Impact of Globalization on Hospitality

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: B, University of Cambridge, language: English, abstract: The rapid development of international economic integration and globalization has led to significant changes in hospitality industry. Therefore, it is necessary to dwell on various aspects of globalization as the process influencing the current and future developments in hospitality industry. This research will be based on the assumption of a generally beneficial impact of globalization on the industry's development, and the analysis presented here will seek to substantiate this claim. For the purposes of this discussion, globalization shall be defined as the 'ever-tightening network of connections which cut across national boundaries, integrating communities in new space-time combinations' (Hall 1992, p.299). While this definition may seem excessively broad, it is likely to better encapsulate the essence of globalization than the explicitly economy-oriented ones. This paper shall deal with the various expressions of globalization influences in modern hospitality industry. Given the extremely important role of the multinational corporations (MNCs) in contemporary tourism and hotel sectors, a case study of Hilton Hotels Corp. as the paragon of the globalized hotel chain will be integrated in this research. Further, a Business Performance Management (BPM) theoretical model shall be employed to evaluate the comparative performance of the prominent global hotel chains. Proceeding from the latter, a preliminary conclusion on the present state of the market may be formulated. Similarly, the problems of labour market and technological innovations shall be integrated into the study's research framework. Finally, the issue of business strategies shall be raised, with several examples thereof being subjected to comparative analysis.