Looking Back “Looking Back (20 points)” Please respond to the following: Thinking back on what you have learned in this course, discuss the single most in

Looking Back “Looking Back (20 points)” Please respond to the following:

Thinking back on what you have learned in this course, discuss the single most interesting or surprising thing you learned, as well as what made it so.
If you were to speak with a friend considering taking this course, describe how would you “sell” it to him or her. Explain your rationale.

Interesting to me that I learned in class: The Hotel Business ( below is the discussion question and answer for The Hotel Business-

“The Hotel Business (20 points)” Please respond to the following:

Vacation Ownership (a.k.a. time-shares) has seen resurgence in popularity in the past few years. Compare the pros and cons of vacation ownership, and make an overall judgment. Provide specific examples of vacation ownership organizations and some of the services that they provide to support your response.
Hotel developers have been much more environmentally sensitive in the past decade. Design a list of five or six environmentally friendly hotel amenities that hotel developers should be incorporating in all new hotel builds. Explain your rationale.

Vacation ownership is a property that is usually divided into different forms of ownership. These properties usually comprise of resorts or condominium units. Multiple parties’ usually have rights of ownership for these properties. It is important to note that these people usually have an allocated period of time. The minimum time in which one can access these properties is usually one week. This business has, however, gained popularity and many people are attracted to these services mainly due to the advantages offered. An example is the Harnsdane Hall hotel that provides the services listed below in the advantages. However, there are also some disadvantages related to vacation ownership. These pros and cons will help us understand the reason for its popularity (1999).

The pros

The pros of vacation ownership include the following;

Guaranteed vacations-timeshare offers secure vacations for the right prices. This attracts customers. It is secure (Stringam, 2010).
Gorgeous locations- Timeshare offers gorgeous resorts for their customers. Some hotels even practice swapping which adds to its attraction.
Helping others enjoy the vacation- It provides people with an opportunity to take their loved ones to these different beautiful locations.

The cons

Inability to use
Inability to exchange weeks
Depreciating values.

The above are some of the cons and pros associated with vacation ownership. However, the main reason why people go on vacations is to enjoy and to relax. The advantages offered by timeshare further outweigh the disadvantages. Hotels are making a major development in the market today. However, in as much as hotels are developing swiftly in the world today, there are other environment hotel friendly amenities that should be incorporated. These include;

Conserving energy- This will limit the costs associated with energy.
Limiting water use- This is also aimed at cost limiting. Urging the customers to also consider this will go a long way to help implement this idea.
Ditch disposables-switching to more natural products is cheaper.
Serve local and organic foods- This is much cheaper and healthier. It will also attract more customers.
Educate the staff

In conclusion, hotels are making a major development in the world today. This is economically advantageous for countries who have many hotels. It would be wise for countries to start incorporating these ideas (Abbas, 2002).

References

Ladki, S. M., Mikdashi, T. S., Fahed, W., & Abbas, H. (2002). Arab tourists and the Lebanese vacation ownership industry: a quality of life perspective. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 21(3), 257-265.

Stringam, B. B. (2010). Timeshare and vacation ownership executives’ analysis of the industry and the future. Journal of Retail & Leisure Property, 9(1), 37-54.

American Resort Development Association. (1999). State of the US vacation ownership industry: the 1999 report. ARDA.