Hospitality and spa

When we think of the hospitality industry, we usually think only of hotels and restaurants. However, the term has a much broader meaning. The word hospitality is derived from hospice, an old French word meaning “to provide care or shelter for travelers”. A hospice was also a medieval “house of rest” for travelers and pilgrims and an early form of what is now called a nursing home.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, hospitality means “the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors and strangers with liberality and good will.” Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines hospitality as “those businesses which practice the act of being hospitable; those businesses which are characterized by generosity and friendliness to guests.”