Maintain Hospitality Industry Knowledge: D1.HRSCL1.08 D1.HOT - CL1.08 Trainee Manual

Maintain hospitality industry knowledge
D1.HRSCL1.08
D1.HOT.CL1.08
Trainee Manual
Maintain hospitality
industry knowledge
D1.HRSCL1.08
D1.HOT.CL1.08
Trainee Manual
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual
Project Base
William Angliss Institute of TAFE

555 La Trobe Street
Melbourne 3000 Victoria
Telephone: (03) 9606 2111
Facsimile: (03) 9670 1330
Acknowledgements
Project Director: Wayne Crosbie

Chief Writer: Alan Hickman
Subject Writer: Alan Hickman
Project Manager: Alan Maguire
Editor: Nick Hyland
DTP/Production: Daniel Chee, Mai Vu, Jirayu Thangcharoensamut
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member
States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
General Information on ASEAN appears online at the ASEAN Website: www.asean.org.
All text is produced by William Angliss Institute of TAFE for the ASEAN Project on “Toolbox
Development for Priority Tourism Labour Division”.
This publication is supported by Australian Aid through the ASEAN-Australia Development
Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II).
Copyright: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2012.
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to ensure that this publication is free from errors or omissions. However,
you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact,
statement or matter contained in this book. ASEAN Secretariat and William Angliss Institute of TAFE
are not responsible for any injury, loss or damage as a result of material included or omitted from this
course. Information in this module is current at the time of publication. Time of publication is indicated
in the date stamp at the bottom of each page.
Some images appearing in this resource have been purchased from various stock photography
suppliers and other third party copyright owners and as such are non-transferable and non-exclusive.
Additional images have been sourced from Flickr and are used under:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
http://www.sxc.hu/
File name: TM_Maintan_hosp_ind_knowledge_310812.docx
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual
Table of contents
Introduction to trainee manual ............................................................................................... 1
Unit descriptor........................................................................................................................ 3
Assessment matrix ................................................................................................................ 5
Glossary ................................................................................................................................. 7
Element 1: Seek information on the hospitality industry ....................................................... 9
Element 2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical

issues for the hospitality industry ..................................................................... 53
Element 3: Update hospitality industry knowledge ............................................................. 67
Presentation of written work ................................................................................................ 79
Recommended reading ....................................................................................................... 81
Trainee evaluation sheet ..................................................................................................... 83
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual
Introduction to trainee manual

To the Trainee
Congratulations on joining this course. This Trainee Manual is one part of a ‘toolbox’
which is a resource provided to trainees, trainers and assessors to help you become
competent in various areas of your work.
The ‘toolbox’ consists of three elements:
A Trainee Manual for you to read and study at home or in class
A Trainer Guide with Power Point slides to help your Trainer explain the content of the
training material and provide class activities to help with practice
An Assessment Manual which provides your Assessor with oral and written questions
and other assessment tasks to establish whether or not you have achieved
competency.
The first thing you may notice is that this training program and the information you find in
the Trainee Manual seems different to the textbooks you have used previously. This is
because the method of instruction and examination is different. The method used is called
Competency based training (CBT) and Competency based assessment (CBA). CBT and
CBA is the training and assessment system chosen by ASEAN (Association of South-
East Asian Nations) to train people to work in the tourism and hospitality industry
throughout all the ASEAN member states.
What is the CBT and CBA system and why has it been adopted by ASEAN?
CBT is a way of training that concentrates on what a worker can do or is required to do at
work. The aim is of the training is to enable trainees to perform tasks and duties at a
standard expected by employers. CBT seeks to develop the skills, knowledge and
attitudes (or recognise the ones the trainee already possesses) to achieve the required
competency standard. ASEAN has adopted the CBT/CBA training system as it is able to
produce the type of worker that industry is looking for and this therefore increases
trainees chances of obtaining employment.
CBA involves collecting evidence and making a judgement of the extent to which a worker
can perform his/her duties at the required competency standard. Where a trainee can
already demonstrate a degree of competency, either due to prior training or work
experience, a process of ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ (RPL) is available to trainees to
recognise this. Please speak to your trainer about RPL if you think this applies to you.
What is a competency standard?
Competency standards are descriptions of the skills and knowledge required to perform a
task or activity at the level of a required standard.
242 competency standards for the tourism and hospitality industries throughout the
ASEAN region have been developed to cover all the knowledge, skills and attitudes
required to work in the following occupational areas:
Housekeeping
Food Production
Food and Beverage Service
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Trainee Manual 1
Front Office
Travel Agencies
Tour Operations.
All of these competency standards are available for you to look at. In fact you will find a
summary of each one at the beginning of each Trainee Manual under the heading ‘Unit
Descriptor’. The unit descriptor describes the content of the unit you will be studying in the
Trainee Manual and provides a table of contents which are divided up into ‘Elements’ and
‘Performance Criteria”. An element is a description of one aspect of what has to be
achieved in the workplace. The ‘Performance Criteria’ below each element details the
level of performance that needs to be demonstrated to be declared competent.
There are other components of the competency standard:
Unit Title: statement about what is to be done in the workplace
Unit Number: unique number identifying the particular competency
Nominal hours: number of classroom or practical hours usually needed to complete
the competency. We call them ‘nominal’ hours because they can vary e.g. sometimes
it will take an individual less time to complete a unit of competency because he/she
has prior knowledge or work experience in that area.
The final heading you will see before you start reading the Trainee Manual is the
‘Assessment Matrix’. Competency based assessment requires trainees to be assessed in
at least 2 – 3 different ways, one of which must be practical. This section outlines three
ways assessment can be carried out and includes work projects, written questions and
oral questions. The matrix is designed to show you which performance criteria will be
assessed and how they will be assessed. Your trainer and/or assessor may also use
other assessment methods including ‘Observation Checklist’ and ‘Third Party Statement’.
An observation checklist is a way of recording how you perform at work and a third party
statement is a statement by a supervisor or employer about the degree of competence
they believe you have achieved. This can be based on observing your workplace
performance, inspecting your work or gaining feedback from fellow workers.
Your trainer and/or assessor may use other methods to assess you such as:
Journals
Oral presentations
Role plays
Log books
Group projects
Practical demonstrations.
Remember your trainer is there to help you succeed and become competent. Please feel
free to ask him or her for more explanation of what you have just read and of what is
expected from you and best wishes for your future studies and future career in tourism
and hospitality.
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2 Trainee Manual
Unit descriptor
Unit descriptor
This unit deals with the skills and knowledge required to Maintain hospitality industry
knowledge in a range of settings within the hotel and travel industries workplace context.
Unit Code:
D1.HRSCL1.08
D1.HOT.CL1.08
Nominal Hours:
20 hours
Element 1: Seek information on the hospitality industry

Performance Criteria
1.1 Identify and access sources of information on the hotel and travel industries,
appropriately and correctly
1.2 Obtain information on the hotel and travel industries to assist effective work
performance within the industries
1.3 Access and update specific information on relevant sector(s) of work
1.4 Use knowledge of the hotel and travel industries in the correct context to enhance
quality of work performance
1.5 Obtain information on other industries to enhance quality of work performance
Element 2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical

issues for the hospitality industry
2.1 Obtain information on legal issues and ethical issues to assist effective work
performance
2.2 Conduct day-to-day hospitality industry activities in accordance with legal obligations
and ethical industry practices
Element 3: Update hospitality industry knowledge

3.1 Identify and use a range of opportunities to update general knowledge of the hotel
and travel industries
3.2 Monitor current issues of concern to the industries
3.3 Share updated knowledge with customers and colleagues as appropriate and
incorporate this knowledge into day-to-day work activities
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Unit descriptor
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Assessment matrix
Assessment matrix
Showing mapping of Performance Criteria against Work Projects, Written
Questions and Oral Questions
Work Written Oral

Projects Questions Questions
1.1 Identify and access sources of information on

the hotel and travel industries, appropriately 1.1 1, 2, 3 1
and correctly
1.2 Obtain information on the hotel and travel

industries to assist effective work performance 1.1 4 – 13 2
within the industries
1.3 Access and update specific information on

1.1, 1.2 14, 15 3
relevant sector(s) of work
1.4 Use knowledge of the hotel and travel

industries in the correct context to enhance 1.3 16, 17, 18 4
1.5 Obtain information on other industries to

1.4 19, 20 21 5
enhance quality of work performance
Element 2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical issues for the hospitality
industry
2.1 Obtain information on legal issues and ethical

2.1 21 – 25 6
issues to assist effective work performance
2.2 Conduct day-to-day hospitality industry

activities in accordance with legal obligations 2.2 26, 27 7
3.1 Identify and use a range of opportunities to

update general knowledge of the hotel and 3.1 28, 29 8
travel industries
3.2 Monitor current issues of concern to the

3.2 30, 31 9
industries
3.3 Share updated knowledge with customers and

colleagues as appropriate and incorporate this 3.3 32, 33 10
knowledge into day-to-day work activities
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Assessment matrix
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6 Trainee Manual
Glossary
Glossary
Term Explanation
Al fresco dining Outside/open air dining
B&B Bed and breakfast
Brasserie Relaxed, up-market restaurant
Breach An offence; breaking a law
‘Bump’ guests Re-locate guests to another venue of similar standard and

price – may be due to overbooking, or a fault/problem with
a room
CCTV Closed Circuit Television
Clock watcher Someone with a poor work ethic who constantly looks at
the clock and stops working the second their rostered
‘stop work’ time arrives even though there is work to do, or
they are in the middle of serving a customer
Concierge A person/desk at an accommodation venue providing

local advice and information to visitors/tourists about a
wide variety of things such as restaurants, directions on
how to get to places, shops, customers, trips and tours
Dynamic Ever-changing
EO Equal Opportunity
F&B Food and Beverage
FOC Free-of-charge
Familiarisations Also known as ‘famils’ or ‘fam tours’ are free-of-charge

visits to venues, parks, attractions and the like so people
can experience first-hand what the venue is like so they
can tell others (or make a buying decision)
Fauna The animals of a country or region: the wildlife of an area
Flora The flowers and plants of a country or region: plant life of

an area
Generic information Information that is generally applicable
Gratuity Tip/cash (from a customer) for service provided
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Glossary
Term Explanation
HR Human Resources
Infrastructure The facilities and services supporting and enabling the

functioning of a country/region such as its transport
system and power utilities
Itinerary A schedule for a trip/tour detailing dates, times,

destinations, and activities
KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken – franchised fast food outlets
Loss prevention officer An undercover security person whose role is to identify

shop-lifters and staff who steal from the business
MICE Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions
Multi-skilled A staff member with skills in more than one area
No-show A person/group who has made a reservation but does not

arrive
OHS Occupational Health and Safety
Overbooking A common industry practice where the venue accepts

bookings for more rooms (or tables) than they have
available on the basis some people may be ‘No Shows’
POS Point-Of-Sale
PR Public Relations – goodwill between two or more parties
QA Quality Assurance
Reps Representatives; travelling representatives/salespeople

from suppliers
SMEs Small and medium enterprises
SOP Standard Operating Procedure
Static guard A high-profile uniformed security staff member intended to

deter thieves/trouble-makers by virtue of their visible
presence
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Element 1:
Seek information on the hospitality
industry
1.1 Identify and access sources of information on
the hotel and travel industries, appropriately
and correctly
Introduction
Industry knowledge is a vital pre-requisite for effective workplace performance.
This Section looks at where this all-important information can be obtained so you can find
initial information to help with your work, and then maintain/update that knowledge.
Why bother identifying and accessing information?

It is important to have up-to-date information so you can:
 Talk to customers about industry-specific events, trends and happenings
 Plan your career as opportunities present themselves
 Know when you need to update your training (knowledge and skills) in-line with
changes in legislation, equipment, technology, trends and industry best practice
 Cultivate and maintain a professional interest in what is truly a profession
 Communicate effectively with colleagues and management who have themselves kept
up-to-date
 Learn new techniques and integrate fresh knowledge and skills into everyday
workplace practice
 Develop a broader appreciation of the industry – so your work can be placed into a
better context.
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What are the sources of information?

There are many sources of information that can
assist you – some of these are generic in
nature and others are specific to the industry.
Written material
There is much written material that can be used
to obtain and update industry knowledge and
information:
 Reference books – on all manner of
subjects such as travel options,
destinations and attractions, cooking,
mixing cocktails, housekeeping, management and all operational topics
Guidebooks – numerous guidebooks exist on every major tourist destination/country.
While these are often read by tourists to help them obtain a ‘feel’ for the country they
are visiting, they can also be useful to staff working in those countries as a reference
and resource.
Many guidebooks are available online as free downloads, or can be purchased online.
For professionals in the tourist industry it is always worthwhile to get an idea of what
tourists expect when they visit us, so obtaining a few of these guides and browsing
through them can be a very educational and rewarding experience.
 Trade magazines – which may be purchased from newsagents or obtained via
subscription.
 Newspapers – many large circulation newspapers feature some aspect of the
hospitality and/or travel and tourism industries on a regular/weekly basis – these
features can included food, travel and attractions reviews; industry movements (of
staff between different employers), travel articles about destinations and issues of
interest. Find out the days these features appear and take the time to read them
Libraries – public libraries and training institute libraries are a great source of material
you do not have to pay for.
If you have not yet visited a local library you should do so – remember they can
usually also arrange inter-library loans meaning they can often arrange for a book to
be obtained from another library on your behalf
Newsletters – these usually come in electronic form and are mostly free of charge.
They are often produced by industry suppliers/support services and government

agencies and made available as a marketing and/or communication tool – they
commonly contain a significant advertising component (which in itself can be useful),
but they also can contain many useful items/articles that can be readily applied in
working life
 Brochures, price lists and schedules – most venues, attractions, suppliers and service
support industries provide some form of printed material to assist with learning about
their:
 Products and services
 Contact details for their business, including hours of operation
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 Prices
 Terms of trade
 Advertisements – whether in the newspaper or in other formats (TV, flyers) these are
an excellent source of information about new products and services, changes to
existing products, prices, special deals and offers
 Local telephone book – this is a good source of basic information especially where the
business, venue, body or organisation has a display advertisement to explain what
they have to offer.
Visitor Information Centre
This is probably the first contact you should make when
seeking to develop local industry knowledge in relation to
hotels and travel.
Visitor Information Centres are ready-made sources of
valuable and useful local information – they will have
done much of the hard work in gathering together much
of the information you need.
The information is all there – all you have to do is ask for
it.
Gather whatever information they have available: there are often invaluable lists of local
government services and contacts, as well as stacks of brochures about hire cars, flyers
about local tourist attractions, booklets about local tours, local visitor and attraction
guides.
This amazing source is definitely not to be under-estimated. Spend some time getting to
know the manager and the counter/visitor contact staff.
You and the information centre should be allies, both working towards the same goal –
maximising visitor nights and visitor expenditure in the local area.
A good working relationship with these people is essential to encourage them to feed you
with any up-to-date information they become aware of: go and meet whoever the
manager is, have a beverage with them or invite them to your venue for a drink – but get
to know them.
The Visitor Information Centre will have undertaken an audit of the venues, hotels,
restaurants, bars, shops, tourist attractions, tours and similar in your area and will be well
equipped to pass this information on to you.
The quality of service you can expect from these centres is outstanding – many have
been through an accreditation process with their peak body and actively strive not only to
provide information to visitors and tourists, but to provide underpinning support to industry
as well.
In addition, many of these visitor centres are sites you and all the other establishment
staff should visit occasionally in order to get to know what is on offer there. The visitor
centre itself can be a place where you send visitors, not as a source of obtaining
information, but in order to see the various displays they have on show.
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These displays can vary over time, with many centres boasting substantial and attractive,
permanent displays (many of which are interactive to some degree). These static displays
are supplemented from time-to-time by temporary displays featuring some particular local
aspect – be it historical, geographical, geological, or festival or event-related.
Some centres even have a theatre facility where tourists can view a (usually free-of-
charge) video about the local area – the people you send there will appreciate you for
providing them with this sort of advice, this genuine 'local knowledge'.
Internet
Some of the above ‘written material’ sources are internet based but the internet is a great
source of much more.
You should develop a list of Favourites and Bookmark them for ready reference.
These might include:
 Suppliers – food, beverages, other supplies, equipment, tour operators, travel
agencies
 Industry associations – the industry representative bodies and/or peak agencies who
represent the industry to government, the media, unions and other interested/allied
parties
 Government bodies – such as liquor, gaming, food safety, occupational health and
safety, tobacco, industrial relations, business operation, taxation sites
 Specific venues – these should be properties similar to the one where you are working
so you can compare what similar venues advertise, offer, do.
It is worth subscribing to any information services/newsletters any of the above sites offer
as they are usually free and can be a valuable source of updated information.
It should become standard practice for you to do a ‘Net search whenever you are looking
for something, seeking inspiration or wanting to check things out.
Conferences and seminars
You should attend these whenever possible, and make an effort to attend a major one at
least every two years (either nationally or internationally).
Let your employer know you are interested in attending and actively seek out events that
are coming up.
Conferences and seminars are extremely useful because they are:
 A great source of industry contacts – it is beneficial to begin ‘networking’ as soon as
possible
 Good sources of new ideas, new products and new industry thinking
 A good opportunity to share and test ideas – with others in the industry.
If you cannot attend them, make sure you read about them in the trade magazines or
make contact with someone who has attended and talk to them about their experience
and what they found out.
Product launches
Already working in the industry you are in a good position to attend many of these
because you will find out about them more so than people who do not work in the
industry.
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Sales representatives may give you an invitation, or an invitation may be given to all staff
at your workplace.
These events are (again) good networking opportunities and they also provide product
knowledge about the product being launched/re-launched.
Industry associations
Industry associations are bodies
venues/properties can elect to join.
They serve specific industry sectors and
provide businesses/employers with a variety of
services which can include:
 Representing the industry – this means
they act as an industry
voice/spokesperson to unions, the media,
and government
 Legal advice – about industrial relations
issues, occupational health and safety
 Training – to management and operational staff
 Industry standards or benchmarks – which member bodies can elect to implement as
their standard practice
 Cost savings – by virtue of establishing for their members a range of discount rates for
products and services from industry suppliers
 Market research data – through undertaking ongoing market research into issues of
interest to members.
Many have newsletters, magazines or regular mailings of some sort to keep the
membership up-to-date with what is happening.
Ask your supervisor if you your workplace is a member of such a body, and ask if you can
read the newsletters, magazines or regular mailings.
Industry unions
In the same way industry associations represent the interests of employers/businesses,
unions represent the interests of employees/workers.
Joining a union is voluntary and all employees have a right to do so if they wish.
Unions can be an excellent source of information
about job vacancies, work obligations and
entitlements.
Colleagues, supervisors and managers
These people are your first-line sources of
information.
You should feel free to ask them questions
whenever you need to find information – get to
know them and actively seek out their opinions,
experiences and views.
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They can help you find out what is happening in the workplace and in the wider industry,
the direction/s the business is taking, what they think of the industry and its various
stakeholders, and what they intend doing personally in terms of career moves.
Talking to these people demonstrates your interest in the industry and the more you talk
to them the easier it will become to ask subsequent questions.
More on developing your own industry network
It has already been stated you should start forming an industry network of contacts to help
you in your work, and to provide information about what is happening elsewhere in the
industry.
To develop a useful and representative network of contacts you will need to make
deliberate attempts to target and talk to people you respect within the industry (including
owners, workers, managers and others).
Make yourself known and visible – keep ‘in the loop’ which means:
 You need to contact your contacts/network when you find out something you think
they might like/need to know – this highlights the two-way nature of the concept of
networking
 You need to occasionally contact them just to ‘stay in touch’ even when there is
nothing specific to pass on to them – often they remember something they need to tell
you, and your call demonstrates you value them as a contact.
Talking to ‘the reps’
Many/most suppliers have sales representatives who call on the business on a regular
basis.
Sales representatives (known also as ‘sales reps’ or just as ‘reps’) visit the business to
take orders for stock and for PR purposes. These PR calls are courtesy visits where they
do not actively ask for an order but simply call in and ‘have a chat’.
This talk can be useful in finding out what is happening at other venues, trends in the
industry, new releases, potential stock outages of products they sell, and impending price
rises.
They are an excellent source of information, certainly about their product, but also about
the industry in general because they visit so many properties and speak to so many staff.
Asking someone to be your mentor
This is a really big step, but certainly worthwhile.
It suggests you ask someone – and it may be outside your workplace – to spend a bit of
time with you every week or so (half-an-hour would be a good start), just talking about the
industry in general and getting them to give you their views, opinions, experiences.
Make your mentor someone you respect and make sure they have had substantial
experience in the business/industry.
Asking a person to be your mentor is a compliment to them and definitely indicates you
are serious about your job.
Using information services
Most information services are fee-for-service providers. This means it costs you (or your
employer) money to use their services.
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These services capture and analyse information from various industry areas – for
example, they may focus on issues such as reasons for visiting the country/area, sources
of inbound tourists, spending patterns, length of stays, attractions and destinations visited:
the range of topics is virtually limitless.
In addition, most government agencies provide information to employers and these too
can be regarded as information services – most of these services are free and available
as:
 E-newsletters – newsletters sent via e-mail
 Fact Sheets
 Updates
 Guides
 Information Sheets
 Over-the-phone advice from inspectors, field officers or other appropriate personnel
within the agency.
In many cases, authorised officers will often visit your premises to assist you in
addressing nominated issues.
1.2 Obtain information on the hotel and travel

industries to assist effective work
performance within the industries
Introduction
It is not sufficient that you ‘work in the
industry’ – you must ‘work effectively’ and
obtaining and using the correct information
is the basis of this effectiveness.
This Section looks at the type of
information you need to obtain in order to
work effectively and identifies different
industry sectors and different types of
businesses.
The key to obtaining any information is for
you to be proactive – it is highly unlikely
most information will seek you out, so you
have to go and find it.
How to obtain the information

Obtaining the information you need is a matter of applying yourself to the sources
identified in the previous Section.
In practice this can mean:
 Subscribing to, and reading, industry magazines, newsletters, updates
 Picking and reading through the local and city newspapers – especially those sections
that carry articles/features on hospitality, tourism, and events
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 Getting on Internet e-mail lists and receiving newsletters and updates from the vast
number of relevant industry government agencies, suppliers and/or support services
 Joining your local union or industry association to receive regular material – and
taking an active interest in the issues that are foremost in their minds
 Reading books on the industry sector that you are working in – you should aim to read
widely and include biographies of industry people, management texts, practical hands-
on reference material and general literature on diverse industry topics
 Getting out and having a look around to see what’s happening, what people are doing,
what the competition is doing, and what people are doing and saying.
And consider writing down what you find out from all of these sources.
You will forget most of what you manage to find if you do not store it somewhere –
perhaps start a scrap book: maybe even buy a small filing cabinet.
Profit and non-profit businesses

The hospitality industry can be divided into two general categories – commercial and non-
commercial.
Commercial establishments operate for profit.
These include hotels, motels, convention centres, take-away premises, and restaurants:
licensed clubs seek to operate at a profit but their profits must be ploughed back into the
club for the benefit of the members and so are regarded as ‘not for profit’ even though
they seek to trade at a profit.
Non-commercial establishments do not seek to make a profit, some even acting in a
charitable capacity or in response to community need: these can include some hospitals
and canteens that operate in some workplaces and are subsidised by the company or
some other funding source.
These non-profit businesses do not aim to trade at a loss (indeed they will still operate
within strict budgetary controls) but their focus is more on providing a service than
showing a return on investment. They will still watch their income and expenditure but
their on-going viability does not rely on showing a profit.
Different industry sectors

The hospitality industry is often called the Tourism and Hospitality Industry and
comprises:
 Restaurants and cafes
 Hotels
 Clubs
 Meetings and events – MICE
 Tours operators
 Tours guides.
Most operators are small-medium enterprises (SMEs).
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The word’ sector’ as it is applied to the industry can be subject to liberal interpretation and
can refer to:
 Individual types of businesses – restaurants, hotels, clubs
 Generic services provided – meetings, events, tour operators and guides.
We will use this approach to briefly identify some of the different business types operating
within the broad definition of the hospitality industry.
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment where the
predominant activity is the production and service of
food for consumption on the premises.
Many/most restaurants are licensed to sell liquor
but there is no legal requirement that a restaurant
sell liquor: where alcohol is sold, an appropriate
liquor license must be held.
Restaurants may be based on:
 A national cuisine – French, Mexican, German,
Italian, Japanese or the local cuisine
 A style and/or speed of service – which can
include simple plated service, through the more
formal silver service, to dishes prepared/cooked
at the table (called ‘gueridon service’)
 A unique feature – such as a view of a natural landscape, their proximity to a certain
area/landmark or other facilities (such as cinemas, theatres, sporting complexes,
transport)
 A nominated activity – such as a tramcar restaurant, a theatre restaurant or a variety
of entertainment combined with dining.
Cafes
A café can serve breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and supper and often coffee and cake
(or other snacks) in between.
They may or may not be (liquor) licensed. Besides the usual food and beverage service,
cafés can sometimes provide basic entertainment.
The word café tends to denote a more casual, relaxed and informal environment than
may be expected in a restaurant.
Patrons in a café often eat just a snack rather than a full meal.
Premises often call themselves ‘bar and café’ to highlight the fact they serve alcohol.
Hotels
Hotels cover an extremely wide range of premises from a local hotel to an international
standard five-star premises featuring a large range of facilities including, for example, 24-
hour room service.
Hotels may have a rating system applied to them using one star up to five stars: the more
stars, the better the quality, the more services and facilities available (and usually the
more expensive they are for guests to stay in).
A hotel can have many departments – see below, this Section.
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Fast food outlets

Fast food outlets include international brands (such as McDonald’s, KFC) operating
through franchising arrangements, as well as smaller, owner-operated businesses.
Much fast food is pre-prepared and kept on display ready for immediate sale: other food is
‘cooked to order’ with an emphasis on speed.
Many restaurants and cafés offer their dine-in menu as ‘take aways’ and in this way are
also, by default, fast food outlets even though their primary function is to service eat-in
patrons.
Canteens
Canteens usually operate in a workplace setting such as a mine or building site, factory or
some other work location, providing food and drinks to workers.
Food can include snacks, full meals and a range of confectionery lines and ice creams.
Drinks can be tea and coffee as well as a range of cold drinks including canned/bottled
soft drink.
Meals and drinks are usually reasonably priced and may be subsidised by the employer
organisation.
Canteens may be run by the host organisation, or be sub-contracted to another service
provider/catering company.
Patrons select their food and beverages as they move through a race system, paying at a
cash register at the end of the race: some canteens provide all their food and drinks free-
of-charge to workers as part of the employment deal/contract.
‘Wet’ canteens serve limited alcohol (such as two cans of beer per person, per day), while
‘dry’ canteens are alcohol-free.
Casinos
Casinos usually have a number of
departments, similar to those of five star
hotels, but the main difference is they have
a large gaming department employing staff
with specialist skills.
These include croupiers, gaming machine
attendants, pit supervisors, cashiers and a
large security staff: all casinos have a
strong emphasis on security especially the
use of CCTV.
All these employees must be specially licensed in order to carry out their duties – it is
illegal for unlicensed staff to work in these areas.
Convention centres
Convention centres can offer a variety of services, though they vary according to the size
and the capacity of the centre.
Some centres may cater for 3,500 guests in one day, running a fully staffed kitchen that
uses the cook/chill method for most hot entrée and main menu items: some have their
own bakery.
Convention centres mostly employ casual staff.
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Larger centres employ one shift to set up the tables and the bars for a function, and then
another shift takes over to run the actual service.
Once the function is finished and guests have gone, another shift arrives to clean up the
room and re-set for the next shift/function.
Many hotels and clubs feature convention facilities within their premises.
Licensed clubs
Clubs can have a number of departments including restaurants, bars, bottle shops,
functions, entertainment, sports and recreation, front office, security and (in some cases)
gaming and accommodation.
Clubs cater for members and their guests.
Clubs are generally not open to the public in the same way hotels are: if a person is not a
member of the club they have to be signed in as a guest in order to be legally on the
premises/served.
Nightclubs
Nightclubs are popular hospitality venues.
There are many different areas of work in a
nightclub – bar, restaurant, front desk, security and
entertainment.
Some nightclubs are very busy and clients can
often be demanding so employees need to be
good at working well under pressure.
Staff must also enjoy late shifts, loud music,
working when everyone else is partying, and early
morning finishes.
Most nightclubs are stand-alone businesses
operating only as nightclubs, while some hotels
feature a nightclub within their premises.
Resorts
Resorts can offer a wide range of services including food
and beverage, accommodation, functions/conferences,
nightclubs, sporting activities, entertainment and leisure
activities.
Working in a resort can be a lot of fun, though the work is
usually very demanding with very long hours.
Most resort employees live in staff quarters at the resort,
so they are always ‘available’ if needed: the lifestyle
sounds idyllic but the reality is usually somewhat different
to the dream.
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Other areas in the hospitality industry

Other areas of employment in the hospitality industry include:
 Hospitals – and nursing and retirement homes
 Accommodation providers – such as guest houses, B & Bs, back-packer
accommodation
 Sporting facilities/venues – where food and beverages are served
 Large and small catering companies – who provide off-site catering and sub-
contracted catering services to other businesses
 Executive apartments – where housekeeping services and cleaning are provided
 Defence forces – featuring the full range of services: cooking, housekeeping, laundry,
food and beverage service
 Caravan parks – with limited food, retail shops, cleaning
 Airlines, railways, bus depots and cruise liners – with varying degrees of food and
beverages, housekeeping/cabin service.
Departments within establishments

Each department within a hospitality establishment plays its own unique role in the overall
running of the business, and in many instances this role will be integrated with other
departments in order to provide a ‘seamless service’ to customers/guests.
Some establishments rely on a large number of departments to function successfully –
this is particularly so in larger clubs or hotels, where some departments deal with specific
guest services and other departments/staff support the service-delivery departments
and/or the general running and maintenance of the business.
There are also some hospitality establishments (such as wine bars and restaurants) with
only one or two departments.
The following are examples of departments you may find within a hospitality
establishment.
Listed for each department are details and key tasks for each however, in practice, tasks
may vary between properties and alter as demand and staff availability dictate. Most
employers prefer their staff to be multi-skilled so they can be used in more than one area
as need/business demand dictates.
Many venues use an ‘organisational chart’ to portray the departments, staff
levels/positions and reporting, responsibility, communication and authority lines.
Food and Beverage
Food and Beverage tasks include:
 Serving beverages in bars – and providing waiting and service duties for dining rooms
as well as sometimes room service and functions
 Serving food and beverage in restaurants – taking orders for meals and drinks;
delivering meals and drinks to tables; clearing tables for fine-dining, brasserie, bistro,
al fresco dining situations
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 Preparing and providing food items – providing basic food preparation for different
foods for various food outlets within the venue from a main kitchen and/or related
preparation/kitchen areas
 Organising and servicing banquets, functions, and conferences – providing waiting
and other duties for special and large events
 Providing room service – providing service for an in-room dining service, and/or the
service of beverages to a guest room
 Providing mini-bar service – re-stocking liquor, soft drink and snacks in the in-room
guest mini-bar, and completing supporting documentation to support charges to the
guest account
 Calculating accounts and daily takings – performing cashier functions for payments
received
 Purchasing and distributing stock to various departments – ensuring the venue never
runs out of stock, is never overstocked and individual departments (housekeeping,
bars, kitchen) are issued with sufficient and appropriate stock to ensure they can
perform their allocated duties
 Undertaking daily cellar tasks – working the cellar area of a venue (maintenance of
kegs, lines, gas cylinders, together with other bulk delivery systems such as bulk wine,
post-mix and draught cider and stout) to ensure all bulk beverages are available as
and when required
 Making retail sales in bottle shop – undertaking recommendations of products, up-
selling and sales related activities to optimise sales of retail products.
Kitchen/Catering department
Kitchen operations in hospitality establishments prepare
and serve food to the restaurants, bistros, cafeterias and
other outlets within a property. They also prepare room
service food, banquets, functions and may provide on-site
and off-site catering
The kitchen prepares food for guests and staff.
Food prepared is mainly consumed on the premises but
may be consumed off the premises where takeaway
facilities are in place.
The one property may have many kitchens, with one
kitchen being nominated as its main kitchen – smaller
kitchens may service smaller rooms such as function
rooms, bistros or breakfast rooms.
The style and type of food prepared can vary enormously –
even within the one establishment: the same kitchen may service a fine dining facility, a
family bistro, public bar counter lunches as well as snacks, room service and a range of
takeaway food.
The kitchen will be open during the trading hours of the outlets it services, with additional
hours worked as special functions dictate: some kitchens will be open 24 hours-a-day,
seven days per week.
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Basic duties include:

 Ordering of food from suppliers
 Storing of food according to its individual requirements – using dry goods store,
refrigeration and/or freezers
 Preparing food – ready for cooking/further processing
 Cooking food – according to the requirements of individual menu items
 Plating of food – placing of food onto plates to the standards, and in the quantities,
required by the venue.
Kitchens also incorporate a pot wash and dishwashing area
Menu items are expected to be well presented, and align with cost control and portion
control requirements for the service area/venue.
Safe food handling practices are expected to be implemented at all times.
Front Office
Front Office is also referred to as ‘Reception’.
Front Office tasks include:
 Taking guest reservations – processing requests for bookings face-to-face, via
telephone, through email, from the fax, and/or from agents; processing changes to
bookings and cancellations
 Checking guests in and out – welcoming guests on arrival; farewelling them and
settling accounts on their departure and
 Organising portering services – arranging for guest luggage to be taken to or brought
down from the rooms (and stored, where necessary)
 Giving information to guests on internal and external products, services and options –
performing concierge functions
 Processing correspondence and messages – receiving and distributing mail, faxes,
emails, messages delivered in person, flowers, tickets
 Preparing guest accounts – ensuring all items are charged for at the correct price, and
ensuring any deposits are deducted
 Auditing/cashiering role – reconciling accounts, accepting payment for accounts,
exchanging foreign currency (where applicable) and travellers’ cheques; performing
Night Auditor functions on a daily basis.
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Housekeeping
Housekeeping (also referred to as ‘Rooms
Division’) tasks include:
 Servicing the accommodation rooms,
hallways, offices, public areas, toilets and
whatever else is deemed appropriate –
including cleaning guest rooms and other
areas, and replenishing in-room guest
and other supplies as required
 Managing the laundry requirements and
dry-cleaning for guests – taking, processing and returning laundry and dry cleaning
items for guests and processing house items (sheets, pillow cases, towels, uniforms)
 Performing linen room functions – repairing house and guest items
 Monitoring and maintaining room accessories and facilities – ensuring they are all
working as expected and have not been damaged or stolen
 Portering duties – moving garbage and dirty linen; taking items to and from rooms as
required.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and Marketing tasks include:
 Undertaking advertising in media options used by the venue – creating, placing and
tracking the effectiveness of advertising
 Creating brochures and pamphlets – encouraging people to visit and buy
 Providing face-to-face canvassing of prospects – aiming at converting ‘prospects’ to
‘purchasers’
 Creating and running sales promotion activities – generating interest in and sales for
the venue
 Organising events and sponsorships – maintaining a suitable profile for the venue
within the marketplace/community
 Taking reservations – capturing bookings for the venue (usually from organisations
that make bulk bookings such as travel agencies, especially wholesale travel agents).
Accounts and Finance
Accounts and Finance tasks include:
 Monitoring revenue and expenditure – of individual departments and the venue as a
whole
 Paying all invoices from suppliers – on time, ensuring all appropriate discounts,
deposits, credits and refunds have been taken into account
 Administering payroll for all employees – to ensure they are paid correctly, on time
 Preparing taxation and other administration reports – to meet legislated requirements
and internal protocols
 Budget forecasting – to predict expected sales/revenue and expenses
Specialist accounting-specific qualifications may be required to work in this
department.
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Human Resources
HR Tasks include:
 Identifying future staff requirements – for all venue areas and departments (back-of-
house and front-of-house)
 Recruiting staff – internally and through external sources to fill identified need
 Selecting staff – including activities relating to interviewing, short-listing and reference
checking
 Providing induction and orientation for new staff – to welcome them and introduce
them to their new workplace
 Training of staff – to enable achievement of venue standards and meet any legally
imposed compliance requirements
 Maintaining all staff records – to assist with promotion, payment, discipline and
training
 Staff counselling – to assist staff attain workplace goals and standards
 Career planning – for individual staff to facilitate their growth in the business including
promotion and cross- and multi-skilling
 Fulfilling employment requirements – keeping up-to-date with legal employment and
associated IR obligations.
Gaming
Gaming tasks are usually strictly governed by law (often
requiring specialist certification/licences for all staff) and
relate to:
 Providing nominated services to gaming machines –
such as clearing coin and other jams, re-filling
hoppers, paying out winnings
 Monitoring patron behaviour – and being alert to
suspicious persons and illegal activities
 Dealing – and/or supervising at table games
 Supervising pits – to prevent fraud and cheating
 Cashiering duties – making payouts to customers and exchange money for patrons.
Entertainment
Tasks may include:
 Selling tickets for cabarets/concerts
 Promoting upcoming bands, events and acts
 Organising functions and activities
 Auditioning and hiring bands and/or entertainment
 Managing discos/nightclubs.
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Leisure
Activities related to the Leisure department can
include:
Developing recreation and leisure activities – to
meet identified customer need, and/or to attract
customers
Coordinating sporting activities – at resorts and
clubs
Conducting fitness training – for in-house
guests
Providing health and therapy services – such as
spa, beauty and welfare services
Coordinating games and other fun activities for children and adults – at resorts and on
cruise ships
Specialist qualifications may be required to perform some roles in this area.
Maintenance
Maintenance tasks may include:
Managing plumbing, electrical and carpentry needs – including undertaking repairs to
faulty items and the delivery of preventative maintenance
Maintaining upkeep of the venue – by painting, decorating and refurbishment
Maintaining gardens and outside areas – lawn mowing, watering, weeding, new
plantings
Providing general maintenance around the venue – including preventative
maintenance and responding to maintenance requests
Specialist certification may be required to perform some roles in this area.
Security
Security tasks include:
Guarding and transporting money – within the venue (for
example, from bars to the office) and externally (from the
venue to the bank)
Providing security for guests – as a general service and in
response to specific needs
Handling troublesome guests – such as asking them to
modify their behaviour/language, and/or asking them to
leave the premises
Securing buildings and grounds – by undertaking regular
patrols of the premises
Specialist licensing may be required to perform some
duties in this area.
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Career opportunities within the hospitality industry

To function successfully, all venues need
employees to complete an array of tasks.
These tasks can vary in description and
responsibility levels. They can either involve
administration/management roles or hands-
on/operational tasks, or a combination of
both.
Many businesses use a blend of casual,
part-time and permanent/full-time staff to
meet their needs.
Most hospitality employers are fully aware of the value of an experienced staff member to
the business – they understand there is a need for employees who are dedicated, loyal
and keen to pursue a career within the business.
All businesses rely on employees to deliver the required standard and quality of service
so they can survive in today’s competitive business world.
An employee who satisfies business aims along with customer needs and expectations is
usually rewarded by means of promotion – either full-time status, to a more senior level or
to a different/higher level job.
Internal promotions (that is, promotion of existing staff) are common within the hospitality
industry because management knows the staff member, and the staff member knows the
venue/business.
Therefore, it is important to think of the future when you take your next job.
If you want to rise to a more senior level, make sure there is room for that growth if you
are employed at an entry level.
Career opportunities are available in most licensed and non-licensed premises.
Departments that could contain your future job include all those mentioned above – many
people find themselves finally employed in an area/role far removed from the one they
initially started in.
Possible initial positions can include waiting, bar attending, kitchen hand, breakfast cook,
larder cook, grill cook, receptionist, housekeeper, porter, laundry attendant and gaming
room attendant.
Promotional opportunities can exist to advance to head waiter, bar manager, night cook,
relief cook, second chef, functions manager, Food and Beverage manager, front office
manager, gaming supervisor, executive housekeeper and/or night auditor.
The top jobs may include rooms division manager, executive chef/head chef, club
manager and general manager.
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Relationship between tourism and hospitality

The word ‘tourist’ means ‘someone who travels
for pleasure.’
The tourism and hospitality industries come
together when a person, either local or from
overseas, takes a holiday and visits one or more
tourist attractions.
It is often difficult, if not impossible, to
differentiate between both industries as they
frequently merge.
Both industries support each other – it is not the
case tourism supports hospitality or vice versa.
Tourism may be seen as involving:
 Trips to local attractions and areas
 Tours of sites and landmarks
 Use of tour guides
 Travel – to and from the country/area as well as transportation within the country/area
 Activities – such as attendance at theme parks, participation in ‘action’ holidays
 Visits to zoos, museums and other places of interest.
See more information under ‘Tourism Businesses’ below.
Hospitality may be seen as involving:
 Eating – eat-in and takeaway: all standards, types of cuisine, styles of service
 Drinking – alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including takeaway drink sales
 Accommodation – in-house rooms and facilities
 Rest and relaxation – gymnasiums, spa and wellbeing services.
Meetings and Events

A significant industry sector is referred to as the
MICE industry/sector.
MICE stands for ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conventions
and Exhibitions’ industry.
This sector provides for professional management
and organisation of meetings, conventions and other
events such as incentives, exhibitions, expositions,
seminars and promotions.
Those employed in the MICE industry will have close
relationships with many other industries especially
travel and tourism, entertainment, and hospitality
because their role is commonly to provide a one-stop shop for all MICE requirements.
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That is, an event organiser/coordinator may (depending on the project brief/objectives for
the event) be expected to:
Develop a concept for a meeting or event and analyse the feasibility of it – or work
with a theme/concept provided by the client
Arrange travel, accommodation, meals, entertainment, tours and venues – including
all support services needed to allow the event to be conducted as required
Plan the event – including strategic planning relating to numbers, timing, locations,
and integration of activities
Promote the event to relevant stakeholders – on behalf of the client
Accept and monitor registrations/bookings for the event – and administer these under
direction from the client
Control the implementation of the event – including adjustments to cater for matters
arising during the event, and all issues impacting on the conduct of the event
Evaluate the event after it has concluded – to determine what might be done
better/differently next time.
Tourism Businesses
Tourist attractions
Tourist attractions can include natural and man-made attractions.
Natural attractions include attractions such
as:
Beaches
Mountains
Lakes
Deserts
Rivers
Caves.
Man-made (or ‘built’) attractions include:
Entertainment centres
Amusement parks and theme parks
Lookouts
Science centres
Museums
Historic sites
Landmarks.
Some attractions are a blend of natural and built attractions, such as:
Gardens
Sanctuaries
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Zoos
Natural attractions where man-made facilities have been built to cater for visitors.
People visiting tourist attractions often use the services of local hospitality establishments
– for food, drinks and accommodation.
Tours to tourist attractions may be integrated into some other events – such as a package
deal offered by an accommodation establishment.
Staff at tourist attractions can include on-site guides, catering staff, receptionists,
maintenance crews, cleaning and gardening staff and personnel required for site-specific
activities (such as feeding and caring for animals, specialist demonstrators for displays
and on-site activities).
Tour operators
Tour operators liaise with other businesses (such as hotels, tourist attractions, hire car
companies) to develop ‘packages’ which they sell to the public.
The elements of a tour are called ‘inclusions’.
A tour can take a number of hours, half-a-day, a full-day, multiple days, weeks,
sometimes even months, depending on the tour itinerary.
Hotels and other accommodation venues usually sell rooms at lower rates to tour
operators because tour operators commonly buy in volume, and generally represent a
recurring source of revenue.
Tour guides
There are different types of tour guides including:
 On-site/attractions guides – who guide visitors around
sites and attractions providing commentary along the
way, supervising and facilitating interaction with
games/activities and generally assisting visitors to
optimise their experience with the venue
 Driver guides – who drive vehicles taking visitors on
tours, to destinations: they also provide commentary,
arrange entertainment on the trip, and may be
responsible for cooking meals
 Specialised guides – for action and adventure tours
where the guides have detailed knowledge about (for
example) local flora and fauna, dangers and hazards,
local customs, rules and requirements
 Business and industry guides – who specialise in
conducting shopping trips, or connecting visiting people
with local businesses.
The role of a tour guide is very diverse and they are
expected to discharge numerous roles such as:
Pathfinder – to show the way on the tour
Mentor – to educate and provide information regarding the tour and its attractions and
elements/inclusions
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Host – to accompany tour group members and facilitate social interaction between
tour group members
Escort – to protect and ensure safety of those in the group and their belongings
Entertainer – to optimise enjoyment and interest: in some cases they provide the
entertainment
Problem solver – to resolve issues arising within the tour group and within the tour
itself: these can include issues associated with vehicle breakdown, personal illness
amongst tour group members, weather and other difficulties
Interpreter – to interpret the activities, site and tour and promote cultural awareness:
they may also act as a language interpreter
Assistant – to help, encourage and motivate tour group members with whatever is
required
Public relations – to enhance the reputation and image of the site/employer
Administrator – to keep records and monitor groups and activities.
Tour guides are often referred to as ‘the mortar’ that binds the tour together.
Relationship between the hospitality and other industries

Hospitality businesses could not function without purchasing services and products from
other businesses outside the industry: these are known as ‘support services’ and or
‘suppliers’.
These businesses may include:
Food suppliers – supplying dry goods, meat, poultry, vegetables, dairy, bakeries
Beverage suppliers – supplying beer, wine and spirit wholesalers and soft drink
suppliers such as dairy products, juices and waters
Linen suppliers – providing bedding supplies, towels and tablecloths
Laundry companies – laundering bedding items, towels, tablecloths and napkins
Florists – supplying fresh flowers for the establishment, for decorations, dining tables
and functions
Entertainment agents – supplying and booking acts, bands, presenters, celebrities
Cleaning companies – providing either subcontracted cleaning services and/or
supplying cleaning materials and products/agents
Uniform suppliers – selling staff uniforms
Stationery shops – providing administration and guest supply needs such as paper,
pens, files and envelopes
Security companies – providing in-house or after hours security including static guards
and loss prevention officers
Equipment suppliers – enabling the purchase of new equipment including tables and
chairs, refrigeration equipment, reticulation systems, air conditioning, systems and
telecommunications
Advertising and promotional companies – providing ideas, artwork and
pamphlets/brochures, and marketing activities to generate business for the venue
Travel agents – assisting the venue to sell accommodation and other packages
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Cash register suppliers – providing cash registers and register rolls as well as
maintenance to POS registers/terminals
Trades people – providing a range of professional technical services (electricians,
plumbers, painters, service technicians).
Industry working conditions

Industry working conditions will vary depending on the venue where you work.
It is misleading, for example, to say the working conditions in all hotels are the same, or
the working conditions in all restaurants or
theme parks are the same.
Factors impacting on individual working
conditions include:
Size of the premises/venue
Number of staff employed
Experience of the other staff working at the
venue
Age, amount and condition of the
equipment being used, and the premises
Type and range of products, services and facilities provided
Nature and number of customers/guests
Employer and visitor expectations – including venue policies and procedures
Whether the workplace is inside or outside
Whether work is undertaken during the day or at night.
In general, however, it is possible to say industry working conditions are commonly
characterised by:
High levels of interactions with other people – it is often said hospitality is a ‘people
business’: many of these people (customers, visitors, tourists) can be difficult to deal
with, being tired, in a foreign country, affected by alcohol, or impatient
Long periods on your feet – standing, walking, working: this can make workers very
tired
Working under pressure – the hospitality industry is very time-focused and there is
nearly always a need to get things done on time/by a certain time.
You need to work quickly in areas such as taking guest orders, serving food and drink,
checking guests in and checking them out, meeting requests, cleaning rooms,
conducting tours and working on functions
Working when your friends are not at work – the hospitality industry will require you to
work at nights, on weekends and on public holidays when friends and family may have
time off and want you to spend time with them.
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Superannuation
Superannuation is money deposited by an employer on behalf of their employees to a
fund as a form of compulsory savings towards employee retirement.
The amount of money each employer is required to contribute is determined by law but
the employer can elect, if they choose, to pay in more than the prescribed minimum.
Employees are also entitled/encouraged to contribute.
When the employee retires, they can access the money that has been paid into this fund
on their behalf.
Workers' compensation
Employers are required to have all their employees protected by workers' compensation
insurance: this means employees must be insured by their workplace against injury or
illness in the workplace.
The compensation from the insurance will cover costs relating to rehabilitating the injured
worker providing for items such as reimbursement of wages (or part of) during the
recovery stages.
There is commonly also a requirement every effort is made by the employer to rehabilitate
the worker.
Workers are required to cooperate with any activities identified (for example, by doctors,
medical personnel) to facilitate their return to the workforce: this may include attending
sessions designed to rehabilitate them, or working in different duties at their workplace.
Training
Training can occur on-site or off-site, using in-house or external trainers.
Participation in training can be a condition of your employment.
Training is commonly required for mandatory industry
licences/certificates (relating to liquor service, safe food
handling, gaming) as well as in in-house procedures such
as emergency procedures, evacuation, food and beverage
preparation and service.
A lack of attention to training often leads to a reduced level
of competency which has adverse impacts on your
ongoing employability, promotional prospects and/or being
allocated extra hours.
Uniforms and staff amenities
Many hospitality establishments provide fully laundered
uniforms and name badges to employees.
Some also provide, to varying degrees, food and beverage
for the staff – this may be provided free-of-charge or
meals/drinks may be supplied at a reduced cost.
Venues can also provide staff amenities such as a staff
room, canteen, rest rooms and showers.
These are all provided at a cost to the employer, so it is important for the employee to
look after such items and facilities and not abuse or misuse them.
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Resignation and termination requirements

All employees should – and some must – give notice of their intentions to resign from their
place of employment.
If you quit work without giving your employer sufficient notice the employer may be able to
take money out of wages owing to you as compensation for the lack of notice of your
intention to leave.
In the same way, employers must give sufficient verbal and written notice to staff prior to
terminating them, or they have to pay wages instead of that notice.
‘Suitable notice’ varies and ranges from two days to two weeks
Exceptions to these requirements involve serious offences, which can be dealt with
immediately – meaning staff can be sacked on the spot without notice and without pay in
lieu of notice.
Environmental issues and requirements

All venues should operate in a way designed to protect ‘the amenity of the area’ and the
environment in which the property exist.
Protecting the amenity of the area means premises should be conducted and managed in
way that does not allow the business to adversely impact on the local people’s right to
enjoy the peace and tranquillity of their private homes.
Issues associated with ‘amenity of the area’ concerns are noise (from the premises
themselves and from patrons leaving the premises), drunks in the street, fighting outside
premises, activities of patrons walking past residential properties on their way home.
In addition, all premises are required to conform with statutory environmental
requirements (such as waste management, building and planning) as well as legislated
requirements relating to noise, air, waste and water.
The industry is currently facing several environmental issues relating to:
Water use – and its conservation
The appropriate use of land by tours –
including consideration of sustainable tourism
activities designed not to damage/adversely
impact physical aspects of the land
Recycling of materials
Elimination/reduction of packaging and
wrapping – to lessen the production of garbage
for landfill
Responsible purchasing of food – to minimise
the carbon footprint, and support local
communities, their economic development and
local employment
Reduction of power usage – to reduce harmful environmental emissions.
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Industrial relations issues and major organisations

Major organisations must comply with basic standards in relation to the employment of
staff.
These standards can relate to wage rates and working conditions.
In many countries these standards are subject to constant challenge by both employers
and employees meaning they are likely to change, over time.
Unions operate to improve wages and conditions for workers, and industry associations
function to further the interests of the employers/large organisations.
It is important for you to determine what requirements (for employers and employees)
exist in your industry/workplace in relation to issues such as:
Wage rates – including payments for overtime, working broken shifts, work outside
nominated spread of hours, work on public holidays, rates for different classifications
of work, pay rates for casual, part-time and permanent staff
Procedures in place resolving industrial disputes – including identification of protocols,
timing requirements and personnel involved
Termination of employment – identifying situations when employers are allowed to
dismiss staff, and the conditions that apply
OHS requirements – identifying employer and employee responsibilities as they apply
to creating and maintaining a safe workplace for workers and members of the public
Training – identifying what (if any) compulsory training the employer is obliged to
provide for staff, together with any refresher/update training required
Sources available for identifying and obtaining relevant information related to
individual rights.
Work ethic and industry expectations

Employer and industry expectations are very
much tied to having a good work ethic.
If your work ethic is acceptable, you will meet
these expectations.
Skills and knowledge
People working in the hospitality industry come
face-to-face with the public every time they go
to work.
For people working in this industry, employers
and customers expect staff to have, or
develop:
Social skills – these relate to the way a person reflects their own nature, personality
and attitude to others, and the way they interact with other people
Technical skills – these are the ‘hands-on’ skills required to perform workplace tasks
and duties
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Product knowledge – this is vital knowledge about the workplace where the employee
works and knowledge about the products, services and facilities the venue offers for
use/sale
The right attitude – often said to be ‘the little thing that makes the big difference’.
The hospitality industry demands employees:
Be multi-skilled – so they can work in more than one area/department
Be committed and able to work long hours – as required by the individual workplace
Be friendly and smile – and leave their personal problems at home
Believe in the service ethic (see below) – and demonstrate a desire to be of service
Be customer-focused in their orientation to work – rather than being self-focused or
establishment-focused
Have a practical, ‘can do’, hands-on attitude.
Personal attributes
Employee personal attributes expected by
both employers and customers/guests
include:
Good communication skills – verbal, non-
verbal and written
Smart presentation and grooming –
taking into account personal hygiene,
clothing, make-up and deportment
A strong customer focus – recognising no
business will ever survive or grow unless there is a strong focus on identifying and
providing what customers want, need and prefer
The ability to be a team player – yet with the ability to operate independently without
direction
Able to work well under pressure – when there are lots of customers, when things go
wrong, when there are problems and/or when there are disputes/complaints
Good technical skills – supported by accurate, current, comprehensive knowledge
Honesty and dedication – to the job, to the venue, to work colleagues and to the
customers
A positive attitude – to the job, customers, and management: especially when things
are going wrong the
Initiative – the ability to know what to do and when to do it without having to be told
A sense of urgency when at work – realising customers must not be kept waiting and
most jobs need to be completed by a set/nominated time. Frequently, another staff
member is relying on you to complete your job before/so they can complete their job
Reliability – it is critical to attend for work when rostered, without exception.
If you ever have to miss a shift, it is vital to give your employer the maximum notice of
this.
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Work ethic
Work ethic is a term used to describe the individual approach taken by an employee
towards their job.
Employers are looking for staff to display a ‘good’ work ethic which is characterised by a
combination of factors such as:
Working hard at the job they are paid to do – as opposed to slacking off or spending
their time doing things not related to the job for which they are being paid
Being diligent in their work – which means applying all their skills, talents, knowledge
and experience to the job they are being paid to do and looking after the interests of
both the customer and the business as part of those activities
Being punctual and reliable – meaning they turn up for all their rostered shifts and
show up 10 – 15 minutes before time, dressed and ready for work
It also means they never cease work at the rostered time if there is still work left to do:
in practice, this means they are not ‘clock watchers’
Showing initiative – this relates to being self-directed and making intelligent decisions
on their own as opposed to constantly asking for direction/guidance, or waiting for
instruction about what to do.
The concept of an appropriate work ethic is summed up in doing a fair day’s work for a
fair day’s pay … and doing a little bit extra.
Customer expectations
Factors impacting on guest expectations

Customers come with a variety of expectations – these expectations can vary between
individual customers or groups based on issues such as:
Their previous experience with/at the venue – from earlier visits
Advertising and claims made by the venue about what is provides, the style and
quality of services and products
Information they have obtained from what they deem to be reliable sources – such as
friends and family, or trusted media writers, and reference books
The amount of money paid – most customers understand they can realistically only
expect value-for-money and not value (in relation to things such as quality, service
levels and products) that significantly exceed the amount of money they have paid.
Examples of guest expectations
The following provide a comprehensive overview of the expectations customers/guests,
visitors/tourists bring with them when they attend a venue:
Staff are competent – that is, workers know what they are doing and perform their
designated role in a professional, competent and safe manner
Timely service – they do not want to wait ‘too long’ to be served, to have their order
taken, to be checked in, to be issued with tickets, to be seated, to receive their food or
drinks
To be respected – to have staff talk to them and treat them with consideration and
respect taking into account any cultural issues that may apply
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Suitable facilities – customers insist the facilities provided by the venue match any
claims made about them, are fit for the purpose, are sufficient in number, are safe to
use and enable customers to attain their individual objectives when using those
facilities
Emotional satisfaction – to a varying degree all customers require their experienced to
be an enjoyable one (although any definition of this must take into the account the
individual activity). For example, an ‘exciting’ activity is required to be exciting; a
restful experience must indeed be restful not stressful; a ‘luxurious’ experience must
be exactly that and not a basic experience
Safety and security – all visitors/customers expect their personal safety while at a
venue (or when engaging in an activity) to be guaranteed, and expect their
personal/private belongings will not be damaged or stolen
To be welcomed – meaning they want to be recognised and have suitable attention
paid to them, their presence, their needs, their experiences, their problems and their
intentions. This means customers must be communicated with appropriately (never
ignored) and be made to feel welcome. Smiling and the use of suitable interpersonal
skills are critical to achieving this, as is demonstrating consideration for personal
issues/matters of concern.
You are expected to have a good understanding of what expectations your customers
have but there is nothing wrong with asking customers what these are.
1.3 Access and update specific information on

relevant sector(s) of work
Introduction
While it is extremely useful to gather information on the industry in general – and doing so
will undoubtedly bring benefits – you will need to focus on your particular work area.
The idea of obtaining all this information is so you can use it – for your benefit, the benefit
of the venue, and the ultimate benefit of the customers.
Focusing on your own work sector means the knowledge you gather will be useful
background information – essential to put your sector into perspective, and necessary to
compare what you do to what others do.
What information is involved?

At a personal/career level
The specific information you gather about
your role should cover:
 Career prospects – identifying your
next career step including what is
needed (in experience and
qualifications) to make the move to the
next level
 Training requirements for the next step – identifying how and where you can access
the required training to qualify you for your next career move … and then taking action
to enrol in a course, do the study and gain the credential
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Employment obligations and entitlements – knowing these are important as they

enable you to make sure your work efforts are focused where the employer expects
them to be: this information about your personal entitlements is also valuable working
knowledge for you when you move up in the organisation and become involved in
supervisory/management duties.
You can obtain information regarding your employment obligations and entitlements
from a combination of:
 The employment contract (or similar) you are employed under
 The job description for your role
 The job specification for your position
 Talking to your employer about their expectations of your work
 Reading relevant policies and procedures applicable to your designated tasks
 Quality assurance issues – making sure you are 100% aware of the QA requirements
for all the products and services you are responsible for making, delivering and/or
serving so you can take appropriate remedial action when you identify something
failing to meet the required in-house standards
 Union and employer concerns – you should always make sure you are across IR
issues arising from time-to-time. Once again this awareness can assist your decision
making and direct the action you take in the workplace so you continue to meet
employer expectations and move your own career forward: this knowledge will be of
assistance when you move to supervisor/manager level too
 Legislative and political changes – while management should keep you abreast of any
legislative changes impacting on your workplace operations, it is wise to be proactive
and monitor these things yourself. Sources for doing this include industry websites,
the general media, newsletters, government agencies and industry bodies
 Service, product and facility initiatives – there is an obligation on you to make sure you
know all about any initiatives your employer is undertaking in order to, for example,
increase sales or generate extra interest in the property. These initiatives may include
(depending on the nature and objective for the activity) promotions relating to one or
more of the following:
 Sales
 Package deals
 Discounts
 Introductory offers
 Advertised Specials
 Tours of the premises.
At a sector level
Product knowledge is an absolute necessity when selling anything or when seeking to
make an informed suggestion or recommendation to a customer.
Product knowledge embodies knowledge about:
 Products sold
 Services provided
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 Facilities available
 Operating procedures and conditions of the business.
Both employers and customers expect you, as an industry professional, to have a
substantial body of product knowledge.
What to do if you do not know the answer to a customer question
Note however no-one can possibly know all there is to know about all products and
services however it is vital that when faced with a situation where you do not know the
correct information to give to customers that you:
 Never make it up – always tell the truth: legally enforceable penalties apply for
misrepresentation and dishonesty in advertising
 Apologise for not knowing and advise you will find out – a simple statement such as
‘Sorry, I don’t know but if you can give me a minute I will find out for you’ is all that is
required
 Find out the information needed and then pass it on to the customer as quickly as
possible - again with another apology for the delay/inconvenience caused. Perhaps
supply a hard copy of the information, too.
It is never acceptable when faced with a situation where you do not know the answer to a
question to simply smile, shrug your shoulders and say ‘Sorry, don’t know’ and leave it at
that!
Aspects of product knowledge
Product information is (obviously) information directly relevant to each individual product
or service the company offers/provides.
Depending on what is being considered it can include:
 Information about size, colour, smell and taste
 Details about who made it, where it was made and when
 Knowing if a food item is fresh or frozen
 Being able to tell customers how much longer an item/deal will remain available
 Being able to differentiate between the prices for products, and rates for rooms or
services
 Knowledge about the elements of Special deals as well as their price and conditions.
There are numerous other facets of product knowledge – the above is only an indicative
list.
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Venue-specific product knowledge

In addition to product-specific information you also need to find out the establishment
policies and procedures applying to the operation of the business where you work.
Venue-specific knowledge is part of wider ‘product knowledge’. This requirement can
include finding out about such things as:
 Do they accept payment by check? If so, are there certain conditions applying to this
form of payment?
 What credit cards are accepted?
 When are the trading hours for the premises and the individual departments within it?
 What deposit is required for function bookings, accommodation bookings? When is it
required?
 Are the restaurant (or other) meals available as take-away meals?
 What is check-out time?
There are, of course, many more topics and issues you need to find out about.
Once again, you will need to do some research (the operational manual for the business
and/or the company policies and procedures booklet/intranet facility is a good starting
point for gaining this sort of knowledge) and, once again, you must be 100% accurate and
truthful in any answers you give to customers in this regard.
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1.4 Use knowledge of the hotel and travel

industries in the correct context to enhance
Introduction
In order for what you have
learned to be of some use, you
have to put it into practice – you
have to change what you do
based on the new knowledge you
have acquired.
This is a critical aspect of being
diligent in the work you do –
customers expect it and
employers expect it.
In some circumstances, it may be relatively simple and easy for you to implement
changes based on new knowledge, but in other cases it may be harder.
Scope of authority
Most staff are given guidelines as to what action they can take in the workplace without
having to get special permission from management.
This is referred to as their ‘scope of authority’.
The scope of authority may relate to:
 Their ability to act on behalf of the venue
 Their authority to spend money on behalf of the venue
 Their authority to act in given situations – such as when there is a complaint (as well
as in emergencies, accepting bookings, making special deals).
It is a standard industry and workplace requirement you only function within your allocated
scope of authority.
Examples of how your industry knowledge can be used to enhance workplace
performance
It will be up to you to determine exactly when and how your product and industry
knowledge can be applied – the following are some representative examples:
 To advise customers of up-coming events and specials the venue is planning to offer
 To make recommendations and suggestions when asked for your opinion
 To provide additional information which will enhance the customer’s appreciation of
their stay, the product they have bought or the service they have booked
 To demonstrate the professionalism of the business and your individual level of
professionalism and expertise
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 To help make sales – employers want staff to be ‘order makers, not just order takers’
and the use of relevant, accurate and current product knowledge greatly assists in
these efforts
 To generate repeat business from customers – these repeat customers are the ones
who come back and spend more money in your establishment simply because of your
knowledge and/or the service you have given them
 To generate referral business – referral business comes when satisfied customers tell
others about how great your service is and recommend they also do business with
you
 To comply with general operational requirements – which includes meeting all internal
policy and procedure requirements as well as all legally imposed statutory obligations
 To entice the customer/guest to spend an extra day with you – where your customers
are visitors/tourists, your product knowledge about the local area and local attractions
can encourage them to extend their stay by an extra day (or two) meaning a
substantial increase in revenue from accommodation, food and/or drink as well as
flow-on benefits to local communities, jobs and economies
 To answer routine questions customers and guests expect you to be able to answer.
1.5 Obtain information on other industries to

enhance quality of work performance
Introduction
A sound working knowledge of other industries in your geographical area is necessary to
enable you to provide information to customers to meet their need for local information, or
simply to add value to their stay.
Other industries
The ‘other industries’ about which you should gain knowledge to pass on to visitors will
depend entirely on the geographical location of your venue.
Examples may include:
 Manufacturing
 Government facilities
 Infrastructure
 Entertainment and recreation
 Food production
 Wine and beverage production
 Meetings and events
 Retail.
The following provides advice on how to capture the required information, and indicates
aspects of each industry it is useful to develop knowledge about.
In our context, ‘industry’ may be a single business or it can refer to a group of businesses.
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Why bother?
The aim of gaining this knowledge is:
 To enable you to encourage visitors to visit these industries
 To allow you to share their visit/experience when they return from visiting local
industry.
If visitors can be convinced/encouraged to visit local industry this will:
 Increase knowledge and understanding among visitors about what the region/country
is capable of producing
 Increase the likelihood of visitors staying longer in the area – the more industries they
visit, the more time it will take them and the more money they are likely to spend
locally
 Add value and experiences to their visit – making it more likely they will return at a
later date, and/or speak favourably about the region to their friends and family
encouraging them to visit.
Gaining the necessary knowledge

The best ways to gain knowledge about local industry
are:
 Visit the industries, view the facilities, look at/taste
the products, sample the services and talk to
management and staff – be a visitor/tourist in your
own area
 Obtain advertising material available for each
business – many organisations produce
informational literature (brochures, flyers, website
information) suitable for learning about what they
do
 Ask a representative to visit your venue and talk to
venue staff about their business/industry – and
bring samples of their products, food and/or
beverages for employees to view and taste.
Once again, the key to obtaining necessary
information is to be proactive.
Basic information to know
For each industry/business you must know:
 Where each one is located
 How to get there – using private and public transport
 Time to travel – there and back
 Time required to view/enjoy the industry/business.
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Manufacturing
In relation to being able to provide useful and interesting information to visitors about your
local manufacturing industry you need to be able to:
 Identify the manufacturing sectors – that is, the
products manufactured locally
 Identify names of local manufacturers
 Describe the general production process for each
manufacturing sector – you do not need a detailed
knowledge but a comprehensive overview of the
process involved is important to be able to give visitors
an idea of what is involved. You should aim to, at
least, be able to describe:
 Raw products used and where these come from
 Stages in the production process – and what each
stage contributes to the finished products
 Equipment used to produce the items
 Define relevant industry, production and product
terms, and words
 Describe the products produced according to their individual characteristics
 Identify the volume of products/items produced
 Identify the export destinations for products
 Describe the benefit to the local community of manufacturing – in monetary terms and
jobs.
Government facilities
In this context, ‘government facilities’ refers to buildings/facilities such as:
 Prisons
 Parliament buildings
 Law courts
 Libraries
 Defence facilities
 Embassies
 Schools
 Hospitals.
Where there are identified local government facilities you should identify information to
pass on to visitors such as:
 What each facility does – the reason it is there, the major tasks it performs
 Number of people employed
 How it integrates with other government bodies and facilities
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 Times for public tours and access/use – if applicable

 History of the building/facility – when built, dates and reasons for re-builds,
refurbishments and upgrades.
Attention must always be paid to security arrangements’ – such as passing on areas
where visitors/members of the public are not allowed, access protocols, general
prohibitions (such as a general ban on the taking of photographs at or near defence
facilities).
Infrastructure
In this context infrastructure refers to facilities and public works relating to:
 Power generation – through any means including coal-fired plants, hydro, wind, solar,
bio-energy
 Transportation – including works supporting new/upgraded roads/highways, railway,
and terminals to support same including airports.
For infrastructure in your local area it is useful to be able to inform visitors about:
 Start and expected finish dates
 Amount of money being spent
 Purpose of the work – benefits it will bring to the locals, industry, the country and/or
other (adjacent) countries
 Funding body/bodies – indicating, for example, contributions by other countries
 Unique points/detail of the work – for example (depending on the nature of the
infrastructure):
 Length of road being made or track being laid
 Number of train stations
 Amount of power able to be generated
 Techniques used specific to local, geographic area
 Environmental issues being taken into account
 Size and dimensions – such as ‘largest in the world’, or ‘second-largest hydro-
electric plant’.
Entertainment and recreation

In addition to knowing local information about the
actual entertainment events (such as sporting
events, arts, plays, music and public occasions)
and recreation attractions (such as amusement and
theme parks, activities and leisure pursuits) it is
important to have an understanding of the
entertainment and recreation industries covering:
 Names and locations of entertainment and
recreation venues – these may include:
 Theatres and cinemas
 Gardens and parks
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 Sporting complexes
 Zoos
 Dates each facility was built as well as venue-specific information such as (as
applicable):
 Types of events previously held there
 Seating capacity
 Number of courts, types of animals, special facilities within each venue
 Name of show, displays, activities currently available
 Opening times and days – including knowledge about days the venue may be closed
to the public
 Cost – to enter, and for tickets, tours and merchandise – including special/package
deals.
Food production
There is a growing interest in food globally and many local businesses capitalise on this
interest by making themselves available for tourists to visit with the hope they will not only
learn something about the region and the product, but they may also buy a tour and/or
make a purchase.
For your local food production industry/businesses you must learn:
 Names and locations of all businesses – and how long ach business has been
established
 Owners of the business
 Types of food produced
 The basic production process – including variations for the production of different food
types, styles, raw materials, recipes
 Where products are sold – domestically and internationally
 Volumes/quantities produced
 What the foods/finished products are used for
 What items taste like, look like, smell like
 Quality control checks and food safety issues/protocols
 Opening times and days – including knowledge about days the venue may be closed
to the public
 Cost – to enter, and for tours and merchandise and for purchase of food
 Whether or not tasting/sampling is available – and whether or not a cost is attached
 Facilities at each place – toilets, car parking, screening of a video, lawns and parks
 Value of the industry/food businesses to the local and national economy.
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Wine and beverage production

In the same way people are becoming increasingly interested in food, so too are they
becoming interested in drink/beverage production.
Indeed, in many countries, wine tourism has become an established niche market.
Wine production covers the production of local table wines (still and/or sparkling) as well
as aperitif wine (such as sherry) and dessert wine (such as port, muscat, tokay).
Beverage production can cover the local production of:
 Beer
 Spirits
 Soft drink including the bottling of water.
For each industry sector in your area, your knowledge about wine and beverage
production should be similar to the points identified for food production (immediately
above).
Meetings and events

As already stated a significant industry sector is referred to as the MICE industry/sector,
standing for ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions’.
In relation to this industry you should cultivate knowledge about:
 Names and contact details of venues available for holding meetings and events
 Types of meetings and events each venue can cater for – including knowledge about
specific/significant events each venue has conducted in the past
 General venue details such as:
 Capacity
 Number and type of rooms
 Facilities available
 Physical relationship/proximity to other businesses and facilities
 General overview of food, beverage, entertainment, support and other services
available – use of a current brochure is recommended
 Any relationship your workplace has with these venues – for example, a MICE
property may be owned by the same parent company as the hotel/attraction where
you work, or there may be a commission payable if you/your venue introduces
someone who converts to a paying client.
Retail
You need to develop local information relating to:
 Industry types
 Shopping precincts
 Individual retail businesses.
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Industry types
Some regions have developed a reputation for a certain retail product or group of
products and this can be the very reason many visitors come to the region.
Examples include:
 Gold and jewellery
 Precious stones
 Electronic goods
 Clothing
 Toys.
You need to identify the industry types
your region/area is famous for.
Shopping precincts
Many cities and towns feature shops selling the same type of product grouped together
and side-by-side in shopping centres, malls, shopping strips or precincts.
You need to know where these are for each product type.
These precincts are sought after by visitors as they enable them to view a large range of
options in, more or less, the same place and negotiate/bargain for the best prices.
Your knowledge about the places/precincts must also include any local knowledge about
precincts/places/individual shops to avoid due to poor quality products/merchandise and
illegal and/or unethical practices.
Special guided tours may be available to these precincts – the tour leader/guide usually
receives some form of commission/benefit for taking visitors to certain shops in these
precincts.
Individual businesses
Some cities/destinations feature individual businesses of importance to the buying public.
These businesses may be ‘special’ because of their immense size, their excellent quality,
their low prices, their expertise with a certain product: some may be important because
they are a warehouse or a wholesale supplier (selling retail to the public).
There can often be a commercial arrangement between venues and individual retail
businesses – for example:
 Guests staying at an accommodation venue may receive a card entitling them to a
special discount or a free gift
 The venue receives a commission on sales made to people who referred by the
venue.
As with ‘shopping precincts’ (above), individual businesses sometimes arrange for tours
to their premises to facilitate purchases by visitors.
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Note
Where there are local/national requirement relating to the purchase and removal of items
from the country, visitors must be made aware of these.
Issues of this nature may relate to:
 Levying of a tax for taking items out of the country
 Prohibition on taking certain items out of the country
 Reimbursement to tourists of monies paid for goods and service/value added tax or
similar
 Collection of goods after payment has been made
 Proof of purchase and documentation stating value of items purchased and date of
purchase.
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Work Projects
It is a requirement of this Unit you complete Work Projects as advised by your Trainer.
You must submit documentation, suitable evidence or other relevant proof of completion
of the project to your Trainer by the agreed date.
1.1 Search the Internet and find five websites that will be of use to you personally as a
source of industry information relevant to your current workplace and role.
Submit:
A list of the websites and their addresses

A screen dump of two to three pages from each website proving each site is
useful/relevant.
1.2. Search the World Wide Web and locate a website relating in some way to the
industry sector in which you work and which offers a free ‘newsletter’ or similar.
The website may be one identified for your response to Work Project 1.1.
It may be his may be a government site or a site operated by a business.
Provide evidence to your trainer you have registered to received this newsletter,
E-mag, alerts, updates or similar.
1.3. Provide a written example of how you have, or could, use knowledge on the hotel
and/or travel industries to enhance the quality of your workplace performance to
benefit customers/guests (including tourists and/or visitors – individually or in
groups), the venue where you work and/or the local community/economy.
As an alternative to providing a written submission you may negotiate with your
trainer to provide an alternative submission (such as video or photographic evidence
of an actual or simulated situation) to meet the requirements of this Work Project.
1.4. Identify one industry (or business) that is important to visitors to the area and for this
industry/business, submit a report providing evidence you:
Have visited this industry/business and viewed its products, facilities

Have spoken to staff and/or management at this industry/business
Gathered information suitable for provision to visitors addressing:
 Name, address and contact details
 Comprehensive list of products and/or services provided
 Prices
 Opening times
 Route from your workplace to the business/industry
 Public transport options for getting to and from the industry/business
 Legal issues relating to international visitors taking purchased items out of
the country.
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Summary
Seek information on the hospitality industry
When seeking information on the hospitality industry:

Understand and appreciate the need to develop local and product knowledge
Identify and access multiple sources of information – not just one source
Read paper-based materials, visit venues and sites, use the internet and visit the local Visitor
Information Centre
Register to receive free newsletters, alerts, updates and E-mags
Join local bodies, attend their meetings and participate in their activities
Be proactive – seek out information as opposed to believing it will ‘come to you’
Identify the difference between business types and sectors for your industry
Be aware of the departments/sections of industry businesses/venues and their
responsibilities/roles
Chart a career within the industry and identify the steps required to achieve the position/s
desired
Understand the support services and industries and the role they play in integrating service
delivery to customers/visitors
Wherever possible have a first-hand look at all support and allied business – so you can talk
about them from personal experience: be a tourist in your own town
Learn about and understand the requirements of your job and your employment – identify the
expectations other have about your position
Develop and demonstrate a strong work ethic
Create extensive, accurate and comprehensive product and local knowledge
Maintain and update local and product knowledge continually
Never exceed your delegated scope of authority
Apply local and product knowledge for the benefit of customers, the venue and your local area
and country.
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Element 2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical issues for the hospitality industry
Element 2:
Source and apply information on legal
and ethical issues for the hospitality
industry
2.1 Obtain information on legal issues and ethical
issues to assist effective work performance
Introduction
The importance of complying with legal and ethical requirements cannot be too strongly
emphasised for all employees in all industry venues/businesses.
Failure to meet legally imposed obligations can result in fines (to you and the business) as
well as other penalties including (for serious breaches) closure of the business.
Failure to observe applicable ethical standards can result in extremely negative customer
reactions which will lead to bad word-of-mouth advertising and consequent loss of
business.
It is vital to ensure you are aware of the most up-to-date legal requirements.
An introduction to legal issues

Laws are a set of principles, rules and standards
established by government/authorities and enforced
by the courts for the regulation of behaviour in
society, and the protection of members of society
and their property.
Laws may be local, regional or national and can be
expected to address issues such as:
 Immigration – covering work permits, visas and
entry to the country
 Taxation – covering personal and other types of
taxes, the applicable rates and hoe they are
applied
 Employment – covering requirements relating to engaging staff.
 Liquor licensing – providing rules and regulation relating to the provision of alcohol in
the industry
 Planning and building – giving directions about building codes, protection of heritage
sites and instructions about the location of certain industries in nominated areas
 Criminal laws – providing offences and punishments where people or businesses
breach legislation
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 Health – which embraces OHS as well as food safety, and requirements relating to
tobacco
 Gaming – providing laws about the types of gambling that is legal, together with
directions about how, where and when it may take place as well as the controls
governing its operation
 Corporate laws – giving rules and regulations for how companies must operate, and
setting out (for example) the need for them to demonstrate ‘due diligence’ in their
activities, to observe ethical conduct requirements, and to report according to given
conventions.
Where local and national laws exist, it is customary for the national law to take
precedence over local law.
Legal issues of common concern to the industry

Consumer protection issues
These address the responsibility imposed on businesses to protect the interests of the
consumer from unconscionable activities and illegal action.
For example:
 It is a standard requirement all
advertising (verbal, printed or in the
media) be truthful, not misleading and
fully discloses any negatives that can be
expected to reasonable influence a
buying decision a customer might make
 Goods and services provided must be fit
for the purpose they are intended
 The customer is entitled to a refund (or
other protection) if the items provided fail or are sub-standard in any way.
Duty of care
This requirement reinforces the responsibility all employers and businesses have to
provide a safe venue/workplace and to take appropriate care and action to make sure
staff, customers and members of the public are not injured while at the venue (and, in
some cases, after the patron has left the venue).
Where a business (or staff member) breaks the law they may be penalised (by fine or
imprisonment) under the criminal law.
Under ‘duty of care’ obligations all venues and staff must take action to avoid foreseeable
harm/injury occurring to customers.
In addition, the action/inaction that gave rise to the offence may also form the basis of a
civil action for, for example, negligence.
Equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination
Equal Opportunity and anti-discrimination legislation is a significant consideration in many
venues.
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The intention of this legislation is to ensure people are not victimised – or discriminated
against – because of (amongst other things) their age, gender, race, disability, or sexual
preference in the areas of employment, the provision of goods and services and/or
membership of a club.
In practice, under this legislation (where it exists), this means:
 A hotel/venue cannot refuse accommodation, meals or drinks to a person on the basis
of their age, gender, race, disability, or sexual preference
 A club cannot refuse to allow a person to become a member based on their age,
gender, race, disability, or sexual preference
 An organisation cannot refuse to give a job to someone based on their age, gender,
race, disability, or sexual preference.
Workplace relations
Workplace relations refer to the relationship between the employer and the employees in
the workplace.
It may also be referred to as ‘industrial relations’ (IR).
Changes to workplace relations are relatively common (that is, they happen regularly)
where existing IR legislation, terms and conditions of employment, and instruments of
employment are subject to amendment or repeal through the efforts of the government,
employer bodies or unions.
Workplace relations embrace a wide range of issues such as:
 Pay rates
 Holidays
 Allowances
 Penalty rates
 Dispute resolution.
Privacy
Privacy is an on-going issue in the industry and there is an obligation on operators/venues
not to release confidential information about their customers (without their express
consent).
This means it is standard not to release information about customer:
 Name
 Address
 Phone number
 Marital status
 Methods of payment used to buy products and services
 Purchases – including frequency of purchases, type of and quantities of products and
service bought.
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Child sex tourism

It is critical all employees are aware of, and implement, activities intended to prevent the
sexual exploitation of children by tourists.
Child sex tourism (sexual exploitation of children by tourists) includes procuring children
for sexual purposes which includes:
 Child pornography
 Child prostitution
 Child sexual abuse.
Central to this awareness is the need to be alert to suspicious patron/tourist behaviours
which may include:
 Tourist taking local children to their hotel room, a restaurant/café/bar, a private place
or an excursion/outing
 Tourist being very affectionate with local children
 Tourist touching local children inappropriately
 Tourist giving excessive gifts or money to local children
 Tourist asking hotel and travel staff where they can locate children for sex
 Tourist leaves sexually explicit images of children in their hotel room, or views
sexually explicit images of children at an internet café.
There is a need for all staff to be aware of national, regional and international initiatives
designed to prevent child sex tourism, and report suspicions and/or events.
Ethical issues
Ethical issues impacting on the industry (and about which you must investigate house
policies and in-house Standard Operating Procedures [SOPs]) include:
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is related to Privacy.
In general terms you are under an obligation to keep customer information
private/confidential.
However, you are also under an obligation to keep
information about the business (your workplace) confidential
– that is, if you become aware of information about the
business you are expected to keep this information to
yourself and not disclose it to anyone (including family,
friends and even other staff members).
The matters about which you are expected to maintain
confidentiality include:
 Details about in-house security – including alarm codes, security procedures,
combinations of safes, routes taken by security patrols and timing of patrols
 Details about trade – including amount of revenue the venue (or a department)
generates, the volume of liquor sold, the number of meals sold, occupancy rates, and
staffing levels
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 Details of purchases made by the organisation – including volumes bought, amount of

money the business spends, commercial arrangements the business has been able to
negotiate with suppliers, method of payment used, and timing of payments
 Occurrences within the premises – which might include fights, incidents where
authorities have been involved (such as attendance by police, ambulance, doctors,
OHS officials), problems where customers/guests have been involved, staff
dismissals, and emergency situations including hold-ups.
Commission procedures
Not all premises will be involved with commissions but where they are, certain ethical
issues apply.
Issues include:
 All commissions should be paid promptly to businesses that direct business/bookings
to your premises
 Commissions should be fully and honestly disclosed where requested or required
 Only the approved commissions should be levied
 Appropriate documentation should support both the receipt and payment of
commissions.
Overbooking
Overbooking is a common industry
practice but the way it applies (or even if
it applies) will vary between premises.
Overbooking is a situation where the
property accepts bookings for more
rooms (or tables) than are available,
based on their history with the number of
‘No Shows’ they have experienced. They
overbook in order to optimise revenue
and avoid vacant room and/or empty
tables during times of peak trade.
For example, a property with 100 rooms may have an overbooking policy allowing them to
take bookings on any one day for 110 rooms because traditionally they experience a 10%
rate of people who do not arrive even though they have made a booking.
Where all guests arrive as booked, the property then has to make other arrangements for
them. This can cause embarrassment and a loss of reputation for the venue, and
frustration and anger for those who cannot be accommodated as expected (especially
where they have received confirmation of their booking).
Where a property believes it is going to experience an overbooking situation (that is, a
situation where all bookings are going to arrive) they usually start phoning other
properties (of similar standard and price) to arrange to ‘bump’ guests to that location.
The property will apologise, and often pays for any transport (taxi fares) needed to move
the guests from one venue to another: they may also offer some other form of goodwill
gesture such as a free meal, or a discount on the guests’ next stay.
Check with your supervisor before engaging in any overbooking activity to make sure you
are authorised to do so, and to verify the approved level of overbooking.
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Guests can ensure they will be accommodated if they guarantee their booking – that is,
they supply their credit card details and agree they will pay the tariff even if they do not
arrive/use the room.
Pricing
This is a potentially complex issue and one
which varies between venues and even within
the same venue.
Pricing can also vary between times of the year
or the time of day – accommodation properties
generally charge premium (high) rates during
peak seasons (such as holiday times and
traditional periods when there is a high level of bookings) and many bars feature a Happy
Hour at set times.
Ethical matters relating to pricing include:
 Charging customers for all products and services they can legitimately charged for –
but making sure they are not charged for items provided free-of-charge (such as
inclusions involved in package deals), or for items obtained by another customer
 Offering and allowing discounts that are appropriate to individual customers – and not
allowing discounts to people who are not entitled to them
 Ensuring staff members are charged for products and services they receive – many
properties will allow a staff discount but generally speaking staff are not allowed to
use/have products and/or services for free
 Ensuring prices quoted to customers are correct and not deliberately and/or
misleadingly low in order to encourage people to attend the venue only to find, on
arrival, prices are actually higher than quoted
 Keep promises made in relation to prices – this needs to be discussed with
management but many properties will honour a quote given to customers/a client even
where the business will suffer a loss as a result of doing so.
Tipping
Tips – also known as ‘gratuities’ – are given by customers to staff, usually to acknowledge
high levels of service.
Staff must realise they are not entitled to a tip and customers are not obliged to give
them one.
Some venues will include in their advertising ‘Tipping is not allowed’ or some similar
phrase to indicate to guests there is no need for them to tip staff.
Where tipping is a part of the way the business operates, two options generally exist:
 Tips are pooled – this means all the tips from all staff (perhaps all staff within the
venue, or just all staff within a department) are pooled together and then split up
(equally or according to some agreed ratio) at the end of the shift, day or week
 Tips received become the sole property of those to whom they are given – this means
there is no sharing.
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Tips are mainly given in cash form but customers who settle their account via credit card
may also add a gratuity to the total, meaning internal arrangements must be followed to
ensure the tip finds it way to the intended person: some form of house rule will apply
where the tip applies to a stay where lots of different people/departments were involved to
ensure everyone gets their share.
In relation to tips it is imperative:
 You do not give the impression to customers/guests a tip is expected
 You do not show annoyance if a tip is not forthcoming from a customer/guest –
subsequent service to the customer (or other customers) must also not suffer as a
result of the customer not giving a tip
 All tips must be recognised and acknowledged, regardless of how little the tip might be
– always thank the guest in a sincere fashion.
Familiarisations
Not all properties engage in this type of activity.
Familiarisations are marketing and/or promotional activities some establishments engage
in to make targeted people/businesses more aware of their presence and what they have
to offer.
Familiarisations involve (for example) inviting a nominated person to stay at the venue
free-of-charge for a time to experience what the venue has to offer and to allow them to
become ‘familiar’ with the property. Sometimes the property will also pay the travel costs
of the person especially where the individual is influential.
Establishments commonly offer trade familiarisations seeking to make people in the trade
(such as travel agents and tour operators) more aware of the hotel, its location, the
features, the service, and the food and drinks it has to offer. The intention is that if the
venue can positively impact on these people they will refer more paying customers to the
property.
Venues also offer familiarisations to journalists seeking to attract them to the property and
hoping they will then write a positive article about the venue which will result in influencing
their readers to visit us/stay at the venue.
‘Fam’ trips are ‘familiarisation trips’ where you invite members of the public or prospective
customers into the business to view your facilities and/or experience the products and
services.
You may undertake an ongoing program of fam trips throughout the year or have a once-
a-year ‘Open House’ day.
Gifts and other free-of-charge services
There are two aspects to consider here.
First, any gifts or bonuses provided to the venue by
suppliers must be forwarded to management for them to
decide what to do with it. A supplier may encourage a
venue to buy their product by offering some ‘gift’
(examples include tickets to a sporting event; a ticket in a
raffle/competition; a bottle of liquor) and these
inducements are technically the property of the business
owner/manager.
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The person placing the order or receiving the delivery is not allowed or entitled to keep
them as their private property.
Second, you need to be certain about your scope of authority to give away gifts and free-
of-charge (FOC) services.
You must identify:
 The items that can be given away – which may include a drink, a dessert, a voucher
for a nominated service, product or monetary amount
 The conditions under which these items can be given out – such as to apologise for
poor service, to show goodwill following a bad meal, to soothe a customer in relation
to a less than satisfactory stay (perhaps due to noise made by other guests, in-room
facilities that did not work properly, having to room the guest in a room other than the
one booked or promised)
 The reporting/record keeping to accompany such gifts/FOC service – so their use can
be tracked/accounted for.
Making product recommendations to potential customers
The basics in relation to making product recommendations to potential customers are:
 Never be pushy – it is OK to try to sell but it is not OK to be overly persistent, intrusive,
rude or to put pressure on people to make a purchase
 Be honest in everything you say – always tell all the truth, all the time: telling a half-
truth is not acceptable. It is also not acceptable to omit ‘negative’ points about
something you are trying to sell or describe
 Ask the customer for their needs, wants and preferences including relevant buying
parameters – how much do they want to spend? What view from the room are they
looking for – do they want to overlook the ocean or the city/mountains? Do they prefer
chicken or fish? Red or white wine?
 Match identified customer needs, wants and preferences to the products and services
that you recommend – the idea is to offer/promote something to complement what the
customer wants
 Try to speak from your personal experience about the product or service – first-hand
knowledge always comes through as being most influential and believable
 Give people time to consider their options – do not rush them: let them consider what
you have told them
 Consider practical involvement – ‘telling’ people about something is good, but it is
better if you can involve them. For example:
 Can you give the customer a taste of an item?
 Can you let them have a look at the room?
 Can you let them have a go with whatever it is?
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2.2 Conduct day-to-day hospitality industry

activities in accordance with legal obligations
Introduction
It is not enough to know what should be done in the workplace – you
have to put that knowledge into practice.
This Section emphasises the need for staff to implement practices in
the workplace to reflect knowledge and information they have
obtained.
Legal obligations
Basics of food safety legislation
Businesses and employees are required to:
 Not water down of beverages
 Not substitute one brand of liquor for another
 Apply safe and hygienic food handling practices:
 Use clean plates, glasses and equipment – ‘clean’ means free from visible
contamination and odour
 Keep prepared potentially hazardous food hot food at or above 60oC
 Keep potentially hazardous food cold prepared food at or below 5ºC
 Avoid cross contamination
 Keep high risk food out of the Temperature Danger Zone (5 oC – 60oC)
 Keep food covered
 Exclude pests and rodents from food areas
 (Potentially hazardous food is food high in protein – any food
made from/containing meat, chicken, fish, dairy products, eggs)
 Apply correct personal hygiene practices:
 Stay away from food handling duties if ill
 Wear correct uniform
 Keep hair tied back – wear a hat when handling food
 Do not cough or sneeze over food
 Wash hands when required – such as after using the toilet; after
handling a handkerchief or tissue; after handling rubbish; in
between handling raw meat, fish or chicken and cooked/ready-to-
eat food
 Food handlers should not wear nail polish – including clear nail
polish
 Store and rotate food stock correctly – using the First In, First Out (FIFO) method of
stock rotation.
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The above are just the basics of safe food handling – more detailed information relating to
safe food handling practices is presented in the unit ‘Comply with workplace hygiene
procedures’.
Basics of liquor legislation
Businesses and employees are required to:
 Not serve intoxicated customers
 Not serve minors with alcohol – subject to situations where
the law allows this to happen: for example, in countries
and/or situations where it is legal to serve minors with
alcohol while they are partaking in a meal and are in the
company of a parent, guardian or spouse
 Comply with designated trading hours – for the sale and
supply of liquor
 Serve alcohol responsibly to avoid intoxication by patrons
 Monitor patron behaviour and levels of intoxication and
refuse service where necessary.
The above represent generic obligations and more detailed information must be obtained
from legislation of the host country.
Basics of gaming legislation
Generic requirements for staff can include:
 Obtaining the necessary industry licence to allow staff to
perform gaming duties
 Preventing minors participating in gaming or entering
gaming rooms/areas
 Not playing gaming machines or betting while on duty
 Wearing necessary identification when on duty
 Not loaning any money, or extending credit, to gaming
patrons
 Providing advice to patrons, on request, regarding
agencies who can assist problem gamblers.
Again, the above represent generic obligations and more detailed information must be
obtained from legislation of the host country.
General workplace rights and responsibilities

Both the employee and the employer have rights and responsibilities that must be
adhered to.
Employer responsibilities
Employer responsibilities include:
 Complying with occupational health and safety regulations
 Monitoring patron/crowd safety and behaviour – including customer behaviour ‘in and
around’ the premises
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 Providing equal and fair services to all people in accordance with EO legislation
 Paying relevant taxes and fees associated with the operation of the establishment –
such as taxes, fees for licences, rates and charges
 Ensuring appropriate insurance is taken out to cover workers and patrons – such as
workers’ compensation insurance and public liability insurance
 Offering products and services that conform to what is advertised – and is fit for the
purpose it is intended
 Being a responsible corporate citizen and community member – by actions such as
buying locally, employing local people, paying accounts on time, participating in local
events, contributing to the local community.
Employee rights
Employee rights extend to, though are not restricted to:
 Being paid, and working under conditions in-keeping with awards or other employment
instruments
 A workplace free of discrimination
 A safe and secure working environment.
Employee responsibilities
Employee responsibilities extend to, though are not restricted to:
 Undertaking duties as they apply to their employment category – and not being
expected to perform tasks in other areas
 Not acting in a discriminatory manner – towards their employer, colleagues or
customers
 Adhering to the regulations set out in OHS legislation – which should be displayed in
the workplace so staff are aware of their obligations
 Representing the best interests of the business – in their everyday working practice
and in everything they say about the business
 Working to the best of their ability – ensuring their practice is the best they can do:
staff are obliged to ‘do their best’ in all the work they do
 Keeping commercial information in confidence
 Being responsible and accountable for all money received on behalf of the business –
all money received must be passed on to the venue/employer
 Obeying all lawful instructions from management – even if these instructions extend
outside their traditional workplace role: staff are not obliged to follow any direction
from management that requires them to break the law
 Complying with workplace policies and procedures – including all applicable legislated
requirements and all relevant Codes of Practice.
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Complying with ethical practices

Work ethic
All employers will expect you to display an acceptable
work ethic – this means you must:
 Arrive for work ‘on time’ – in practice this means
arriving 10 – 15 minutes early
 Be dressed and ready for work when you arrive – as
opposed to arriving on time and then having to get
ready
 Be diligent in all the work you do – you must give
work the attention it deserves and work to the best of
your ability
 Never use workplace resources for your own use or benefit – this includes making
telephone calls, food, drinks and any guest products supplied to rooms
 Only take scheduled breaks – and return to work on time, when the roster states you
are required back at work
 Never leave work until required jobs are completed – or until told to do so by the
employer
 Use your initiative and common sense to determine work to be done and the
sequence in which it must be done – there is always a need to actively ‘consider; what
to do rather than simply ‘doing it’.
General work practice
Practical actions to apply ethical practices in the workplace include:
 Follow all established policies and procedures for the organisation where you work –
these will reflect legal requirements and industry standards
 Never discriminate against anyone in the workplace – colleague or customer
 Observe privacy and confidentiality requirements – keep business and customer
details to yourself: never release them or tell anyone about them
 Always deal with people honesty – in every instance, no exceptions: colleagues,
management and customers:
 Never tell an untruth
 Never over-charge
 Never rip anyone off
 Keep promises made – be careful about making promises but always keep any
promises that are made: it is always best to ‘under-promise and over-deliver’ than the
other way round
 Treat people with respect – this applies to colleagues and customers: speak
respectfully, and take cultural differences into account
 Hand in all ‘lost and found’ items – they cannot be kept and treated as your own
 Never ignore customers – everyone’s job is to help customers: offers of assistance
should be made rather than waiting for requests for help/advice to be made
 Do the job you are paid to do – and then look to do a little bit more/extra
 Do not complain – do your job without complaining: if something upsets you, talk to
management as opposed to complaining to colleagues and/or customers.
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Work Projects
2.1 Interview an experienced and senior person in your workplace and provide a written
submission detailing their responses to the following questions:
What are the legal issues impacting on your individual job/role within the venue?
How can you ensure you remain up-to-date with these legally imposed
obligations?
How does the venue make sure staff comply with the legal requirements
imposed on the business?
What ethical issues do they believe impact on the operation of the venue?
What are management/venue expectations in terms of your compliance with
identified ethical issues?
2.2. Provide a written submission identifying and describing:
Five ways in which your day-to-day workplace performance/practice complies

with legal obligations imposed on you, the venue and/or the industry
Five ways in which your day-to-day workplace performance/practice
reflects/demonstrates the ethical requirements/standards expected by
management of your venue, the industry and/or customers.
You may supplement the written report with additional evidence such as printed
material you have prepared, photographs or video.
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Summary
Source and apply information on legal and ethical issues for the hospitality
industry
When sourcing and applying information on legal and ethical issues for the hospitality industry:
Make sure you obtain and act on the most current legal requirements
Be aware of the entire range of legal issues you are required to comply with – it is vital to
comply with all applicable legal issues, not just some of them
Ensure all products and services provided to customers are ‘fit for purpose’, safe and meet any
advertising claims made about them
Take whatever action is necessary to demonstrate duty of care towards customers/guests and
any people who use the venue where you work
Never discriminate against anyone (colleague or customer)
Take action to support the prevention/elimination of child sex tourism
Apply ethical standards in all workplace dealings
Know and discharge your workplace responsibilities
Demonstrate ethical behaviour at all times in the workplace.
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Element 3:
Update hospitality industry
knowledge
3.1 Identify and use a range of opportunities to
update general knowledge of the hotel and
travel industries
Introduction
It is important to be up-to-date with the ever-changing industry
in which you work.
This might mean you have to find out information about an
individual venue/property, a particular sector, or about the
industry in general.
Always remember having information about the industry and
applying it to your daily practices can boost your career
opportunities in the future, and enhance the experience of
guests/visitors.
Also remember information is worthless if it is not applied and
shared so it is important to incorporate it into your daily work.
Updating general industry knowledge

To keep learning you must source the most recent and relevant information about what is
happening in the industry in general, your sector of interest and your workplace
especially.
Issues to monitor
You should seek to identify a wide range of issues such as:
 Changing and emerging trends – relating to visitor patterns; needs, wants and
preferences; spending; mode of travel; selling prices; products and services
 New techniques and practices – as they apply to the industry, other venues and your
workplace
 New equipment and technology – being integrated into the workplace/industry
 New recipes – for meals and drinks
 Initiatives relating to advertising, marketing and promotion – in-house and in the
general media
 Changes to legislation, regulations, codes of practice, accords and licensing
requirements that apply to your work role and to the next position you intend
occupying in terms of career advancement
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Trainee Manual 67
 Market research information – as it applies to your guests: this may be gathered as a

result of in-house research or may be obtained through a third-party such as an
industry association/peak industry body
 Activities the opposition is undertaking – to attract customers or to meet competition in
the marketplace.
Learning opportunities
Learning options enabling you to update your general industry knowledge may include:
 On-the-job opportunities – using personal observation of guests and feedback from
customers to gain knowledge
 Staff meetings and briefings – these are common ways for management to share
relevant information: staff notice boards, staff e-mails, staff newsletters are also used
 Undertaking advanced formal studies – to obtain formal qualifications and learn more
about specific areas of interest
 Participating in training courses and seminars – as organised by industry associations,
government departments, or by suppliers
 Keeping tuned in to TV, cable, electronic media and the Internet – your efforts should
be targeted to specific industry sites and articles: it useful to bookmark relevant sites
and visit them regularly
 Subscribing to hospitality journals, newsletters and periodicals – these are industry
publications and always carry articles of interest, interviews with industry personnel
and relevant industry facts and trends
 Becoming a member of an industry association – and actively participating in
meetings, reading their publications, contributing to any research they undertake
 Attending industry functions, product launches or promotions – not only to network but
to learn about the products and services are on show, being presented and/or
currently emerging into the marketplace
 Trying something new – always let management know you are eager to learn and
volunteer for different jobs/roles in your workplace so you can gain a diversity of
experience and skills: this is beneficial for becoming multi-skilled and gaining useful
experience which can be of benefit when applying for new/higher positions
 Taking time to visit the opposition – to see what they are doing, to check out their
levels of service, to identify the advertising/promotions they are running and to
determine if anything they are doing can be effectively transferred to your venue.
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68 Trainee Manual
3.2 Monitor current issues of concern to the

industries
Introduction
Knowledge is power – if that knowledge is
acted on – and staff should actively monitor
current issues of concern to the industry
(and their particular venue) so they can plan
their response to what is happening, about to
happen or expected to happen
As they say ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to
fail’.
How can I monitor these issues?

In order to keep up-to-date with industry issues, and events and issues within your
workplace:
 Attend all meetings you are required to attend – meetings are often called at work, but
all too often staff elect deliberately not to attend and consequently miss out on vital
information
 Read the memos – many workplaces will use memos to notify staff of emerging or on-
going issues, and again, many staff ignore these at their peril: if you receive a
memo/e-mail … read it!
 Monitor the media – keep an eye on the media, and make it your business to read,
listen and watch as the case may be: this often provides an indicator of an emerging
local, current concern
 Fine-tune your own personal radar – whenever you hear or see anything, anywhere
relating to any aspect of the industry, focus on it for a moment to identify whether or
not you should spend more time monitoring, following up or questioning
 Form your own informed opinion – discuss and debate issues with colleagues and
management [note: discuss and debate does not mean argue!] with a view to
understanding the total picture so you can develop your own views
 Talk to supervisors and management – to identify what they see as issues affecting
the industry and the venue
 Talk to customers – to identify what they regard as issues for the industry as they
impact on users
 Read the newsletters and updates from industry groups and government agencies –
these are another prime source to identify industry issues.
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual 69
Causes of issues of concern

By definition, issues of concern will change over time.
The marketplace, and the industry, is dynamic and all the factors at play are constantly
interacting with each other and creating new problems and new opportunities.
For example, the business environment you are experiencing and operating in today is
hugely different from a decade ago – or even last year – and these differences are
caused by individual factors or a combination of factors such as:
 The state of the economy – interest rates, currency exchange rates, levels of
employment/unemployment
 Environmental considerations and/or concerns – ‘sustainability’ and ‘eco-tourism’ are
major factors today
 Terrorism – this impacts on every venue in both visible ways and many ‘behind the
scenes’ ways
 Weather – there is always a strong relationship between weather and travel patterns
of visitors
 Technological changes – especially the introduction of new systems and facilities
driven by improvements/initiatives in technology
 Legislative changes – introduced to govern the hospitality and travel/tourism
industries: the government always has the potential to change laws impacting on the
local industry as well as potential overseas/international visitors.
What may be the issues of concern?

Given that issues of concern will vary over time, the following are examples of things
commonly giving rise for concern – some of these initiatives can pose threats to a
business and others may open up opportunities.
Government initiatives
Governments sometimes create initiatives in response to industry pressure, or in order to
redress what they see as negative factors impacting the industry and/or society.
Examples include:
 Creating advertising campaigns to promote certain locations/destinations or industry
sectors
 Funding training initiatives in certain trades or where there is an identified need or staff
shortage
 Encouraging workers from certain countries to come to the country to fill long-term job
vacancies
 Amending or introducing legislation to address specific problems or encourage certain
activities – such as changes to laws relating to liquor, fire safety, food handling, OHS
requirements, and employment.
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70 Trainee Manual
Emerging markets
Most businesses are interested in identifying and capitalising on emerging markets.
Market research (by industry bodies, government agencies or individual establishments)
may underpin these opportunities.
Examples include:
 Spa resorts and the emergence of the
well-being industry – a rapid growth
industry/sector
 Fast food – with changes occurring
regularly in relation to the type of foods
available
 Recognition of the economic benefit to
many countries of ageing tourists – and
their capacity and potential for spending
 Increase in the demand for ‘action’ holidays – where young/young-at-heart seek
experiences such as bungee jumping, white water rafting, safaris, trekking and similar
pursuits
 Emphasis on domestic travel as opposed to internal travel – many countries are
experiencing a growth in people travelling within their own country rather than
travelling/holidaying internationally.
In addition, most establishments will also have one or more new or emerging niche
markets they are seeking to exploit as a result of a deliberate new direction taken by the
venue.
Environmental and social issues
Issues of concern in this regard relate to:
 Waste management- with an emphasis on recycling of materials and a reduction in
energy and resource consumption
 Noise, water and air quality – focusing on reducing environmental noise and pollution
caused by the operation of the business
 Sustainable tourism activities – with an emphasis on environmentally aware tour
activities as opposed to activities which adversely impact the environment
 Respect for indigenous people – so local communities are treated properly with
awareness for their land and culture
 Responsible advertising – of hospitality products and services so (for example)
alcohol, gambling and cigarettes are not promoted or provided to young people
 Freedom from discrimination – highlighting the need to ensure discrimination in the
provision of hospitality and travel services does not occur
 Accommodating local concerns into the standard operating procedures of a venue – to
demonstrate respect for the community and a desire to work cooperatively within that
local environment
 Changes and/or requirements in relation to planning requirements and the need, for
example, to minimise the impact of a building on the landscape and/or conform to
heritage requirements.
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Trainee Manual 71
Labour issues
Labour issues are a constant concern in the industry.
Issues commonly causing concern include:
 Pay rates – there always seems to be a push by workers for higher rates of pay, and
(at the same time) reasons why employers are unable to pay their employees more
money
 The ability to recruit sufficient and properly trained and/or experienced staff – to
enable the manufacture of products and the delivery of services expected by visitors
and required by employers
 Working conditions – which include issues such as working hours, penalty rates (for
things such as split shifts, early starts, late finishes, overtime) and the classification of
positions/staff
 Training – taking into account:
 Mandatory training – training that is made compulsory by government for certain
personnel/jobs
 In-house training – this is the training provided on-the-job by employers
 External training – provided by an outside agency, school or institute
 Mandatory licensing and certification requirements imposed on businesses by
legislation and government agencies – such as requirements in some instances for
people to hold a local licence./qualification before they can work in areas (for
example) relating to food, liquor or gaming
 Superannuation – this is money paid by an employer towards an employee’s
retirement: where countries do not have superannuation there may be a push for it to
be made compulsory. Where it is already compulsory, there is often a push for
employers to contribute more
 Workers’ Compensation insurance – where there is no national scheme there can be
issues associated with implementing such a scheme; where it already exists there are
often attempts to change how and when it applies, and the amount of money involved
 Disciplinary and dismissal procedures – used by employers to control/regulate staff
and govern the way in which they can be dismissed from their job
 Complaint resolution protocols – these deal with the way employers and employees
are expected (or are compelled by law) to deal with workplace issues, conflict or
problems.
Industry expansion or retraction
Operators are always interested in monitoring the direction in which their industry – and
their individual premises – is moving.
This knowledge can be used to determine whether or not:
 The business remains in the sector it currently occupies – or elects to move into or out
of a sector
 The venue decides to set new directions for itself – in terms of new (or different) target
markets and revised goals for the business
 To quit the industry – and move into an altogether new industry other than hospitality,
travel or tourism
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72 Trainee Manual
 To invest – in additional buildings, plant, stock, training and advertising

 To recruit new staff or to begin staff reductions – to meet/keep pace with the level of
trade being experienced or anticipated
 To alter the focus of their training programs – to accommodate new directions,
identified changes in the workplace and/or legal requirements for the training of venue
staff
 To change its advertising and promotional campaigns – in order to (for example):
 Meet what the competition is doing
 Exploit an opportunity
 Generate extra revenue/profit
 Improve market share
 To vary its products and services – to better meet the identified needs of
new/changing markets
 To vary prices – in response to marketplace and economic factors.
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual 73
3.3 Share updated knowledge with customers

and colleagues as appropriate and incorporate
this knowledge into day-to-day work activities
Introduction
When you have managed to gather updated information, knowledge or skills you must be
prepared to share that information and incorporate it into your day-to-day work activities.
Remember, knowledge is only power if you actually use it.
How to share the knowledge

Sharing knowledge with colleagues
The basic ways to share information with fellow employees are to:
 Tell your colleagues about what you have learned – on a one-to-one basis, or at staff
briefings or meetings
 Demonstrate – a new technique, methods, procedure, machine or skill
 E-mail co-workers with the information you have discovered – prepare a useful
sheet/handout with the necessary, new or revised information
 Prepare a short handout – put this on the notice board and/or photocopy it and
distribute it.
Sharing information with customers
‘Customers’ include guests, friends of guests and visitors generally – they can be
individuals, families or groups of business people or tour groups.
Ways to share new knowledge with customers (depending on the type of information
involved) can include:
 Verbally providing advice that includes the new information – supplementing
information with hard copy materials such as maps, brochures and handouts
 Preparing posters to share the information – and placing these posters in high-
traffic/high visibility areas such as reception and elevators or in information areas
located near reception/in the foyer area
 Producing handouts – perhaps of recipes, local events, sample/free itineraries for
local trips/tours (it is a good idea to develop a series of trips/tours of this nature
focusing on two-hour trips, half-day trips and full-day trips).
© ASEAN 2012
74 Trainee Manual
Incorporating knowledge into everyday practice

The basics of this include:
 Working in accordance with new/revised requirements – actual practice must reflect
the changes/new knowledge
 Using new knowledge to modify personal work practices – such as using new
information to devise a better, safer or more effective way to do traditional tasks
 Updating printed materials – such as checklists, standard operating procedures,
training materials, service standards, manuals
 Supplying information to customers that incorporates the new knowledge – this can
include:
 Responses to customer questions
 Being proactive and offering information you deem will be of interest/important to
individual customers without waiting to be asked for it.
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual 75
Work Projects
3.1 You are required to identify an industry opportunity to update your knowledge of the
industry or the place where you work, and:
Describe how you became aware of the opportunity

Briefly describe what the opportunity was – such as where it took place, what
sort of activities were involved, how long it went for, who attended and relevant
other information
Explain the information/knowledge gained
Include samples of any handouts/information distributed/available.
3.2. Many issues impact on the hospitality industry giving rise to concerns for businesses
and operators.
Interview a manager/owner at your workplace and ask them to respond to the

following questions:
What are current:

 Government initiatives, if any
 Emerging or contracting markets
 Environmental issues giving concern regarding the operation and future of
the venue?
How do these issues/concerns impact on the operation of the business?
What can be done to respond effectively to these matters?
Provide a written, audio or video report of the responses of the person interviewed.
3.3. Develop and submit a basic ‘brochure’ you could give to customers sharing with
them at least one item of updated industry, local and/or venue knowledge you have
obtained.
The brochure may be hand-written or typed/computer-generated.

Pictures/photographs are not necessary unless vital to the aim of the brochure.
The important aspects being assessed by your trainer will include:
Clarity of information provided
The comprehensive nature of, and details within, the brochure
How ‘user-friendly’ the brochure is.
© ASEAN 2012
76 Trainee Manual
Summary
Update hospitality industry knowledge
When up-dating hospitality industry knowledge:

Appreciate the importance of keeping up-to-date with industry knowledge
Monitor and capture knowledge about the industry in general, the workplace, the competition
and relevant industry sectors
Find out about new and revised products, services, facilities, equipment and technology
Find information about new/revised laws, market research data, techniques and work
practices
Be alert to the many workplace and day-to-day opportunities to learn about the industry – and
take those opportunities every time they present themselves
Research issues impacting on the industry and determine how they are likely to affect
you/your workplace
Take appropriate action in response to identified industry issues
Consider local, national and international issues/factors
Investigate government initiatives, emerging markets, environmental and social issues, labour
issues and industry movement (expansion or retraction)
Share updated knowledge/information with colleagues and customers
Integrate updated knowledge into day-to-day work-place activities.
© ASEAN 2012
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© ASEAN 2012
78 Trainee Manual
Presentation of written work

1. Introduction
It is important for students to present carefully prepared written work. Written presentation
in industry must be professional in appearance and accurate in content. If students
develop good writing skills whilst studying, they are able to easily transfer those skills to
the workplace.
2. Style
Students should write in a style that is simple and concise. Short sentences
and paragraphs are easier to read and understand. It helps to write a plan
and at least one draft of the written work so that the final product will be
well organized. The points presented will then follow a logical sequence
and be relevant. Students should frequently refer to the question asked, to
keep ‘on track’. Teachers recognize and are critical of work that does not
answer the question, or is ‘padded’ with irrelevant material. In summary,
remember to:
Plan ahead
Be clear and concise
Answer the question
Proofread the final draft.
3. Presenting Written Work

Types of written work
Students may be asked to write:
Short and long reports
Essays
Records of interviews
Questionnaires
Business letters
Resumes.
Format
All written work should be presented on A4 paper, single-sided with a left-hand margin. If
work is word-processed, one-and-a-half or double spacing should be used. Handwritten
work must be legible and should also be well spaced to allow for ease of reading. New
paragraphs should not be indented but should be separated by a space. Pages must be
numbered. If headings are also to be numbered, students should use a logical and
sequential system of numbering.
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Cover Sheet
All written work should be submitted with a cover sheet stapled to the front that contains:
The student’s name and student number
The name of the class/unit
The due date of the work
The title of the work
The teacher’s name
A signed declaration that the work does not involve plagiarism.
Keeping a Copy
Students must keep a copy of the written work in case it is lost. This rarely happens but it
can be disastrous if a copy has not been kept.
Inclusive language
This means language that includes every section of the population. For instance, if a
student were to write ‘A nurse is responsible for the patients in her care at all times’ it
would be implying that all nurses are female and would be excluding male nurses.
Examples of appropriate language are shown on the right:
Mankind Humankind
Barman/maid Bar attendant
Host/hostess Host
Waiter/waitress Waiter or waiting staff
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80 Trainee Manual
Recommended reading
Recommended reading
Barrows, C.W., Powers, T. & Reynolds, D., 2012 (8th ed’n), Introduction to the hospitality
industry, Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey.
Chon, K., 2010 (3rd ed’n), Welcome to hospitality: an introduction, Delmar Cengage
Learning, Clifton Park, New York.
Corbin, J. & Strauss, A., 2008 (3rd ed’n), Basics of qualitative research: techniques and
procedures for developing grounded theory, Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks,
California.
Dawson, C., 2007 (3rd ed’n), A practical guide to research methods : a user-friendly
manual for mastering research techniques and projects, How To Books, Oxford.
Dittmer, P.R., 2002 (3rd ed’n), Dimensions of the hospitality industry: an introduction,
Wiley, New York.
Jaszay, C. & Dunk, P., 2006, Ethical decision making in the hospitality industry, Pearson/
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Miller, B., 2001, The hospitality industry: a dynamic experience, Kendall/Hunt Pub.,
Dubuque, Iowa.
Walker, J.R. & Walker, J.T., 2012 (2nd ed’n), Exploring the hospitality industry, Pearson
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Local reading
Information relating to the local area as available in:
Advertising materials (flyers, pamphlets, booklets and brochures) for local venues,
attractions and events
The series of ‘Lonely Planet’ books as applicable to individual countries
Local industry and trade magazines
Local newspapers
Local telephone books
Newsletters from local organisations and bodies.
Trade magazines
Trade magazines addressing each labour division.
See http://www.mediabiznet.com.au/directories/magazines-b2b-magazines-catering-
restaurant-hotel-hospitality.do for:
Hospitality
The Accommodation Manager’s Guide
Australian Bartender Magazine
Bars and Clubs
Club Life
Club Management in Australia
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual 81
Recommended reading
Eatdrink Magazine
Executive Housekeeper
Foodservice News
Hotel, Motel and Resort News.
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82 Trainee Manual
Trainee evaluation sheet

The following statements are about the competency you have just completed.
Don’t Know Do Not Does Not

Please tick the appropriate box Agree
Agree Apply
There was too much in this competency

to cover without rushing.
Most of the competency seemed relevant

to me.
The competency was at the right level for

me.
I got enough help from my trainer.
The amount of activities was sufficient.
The competency allowed me to use my

own initiative.
My training was well-organized.
My trainer had time to answer my

questions.
I understood how I was going to be

assessed.
I was given enough time to practice.
My trainer feedback was useful.
Enough equipment was available and it

worked well.
The activities were too hard for me.
© ASEAN 2012
Trainee Manual 83
The best things about this unit were:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
The worst things about this unit were:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
The things you should change in this unit are:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
© ASEAN 2012
84 Trainee Manual

Maintain Hospitality Industry Knowledge: D1.HRSCL1.08 D1.HOT - CL1.08 Trainee Manual

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Maintain Hospitality Industry Knowledge: D1.HRSCL1.08 D1.HOT - CL1.08 Trainee Manual

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Maintain hospitality industry knowledge

William Angliss Institute of TAFE

Project Director: Wayne Crosbie

Introduction to trainee manual ............................................................................................... 1

Assessment matrix ................................................................................................................ 5

Element 1: Seek information on the hospitality industry ....................................................... 9

Element 2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical

Element 3: Update hospitality industry knowledge ............................................................. 67

Presentation of written work ................................................................................................ 79

Recommended reading ....................................................................................................... 81

Trainee evaluation sheet ..................................................................................................... 83

Introduction to trainee manual

Element 1: Seek information on the hospitality industry

Element 2: Source and apply information on legal and ethical

Element 3: Update hospitality industry knowledge

Work Written Oral

Element 1: Seek information on the hospitality industry

1.1 Identify and access sources of information on

1.2 Obtain information on the hotel and travel

1.3 Access and update specific information on

1.4 Use knowledge of the hotel and travel

1.5 Obtain information on other industries to

2.1 Obtain information on legal issues and ethical

2.2 Conduct day-to-day hospitality industry

Element 3: Update hospitality industry knowledge

3.1 Identify and use a range of opportunities to

3.2 Monitor current issues of concern to the

3.3 Share updated knowledge with customers and

Al fresco dining Outside/open air dining

B&B Bed and breakfast

Brasserie Relaxed, up-market restaurant

Breach An offence; breaking a law

‘Bump’ guests Re-locate guests to another venue of similar standard and

CCTV Closed Circuit Television

Concierge A person/desk at an accommodation venue providing

F&B Food and Beverage

Familiarisations Also known as ‘famils’ or ‘fam tours’ are free-of-charge

Fauna The animals of a country or region: the wildlife of an area

Flora The flowers and plants of a country or region: plant life of

Generic information Information that is generally applicable

Gratuity Tip/cash (from a customer) for service provided

Infrastructure The facilities and services supporting and enabling the

Itinerary A schedule for a trip/tour detailing dates, times,

KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken – franchised fast food outlets

Loss prevention officer An undercover security person whose role is to identify

MICE Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions

Multi-skilled A staff member with skills in more than one area

No-show A person/group who has made a reservation but does not

OHS Occupational Health and Safety

Overbooking A common industry practice where the venue accepts

PR Public Relations – goodwill between two or more parties

Reps Representatives; travelling representatives/salespeople

SMEs Small and medium enterprises

SOP Standard Operating Procedure

Static guard A high-profile uniformed security staff member intended to

Why bother identifying and accessing information?

What are the sources of information?

They are often produced by industry suppliers/support services and government

1.2 Obtain information on the hotel and travel

How to obtain the information

Profit and non-profit businesses

Different industry sectors

Fast food outlets