Hotel Ending Room Service
Starting this summer New York City’s largest hotel will no longer be offering room service to its guests. This move comes as a result in a continued decline in requests for room service. The hotel will instead have a self-serve, cafeteria style restaurant.
New York City’s Largest Hotel Ending Room Service
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/04/travel/new-york-hotel-no-room-service/index.html?hpt=tr_c2
What do you think? Will this trend continue?
National Travel and Tourism Week May 4-12
National Travel and Tourism Week is celebrated each year during the first full week of May. The tradition was first celebrated in 1984 and was established in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan signed a Presidential Proclamation urging citizens to observe the week with “the appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
The U. S. Travel Association has developed a variety of resources for planning activities to celebrate the week. The resources can be accessed at the Web site below. This is a great opportunity for hospitality and tourism students to put into practice what they have been learning in class!
U. S. Travel Association
http://www.ustravel.org/marketing/national-travel-and-tourism-week
Makeover Magic on the Seas
The Magin, Disney’s first cruise ship, is about to receive a major overhaul. Take a look at the slideshow below to see what changes are in the works.
As an activity, have students select a cruise ship from a cruise line (Carnival, Norwegian, etc.) and develop a plan to give the ship a new look. Depending on how extensive you want the project to be you can have them select certain areas from the ship or have them revamp the whole ship.
YouTube and Other Social Media Marketing Tools
Chick-fil-A recently announced a change in their menu that will include three new salads. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait!! Below is a YouTube video that the restaurant has developed to promote the new salads. Many restaurants now use YouTube and other social media as marketing tools. Lead students to discuss the use of social media for marketing purposes. What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages?
Behind the Scenes: Chick-fil-A’s New Premium Salads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4DgQVej2LI&feature=youtu.be
What do you think about the Chick-fil-A video? Does it do a good job of marketing the new items?
National Park Week, April 20 – 28, 2013
The National Park Service is proud to once again join with the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, to present National Park Week, a presidentially proclaimed celebration of our national heritage.
Did you know…America’s national parks include more than:
- 84 million acres of spectacular scenery, historic landmarks and cultural treasures
- 17,000 miles of trails
- 43,000 miles of shoreline
- 27,000 historic and prehistoric structures
- 100 million museum items
- 12,000 campsites
For more information, visit the Web sites below.
National Park Week
http://www.nps.gov/npweek/
http://www.nationalparks.org/national-park-week
Activity Idea:
Have students work in small groups or individually to develop marketing campaigns for the different National parks. Allow students to share their ideas witht the class. Have a contest to see who can develop the most creative campaign.
Texas Tech Youth Chef Camp 2013
TTU Youth Chef Camp 2013
The Department of Nutrition, Hospitality, and Retailing at Texas Tech
University is hosting the fourth annual Chef Camp for ages 13 to 18.
Chef Camp 2013 is dedicated to enhancing each camper’s knowledge and
skills of culinary arts — ranging from lessons and activities on
plating, preparation and presentation.Campers explore the world of
culinary arts, but at the same time learn many aspects of their own
personal style. Each camp day is beneficial and tons of fun. On Thursday
evening campers participate in an “Iron Chef” type competition. After a
week full of culinary arts activities, the students will present their
skills at a reception for their family and friends.
Chef Camp will take place June 24 – 28. The deadline for applications is
May 1st, and there are limited spots available. The cost is $650 before
May 1st and $750 after May 1st (Includes: Room and Board, Meals, Chef
Coat, Camp T-shirt, and Supplies). Please find more information
including application at Texas Tech University :: College of Human Sciences :: NHR :: Retail Management :: Chef Camp
If you have any further questions please email Cindy Choi at chef.camp@ttu.edu or call at (806) 742-3068 X 295.
Food Shows – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Chopped, Pioneer Woman, Cupcake Wars, Restaurant Impossible – the list of popular food shows goes on. But not all food show ideas have been successful. Some were pretty bad. The article below discusses the ten biggest food show flops. Some were so short-lived you may have never heard of them!
The Top 10 Biggest Food Show Flops
http://www.thedailymeal.com/top-10-biggest-food-show-flops
Lead students to discuss their favorite food shows and what makes them popular. Divide the class into small groups and have each group develop an idea for an original food show. Have each group pitch their idea to the rest of the class. For fun, allow students to vote on the best food show idea.
Go on a cruise with me (part 19)
Sunday, March 24, we stopped in Costa Rica, Tuesday was Guatemala, and Friday was Cabo San Lucas. Going on shore excursions is optional, but I want to see everything I can.
There are many employment opportunities at each port, including those in the U.S. The tour guides I had were all multilingual. All spoke English and Spanish, and some also spoke French, German, or Italian. They provided information about the country’s government, economy, weather, education, and life styles.
I was surprised to learn that although Costa Rica is known for its coffee, its top export is microchips for Intel. Some other companies that outsource work to Costa Rica are Microsoft, Capital One, and Bank of America.
Costa Rica has a very high literacy rate, but Guatemala has a very low literacy and a corresponding high poverty rate. Guatemala is a beautiful country, but the poverty is heartbreaking. Cabo San Lucas has it all: poverty and great wealth, barren landscapes and beautiful beaches.
I asked some of the ship’s crew what their favorite port was of all that they had visited in their years of employment. One of their favorite ports is Key West, Florida, so you don’t have to be in a foreign country to have a career as a tour guide.
The photos are of the guides who got me from the New Jersey airport to the New York port, the guides in Cartagena, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and of the buses lined up at port ready to take passengers on excursions.
Go on a cruise with me (part 18)
Filed under: Culinary Arts, Food Science, Hospitality, Restaurant
Today I went on the “Behind the Fun Ultimate Tour” which was a four-hour back-of-the-house tour. No photos allowed, but that’s okay–too busy listening and looking to mess with a camera. One part of the tour was of the main galley. The senior sous chef explained that he was in charge of this galley. He has 40 people plus 16 pastry people in this area, but because of space limitations the bakery is in another area. During the evening meal times, they prepare 1,200 plates per hour. There are 2-3 cooks involved per plate. Everything is made from scratch. The sauces and stocks are prepared the night before. They do not “cook and keep.” It is cooked as the orders come in from the wait staff. ( I’ve heard repeatedly that their salmon is the best ever, and I completely agree. Actually, everything I’ve had has been wonderful.)
The chef had a degree from a culinary school as did most of his staff. Everyone in the kitchen had a degree or certificate prior to being hired. They work under 6-8 month contracts with 2 months off. They can then start a new contract. In general, they work 10-hour days. One of the photos is of a banana cream pie made with bananas they bought in Costa Rica. Didn’t have to wait for this banana to ripen–yum.
Go on a cruise with me (part 17)
Communication is a big part of hospitality and tourism, and it’s a huge part of this floating city. Before I left home, I read the Carnival online information about phone and WiFi connections. I updated my iPhone at the AT&T store with my favorite manager, Rocky (who happens to be a hospitality graduate from Texas Tech). Getting on the ship’s WiFi has been easy, and the nice (and cute) Internet Cafe manager has helped me set up an account and log in. The charge is by the minute, so it’s easy to track.
Information is communicated to passengers in several ways. Each night a printed schedule of the next day’s events is brought to the cabins. I use this to plan the next day–wouldn’t want to miss the line dance class!
Over the P.A. system, the captain makes announcements about the boat and wind speed, rough or calm seas, and other interesting bits of info (and all with his great Italian accent). Over the ship’s TV, the Cruise Director, Tex, presents a summary of the fun things coming up each day. One of the TV channels has a map that keeps passengers informed of the ship’s progress. (Notice in the photo the wind speed today. That was a fun ride. Weeeee!)
In my visit with the ship’s Hotel Director (more about that coming later), he talked about communications among personnel and the many meetings held daily or weekly at all levels of staff and crew. It is no accident that this ship runs efficiently and safely.
