An Appraisal of The Hotel Industry

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Explorer, Volume 2, Number 1, September 2009, ISSN 1998-
An Appraisal of the Hotel Industry in Bangladesh Dr. Belal Husain Joy*
Abstract
The whole purpose of this research work is to appraise the Hotel Industry in Bangladesh, introducing the historical background; evaluating the Industry image, structure, organisational support; identifying problems in industry definition, industry management, laws in relation to food and accommodation and types of accommodation establishments; surveying on standard practices in international level for industry development; suggesting organisational development in national, owner, management and worker level. The readers will be able to compare the international practices with that of the practices in Bangladesh, especially in areas like Hotel grading, organisational supports and industry laws. Here, Hotel Industry doesnt mean only city hotels; it includes hotels and restaurants situated in all over Bangladesh. The industry is growing but industry managers and experts and/or technical hands are not growing. Hence, for high class hotels we still rely on foreign experts. We are very hopeful that in the near future our young generation will not feel shy about a career in the Hotel and Catering Industry and at the same time the local entrepreneurs will not have barriers to invest in the hospitality projects, with an ultimate goal of having our own industry, designed, developed and managed by our own nationals. Although such initiatives are already seen in all over the country but running the hospitality businesses by our own experts is the essential area of concentration, for which education, training and development programs are to be undertaken more and more. By doing so, we can establish and run the hotels and restaurants more professionally and at the same time will be able to create positive image for the whole of our hospitality industry in Bangladesh.
*Dean, Faculty of Law, IBAIS University, E-mail: drbhjoy@yahoo.co.uk

An Appraisal of the Hotel Industry in Bangladesh 1
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An Appraisal of the Hotel Industry in Bangladesh Dr. Belal Husain Joy INTRODUCTION The Hospitality industry in Bangladesh, in particular, the Hotel Industry has been growing at a galloping speed, during the last decade or so, not only in the Dhaka City also in other divisional and district towns, especially in places of tourist attractions. On the other hand, although international businesses, NGO activities and other international agency operations are also increasing but the tourist attractions and activities are not developing as expected, rather the government operational arms for tourism has been getting weaker and do not have visionary projects and seriously lack missions of the government tourist projects. There are a number of very limited tourist spots developed recently by the private sector investors, but again, generally security measures are not found to be adequate for the foreign tourists, hence, use of hotel accommodations by international tourists does not justify economic viability of any international class hotels in Bangladesh. In addition, there are a number of four and five star hotels with collaboration of the foreign investors in pipeline to be built in Bangladesh in the recent future. Their feasibility in terms of economic and marketing studies is to be researched more carefully. At the same time, we have to remember that although we have huge work-force, but not enough trained personnel to run the hotels. What we are doing, in Bangladesh, in terms of training in the Hospitality Industry, is for the foreign market, which is not at all adequate. Limited effective training facilities are available, trainers are not growing, and managers are reluctant to help personnel to deputise and or replace themselves. Health and Hygiene and Safety matters are in very poor condition. Laws are available, not up-to-date and no application in the industry, hence, consumers and customers of the Hospitality Industry are at risk. Seasonal magisterial monitoring through fining system is not effective for long term. Hotel and Restaurant managers and workers must be trained; this is primarily the responsibility of the government machinery. As the government is constantly failing to realise its own responsibility, appropriate policies and their implementations are also failing. Accommodation Industry in Bangladesh hasnt got its own structural foundation supported with institutions and/or organisations. Owners, managers, workers, consumers must have their own organisations or bodies support each other. These initiatives are absent at the moment or are at the very initial stages. They are needed to be strengthening for viable project formulation, effective management, best possible standard of service to the customers etc. Research Objectives: 1. To Introduce the Hotel Industry of Bangladesh for research purposes. 2. To appraise various areas of the hotel industry, namely, definition, grading, classifications, laws, management and supporting associations. 3. To suggest effective approaches on those areas 4. To collect and collate the relevant information on the hotel industry of Bangladesh 5. To make the information available to the investors, managers and workers of the industry
An Appraisal of the Hotel Industry in Bangladesh
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6. To provide better and effective service to the consumers. 7. To create a positive image for the Hotel Industry in Bangladesh. Research Methodology: 1. Literature Survey 2. Reinvestigating the research projects, dissertations and books of the researcher 3. Internet search HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE HOTEL AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRY In the 1960's there was relatively little tourist activity in then East Pakistan. What we had was concentrated in West Pakistan (now Pakistan). Most travellers to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were Indian and Pakistanis. Until the latter part of the 1960's there was no tourist class Hotel facility in East Pakistan. Moreover, there was little reason to visit the area unless one was on business. This situation changed somewhat in the late sixties when the Hotel Inter-Continental (now Sheraton Hotel) and Hotel Purbani International were constructed in Dhaka (previously spelled 'Dacca'). Virtually all of the travellers were on business, because tourist attractions in Bangladesh were not developed or were difficult to see in comfort. Since the war of liberation, two trends have developed which have has a salutary effect on the visitor market. First, the new country received a great deal of publicity and a significant number of visitors, most of them on diplomatic or aid missions, the second factor is the recent development of adequate visitor accommodation in resort areas like Kaptai, Chittagong and Cox's Bazar etc. including few other private Hotels and city centre five star Hotels (Sonargaon Hotel, Radisson Hotel, Westin Hotel). A good number of five, four, three star hotels came up in Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox.s Bazar, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal, Bogra, Rajshahi, Jessore and so on. Restaurants and Catering outlets also have developed remarkably; Chinese restaurants are being opened in big cities and even in district towns etc. Fast food restaurants are found to be very popular in Dhaka, especially after opening up of international chains like BFC, KFC, Pizza Hut etc. Bangladesh, home to the largest mangrove forest THE SUNDARBAN and the longest unbroken sea beach in the world COXS BAZAR, is fast witnessing the welcome growth of the hospitality industry in the country. To support this industry, hotels, motels, resorts, aviation companies and tour operators of international standard have come up in the last two decades and competing successfully with their counterparts in the region.1 INDUSTRY IMAGE A Hotel, in general, is not regarded as a good place. Because, the common people of the society take it for granted that he who visits a Hotel are characterless, or a gambler, etc. It is even worse in case of women. Hotels used to be meant for homeless people, and those who have low social status, because alcoholic drinks are sold, (which are restricted in the society for religious purposes it is sin to drink alcohol), gambling is also strictly forbidden in the society. A hotel is also regarded as a place for all sorts of anti-social activities (i.e. robbery, prostitution etc.).
1
Mahdin Mahboob, Bangladesh-cheering moments awaits you, The Growing Hospitality Industry, A Special Supplement, The Daily Star, September 16, 2009.
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Surprisingly, eating out is also somewhat restricted because it is usually considered that one has not got enough facilities at home, or has some other domestic difficulties. Despite a nation-wide unemployment problem, nobody was interested in Hotel or Restaurant work even a few years before now. For example; If Mr. X says he works in a restaurant or a village market tea-stall he will probably be seen as a domestic servant. In other words, his employment will not be regarded as a respectable occupation. Only a decade ago when I dared to come to England to study Hotel and Catering Management, I personally had to face considerable social problems. Anybody who asked me what field have I chosen to build my career (naturally my reply was Hotel and Catering) seemed not to like it and/or rather discouraged. Some of my family connections actually asked why didn't I study Bar-at-law, or chartered Accountancy, since my family background did not suit the Hotel and Catering field, as it was not a respected occupation. Out of 90 million people in Bangladesh in 1981 I was considered one of the first few qualified persons in this field. Even today one can count on his fingers the number of qualified and well-experienced Hoteliers or Caterers among Bangladeshi nationals. As a result, till 1985, we had only one three star Hotel, one Sheraton Hotel and only recently opened the Five Star Sonargaon Hotel of the country. Only recently, we have a number of other five star hotels like Raddison and Westin. These Hotels are managed by the expatriates, due to the following reasons: a. Severe shortage of effective education and training facilities, b. Industry is still to be organized and respected, c. Most of the investments so far came from abroad under highly restricted contracts. The present day scenario is little better, as mentioned above, we have now (in 2009) a good number of five star hotels, mostly are still run by the international chains. International fast food companies are also coming to the capital to start with, they are Pizza Hut, BFC, KFC etc. We must give due credit to the local expatriate who are running five and four star international standard hotels in cities and in places of tourist attractions. PROBLEMS IN INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT The Industry Definition The industry is still to be defined. Let's examine the present situation in Bangladesh with regard to the meaning of the term Hotel. We hear the word 'Hotel' quite often. Here Hotels are Hotels, Restaurants are also Hotels. For example, Taj Mahal Hotel in Nawabpur Road, Dhaka, is not a Hotel, it is only a Restaurant (as there is no accommodation and other facilities available). Although, the front signboard is named as "Tajmahal Hotel".2 This does not really mean that the 'standard industrial classification' isn't there, it is there but is not used much in practice, resulting in an over-lapping in meaning, An industry can not be developed without a proper definition of the industry itself as a whole, and for individual sectors.
2
Belal Husain Joy, Hotel Management Actions: Bangladesh Economic Context, MBA Dissertation, PWU, P.3
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The problem of definition is a very important one. To create a definition one must cover the most common form of activities and compare the definition against the activities of various firms of the same type of its justification. The Industry Structure/Classification It is extremely difficult to readily estimate the total number and/or types of accommodation and catering establishments throughout Bangladesh. There are various reasons such as: illiteracy among the owners and workers; lack of initiative to undertake surveys and research activities; no proper definition of the industry; no legal coverage by licencing and registration; sever shortage of specialized manpower in the industry, and many more. With such giant nationwide industry problems, it is really difficult to frame the structure of the industry. But this is an urgent requirement for the development of the industry. The Industry Grading Having a number of five star Hotels, does not mean that the nation has a grading system for the Hotel and Catering industry. If anyone asks the grade of Hotels like 'Purbani International' or 'Hotel Agrabad', is there any definite answer? I don't think so. Some will say "two star", some other may grade them as three star and again there are people who might say something different like First class or Tourist class. What are they really? What grade do they belong to? We need standardisation in grading system. On the other hand, relatively newer Hotels like Best Western La Vinci Hotel in Dhaka, Grand Park Hotel in Chittagong, Hotel Sea Palace in Coxs Bazar and Hotel Blue Marine in St Martin Island are all considered three Star. This means the department concern must have by now established certain criteria to grade the hotels in all over Bangladesh. Different countries use different methods of grading systems, but only one system is recommended for one country at a time, to keep uniformity throughout the whole country A grading system is needed for gaining the knowledge about accommodation facilities, distribution, size and type, and for the improvement of the availability and reliability of information to the customer. This is how the customer will know what to expect in terms of quality, so he can judge whether a hotel represents good value for money. In recent past, a number of smaller Hotels in the Dhaka city are seen with signboard of five star hotels. They must have official permission from the department concern; hence, it seems that there must be a grading system for the Hotels and Caterings establishments to bring them all under certain grade. The ministry concern couldnt give readymade information on the area. On the other hand, many grading systems are based on the physical features of a Hotel, such as possession of a swimming pool, size of lounges etc., and these are not always a good indication of quality. PROBLEMS IN INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS With the development of the industry, the number of government advisory and trade committees will also be increased effectively. There are some such organizations already in Bangladesh. They are sometimes called the operational arms for the government concern. Some are trade associations representing the interests of the companies and acting as pressure groups. Others are government-funded and serve to help the industry and act as an interface where government, employers, and trade unions may meet, or they serve to promote
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Bangladesh tourism. It is safe to say whatever interests the various parties represent; all have the common concern of the Hotel and Catering Industry. 3 Among the various agencies involved in the Hotel and Catering Industry, they all will have their individual purpose, schemes, operational and administrative procedures, fund raising sources and utilization etc. To make the industry successful, it is essential that the industry is adequately organized. That means the industry herself and her people must belong to and/or have support for achieving their individual objectives. In Bangladesh there is hardly any organization or association that can help the industry or her people. There is an urgent need to form a liaison committee between the industry and the government to co-ordinate and formulate national economic policy, and tourism planning in national level on economics and finance, manpower, marketing, statistics and forecasting including ad hoc working parties on particular projects. We have a similar committee working under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism which is required to be re-organised taking members from different sections of the industry. We have the Bangladesh Tourist Corporation, the Chairman is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. The Corporation does not seem to be doing well, most of its earning sources have been dissolved, only one or two sources (i.e. monopoly) are left, therefore the main source is the government itself. Part of its statutory responsibilities could have been organized with a series of sub-committees to deal with marketing, Infrastructure, Hotel and Restaurants and the Bangladesh heritage etc. at the moment it simply acts as an agent or bureaucratic arm of the government, thus its existence is seen as absorbing money in administration, which may be allocated to the industry directly by the government. Only, the government servants are not good enough to bring success to the industry without the help of professional managers and experts. To do so, they should be organized first under a definite banner to gain strength and show their importance. In other words, a professional institution is needed in Bangladesh. The owners of the Bangladesh Hotels, Restaurants and Catering outlets should form an association to promote their interests undertake publicity, and speak to the government and other concerning agents on behalf of the members. Hundreds of thousands of employees in the Hotel and Catering Industry in Bangladesh do deserve an employment and training guide/board. A Hotel and Catering Industrial Training Board can be established to provide training courses for the people working in the industry at the moment, also to provide training facilities to the newcomers. Similarly, to look after the interests of the work-force, a trade union on the national level should be formed. At the moment the people working for the industry are neglected in many different ways such as wages, social status, lack of proper working conditions, etc. And there can be many other private institutions in relation to the industry that can be formed such as Marketing Consortiums, Welfare Associations etc.
3
Belal Husain Joy, Hotel Management Actions: Bangladesh Economic Context, MBA Dissertation, PWU, P.5
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PROBLEMS IN MANAGEMENT Lets start by saying "there is an absolute lack of trained manpower for promotion, t and operation of tourist services and facilities in the country."4 Although, up-till this year the 2009, there is no substantial change in this regard. There are universities and training institutions offering academic courses and training programs Hotel and Catering Operations and Management. For some strange reasons, qualified and trained personnel from these universities and institutes still are left unemployed. Hotelkeeping and Catering, as a service industry has a great responsibility to the social and economic life of the whole community in Bangladesh. Although the industry has still to be identified as an independent one, close association with tourism makes it a remarkable contribution to the country's Balance of Payment. It is a developing industry and hence new hotels, restaurants and other catering facilities are being opened day-by-day, which again have to be managed properly. This simply emphasis the need of people for food, drink and accommodations and for all the personal services that go with them. Today we do not have our own trained personnel to run the industry, this is why we have to bring expatriates to manage the business, costing enormous amounts of foreign currency. Only the recent years, it is realized that we have a good number of people who know a lot about Hotels and Catering operations. They are good technicians; good waiters and good chefs, but very much lacking the knowledge of basic management principles. Those who have basic knowledge on planning, organizing, directing and controlling activities of business they again haven't got the specialized knowledge of management actions like personnel, finance, marketing etc. We have started to understand the importance of the industry, industry workers are fighting to attain their social value and recognition. But it doesn't mean, our available waiters can be successful restaurant managers or a hotel of this modern age can be run by the ancient business methods. Improved management techniques are acutely demanding. Management in the hotel and Catering Industry is a specialized, competitive and demanding occupation. It requires the abilities to plan, organize, establish and maintain standards, lead and motivate, train and develop people, develop business, create and innovate, monitor, control and evaluate, and many more. To an increasing extent there are specialized opportunities in fields like Finance and Control, Sales and marketing, Personnel and Training, Food and Beverages, Accommodation Services etc. All professional Hoteliers and Caterers need to have a special slant to their management skills to cope with those modern management complications.
STANDARD PRACTICES IN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT
Industry Definition
4
Tourism Five-Year plan 1973-78, ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Bangladesh.
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Unlike any other business enterprise, this industry also has certain duties and responsibilities to the people who require her service, the society and the nation to define the whole industry on the basis of the most common activities like (a) an establishment held by the proprietor or management as his agent (b) offers food and/or drinks alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic (c) offers sleeping accommodations (d) open to all persons with or without any special contract who are willing to pay reasonable sum for the services offered (e) take best possible care of the guests and their belongings. In addition to the above it is essential that the establishment is enlisted with one or more government or professional bodies or licensed. By now we have at least some idea of the industry as a whole although it is very difficult to define without any legal coverage in Bangladesh. However, we can safely define the term 'Hotel' under the English Hotel Proprietor's Act of 1956: "an establishment held out by the proprietor is offering food and drink and if so required, sleeping accommodation without special contract to any traveler presenting himself, who is willing to pay a reasonable sum for the services and facilities provided and who is an a fit state to be received."5 The following extracts from judgments of the courts help to clarify this statement; "an innkeeper is not to select his guests. He has no right to say to one 'you shall come into my inn', and to another 'you shall not', as everyone coming, and conducting himself in a proper manner, has a right to be received. And for this purpose, innkeepers are a sort of public servant, they having in return a kind of privilege of entertaining travellers and supplying them with what they want."6 And in another case: "Looking at the reason of the thing, I should have thought that any person, who was neither an inhabitant of the house, nor a private guest of the innkeeper or his family, but cane into the house as a guest to get such accommodation as it afforded and he was willing to pay for, was a traveller. It does not seem to me to make any difference whether his journey be a long or short one."7 Industry Structure/Classification There are many different ways to form an Industry structure and classify the Hotel and Catering Industry, here we shall classify on the basis of financial aspect. Basically this is a service oriented industry and the society is being served from many different angles. For example; A businessman or a holiday maker gets the Hotel service, a patient under treatment gets hospital service, a student gets his food and accommodation in the college hostels, an office worker gets his tea and snacks in the office canteen in return of payments but of different rates of charges. Hotels and Restaurants charge more than the Hostels and Canteens because they are profit-oriented and the rest are welfare-oriented. Therefore, the very nature of transactions differentiate the establishments mainly in two categories : Commercial and Non-Commercial. The commercial field is the largest and hence most of our discussion will concentrate on the establishments that operate for profit as business undertakings.
5 6
English Hotel Proprietor's Act of 1956
Belal Husain Joy, Hotel Management Action: Bangladesh Economic Context, MBA Dissertation 1988, PWU, P.9 7 Ibid p10
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The industry structure stands as follows: Profit-Motive Services ------------------------------------* Deluxe Class Hotels * Tourist Class Hotels * Small Private Hotewls * Motels * Rest, Guests, Circuit Houses and Bunglows * Cottages & Farm Houses * Boarding Houses * Restaurants * Licenced/Registered Clubs. * Fast Food outlets (take away, caf, tea stalls etc.) Non- Profit Motive Services -------------------------* Industrial - Factories - Offices - Sites * Transport - Airlines - Airports - Rail - Boat * Institutional -Educational Institutions - Hospitals - Prison catering * Forces - Air Force - Army - Navy - Police - Fire Service - Civil Defence * Emergency feeding services.8
Types of Accommodation Establishments in Bangladesh It is important to identify the different classes of Hotels and accommodation establishments in Bangladesh which will ultimately help to organize, develop and manage the industry as a whole. The following ones are more popular : Deluxe Hotels: Main characteristics are (a) Providing accommodation to government representatives, top businessmen, foreign delegates, well known personalities mainly from abroad. (b) Hotel itself has to maintain international standard. (c) Guests and staff come from home and abroad. (d) Besides local foods they must have choice from international cuisine. (e) These hotels are mainly run by the international hotel chains and located at the city centres.
Modest Hotels: Main characteristics are (a) Chiefly for businessmen and tourist from home and abroad. (b) Service is not as personalized as deluxe class hotels. (c) They also will have international cuisine. (d) Located at the city centers and linked with banquet and conference facilities. (e)
8
Ibid p11
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Food service and evening entertainment facilities are also there. (f) The example of such hotels are Hotel Purbani, Hotel Agrabad etc. Small private Hotels : Main characteristics are (a) They are located at the city and district towns. (b) Mainly for the local guests with rare foreign visitors. (c) Usually local food is available unless arranged prehand. (d) Most of the hotels in Bangladesh of this type and have less than 30 bedrooms. (e) The extent of service varies according to the demands of customers. (f) The examples are 'Dhaka Hotel', 'Hotel Zakaria', Hotel Golden Gate' and many more. Rest and Boarding Houses and Bunglows : Main characteristics are (a) The three-quarters of the accommodation establishments in Bangladesh have less than 20 bedrooms. (b) Most rest houses are owned by the government departments, whose main object is to provide accommodation to their own executives and delegates. (c) Catering facilities are limited. (d) One should not expect better than good service in these types of establishments. (e) They are available in almost all district, sub-divisions, thanas and even special interest places. (f) Prices are quite reasonable. (g) Boarding houses are mostly owned by the general public. (h) Typical examples of such establishments are Zilla Board Rest House in Rangamati, D.E. Sinigdha Rest House in Rangpur, Tajmahal Boarding in Chandpur, Central Boarding in Chittagong etc. (i) Rest Houses and Bunglows are available with prior permission of the concerning authorities. Motels and Cottages: Main characteristics are (a) They are not as many as the other types, only a new type for Bangladesh, (b) Mostly owned by the Bangladesh Tourist Corporation, therefore, quality can be expected. (c) Bar for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks can be made available with prior arrangement with the management. (d) Price is very good and ideal for low spenders. (e) Self catering facilities are in most of them and suitable for the foreign visitors. 9 The Hotel Grading Hotel grading is a systematic device to show the standard of service and the style of individual Hotels. In Bangladesh we all heard about the five star Hotel called 'Sonargaon'. It is a five star deluxe Hotel comparing with the international preset standards, as the grading system is still to be introduced in Bangladesh. Usually these grading activities are carried out by an official or approved government body like Bangladesh Tourist Corporation, considering a set of standard factors of Hotel facilities, service qualities, physical and material structure and other local criterias. Different countries use different methods of grading systems, the following grading devices are popular and recognized by amny different countries. We are also getting used to this particular system, as an example the deluxe class Hotels may be marked five star whilst more modest ones may carry one star. (b) Classic words like deluxe, 1st class, 2nd class etc., mostly used in European countries. (c) Alphabetic letters like Grade A, Grade B etc., mostly used in Australia, GDR etc. and in some countries these grading can be the combination of alphabetic letters and star, like A*, B*, C* etc., at the moment used in Ireland. Lets take an example what makes an Hotel Five Star:
9
Ibid p11-13
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Number of Rooms Common Rooms Heating Telephone Bedrooms Hot and Cold Water Bathrooms and Toilets Sanitary installations Room Service Hotel Entrance Lifts Reception Service Airconditioning Drinking Water Staff
- luxurious hotel with minimum of 50 rooms in existing hotels and 100 rooms in new hotels. - distinguished common rooms including large lobby, drawing rooms well furnished and to have carpets or special floor finish (mosaic, parquet etc.) - central heating where local conditions make heating necessary. - telephone with outside connections in all rooms. - spacious rooms with modern comforts and refined furnishings. - suites and private apartments. - in all rooms. - all rooms to have attached bath and toilet. - cloak rooms for casual visitors on floors with public rooms. - upto date sanitary installations in proper running order. - 24 hours. - independent. - if more than two upper storeys. - reception hall with 24 hour service. - airconditioning in all public rooms and bedrooms. - to be boiled and/or filtered or chemically treated. - 100% of staff to have recognized training.
Among the other services: 1. First-aid facilities, five fighting equipment and safety devices to be available. 2. Dinning room, speciality restaurants and private dinning rooms. 3. Refrigeration and storage facilities. 4. Laundry and dry-cleaning facilities. 5. Safe deposit facilities. 6. Stationery to be provided in the rooms. 7. Left luggage, exchange and postal services. 8. Coffee bar or lounge with 24 hour service. 9. Information services. 10. Separate bar facilities. 11. Adequate parking space. 12. Book stalls and shops. 13. Travel agency and taxi services. 14. Telephone facilities for casual visitors. 15. Paging service or public address system. 16. Staff dining and rest rooms. 17. Radio or piped music in all rooms. 18. Hair dressing and beauty saloon. 19. Medical practitioner on call. 20. Night clubs. 21. Sports and recreational facilities. 22. Televisions (where available) in public rooms and desirable in bedrooms. 23. Banquet/Conference Hall. 24. Swimming Pool.
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25. 26. 27. 28.
Sound Proofing for new hotels. Library desirable. Guest insurance desirable. Health club desirable. 10
HOTEL AND FOOD LAWS Every year hundreds of thousands of people suffer from illnesses brought about eating contaminated foods and drinks. Thousands of other dies every year for unknown food and water related diseases. Food poisoning is the most common illness in our country. Consumers Rights and Protection Laws came into being only this year, not yet known of its fate. In the mean time, magistrates are exercising their powers to fine for preparation and sale of contaminated foods and drinks in cities in Bangladesh without giving any consideration to make public awareness or installing food handlers training programs. Our farmers, cultivators, food processors, food handlers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, caterers in shops, in streets are not aware of their legal obligations and quite often ignore their moral obligations. The following laws are available in Bangladesh: (i) Constitutional rights (ii) Pure food ordinance of 1959 (iii) Bangladesh Penal Code of 1860 (iv) BSTI to monitor etc. 11 Admittedly, these laws are too old and hardly applied. INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS Hotel and Catering Industry Liaison Committee A proper Hotel and Catering Economic Development Council is to be found to represent the industry to the National Economic Council which is normally chaired by the Head of the Government. This council will have members from every different sections of the industry, management organizations, the trade unions and the appropriate government departments, with perhaps some members drawn from universities and similar bodies who can contribute a specialized knowledge, and the chairman is drawn from outside the industry. The task of the body is to examine the industry and its economic progress, and to evaluate the whole area of its activities and encourage improvements in efficiency. To that end the committee undertakes enquiries and research into the industry, trying to assess its growth, identify the problems and suggest possible solutions. This information is make available to the industry and to the National Economic Development Council for incorporating into the planning economic policy. 12 Bangladesh Tourist Corporation The Bangladesh Tourist Corporation performs certain statutory responsibilities on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh and to represent the industry. Among its responsibilities: (a) to promote tourism to Bangladesh from overseas; (b) to advise the government on tourism matters affecting Bangladesh as a whole; (c) to encourage the provision and improvement of tourist amenities and facilities in Bangladesh; (d) to prepare, after consultation with the divisional tourist offices, general schemes of assistance for tourist projects;
10 11
Ibid p14-15 Dr Belal Husain Joy, Basic Food Hygiene, IBAIS University, Dhaka, 2009. 12 Dr Belal Husain Joy, TOURISM 2000, International Seminar, London.
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(e) to assist in the promotion of new and existing tourist products and programmes, through the provision of advice and assistance to industry operators; (f) to service the effective and efficient distribution of tourist products through the provision of such promotional services for the industry as workshops, trade manuals etc., and (g) to provide a back up services for the markets through the provision of product information, action on specific request from the markets, and the organisation of purchasing tours. Subsidiary to this the Bangladesh Tourist Corporation should establish a set of marketing aims which could be: (a) to earn for Bangladesh as much foreign currency as possible from overseas tourism; (b) to increase the overall amount of travel thought out Bangladesh; (c) to work in partnership with the trade and to encourage support from the trade for the Bangladesh Tourist Corporation's promotional works overseas: The corporation is funded mainly by the government at eh moment, it should try to be selfsufficient as early as possible by undertaking some profit-making projects; rather tan waiting for national and international financial assistance. Without financial soundness no organization can perform their delegated responsibilities. Bangladesh Hotel and Catering Management Association This is my suggested self-made association; it can be formed for advancement in the field of professional education and training of management personnel in the industry. Basically it would be an examining body for qualifications recognized as suitable for management positions. A syllabus is to be standardized carefully in consideration of Management principles, background knowledge, scientific knowledge and awareness of marketing, accommodation needs, accountancy, and the like. At the same time, it would set up of a research register, (annually updated,) and provide important sources of cross-fertilization of ideas and an avenue for the exchange of information. Membership of the association, through examination, will confer prestige upon the membership. The association also should provide advisory services, meetings, publications, and representing management to the others in the industry. 13 Hotels, Restaurants and Caterers Association This sort of trade association is urgently needed in Bangladesh, because it represents the firm members in the industry and seeks to promote their interests. It will be an important step for the total development of the industry and a pressure group to directly approach the government in its own behalf. As a trade association this organization can also promote meetings and can undertake publicity work hotel and restaurant guides can be published and sole to the public at hope and abroad. To form an organization like this, promoting members will have a very clear and effective scheme for the whole project like formation, financial sources, management and aims and objectives of the association. Then, inviting application from the hoteliers, Restaurants and
13
Dr Belal Husain Joy, A Practical Guide to Restaurant Management,1994, p.137
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caterers first of all from the main cities and than district towns and slowly from remote corners of the country. 14 Hotel and Catering Industrial Training Board At least at this stage we came to realize that the training facilities for the Hotel and Catering industry are seriously inadequate and the conditions are definitely unsatisfactory. The government must take an urgent step towards the formation of such a training board to achieve the following objectives; (a) to ensure an adequate supply of properly trained men and women at all levels in industry; (b) to improve the efficiency and quality of industrial training; and (c) to share the costs of training more evenly between firms. This type of industry training board primarily identifies the training needs of the industry, provides training courses at all levels (or arranges for other organizations to do so), also undertakes research roles into manpower supplies, etc. and of course, acts as an advisor to the government. It is the responsibility of the government to form, manage and fund the organization on behalf of the industry. 15 Trade Unions There are trade unions in individual units of the hotel and Catering industry, a nation wide industry union is essential to form to look after the interests of hundreds thousands of workers in the industry. We have heard about lots of industrial disputes in individual hotels, but in some cases the negotiation took a really long time over a minor bargain. If there was any national trade union for the industry, with sufficient influence (as a pressure group to the government), those little problems could have been solved in no-time. Individual Hotel trade union members should get together to form such an union for grater interests of the working members, firms, employers and the government. Any complaint that cannot be solved at the local level can be passed on to the national level where possibly more knowledgeable people may guide and negotiate with appropriate authority. Trade Unions should not be formed only for the interest of the workers, but also for the good of all other concerning authorities like employers and government. Therefore, the employers and the government bodies should happily allow their workers to join in the trade unions to keep the total industry situation satisfactory. 16 CONCLUSION: This paper has covered the areas from the historical background and definition of the hotel industry to its image, grading, categories, management, laws and organisational structure and supporting associations. In appraising these crucial areas, I have effectively made suggestions and/or commented side by side on their practicability. Finally, we are very hopeful that in the near future the young generation will not feel shy about a career in the Hotel and Catering Industry and the same time the local entrepreneurs will not have barriers to invest in the hospitality projects, with an ultimate goal of having our own industry, designed, developed
14
Belal Husain Joy, Hotel Management Action: Bangladesh Economic Context, MBA Dissertation 1988, PWU, P.17-18
15 16
Ibid p.19 Ibid p.19-20
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and managed by our own nationals. Although such initiatives are already seen in all over the country but running the hospitality businesses by our own experts is the essential area of concentration, for which education, training and development programs are to be taken more and more. By doing so, we can establish and run the hotels and restaurants more professionally and the same time will be able to create positive image for the whole of our hospitality industry in Bangladesh. References: Joy, Belal Husain. Hotel Management Actions, Masters Dissertation, PWU, 1988. ---. Practical Hotel Operation, Project SCHM, Ireland, 1976 ---. Tourism: Policy and Practice, Project SCHM, Ireland, 1977 ---. Basic Food Hygiene, IBAIS University, Dhaka, 2009 A Mahabub, Law & Regulations of Hotel and Tourism, Project Work, IBAISU, Dhaka, 2008 Kibria, M G. The Legal Procedures for Establishing a 3 Star Commercial Hotel in Dhaka, Project Work, IBAISU, Dhaka, 2008 Tourism Five Year Plan 1973-78, Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka. HOTELS, The Growing Hospitality Industry, The Daily Star, September 16, 2009.
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An Appraisal of The Hotel Industry

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Joy 5568

Explorer, Volume 2, Number 1, September 2009, ISSN 1998-