Hotel Business and Hospitality in the Sociological Optics of Study

Abstract

The growth in the volume of the hotel business, the increase in its importance as a sector of the economy that generates income and creates jobs, predetermined the need for a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon of hotel services. Foreign science has deeper traditions and better-formulated approaches from a sociological perspective with respect to the study of hotels: historical, as the development of forms and practices of hospitable behavior, a reflection of cultural norms and traditions; practical studies of hotels as an enterprise, a place of work, and an element of urban infrastructure. The article presents various most notable conceptual developments of both foreign and domestic researchers in this area, as well as the results of our own research carried out using the method of content analysis of Russian specialized magazines on hotel business issues. The data allows us to say that the integration of the principles of hospitality into the commercial sector, the role and specificity of emotionality in service for Russian hoteliers, unlike the Chinese ones, are not yet paramount. The technical side of service and the professionalization of personnel seem to them to be a more significant indicator. However, a substantive analysis of a number of articles on the topic in question as well as interviews with hospitality workers and clients indicates that the ethical elements and principles of hospitality are becoming increasingly important in this area.