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0:00
Hello. My name is Jeroen Oskam.
I'm the Director of
the Research Center
at Hotelschool The Hague.
I'm also the editor
of this series of
Henry Stewart Talks about
the hospitality industry.
In this introductory episode,
I will discuss the enormous
changes that hospitality
has gone through
in recent decades.
These changes have had an impact
on organizations
in this industry,
on our definition of
what this industry is,
on the work of hospitality
professionals,
and on how universities
and schools should prepare
their students for a
career in hospitality.
0:30
Let us look at the subsector of
hotels to describe these
changes and their background.
For the larger part
of the 20th century,
hotels had a pretty
straightforward business model,
providing short-term
accommodation to travelers
to generate revenue
with real estate.
The demographics of their
guests are fairly homogeneous.
International brands,
loyalty programs,
ancillary services, such as
restaurants and
business centers,
and room amenities such as
toiletries were meant to
differentiate one accommodation
provider from its competitors.
Of course, this is
a simplification
that misses many nuances, but
the idea is that room
revenue used to be
the sole engine of
hospitality companies.
1:12
From the 1970s and
1980s onwards,
three drivers of change
emerged that would spur
the growth of the hotel sector
and generate new
business models.
In the first place,
broader access to wealth,
increased purchasing
power and enabled
middle classes from the
USA, Western Europe,
and Japan to go on
international holidays.
In subsequent decades
followed by emerging
middle classes from
regions and countries,
such as Southern Europe,
Eastern Europe,
China, and India.
In the second place,
globalization removed
travel barriers and drove
the growth of
international mobility,
economic integration,
international cooperation,
and cultural exchanges required
increased travel
by professionals.
Internationalized
labor markets expanded
this mobility to students,
job seekers, as well
as friends and family.
The increased travel
volumes of course,
also required accommodation and
other services for these
different groups of people.
The third driver of
change was technology.
Obviously, technological
progress was
made throughout the 20th
century and before, but
the emergence of the
Internet was particularly
decisive for the organization
of international travel.
