Vol. 3 No. 2 (2019)

Editorial

Alison McIntosh, Shelagh Mooney and David Williamson

Greetings one and all.

Welcome to the fifth issue of Hospitality Insights and the final edition for 2019. As we head into a new decade, this journal continues to be a vehicle for accessible summaries of contemporary and diverse hospitality research. Topics covered in this issue are particularly eclectic, including: an interview with the Clink Charity chief executive, Christopher Moore, discussing how hospitality training can reduce re-offending in prisons; ‘What Makes a Hospitality Professional?’ and ‘Hospitality, Professionalism and Meaningful Work’, two research summaries that review constructs and measures of professionalism and how they relate to careers in hospitality; ‘Automation of the Fast-Food Industry: Gen Z Perspectives of Self-Service Kiosks Versus Employee Service’, a cutting edge look at how automation affects servicescapes. With particular pleasure we also present two summaries from recent post-graduate culinary researchers exploring aggression in commercial kitchens and a ground-breaking history of bean-to-bar chocolate in New Zealand.

This final issue for the decade captures many of the ongoing challenges and conundrums in hospitality, including the juxtaposition of hospitable social work in prisons with ongoing concerns regarding aggression and violence in commercial environments. We see the need for professionalism in hospitality careers challenged by the arrival of technology that removes people from the provision service completely. Finally, and appropriately for the coming holiday season, we enjoy a history of chocolate. The editors hope you value this rich, diverse and accessible feast of hospitable rumination, and we wish a safe, rejuvenating and enjoyable holiday period.