Tourism and Hospitality Education

The eleventh century philosopher and Archbishop of Canterbury St Anselm wrote, 'I do not seek to understand so that I may believe, but I believe so that I may understand' (Anselm Proslogion 154-5). Anselm was asserting that, from a philosophical stance, nothing is achieved or ascertained by merely speculating from the sidelines; a certain level of committed thought and involvement is necessary. The editor and authors of this book have written an enlightening, refreshing text which exhibits that commitment to which St Anselm refers. The text does not speculate from the sidelines, but rather the authors, no doubt due to the clear direction of the editor, aim to immerse themselves in the considerable gap in understanding some of the philosophical issues that underpin contemporary comprehension of tourism.

Study participants rated menu prices with an automatic percentage service gratuity as better deals than equivalent service-included prices when the service component of price was below the standard 15% tipping rate. However, the reverse was true when the service component of price was above 15%. Furthermore, a move from percentage service gratuity toward dollar service gratuity impeded participants' menu price judgment. These findings provide some insights regarding which pricing alternative to tipping should be implemented if and when restaurateurs decide to abandon voluntary tipping.

The knowledge which the students of Tourist Guiding Program have acquired on the archaeology and art history of Anatolia through the formal education process focuses basically Classical Antiquity including Hellenistic and Roman period, Eastern Roman Empire widely known as the Byzantine Empire, and Turkish and Islamic Art which centers on Anatolian Seljuks, Principalities and the Ottoman Empire. Apart from this wide range of topics, the students also learn the prehistory of Anatolia stretching from the Paleolithic period to the Middle Bronze Age, and Iron Age states after the Late Bronze Age (the collapse of the Hittite Empire) at the lesson given under different names such as ‘Prehistory of Anatolia’, ‘Anatolian Archaeology’, and ‘Anatolian Civilizations’ depending on the duration and the curriculum of the program. Besides, it is aimed with the lesson of Vocational English to give the students the knowledge that they will need in their business life and the vocabulary they will use at the tours. Lack of any books for tour guiding through readings provided strong initial prodding to prepare this book. This book was prepared to live up to such expectation by combining the professional knowledge with the language knowledge.

Remarkably, exposures to hospitality workplaces through internships have been found to rather dissuade students from envisaging hospitality career. However, knowledge of this phenomenon remains inconclusive. Consequently, this study explored the effect of internship work experience on undergraduate students’ commitment and perception of the nature of hospitality work using before-and-after design. A convenience sample of 171 hospitality management students in a Ghanaian technical university completed paper- and-pencil questionnaires, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The majority of the students indicated positive perceptions of hospitality employment and were accordingly willing to work in hospitality-related jobs after graduation. Contrary to the commonly held view, commitment, attitude, and perceptions of hospitality work do not undergo significant reconsiderations post-internships.

Τι στρατηγικές ανάπτυξης του τοπικού τουριστικού τομέα μπορούμε να χρησιμοποιήσουμε αμεσότερα και με χαμηλότερο κόστος; Ποιο είναι εκείνο το προϊόν–υπηρεσία που μπορεί να προορίζεται για όλους επηρεάζοντας όμως τον καθένα ξεχωριστά; Πως η χρησιμότητα και η προσφορά υπηρεσιών του προϊόντος - υπηρεσίας αυτού, μπορεί να αξιολογηθεί ποσοτικά συμβάλλοντας στην τοπική και κρατική οικονομία; Γιατί να επιλέξουμε κάτι νέο για την ανάπτυξη της τοπικής τουριστικής αγοράς;

Focusing on the hotel industry, this study builds a functional definition of customer satisfaction and a practical approach to facilitate its measurement. Field research conducted in the United States and Japan support these new approaches. Contributions from the ...

Amidst a growing industry, foodservice professionals are seeking certifications to differentiate themselves from the competition. The American Culinary Federation (ACF) provides the most comprehensive culinary certification program in the United States, promoting professional development through specialized training in the culinary arts.  Proponents of the ACF certification program boast benefits such as increased pay and prestige; however, there has been no research focusing on the relationship between professional foodservice certifications and perceived career success.  This study examined the relationships between culinary certifications and objective (i.e. salary) and subjective (i.e. job satisfaction, self-efficacy) indicators of career success. 

Key words: career success, objective factors, subjective factors, certification, chef

En una sociedad donde las TIC y el turismo están cada vez más extendidos y se han convertido en factores de globalización, este artículo pretende mostrar la relación que existe entre ambos elementos. Para ello se han examinando distintas fuentes que reflejan el grado de implantación de las TIC en las empresas turísticas andaluzas. Asimismo, se examina hasta qué punto las TIC aplicadas al turismo constituyen un área de interés para la comunidad académica española. Finalmente, se ha realizado un repaso de cómo este tipo de tecnologíaha sido implantada en el sector turístico durante las últimas décadas y cuáles han sido y sonsus principales impactos e implicaciones desde la perspectiva de la oferta y la demanda turística.

The subject of this thesis is the experience of itinerant travels around the world, questioned as potentially formative and situated in the  paradigm of lifelong learning (Colin, Le Grand, 2008).
The Round-The-World trip has become an important tourist  phenomenon in various industrialized countries but remains little studied (Gauthier, 2012), especially in the contemporary form of the
backpacker phenomenon on which we have focused. Research on this subject emphasizes escapism and the search for authenticity as central values; they describe in terms of "cosmopolitan Bildung" the interest of the experience, considered formative, of encounters of different cultural codes (Cichelli, 2010). Although itinerancy is not questioned in itself (Power, 2010), studies, specifically related to backpackers, suggest that their experience can be studied in the field of contemporary rites of passage and self-learning (Noy, 2004). We propose to consider that itinerant travel around the world constitutes a particular form of rite of passage whose specificities should be noted. In this case, unlike integrative travel, crossing many countries makes it difficult to develop knowledge of the cultures encountered; rather, it specifies itself by extending considerably the liminal phase, the experience of the lack of cultural reference frameworks. This research thus makes it possible
to question the educational potential of a form of specific liminal experience, both in terms of duration and intensity, while looking into a growing tourist practice that is still little known.
The central questioning of this research is: traveling for one year in the same country and traveling for one year around the world refers to two different forms of encounter with other cultural codes.
To answer this question, we carried out a hypothetico-deductive research project: firstly, we established a multi-referential theoretical model of education through itinerant round-the-world travel from a multidisciplinary theoretical corpus, before putting it to the test of a qualitative field study analyzing the experience of travellers around the world. Much research has shed light on the first form of travel where, by crossing stages of ethnological acculturation, the traveller develops
intercultural competences and builds a cultural reference framework and a "place" in the host society. Our main research findings allow us to establish that in the second form of travel, characterized by itinerancy, the round-the-world traveller doesn’t experience a long immersion
and, after a few countries visited, the repeated ‘’ordeal’’ of intense and destabilizing work of a first phase of acculturation leads him to transform his way of traveling. Rather than working to become
the other, he learns little by little to remain exotic (Segalen, 1904), a ‘’passing” stranger. It is as a stranger that he benefits from the rite of hospitality (Simmel, 1908) and thus gains access to the innermost sphere of the host, to his cultural specificity, by developing an ability to decenter himself, to be guided by the other in the encounter. These are two distinct forms of immersion, two forms of encounter that lead to two different forms of acculturation. The first produces a métis identity,
between the other culture and his own, the traveller thus becomes, by integration, a "specialist" of the host culture. The second, which does not target this integration, produces a qualitatively different métissage. By decentering oneself regularly, the itinerant traveller, through the
multiplication of encounters, creates a métissage with a multiple of otherness(es). In conclusion, and this is where the qualitative difference arises, this type of journey produces an acculturation on a level no longer ethnological (encountering the others of a specific culture) but anthropological (encounter of the Other, in the others of different cultures and in oneself).
Consider that round-the-world travel as a part of lifelong learning is legitimate for at least two reasons. Firstly, in our contemporary western societies, the individual is expected to build an autonomous and powerful identity in each of his affiliated groups, a constraint that traveling around the world and métissage with the Other allows oneself to be emancipated from, at least in part, leading the traveller to experience himself not as an essence fixed in permanence, but as built yet alterable and open to biographical turning points. Secondly, in an increasingly globalized society, it is not enough to be efficient in one’s own culture nor is it possible to acculturate all cultures,hence the need to learn to navigate and communicate in an increasingly culturally heterogeneous context. The round-the-world journey thus constitutes an initiation to an increasingly globalized world and to a wide-ranged and increasingly mixed identity construction.

Thesis advisors: Francis Lesourd, MCF-HDR, Université Paris8
Jean-Louis Le Grand, Professor, Université Paris8

The rise in student demand for international education has presented many challenges to tourism and hospitality educators and institutions, as well as students. A critical concern for 1st-year undergraduates, and for international students in particular, lies in academic adjustment issues, which may be related to student self-esteem and resilience and may ultimately affect academic performance. Although investigators have made many attempts to discern the problems students face when studying in English as a second language, very little is known about the influence of self-esteem and resilience on academic performance, particularly that of tourism and hospitality students. This research explores the impacts of self-esteem and resilience factors on the academic performance of international students compared to domestic Australian students. The results suggest that for both groups, self-esteem and resilience are significant predictors of academic performance. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for teacher–student interaction are discussed.

This study aims to analyze the obstacles that Swiss hotel schools face to knowledge creation and scientific research in tourism and hospitality. A case study approach was adopted to analyze the research practices of the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). Multiple sources of data were collected for the case study, including the documentation of Swiss higher education governance, brochures of educational programs from selected hotel schools including EHL, and archive records about research output from EHL. This study shows that knowledge creation and research production is largely constrained by Swiss higher education regulation. Also, not only are Swiss hotel schools trapped by a vocational ethos, but they are also unwilling to break it because of the priority to legitimize their educational programs. We argue that the EHL research practice is a lens through which we can portray an alternative approach to knowledge production and transfer in Swiss hospitality education.

An often-asked question in the hospitality industry is whether graduates of hospitality education programs possess the competencies that the hospitality industry believes students should possess. The purpose of this study is to determine the ...

Food and Beverage cost are biggest cost for any restaurant which range between 30-40% of revenue depending on style of restaurant. Food cost affects restaurant's profitability to a significant level and can be volatile due to few reasons beyond hotels controls (such as sudden inflation or shortage of supply etc). (learn more about hospitality cost control) Basic Calculation and control preparation methods 1. Calculate the standard Food and beverage cost for each menu item based on f&b recipe. Cost calculation should be based on market price and kitchen menu ingredient. Market price for ingredients keep changing hence standard cost % need to be updated atleast every six months. 2. Set the selling price by comparing with competitor price and hotel signature dish popularity. Selling price proposal preparation done by chef, cost team and management / owner approve the selling price. Above two steps would provide budgeted / estimated overall ideal food cost % which is the very first step in cost control process. Cost % will vary based on recipe, menu style & variety. Larger menu will carry high food cost due to mis-em-place and variety making kitchen par higher.

the level of arousal. In addition, pleasure and arousal had significant impacts on behavioral intentions, and pleasure appeared to be the more influential emotion of the two. Implications for restaurateurs and academic researchers are also discussed.

The paper is providing direction on how we can engage the process of identifying, documenting and inventorying tangible and intangible cultural heritage. it is an attempt to guide district cultural officers in their renewed effort to promote cultural artefacts as tourism attractions

Do you want to eat out in London, Ontario? You can choose from many fine dining restaurants. They vary greatly in appearance, ambience, menu, service, and prices. They have some similarities and differences. This research was conducted by graduate students of Hospitality to help locals and tourists find out which restaurant in London ranks higher in terms of its unique features, customer review, challenges, décor, location, food presentation, marketing strategy, and involvement with community.

El documento libro blanco de Turismo y Música es titulado ‘La música es la nueva gastronomía’, fue lanzado durante World Travel Market (WTM), feria que se llevo a cabo en Londres del 5 al 7 de noviembre del 2018. La presentación del documento convierte a Colombia en un referente mundial para la promoción del turismo internacional a través de la música.

The hotel industry utilises the concept of human resource practices system differentiation (HRPSD) by focusing resources on managerial level jobs as a technique of strategic human resource management (SHRM). Despite its use in both practice and the academic literature, research focusing on HRPSD is scarce and detailed analyses of the effects of this practice on employees cannot be found in the academic literature.

Located on the east coast of Australia, Byron Bay is well recognised as a popular tourism and wellness destination that offers an eclectic mix of 'alternate' services and businesses that provide health and wellbeing experiences including alternative 'new-age' shops, 'spiritual' services such as meditation and yoga classes, alternative medicine and holistic healing centres. This article traces the development of wellness tourism products and experiences in the destination and explores the implicit link to wellness and spiritual values that underpin the local community. This case study research forms part of a Sustainable Tourism Cooperative

Event management education has emerged in recent decades as an alternative to the related disciplines of tourism, leisure and hospitality. Whilst the number of course offerings in this area continues to expand, questions have been raised regarding the employability of graduates in terms of their degrees equipping them with the requisite skills to work in this industry and the capacity of the sector to employ the ever increasing number of graduates. This paper combines two studies to offer a multi-faceted perspective on the requisite skills and abilities students perceive to be associated with event management employment and employers' assessments of where students stand in relation to these skills. One perspective has been gleaned from analysis of a survey of students at Victoria University (VU), Melbourne, undertaking a degree qualification in event management. Complementing this perspective, employer insights are gained from previously unreported aggregated appraisal data collected from organisations involved in hosting VU event management students on various work integrated learning placements. The findings of these combined data sources highlights the need for educators to more closely align student perceptions of the importance and subsequent performance in certain skill areas with the standards expected by event management employers.

This study seeks to identify the competencies perceived as essential for hospitality industry leaders. Additionally, it offers some reflections upon hospitality management higher education and examines the structure of Portuguese undergraduate degrees in order to discuss whether the current educational offer matches specific industry demand.
Both the literature review and the results of a survey with a sample of hoteliers indicate that soft skills are consistently rated as being the most important to effective performance in the field. On the other hand, an assessment of the undergraduate hospitality management programmes currently on offer in Portugal show a deficit in this area. Some recommendations are presented to redress the evident discrepancies between educational programme content and perceived industry needs. In particular the study proposes the adoption and tutelage of student by industry managers, here referred to as „adopting a student‟.

Food and beverage service is a difficult job. Whilst there have been changes in food and beverage service, with less emphasis on the high level technical skills (mistakenly bemoaned by some as deskilling) what wasn’t initially being recognised was that other parts of the job are just as, if not more, important. The other thing that wasn’t initially recognised was that the provision of high quality service was not confined to a particular type of restaurant and a particular type of service style. In other words excellence in food and beverage is not defined by the inclusion of a narrow range of high-level technical skills.

Achieving the desired success in tourism is linked to the high expectations and motivations of young people who have received tour guiding training. In light of this, the aim of this study is to determine the effect of the professional expectations of the individuals who receive tour guiding training on their professional motivations. A quantitative research method was applied, and a questionnaire technique was used as the data collection tool. The study concluded that expectations such as suitability of the profession to the individual, working conditions, and professional respect affect professional motivation.

It is vitally important to make your hotel stand out, it should be distinctive and give guests a memorable experience, so they come back and recommend it to other people. When guests first set foot in a hotel they briefly have a look around. Good lighting helps to make their first impression positive - focusing their attention on the reception desk and interesting objects around the hotel entrance to make them feel welcome. The lighting also operates as a virtual but silent hotel guide. Make your guests feel guided in the right directions and along corridors to their rooms, lifts, bars or restaurants.

Resumen: El presente artículo se refiere a la comensalidad como factor fundamental para que la hospitalidad sea ejercida en su plenitud, comprendiéndola también como una dádiva y no sólo como un contrato comercial ejercido a través de un acto humano con personas que se desplazan desde sus residencias. Para este trabajo se utilizó como metodología la exploración bibliográfica y un estudio de caso con profesores y alumnos para averiguar si en general se conoce la importancia de la comensalidad para la hospitalidad y si se transmite a los alumnos de la carrera superior de hotelería del Instituto Federal de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología de Ceará (IFCE), en Fortaleza, Brasil. Entre los principales resultados se confirma que dicha carrera no aborda la comensalidad como factor fundamental para que la hospitalidad esté completa, hecho que puede comprobarse en la escasez de profesores con una formación básica en las áreas de hotelería y gastronomía. PALABRAS CLAVE: Comensalidad, hospitalidad, gastronomía. Abstract: Commensality: the Gift of Hospitality Through Gastronomy. This article is about commensality as key factor in hospitality in its fullness, understanding it as gift too, and not just as a commercial contract that is exercised through a human act with people who are away from their residences. For this case, it was used as a methodology bibliographic references and a case study, with teachers and students being investigated to ascertain the importance of commensality in hospitality, and if it is being taught to the students students in the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará (IFCE), Fortaleza-CE-Brasil. Among the main results confirmed why this course does not work as a key factor in commensality for hospitality in its fullness is evidenced by a deficiency of teachers who do not have basic training in the areas of hospitality and gastronomy. KEY WORDS: Commensality, hospitality, gastronomy. INTRODUCCIÓN Cierto día, mientras el autor de este artículo hacía las compras en el supermercado escuchó una conversación entre dos señoras de mediana edad. El diálogo giraba en torno a lo que una de las señoras prepararía para un almuerzo especial con una amiga que llegaba a visitarla desde otro Estudios y Perspectivas en Turismo Volumen 23 (2014) pp.505 -525

This article presents a summary of findings from a continuing investigation into the historical origins of hospitality in the ancient and classical worlds, focusing mainly on the Greek and Roman civilisations. After considering the etymology of hospitality, the article goes on to explore hospitality and mythology, hospitality and the household, public hospitality, commercial hospitality and hospitality in contemporaneous religious writings. The evaluation of the outcomes leads to the identification of five dimensions of hospitality (honourable tradition, fundamental to human existence, stratified, diversified and central to human endeavour) that have been evolving from the beginning of human history.

The hotel internship experience can be viewed as the pivotal point where hospitality students decide whether to stay or leave the industry. This paper aims at presenting hospitality students' satisfaction from internships and its impact on career intention. A survey of 172 students, both EU and Greeks, was conducted to investigate their internship satisfaction at 4 and 5 star hotels as a key determinant to career intention. The findings suggest that, the most important factors contributing to students' satisfaction were the real working conditions and the learning experience. All participants acknowledged long working hours, poor pay, and lack of coordination as key challenges, however they all identified their internships as a valuable way to link their studies with real life practice. This study proposes that student satisfaction in hospitality internship programs can have a direct positive effect to the graduates' career intention. It also suggests that educational institutions should maintain the practical/applied Journal of Tourism Research, Volume 25 43 elements of hospitality management programs in order to develop qualified, knowledgeable graduates.

Reaching service excellence through a focus on the customer, demands more than just measuring customer satisfaction by means of questionnaire surveys. Nowadays, it is not sufficient anymore to have service excellence in services, processes and relationships. Now is the time to create excellence in customer experiences, as the only way to create competitive advantage in the market. Organizational change should then be driven by a broader focus on customers' expectations and multiple ways of measuring customers' satisfaction. The case of a service company in The Netherlands (a temporary employment agency) illustrates the way to service excellence as an organizational change process. The case supports the need for a broad focus on measurements in order to be able to monitor and to direct organizational changes. Customer satisfaction data based on surveys are needed; however, they will not be sufficient for continuing the change process over time. To achieve that, other measurements, such as mystery shopping, may give more stimuli to change. Therefore, this research argues that mystery shopping can be a useful instrument in addition to the more often-used survey methods.

Abstract

This article tries to adopt a wider view on the concepts of tourism, sustainability in tourism, tourism education, the formulations of government policies and local communities, especially in tourism areas, technologies available for a richer tourist experience, and reveal their interrelationship.

There is a wider meaning given to the term sustainability and its relation to tourism. This concept goes deeper into tourism’s relation with carrying capacity, i.e.the maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors' satisfaction, as well as a reference to tourism education through formal, informal and non-formal education. The training of the tourists themselves on the spot (meaning during their stay at their destination) is analyzed, as well as the training of the future tourism professionals. Along with government policies for the tourism industry and the role of the community and other stakeholders in the tourism areas, new dynamics are created for the sustainability of tourism and environmental protection. Finally, there is an extensive reference to the technologies used in tourism for a richer tourism experience but also for the better academic training of tourism professionals which, as shown in the articles studied, enhances tourism sustainability.

Keywords: Tourism, sustainability, technology, education, communities, environmental protection, policies

We examined the relationships among three determinants of quality dimensions (food, service, and physical environment), price, and satisfaction and behavioral intention in quick-casual restaurants. Academics and managers know relatively little about how the combined effects of quality (food, service, and physical environment) elicit customer satisfaction which, in turn, affects behavioral intention. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis with interactions showed that quality of food, service, and physical environment were all significant determinants of customer satisfaction. In addition, perceived price acted as a moderator in the satisfaction formation process. Finally, customer satisfaction is indeed a significant predictor of behavioral intention.

This study aims to measure intercultural competence (awareness) of tourism and hospitality employees who tend to be in continuous interaction with intercultural customers. By comparing the results of a self-report awareness test/scale with the results of a knowledge-based test, the study shows that employees not only have extremely low intercultural competence, they also exaggerate their intercultural awareness/competence. Hence, in addition to the implications for intercultural competence/awareness of tourism and hospitality employees and for the businesses for which they work, the study has also implications regarding the measurement ability of self-report scales/tests.

Haryana is a state of great cultural heritage. Haryana is a land where Veda was written on the bank of river Saraswati. A legendary land where Rishi Ved Vyas wrote epic Mahabharata. A land where Lord Krishna delivered the immortal message of Gita to humanity at large at the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Apart from, Haryana is a rich land of festivals, such as Makar Sankranti, Holi, Teej, Deewali, Guga Navmi, Basora etc. Each festival celebrates with an excitement and peoples celebrate festivals with preparing of different kinds of food. As the peoples of Haryana like to have milk and milk products for their daily consumption. In most festivals, they make foods in their homes with milk. With this paper, an attempt has been made to explore the festive foods of Haryana and their recipes. The data has been collected from the various source such as published articles, journals, books and websites. An informal discussion with family has been conducted for gather the more information about festive food those they are prepared for festivals, their recipe and cooking style. It has been found that Kheer, Halwa, Puri, Sakkarpare (Sahwali), Ghewar, Pakode, Malpua (Puda) and Gulgulle are some famous festive foods of Haryana that are made on various festivals.

National Park contains the rich biodiversity that attracts many tourists. Despite being an attractive destination, Volcanoes National Park is facing different threats resulting from human activities including poaching, hunting, bamboo collection, and others although policies to conserve the VNP were set up. It was due to these challenges that the study was conducted to investigate the local community attitude and perception towards conservation policies around the Park. It was based on Nyange Sector in three cells selected as they were around the VNP. These cells included Kabeza, Muhabura, and Ninda. The objectives of the study were; i) to establish the whether the local residents understood well the park conservation policies, ii) to assess the role of local communities in park conservation, iii) to find out the factors deterring conservation policy implementation in VNP. Data were collected from cells contacting 45 respondents selected conveniently. The questionnaire and interview method were used to collect data. The study revealed that most local people understood well and were aware of the existing conservation policies and rules. The most common policies included; punishment to hunters, bush burners, and poachers; increasing the investment and financing (5% revenue sharing policy); developing infrastructure leading to the park; capacity building and human resources motivation; marketing and awareness reinforcement and finally supporting local community small businesses among others. The study found out that local people were somehow satisfied with some policies with exception of setting a wall of separation, and punishment of poachers. The study further revealed that local Residents play a big role in the conservation of VNP and that decision making process in matter of VNP conservation is important to the park managers where they interact and share views with local government in decisions making in terms of VNP conservation. Despite the policies already existing, the implementation of them encounters barriers including but not limited to; excessive forest resources dependency where people still have the mentality of hunting and poaching for meat and collect bamboo for basketry. These result in harming the park and the flora and fauna it shelters. Recommendations mainly focused on the increase of the awareness of conservation policies of Volcanoes National Park as well as putting more conservation policies with the involvement of community leaders and residents. Copyright©2016 Kalulu Ronald et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The hospitality industry is highly service-oriented with a low degree of tangibility. Almost all of the operations concerning a hotel or restaurant involve human interaction in the form of employee customer communication and interaction (Nadiri and Hussain, 2005). Moreover the customer has to use the services and products provided by the hotel or restaurant at the place and cannot be taken home. Due to the lack of a tangible product which is offered by the hotel or restaurant, the analyses of satisfaction of the customer needs to be based on the service provided by the hotel or restaurant. The quality of service is associated with the feeling developed in the minds of the customer based on the product of the service and whether the expectations of the customer have been met. Moreover the hotels and restaurant highly value repeat customers which can only be developed based on customer satisfaction.

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The not so long ago traditional way of organizing a holiday by choosing a destination seen in an album or in various brochures at a travel agency, together with the use of a travel guide and a folding map has been steadily taken over in the last years by the tourists who conduct by themselves online complex researches regarding destinations, hotels and means of transportation in order to find the best combination of solutions and rates. Nowadays, these researches are done using smartphones, tablets and other devices. At the same time, much trust is granted to peer reviews and social media. The question that arises is: Are the Romanian hoteliers spectators to these changes or are they also taking action? The present paper will try to identify the main issues Romanian hotels face currently in what concerns digital media. A special focus regards international trends and how Romanian hotels are responding to them.