A MINOR PROJECT SYNOPSIS

ON
HOSPITALITY

SUBMITTED BY:-
Lovdeep Singh(05814905009)
 INDEX

1. OBJECTIVE--------------------------------------------------------------- 01

2. SECONDARY DATA------------------------------------------------------ 02

3. REFERENCES-------------------------------------------------------------- 04
 OBJECTIVE
In this project, my aim is to provide a brief information on hospitality
sector. Hospitality is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or
practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and
entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, resorts, membership clubs,
conventions, attractions, special events, and other services for travelers
and tourist.

("Hospitality" can also mean generously providing care and kindness to whoever
is in need.)
 SECONDARY DATA

The word hospitality derives from the Latin hospes, which is formed from hostis, which
originally meant to have power. The meaning of "host" can be literally read as "lord of
strangers."[1] hostire means equalize or compensate.

In the Homeric ages, hospitality was under the protection of Zeus, the chief deity of the Greek
pantheon. Zeus was also attributed with the title 'Xenios Zeus' ('xenos' means stranger),
emphasizing the fact that hospitality was of the utmost importance. A stranger passing outside a
Greek house could be invited inside the house by the family. The host washed the stranger's feet,
offered food and wine, and only after the guest was comfortable could ask his or her name.

The Greek concept of sacred hospitality is illustrated in the story of Telemachus and Nestor.
When Telemachus arrived to visit Nestor, Nestor was unaware that his guest was the son of his
old comrade Odysseus. Nonetheless, Nestor welcomes Telemachus and his party lavishly, thus
demonstrating the relationship between hostis, "stranger," and hostire, "equalize," and how the
two combine in the concept of hospitality.

Later, one of Nestor's sons slept on a bed close by Telemachus to take care that he should not
suffer any harm. Nestor also put a chariot and horses at Telemachus' disposal so that he could
travel the land route from Pylos to Sparta rapidly, and set his son Pisistratus as the charioteer.
These illustrate the two other elements of ancient Greek hospitality, protection and guidance.

Based on the story above and its current meaning, hospitality is about compensating/equalizing a
stranger to the host, making him feel protected and taken care of, and at the end of his hosting,
guiding him to his next destination.

Contemporary usage
In the contemporary West, hospitality is rarely a matter of protection and survival, and is more
associated with etiquette and entertainment. However, it still involves showing respect for one's
guests, providing for their needs, and treating them as equals. Cultures and subcultures vary in
the extent to which one is expected to show hospitality to strangers, as opposed to personal
friends or members of one's in-group.The hospitality service industry includes hotels, casinos,
and resorts, which offer comfort and guidance to strangers, but only as part of a business
relationship. The terms hospital, hospice, and hostel also derive from "hospitality," and these
institutions preserve more of the connotation of personal care.Hospitality ethics is a discipline
that studies this usage of hospitality.In the western context, with its dynamic tension between
Athens and Jerusalem, two phases can be distinguished with a very progressive transition: a
hospitality based on an individually felt sense of duty, and one based on "official" institutions for
organized but anonymous social services: special.Places for particular rtypes of "strangers" such
as the poor, orphan(s), ill, alien, criminal, etc. Perhaps this progressive institutionalization can be
aligned to the transition between Middle Ages and Renaissance (Ivan Illich, The Rivers North of
the Future)
 Global concepts
Biblical and Middle Eastern

Abraham offering hospitality to angels

In Middle Eastern Culture, it was considered a cultural norm to take care of the strangers and
foreigners living among you. These norms are reflected in many Biblical commands and
examples.[1]

Perhaps the most extreme example is provided in Genesis. Lot provides hospitality to a group of
angels (who he thinks are only men); when a mob tries to rape them, Lot goes so far as to offer
his own daughters as a substitute, saying "Don't do anything to these men, for they have come
under the protection of my roof." (Genesis 19:8, NIV).

The obligations of both host and guest are stern. The bond is formed by eating salt under the
roof, and is so strict that an Arab story tells of a thief who tasted something to see if it was sugar,
and on realizing it was salt, put back all that he had taken and left.

Classical World
To the ancient Greeks and Romans, hospitality was a divine right. The host was expected to
make sure the needs of his guests were seen to. The ancient Greek term xenia, or theoxenia when
a god was involved, expressed this ritualized guest-friendship relation.

An example of the importance of hospitality in the classical world is the tale of Baucis and
Philemon. In this tale, the ancient gods Zeus and Hermes are visiting the town of Phrygia
disguised as simple peasants. Their search for a meal and a place to stay for the night meets a lot
of closed doors, until they arrive at the house of Philemon and Baucis. Though poor, the couple
acts as good hosts by giving the little they have to their guests, and when they realize their guests
are actually gods in disguise, they even propose to slay the one goose which guards their house.
As a reward, the gods grant them one wish, besides saving them from the flooding of the rest of
the unhospitable town.
Celtic Cultures
Celtic societies also valued the concept of hospitality, especially in terms of protection. A host
who granted a person's request for refuge was expected not only to provide food and shelter to
his/her guest, but to make sure they did not come to harm while under their care.

A real-life example of this is rooted in the history of the Scottish Clan MacGregor, from the early
seventeenth century. The chief of Clan Lamont arrived at the home of the MacGregor chief in
Glenstrae, told him that he was fleeing from foes and requested refuge. The MacGregor
welcomed his brother chief with no questions asked. Later that night, members of the MacGregor
clan came looking for the Lamont chief, informing their chief that the Lamont had in fact killed
his son and heir in a quarrel. Holding to the sacred law of hospitality, the MacGregor not only
refused to hand over the Lamont to his clansmen, but the next morning escorted him to his
ancestral lands. This act would later be repaid when, during the time that the MacGregors were
outlawed, the Lamonts gave safe haven to many of their number.[2]

India
The Indian civilization is one of the oldest on earth, and like every culture has its own favorite
stories including quite a few on hospitality. That of a simpleton readily sharing his meager
morsels with an uninvited guest, only to discover that the guest is a God in disguise, who
rewards his generosity with abundance. That of a woman who lovingly cooks up all the Khichdi
she can afford, for everyone who is hungry... till one day when she runs out of food for the last
hungry person to whom she offers her own share, and is rewarded by the god in disguise with a
never ending pot of Khichdi. Most Indian adults having grown up listening to these stories as
children, believe in the philosophy of "Atithi Devo Bhava", meaning the guest is God. From this
stems the Indian approach of graciousness towards guests at home, and in all social situations.

Cultural value or norm

Hospitality as a cultural norm or value is an established sociological phenomenon that people
study and write papers about (see references, and Hospitality ethics). Some regions have become
stereotyped as exhibiting a particular style of hospitality. Examples include:
 REFERENCES

 www.wikipedia.org
 www.scribd.com
 www.ibef.org

SUBMITTED TO:

Savita Deshwal
 MAHARAJA SURAJMAL INSTITUTE

AFFILATED

TO

GURU GOBIND SINGH INDARPRASTHA UNIVERSITY