Overview

As with our 2000 edition, the preceding chapters have tried to show that hospitality development is a process, and it is in the interests of all concerned that they under- stand it as well as possible. It is not really necessary for operators to understand all the technicalities, although the acronyms and terms in the Glossary will help to communicate with, and to comprehend the words and documents of specialists. Rather, it is more important that all concerned understand the issues which might arise in planning and implementing a hospitality development.

The editors believe that hospitality development is characterized by the following:

• Importance. It is becoming ever more important to renew or refresh existing hospitality properties. For example managed public houses in the UK are regularly refurbished because there is a strong business case for linking a refreshed pub with greater turnover and profits.

• Complexity. Since we wrote in 2000, the issues and pitfalls in development have become even more complex, especially as legislation and accountability proliferates. Complexity must be countered by understanding, as found in external research and suitable specialists who understand the area. The advice of such specialists may appear expensive, but may save the developer both cost and difficulty.

• Management. These chapters have shown that much can go wrong in a hospitality development, which can affect, for example, the quality of the final development, handover dates (and turnover) and the efficient operation of the completed work. All of...