An industry that can make or break any city
I've always said that the hospitality industry is one of the largest contributors to a town or city and that the hospitality industry can solely rescue an economy in dire straits.
Let me preface that by mentioning that the town or city would have to have leaders with evident fiscal responsibility.
Our restaurants, hotels, tourism providers are the front line of the industry. In addition to the front line, there are many non-hospitality organizations that benefit from the hospitality industry.
The hospitality industry is among one of the fastest growing industries right now in 2019. That's extremely exciting for your town, your hotel, your restaurant and even the pharmacy!
Hospitality generates revenue for local economies directly when tourists spend money in hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. It helps economies indirectly because tourists purchase retail goods, pharmacy items and locally made souvenirs and crafts.
Taking its wider indirect impacts into account, the sector contributed $8.3 trillion to the global economy and supported 313 million jobs in 2017. This was equal to 10.4% of the world's GDP, and approximately 1 in 10 of all jobs. (Travel Agent Central)
In the United States alone, more than $500 billion was generated in 2018 from the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry is the 2nd largest employer in country; the health care industry is first (Reynolds, 20).
Americans spent, on average, 9.4 percent of their personal consumption dollars on hospitality and the U.S. spends more on hospitality than any other country in the world. (Delloite)
In Kentucky, hospitality is the second largest industry; agriculture is the first. The hospitality industry is about service. The industry provides service to people when they are away from their home, and sometimes even when they are home. For example, home delivery of food would be part of the hospitality industry as would a masseuse that does home visits or a cook that does at-home cooking lessons or catering. The hospitality industry is about diversity.
There are small, large, privately owned, and publicly owned businesses. There are people of every socioeconomic class, cultural background, race, age, and religion involved with hospitality.
The hospitality industry helps other industries around it grow, thus creating a basis for an economy. In "tourist towns," for example, the entire economy is built up around the hospitality industry. In places like this, a lawyer is not directly part of the hospitality industry, but a lawyer that works for a hotel chain is supported by the hospitality industry and a schoolteacher that teaches in this type of community is also supported by the hospitality industry. Shop owners, business providers, government agencies, and other service providers rely on the hospitality industry to bring people into their businesses.
Other, non-hospitality-based economies also rely on the H & T industry for growth. For example, an agriculture community that raises lots of barley may supply much of their crop to alcohol manufacturing, which in turn is served in the food service sector of the hospitality industry.
Another example would be a M.D. that specializes in orthopedic surgery and lives in a town where many injuries are due to recreational activities. Ultimately, any town with a hotel, restaurant, or recreational activity is affected by and employs people in the hospitality industry.
The ability to serve people food, give them a place to sleep, and provide them with entertainment is the back bone of many economies all over the globe.
So, in closing, pat yourself on the back and be proud of your contribution to the hospitality industry whether you're a supplier of hospitality or a consumer of hospitality. Go ahead and feel good about throwing that birthday party, private event, business meeting or planning that staycation! Think of yourself as a contributor to your local community.
• Jim Grillo is the founder and president of Hereschicago.com.