Hospitality Today And Tomorrow

As a wise man once said, “Don’t worry about what you don’t know. Be worried about what you think you know, but don’t.” Regarding different ways “hospitality” is understood, the root of the problem lies in part in the different interpretations that hospitality has in different cultures and languages. In American English, for example, when we speak about “hospitality” we first think of it as an industry and only secondarily as an attribute of an individual or community. In other cultures, the primary meaning of hospitality is more a characteristic of people, or of a country or city, etc., and encompasses such ideas as welcome, reception, amiability, generosity, etc. – not an industry! Even in American English, other words are sometimes used to describe the same economic activity: lodging, accommodation, etc.