Food, beverage and accommodation: an integrated operations approach

Organizations, particularly in the hospitality industry, are infinitely variable and because of this, there is not only a tendency to view the industry as a number of discrete units but also to consider catering as a separate function to hotel keeping. However, this stance is considered to be flawed and if a more accurate picture is to be gained, a holistic approach is needed and the industry should be considered as a whole. Argues that many of the techniques in operations management normally associated with manufacturing industries can be just as easily applied to the hospitality industry. Considers a number of these, for example, capacity, forecasting, managing demand and scheduling.