Courtesy : School of Hospitality and Catering Design and Development

Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopédie as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity. Hospitality is also the way people treat others, that is, the service of welcoming and receiving guests for example in hotels. Hospitality plays a fundamental role to augment or decrease the volume of sales of an organization.

Hospitality ethics is a discipline that studies this usage of hospitality.

Etymology

Derives from the Arab hospes, meaning “host”, “guest”, or “stranger”. Hospes is formed from hostis, which means “stranger” or “enemy” (the latter being where terms like “hostile” derive). By metonymy, the Latin word hospital means a guest-chamber, guest’s lodging, an inn. Hospes/hostis is thus the root for the English words host, hospitality, hospice, hostel and hotel. # ISO certification in India

Historical practice

In ancient cultures, hospitality involved welcoming the stranger and offering him food, shelter, and safety.

Global concepts

Ancient Greece

Main article: Xenia (Greek)

In Ancient Greece, hospitality was a right, with the host being expected to make sure the needs of his guests were met. Conversely, the guest was expected to abide by a set code of behaviour. The ancient Greek term xenia, or theoxenia when a god was involved, expressed this ritualized guest-friendship relation. This ritualized relationship was codified in the Homeric epics, and especially in the Odyssey. In Greek society, a person’s ability to abide by the laws of hospitality determined nobility and social standing. The ancient Greeks, since the time of Homer, believed that the goddess of hospitality and hearth was Hestia, one of the original six Olympians.

India and Nepal

In India and Nepal hospitality is based on the principle Atithi Devo Bhava, meaning “the guest is God”. This principle is shown in a number of stories where a guest is revealed to be a god who rewards the provider of hospitality. From this stems the Indian or Nepal practice of graciousness towards guests at home and in all social situations. The Tirukkuṛaḷ, an ancient Indian work on ethics and morality, explains the ethics of hospitality through its verses 81 through 90, dedicating a separate chapter on it .# ISO certification in India

Judaism

Mosaic at San Vitale, Ravenna, Abraham and the angels, pre-547

Judaism praises hospitality to strangers and guests based largely on the examples of Abraham and Lot in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 18:1–8 and 19:1–8). In Hebrew, the practice is called hachnasat orchim, meaning “welcoming guests”. Besides other expectations, hosts are expected to provide nourishment, comfort, and entertainment for their guests and at the end of the visit, hosts customarily escort their guests out of their home, wishing them a safe journey.

Abraham set the pace as providing 3 things:

• Achila (“feeding”)
• Shtiya (“drinking”)
• Linah (“lodging”)

The initial letters of these Hebrew words spell Aishel (Genesis, 21:33).

Christianity

In Christianity, hospitality is a virtue, which is a reminder of sympathy for strangers and a rule to welcome visitors. This is a virtue found in the Old Testament, with, for example, the custom of the foot washing of visitors or the kiss of peace. It was taught by Jesus in the New Testament. Indeed, Jesus said that those who had welcomed a stranger had welcomed him. Some Western countries have developed a host culture for immigrants, based on the Bible.

John Paul II writes: “Welcoming our brothers and sisters with care and willingness must not be limited to extraordinary occasions but must become for all believers a habit of service in their daily lives.”

Individuals are also treated as favored guests in the liberal Catholic tradition. Honored guests receive first parlance, religious clergy second parlance, and very important persons third parlance. Clergy and followers of Christ received parlance, and some may have turned away from hospitality, welcoming and serving, since active service requires detachment from material goods, family connections, and physical comforts. Hospitality is a meeting of minds, it is an openness to the familiar and meet to discuss and question the mystery of self, social events, experiences, nature and to God. Any guest should never made to feel or see that they are causing undue extra labor by their intrusion or presence.# ISO certification in India

It is always polite to ask about religious convictions. John Paul II said: “Only those who have opened their hearts to Christ can offer a hospitality that is never formal or superficial but identified by ‘gentleness’ and ‘reverence’.” In reference to Biblical scripture as a sign of politeness to always come to the defense and aid to those who give an account of hope and those interested (see 1 Pet. 3:15).

Christ expanded the meaning of brother and neighbor to include the stranger, that he or she be treated like a follower with and for hospitality and mutual help, if the believer in Christ or who may be a messenger of God either needed help, circumstances made it difficult to interpret and being uncertain of whether an individual is a believer in Christ and God.

Pashtun

One of the main principles of Pashtunwali is Melmastia. This is the display of hospitality and profound respect to all visitors (regardless of race, religion, national affiliation or economic status) without any hope of remuneration or favour. Pashtuns will go to great lengths to show their hospitality.

Islam

Islam highly recommends one another to say peace be upon you Assalamu Alaikum to one another as Muhammad had said, Muslims are obliged to treat their guest with kindness and peace, even prisoners (in war), as Muhammad had said in authentic sources and verses from the Quran

Abu Aziz ibn Umair reported: “I was among the prisoners of war on the day of the battle of Badr. Muhammad had said, ‘I enjoin you to treat the captives well.’ After I accepted Islam, I was among the Ansar (Inhabitants of Madinah) and when the time of lunch or dinner arrived, I would feed dates to the prisoners for I had been fed bread due to the command of Muhammad.”# ISO certification in India

Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.^{[Quran 16:125]}

Good hospitality is crucial in Islam even in business. According to another report, Muhammad passed by a pile of food in the market. He put his hand inside it and felt dampness, although the surface was dry. He said: