Title overview
For introductory courses in hospitality.
Empower tomorrow's hospitality leaders
Exploring the Hospitality Industry fills a vital need: to broadly cover the hospitality industry and provide a dynamic introduction for hospitality management students. More practical than theoretical, the text addresses the latest trends and careers across hospitality segments, from traditional realms of tourism, hotels and restaurants to growth areas such as event management.
The 4th Edition examines the latest careers, operations and management principles within each featured segment. Drawing on new learning outcomes, it analyzes the industry's newest developments and challenges, while refreshing content to reflect ever-evolving roles and practices.
Hallmark features of this title
Career paths across the hospitality industry
- Career information in each chapter explores the jobs skills, work responsibilities and real-life applications of careers across the industry.
- Corporate profiles highlight excellent hospitality organizations and operations.
Learning tools and practical applications
- Critical-thinking questions related to SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) reinforce important concepts from the text.
- Apply Your Knowledge quizzes gauge students' grasp of chapter content as they go.
- Mini Case Studies challenge learners to respond to real-world scenarios.
New and updated features of this title
More effective organization of content
- UPDATED: New learning outcomes connect content directly to learning goals, reinforcing what the chapter content aims to achieve.
- UPDATED: Travel and Tourism chapters have been reordered. They now begin with economic benefits, then move to modes of transportation for travel and current trends in travel and tourism.
In-depth look at specific hospitality segments
- UPDATED: Hotel Management and Operations chapters discuss executive duties, hotel departments and property management systems, including calculating potential rooms revenue.
- UPDATED: Restaurant and Foodservice chapters address evolving trends, including multi-unit establishments, food trucks, pop-up stands, nutrition labeling and organic options.
- EXPANDED: Sales, Marketing, and Advertising sections assess the latest strategies, including current technology practices such as social media.
- EXPANDED: Coverage of each industry segment now reflects career options and operations practices within that segment, along with real-world applications.
Table of contents
- Hospitality Spirit
- Tourism
- Lodging
- Lodging Operations
- Cruising
- Restaurants
- Restaurant Operations
- Managed Services
- Beverages
- Clubs
- Theme Parks and Attractions
- Gaming Entertainment
- Meetings, Conventions, and Expositions
- Event Management
Author bios
About our author
John R. Walker, DBA, FMP, CHA, is a Fulbright Senior Specialist and the McKibbon Professor Emeritus of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of South Florida, Sarasota–Manatee. John's years of industry experience include management training at the Savoy Hotel London, followed by stints as assistant food and beverage manager, assistant rooms division manager, catering manager, food and beverage manager, resident manager and general manager with Grand Metropolitan Hotels, Selsdon Park Hotel, Rank Hotels, Inter-Continental Hotels and the Coral Reef Resort, Barbados, West Indies.
He has taught at two- and four-year schools in Canada and the United States. In addition to being a hospitality management consultant and author, he has been published in the Cornell Hotel Restaurant Administration Quarterly, the Hospitality Educators Journal and the New York Times. He is a 10-time recipient of the President's Award for teaching, scholarship and service, and he has received the Patnubay Award for exemplary professional performance through teaching and authorship of tourism and hospitality publications.
John is an editorial advisory board member for Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research. He is a past president of the Pacific Chapter of the Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE). He is a certified hotel administrator (CHA) and a certified Foodservice Management Professional (FMP). He and his wife, Josielyn T. Walker, have twins, Christopher and Selina. The Walkers live in Sarasota, Florida.