years. Ancient Greece and
the Roman Empire had taverns providing food and
shelter for travellers. It is estimated that the
Romans built nearly 10,000 inns, roughly twentyfive
miles apart, to support the rapid movement of
government officials and couriers, rather like the
stations set up by the Pony Express in North
America in the 1850s. Other great empires, such as
Persia, the Chinese Empire and Japan, also
developed similar provision for travelling dignitaries
and people of wealth.
In Europe, such provision declined during the
Dark Ages until Charlemagne in the eighth century
supported the development of rest houses for
pilgrims travelling to holy sites. Later on,
monasteries and mediaeval guilds began to welcome
travellers of all kinds. The accommodation
was often rough and ready, with simple straw
mattresses on the floor in a communal sleeping
area. Until the 1650s, most people drank large
quantities of alcohol as water was often polluted
and unpasteurised milk was dangerous. However,
coffee, chocolate and then tea began to be
imported into Europe, which led to the setting up
of coffee houses, the precursor to restaurants. As
wealth and travel increased, inns and taverns
became more sophisticated. One of the first proper
hotels was built in Nantes, France in 1788. It was at
about this time that the first restaurant appeared,
and by 1794 there were 500 dining places in Paris
alone. They arose out of the political revolution in
France, since many chefs who had been employed