On the Road? You Can Still Eat Like It’s Thanksgiving
By Charu Suri

I read a very fascinating article from the New York Times Travel section last week. It was published on November 11, 2015, just in time for the upcoming holidays. The article talks about how many global destinations will be offering traditional Thanksgiving dinners for travelers this year. Some of the examples given in the article include places like Jamaica, specifically Strawberry Hill, that will be serving a buffet with turkey, chicken, ribs and fish, all prepared in the traditional jerk fashion along with desserts and rum cocktails with a reasonable price per person. The Regent Porto Montenegro will also offer a four course meal on November 26 that includes a slow-cooked turkey dish and my favorite one The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong’s Cake Shop that has created portable and stylish Thanksgiving boxes with roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, and dessert, per family-size box.
The article also make mention of some domestic destination such as Westin La Paloma’s Azul restaurant in Tucson that will be serving agave chile-rubbed turkey with poblano crema and cornbread chorizo stuffing.
Albert Herrera, senior vice president for global product partnership at the travel company Virtuoso, said that his company has seeing an increase interest in travel to international destination to experience and celebrate the holiday with a traditional turkey feast.

In the fourth chapter of the text, titled “Food and Beverage Operations”, the author discusses the various facets of the of the food and beverage services typically provided by a hotel along with the nature of managing those services. The chapter begins with informing the reader that the food and beverage department of a hotel is headed by what is known as a director of food and beverage. It continues by outlining the responsibilities of this individual; these include overseeing that the kitchen,bars, restaurants and catering services are being operated in an efficient and profitable manner. In addition, this director is also tasked with supervising room service. According to the text, this position results in the director having an obligatory interest in identifying trends in the hospitality industry and a partial responsibility in organizing special events. The text continues next by elaborating on the hotel kitchen. The hotel kitchen is the domain of its executive chef. The executive chef must ensure the quality and quantity of food. They’re are tasked with producing and maintaining the organization of the kitchen, this includes delegating specific duties to those employed in the kitchen and monitoring financial performance. Furthermore, the chapter goes on to mention that larger hotels tend to have both formal and casual restaurant options. These restaurants are either independent enterprises or they’re directly attached to the hotel’s operations. It then discusses bars as a lucrative revenue center, but one fraught with liability. From that point the chapter takes a turn to focus in on the two remaining pillars of a hotel’s food and beverage operations, stewardship and catering.

In the latter part of the chapter, the text delves into the unsung hero that is the chief steward. The chief steward is the position in the food and beverage department that is tasked with ensuring that the kitchen and all the tools used in the preparation and serving of food are kept clean. They must also maintain other areas under the purview of their department, such as the backstage of the hotel. In addition, they are charged with implementing pest control. From here, the text turns its attention to the pivotal function of catering. Catering is typically categorized as either on-premise or off- premise. Hotels provide catering for events like conventions, weddings, dinners and meeting. The nature of the catering service and its organization are predicated on the event being catered to. Ultimately, catering features prominently in a food beverage department’s repertoire because it is procedurally a highly complex affair involving many parties. The chapter concludes by sharing the evolving nature of room service, and how many in the hotel industry use it strategically to boost guest satisfaction.

Key Terms

1. Banquet- The current head of state will typically throw a lavish banquet in honor of a visiting foreign dignitary.
2. Banquet event order (BEO)-  Hotel personnel who are involved in catering an event can find out there duties by referring to the banquet event order
3. Brigade- The tasks of the of the kitchen are usually delegated according to the brigade system.
4. Capture rate- A hungry but lazy guest is always great for a hotel’s capture rate.
5. Catering- Though very lucrative, catering large events can be very taxing for a hotel kichen.
6. Catering coordinator-  Any  contract involving catering on the part of a hotel must be reviewed by its catering coordinator.
7. Catering event order (CEO)- See banquet event order (BEO).
8. Catering services manager (CSM)- When an event space is not set-up as a client expected, the blame will fall the catering services manager.
9. Chef tournant-  One can say that a chef tournant is a sort of Jack of all trades.
10. Chief steward- For a general manager to appreciate the cleanliness of their kitchen, they must appreciate the work of the chief steward.
11. Classroom- style seating- If the guest of an event are expected to take notes, then the organizers should implement classroom-style seating.
12. Contribution margin- The kitchen of a hotel must sell a certain amount of a food item to justify its contribution margin.
13. Dinner-style room seating- When dinner is a primary draw for an event, it stands to reason that the organizers will implement dinner-style seating.
14. Director of catering (DOC)- The director of catering is the one ultimately responsible for the execution and profitability of all catering activities.
15. Director of food and beverage- A general manager who is displeased with the quality of food being produced in their hotel must deal directly with the director of food and beverage to solve the problem.
16. Executive chef- The hotel kitchen is generally run by the executive chef.
17. Food cost percentage- Determining food cost percentages is integral to establishing the profitability of a hotel’s food and beverage outlets.
18. Food sales percentage- A hotel kitchen typically expresses the cost of labor in the food sales percentage.
19. Horseshoe-style room seating- Organizers  of an event can facilitate interaction between guest by utilizing horseshoe-style room seating.
20. Kitchen manager- Certain multi-faceted executive chefs are referred to as kitchen managers.
21. Labor cost percentage-  A labor cost percentage of a hotel kitchen can fluctuate on whether the items they produce are made from scratch.
22. Perpetual inventory- A hotel kitchen can monitor cost by using software that establishes a perpetual inventory.
23. Pilferage- An experienced restaurant owner will certainly always remember to account for pilferage when reviewing inventory.\
24. Pour/Cost percentage- The efficiency of any bar operation is measured by its pour/cost percentage.
25. Responsible alcoholic beverage services- An establishment runs the risk of being held legally liable if doesn’t promote and enforce responsible alcoholic beverage services.
26. Restaurant manager- A restaurant manager is a restaurant’s equivalent to a hotel’s general manager.
27. Room service-  A hotel guest can be surprised how expensive regularly ordering room service can get.
28. Shopper- The employees of a hotel bar should always remain conscience of the possibility that any given customer could be a shopper.
29. Sous chef- Sous chefs tend to work under executive chefs in the kitchen
30. Station chef- A vegetable chef is the station chef charged with preparing vegetables.
31. Theater-style room seating- Events that involve audiovisual presentations usually conform to theater-style seating.

Chapter Summary

Chapter 11 focuses on describing the various components of casino gambling entertainment and the casino industry spread all over the world. It demonstrates, how it has become one of the most significant developments in the hospitality industry during the past three decades and how it has created new opportunities for hospitality careers within casinos resorts. We also learn that casino gambling is regulated by state governments and how are hotel operations in a gaming entertainment business different from hotel operations in a nongaming environment.

Key Words and Concepts

1. Baccarat. My example: There has never been a time I played baccarat, and I don’t get my nine.
2. Blackjack. My example: Roberto had bet a large sum at the blackjack table, and lost it all.
3. Casino Resort. My example: Last weekend I spent a memorable time at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort in Connecticut.
4. Comp. My example: My meals and drinks at the hotel were often comped by the casino.
5. Craps. My example: In my opinion the craps table is one of the most complicated boards game at the casino.
6. Gambling. My example: Many people have lost fortunes due to a gambling addiction.
7. Handle. My example: Last night the table that I was working at had a handle of one million but no one won.
8. Hold Percentage. My example: The hold percentage of the one million handle at the poker table at the end of the night was $200,000.00.
9. Poker. My example: It took over an hour for someone to finally join me to play poker.
10. Roulette. My example: When I got to the roulette wheel table, I did not know what color and number to bet on.
11. Win. My example: The more you bet the more chance there is to win in any casino.

This chapter teaches us the main functions of gambling and how it has been used to expand the hospitality industry immensely. Gambling is illegal in the U.S, except for when it’s in one place, and that’s a casino. Legal gambling has expanded the horizons of hotel owners by investing in these game machines and innovating casino or resort casino. The casino is operated by the head manager, and  wins within the casino is split between player and hotel/resort where you’re legally gambling at.  There are two types of gambling, social gambling and mercantile gambling. This chapter also explain the games played in casino’s and gambling resorts which people play to either win or lose.

Baccarat: Gambling card game in which players have three cards and they can bet against the banker. Winner is whom has highest remainder after play.

Blackjack: one of the most widely played casino games. The winner is whom first creates the sum of 21 with cards he/she has in hand.

Wins; Prize after winning a hand or game in casino.

Chapter Summary
Chapter 11 bases on all different aspect within the Casino industry which is rapidly changing in today’s world.Casino gaming and casino comprised of companies operating the largest segment of commercial gaming industry.The casino consists hospitality aspects towards the guest and opportunity to gamble your life away. Gambling is divide into two department: social gambling and mercantile gambling. The chapter also explains how to manage a resort and casino, what are expected to happen in the business and gambling is regulated by state and governments. The casino operation is run by the head manager, wins within the casino is split between you and hotel/resort you temporary staying at.

Key Words & Concepts

1)Baccarat- The Resort World Casino baccarat tables are located in quiet sequestered section of the resort.
2)Blackjack- Tania had bet a significant sum of chips at the blackjack table and lost everything.
3) Casino Resort- L’ Auberge Casino Resort offer full service non-stop Vegas style gaming with seventy tables games and sixteen hundred slot machines.
4)Comp- Every year I celebrate my birthday at this Club Lounge spot. The owners usually provide me with comp tickets depending on the party package I choose to take for my birthday celebration.
5)Gambling- The sheriff ran happy Jack out from the table saying he was cheating but I think he was just a better at gambling then the others.
6) Hold Percentage-Melissa is playing blackjack she buys $200 in chips. She lose $30 in bets and the hold percentage for the casino.
7)Poker- Dominique and his brothers play poker almost every Friday night to see who will do the chores on Saturday.
8)Roulette-Nancy and Cindy played the game Russian roulette to see who has the best luck.
9)Wins-If a player declaring Jason wins he received double stakes all round. If he loses he only pay single stake all rounds.
10)Craps-Mr. Banks would have a good run at the craps tables and was high on his good fortune.
11). Handle- The daily average at the Cesar Hotel is typically millions of dollars. When a bet is placed the handle increase by the amount of the bet. The handle is not affected at all.

Resort and Hotel News: A Spa in Ireland, An Inn in the Catskills October 27th , 2015

 
Its is a very modern that hotels are perfect for honeymoons in todays world. From castles and stately homes to heavenly havens that have no television or no wifi. Yet the price for the night at the resort or hotel are funeral expensive would not attract your guest. When staying in a Resort or Hotel must always have experience outcome. The people look forward for the generous views over the lakes and garden combine with fine dining, luxurious room and great atmosphere in the bar at night combined with a good old fashioned hospitality. These are things we need to know if you are planning or are on a trip. Promoting your hotel or resort spa is an ongoing task which can result In successful returns as long as you keep tee he focus on both the spa and hotel/resort. The methods for a job to promote and keep the experience to the momentum in the marketing and advertising ideas coming. Your guest deserves to experience cross promote such as the spas which the hotel and resort will share the passion to make it happen for the guest. In the article the guest state the resort and hotel of Ireland is one of the best place (if not the best) to have peaceful holiday. On top of the nice architecture and landscape of the hotel, the excellent service of the staff keep you relaxed all the time. Staff was the best trained staff and very courteous. This all matters in a hotel and resort business.

This article On the Road? You Can Still Eat Like It’s Thanksgiving” by Charu Suri Elaine Glusac published in the travel section of the New York Times talked about how international countries are implementing, attracting and offering to a Thanksgiving Dinner to Americans in a foreign country. I believe that this is a unique idea for those who has a small family and wants to do something different with their family outside of the United States. One of the country’s that offered a Thanksgiving dinner is Jamaica that is offer a buffet meal with turkey, chicken, ribs, fish and local desserts. Another country that the writer speaks about is In Porto Montenegro that offer a four course meal that included slow-cooked turkey breast served with a local pasta, tangerine relish and cabbage. A third international country that the writer mention is Hong Kong who served boxes with roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, trimmings and desert as dinner. To finish the article, the writer also talked about domestic resorts that are offering the same Thanksgiving dinner to the Americans locally. For me this is cheaper because in a way you are saving on international expensive flights that would offer the same service locally and not matter what country you’re in, it will not be the same because this a tradition of the United States.

This chapter talked about the history of the gaming industry in which is considered one of the most significant developments in the hospitality industry for last three decades. There are two types of gambling: the social gambling in which people bet against each other and mercantile gambling in which people bet against an organization. The chapter also talked about the different types of casino operations and the evolution of gambling and casino. Like the hotel, food and beverage, casino, retail, entertainment and the mirage effect. This chapter finalize with the focus on the sustainability in gaming entertainment, career information and the trends in the gaming entertainment industry.

Key Words and Concepts:

Baccarat– Example: The baccarat game is a game of cards and it is very famous in the casino resorts.

Blackjack – Example: The blackjack is a table game with cards. The objective is to score a particular amount total to win.

Casino resort – Example: People love to travel to Las Vegas to gambles in the casino resorts.

Comp – Example: When a customer received a bad service the casino usually offer comp to the customer like a special accommodations.

Craps – Example: A table game with dice to score a certain amount total of numbers to win.

Gambling– Example: Maria love to gambling at the casino every month.

Handle – Example: Handle is the total amount of money that people bet in a gambling game.

Hold percentage– Example: Casinos obtain their profit from the hold percentage that people bet in the organization.

Poker – Example: The poker game is a social and mercantile gambling game that can be play between individuals or an organization.

Roulette– Example: The roulette is a mercantile gambling game that is play in an organization.

Win– Example: When people

The article: “How to Upgrade Your Thanksgiving Road Trip” by Stephanie Rosenbloom published on travel section in the New York Times was a very interesting article to read because its talked about how to enjoy a long ride trip in a car with special equipment’s that could fit the needs and relaxation of your family while traveling a long ride in the car. Some of the electronic equipment’s that Ms. Rosenbloom mention in this articles are the Handpresso Auto Expreso which allow you make coffee. The second equipment is the portable stove where you can re-heat prep cook food. The third equipment is the Plaid Electric Blanket that keep you warm. The fourth equipment is the PowerCup Inverter that allowed you to charge any electronic equipment’s in the car and the last electronic equipment is that she mentions is the SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II where you can listen to music, videos, movies, and take incoming call on your phone wireless. Some of the non-electronics’ equipment’s that she mentions are the organizers High Road Kids-Large Food’nFun Organizer and the High Road PadPockets Tablet Holder and Car Seat Organizer. She also mentions the Yeti Rambler Tumbler stainless cup that keep the temperature of a hot or cold drink for a long time. The Grand Truck Travel Pillow, Hooded in which I love because its help you to diminish the noise of passengers, block light and it also a pillow for your neck. While I was reading this articles, I can fit the need of my children and partner with each these electronic and non-electronic equipment’s that was mention. If every passenger is entertain you can have a more enjoyable ride in your car.

Date: November 10^th, 2015

RE: Will Airport Security Accept Your Driver’s License, NYT November 5^th, 2015

Adult passengers 18 and over must show valid identification at the airport checkpoint in order to travel. Driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles or equivalent. There’s plenty of confusion about whether your standard-issue driver’s license will get you through security checks at the airport for much longer. The Department of Homeland Security this past week denied Washington state an extension from complying with tougher federal standards — part of the 2005 federal REAL ID Act — that require proof of legal U.S. residency in order for state driver’s licenses and ID cards to be valid for federal purposes, including, eventually, boarding commercial flights. In the article, the feds offered a three-month grace period before the current temporary extension expires. The Homeland Security had granted the state an extension through October, 10. If that’s the date of starting then it ended January,10. This is happen in many states including New York in order to comply but American Samoa and Minnesota have yet to make effort to comply. The department plans to announce the schedule for any changes to air-travel requirements by the end of the year, and will ensure that state governments and the traveling public are notified in advance of implementation. Are we different from other states in how we issue our driver’s licenses? Yes. Washington and New Mexico are the only states that issue standard driver’s licenses without proof of legal residency, one of the REAL ID stipulations for state-issued ID that can be used at airports and federal facilities. But we’re by no means alone in being out of compliance with REAL ID requirements. Sermonti says some 24 states still issue driver’s licenses that are not compliant, which might mean the license doesn’t incorporate special security features, or the agencies don’t conduct required employee-background checks or any of many detailed criteria.