Professor in Hospitality Studies

Researcher and author dedicated to advancing hospitality education and knowledge across global platforms.

ubito, ergo cogito, ergo su
‘I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am.’
René Descartes,
French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher

1596-1650

About Professor Conrad Lashley

Professor Conrad Lashley is a former Professor and Editor Emeritus of Hospitality & Society.

He was previously Professor in Hospitality Studies in the Academy of International Hospitality Research in the Netherlands.

He has had professorial appointments at several UK universities, and regularly makes keynote research presentations in Australia, Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the USA, and Sweden as well as in Great Britain.

He is the author or editor of twenty-four books, He has also published over one hundred papers in refereed research journals and volumes of conference proceedings.

He has worked extensively with industry and generated commercial income from research and consultancy, as well as in-company management programs.

Books

Critically explores conflict and hostility in a range of hospitality settings and from a broad stakeholder perspective.

The provision of accommodation, food, and drink in commercial settings has conflict at its core because the commercial transaction between hosts and guests can result in a clash of expectations between the server and served. These service encounters involve stakeholders other than immediate personnel and their clients; owners, managers, local communities, and regulatory and licensing authorities also have concerns about the hotels, restaurants, and bars in their midst. The book recognises that these different stakeholders frequently have common interests but are also in conflict as their needs and goals compete with others. By reviewing these multi-agenda perspectives, the contributors offer new insights into topics such as conflict theory within the hospitality industry, human trafficking, employee conflict, dysfunctional leadership, tall poppy syndrome, and the impacts of over-tourism on host communities.

Published 2024 by Taylor & Francis Publishing, Oxford

Presenting expert-led discussion of a range of themes and topics, Prejudice and Discrimination in Hotels, Restaurants and Bars explores the rigidities that restrict recruitment into frontline job roles in hotels restaurants and bars.

Despite decades of legislation banning gender and racial discrimination in most service economies, selecting the ‘right person for the job’ in practice results in some applicants appearing to be ‘more right’ than others. This book makes a unique contribution to the study of hospitality management practices that define, both consciously and unconsciously, recruits’ appearance and behaviours that inevitably include some, and exclude others, from being selected for the job concerned. Dealing primarily with social class, gender and race, the issues discussed in the book are of international interest and authors are drawn from both the Northern and Southern hemisphere.

Published 2022 by Routledge Publishing, Oxford.

This is the first book to explore workforce slavery and liberation together within commercial hotel, restaurant and bar activities, the hospitality industry being particularly vulnerable to potential illegal action and reputational damage via involuntary involvement in human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Slavery is the most oppressive form of labour exploitation and is illegal in Western Europe and most of the industrialised world. On the other hand, ‘neo-slavery’ oppresses the powerless through low pay and employment practices that predominantly serve the interests of the employer. This book explores the most exploitative forms of slavery, 'neo-slavery' and human trafficking in the hotel industry, and offers insights into empowerment through liberative trade unions and worker co-operatives. The study’s multifaceted cross-cultural approach includes in-depth chapters on Brazil and the Netherlands as well as a multitude of examples from the UK, exposing the topic as an international problem.

Published 2021 by Routledge Publishing, Oxford.

Experiencing Hospitality offers an intellectually stimulating and innovative approach to the study of hospitality. It is ideal for students and academics within both the applied fields of hospitality and tourism studies and the general field of behavioral sciences. This book is also suitable for practitioners in hospitality, leisure, and tourism businesses, for whom it provides a provocative and informative guide to understanding and providing hospitality within a commercial context.

This stimulating and informative text will appeal to both academics and practitioners, with contributions from leading hospitality experts detailed within its pages. The text draws together forms of thinking and influences from a diverse range of both national and international perspectives. Beyond the immediate hospitality, leisure and tourism programs, this book is relevant to the wider social sciences, geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, social historians, cultural studies academics, as well as those studying refugee and migration flows.

Published 2019 by Nova Science Publishers

A concise, practical guide that provides the skills and knowledge for current and future managers across the hospitality industry.

The book provide a concise resource for all emerging hospitality managers, and for academics preparing students for careers within the hospitality industry.With a ‘how to do’ agenda, the authors offer a practical guide to the skills and knowledge needed by those who will be managing bars, restaurants and hotels in the fast moving hospitality retailing contexts. Written in a non-academic style, this book will be a valuable resource for students and early career managers working in the hospitality sector.

Published 2018 by Noordhoff Uitgevers

The Routledge Handbook of Hospitality Studies encourages both the study of hospitality as a human phenomenon and the study for hospitality as an industrial activity embracing the service of food, drink and accommodation. Developed from specifically commissioned original contributions from recognised authors in the field, it is the most up-to-date and definitive resource on the subject. The volume is divided into four parts: the first looks at ways of seeing hospitality from an array of social science disciplines; the second highlights the experiences of hospitality from different guest perspectives; the third explores the need to be hospitable through various time periods and social structures, and across the globe; while the final section deals with the notions of sustainability and hospitality. This handbook is interdisciplinary in coverage and is also international in scope through authorship and content. The ‘state-of-the-art’ orientation of the book is achieved through a critical view of current debates and controversies in the field as well as future research issues and trends. It is designed to be a benchmark for any future assessment of the field and its development.

This handbook offers the reader a comprehensive synthesis of this discipline, conveying the latest thinking, issues and research. It will be an invaluable resource for all those with an interest in hospitality, encouraging dialogue across disciplinary boundaries and areas of study.

Routledge Handbook Series

Published 2017 by Taylor and Francis Publishing, Oxford

This collection is signed by Professor Eduardo Sanovicz, from the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities of the University of São Paulo, former president of Embratur and one of the most important professionals in the recent process of renewal of Brazilian tourism, responsible for the implementation of the Aquarela Plan and the Brazil Brand.

The objective of the Eduardo Sanovicz Tourism Collection, which brings together the contributions of a select group of academics, is to foster dialogue between international and Brazilian experiences. Due to the great reception of the adapted books, the collection now also publishes unpublished works by renowned professors in the area of ​​Brazilian tourism. The works present national concepts, cases and experiences and explore the tourism environment in view of the major international events that are approaching.
For nearly four decades, the hospitality industry has been undergoing rapid and extremely significant changes. In the 20th century, although large business chains have consolidated, there has been an exponential expansion of small, independent businesses in the area.

Published in Portuguese 2011 by  Elsevier, Rio de Janeiro

Vacation ownership is becoming a mainstream travel product. Continued growth based on number of units sold and an increasing number of international brands has placed this segment in a very strong position. As the market continues to grow there is an increasing demand for clear and engaging sources of information on the key issues and components of vacation ownership, from both hospitality management students and the public.

This book updates hospitality students in this vacation sector, provides the key background information, explanation of the growth, the components to vacation ownership management and an overview of opportunities in vacation ownership management.

Timeshare Management
provides the understanding of the financing, marketing, sales, management, and human resource issues surrounding the subject - vital to any hospitality and tourism student.

Published 2009, Elsevier, New York.

Small businesses are the backbone of the tourism and hospitality industry and, depending on which statistics one uses, represent somewhere between 75 to 95 percent of all firms globally in this sector. The number of entrepreneurs has dramatically and uniformly increased globally over the last ten years.

Divided into four sections, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management in the Hospitality Industry takes an intuitive step-bystep progression through each stage of the entrepreneurial process: context, theoretical perspectives and definitions; Concept to reality; The business plan; Growth and the future.

Ideal for students at any level, the chapters of this book invite you to ponder upon your reading through a series of ‘reflective practice’ activities. These, along with case studies, clearly defined chapter objectives, reflections, role-play activities and experiential exercises, allow you to both think actively about themes, concepts and issues and then apply them to a number of suggested scenarios. Perfect preparation for the up-and-coming entrepreneur!

Published 2008 by Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
Hospitality: a social lens follows on from the unique contribution made by In Search of Hospitality: theoretical perspectives and debates. It progresses debate, challenges the boundaries of ways of knowing hospitality, and offers intellectual insights stimulated by the study of hospitality.

The contributing authors provide tangible evidence of continuing advancement and development of knowledge pertaining to the phenomenon of hospitality. They draw on the richness of the social sciences, taking host and guest relations as a means of studying in-group and out-group relations with and between societies. The chapter contributors represent a multi-disciplinary, international grouping of leading academics with expertise in hospitality management and education, human resource management, linguistics, modern languages, gastronomy, history, human geography, art, architecture, anthropology, and sociology. Each lends their expertise to apply as a social lens through which to view, analyse, and explore hospitality within a range of contexts. Through this process novel ways of interpreting, knowing and sense-making emerge that are captured in the final chapter of the book, and have informed future research themes which are explored.

Published 2008 by Elsevier, Oxford.

This book provides a complete overview of timeshare development and operation models. The authors take a comprehensive look at the present and future of this growing segment of the hospitality industry, including specialized approaches to marketing, human resources, service quality, finance, legal considerations and professional ethics.

Timeshare, or vacation ownership, is a relatively recent leisure phenomenon. It emerged in the late 1950s as a way to secure extra capital resources to fund property expansion. Shareholders had the right to use these properties on a regular basis. Although arrangements have grown in complexity and variation, the model allows for customers to buy rights to use a property for a fixed time period each year. Timeshare arrangements have experienced rapid international growth particularly in the last fifteen to twenty years and are now an important vacation arrangement. Most of the world's major hotel and resort developers now operate timeshare properties. Firms like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Disney and Ramada have brought a new formality and legitimacy to timeshare development and operation.

Published 2006 by Elsevier, New York

This is a unique book that has much to offer all those interested in hospitality in commercial, domestic and social settings. It is also of great value to professionals, academics and students of hospitality, tourism and related fields.

The texts in the book show that hospitality is more than just the provision of services, the consumption of food and drinks, and accommodation in a hotel or restaurant. They describe a social relationship that is at the basis of all human society. Acts of hospitality and hospitable behavior go beyond good hospitality. It is an essential book for all those who wish to understand hospitality management

Published  in Portuguese 2004 by Manole, Sao Paulo

'Business Development in Licensed Retailing: a unit manager's guide' details the indispensable skills and techniques needed to manage units within licensed retail organisations in a flexible and entrepreneurial manner. This book: · Forms the basis of a complete course for a unit manager's development. · Provides an overview of the range of skills needed for effective unit management. · Supports the development of techniques with examples from existing best practice and case examples from companies such as JD Wetherspoon's, TGI Fridays and McDonald's amongst others. Business Development in Licensed Retailing considers the functional management techniques required at unit management level, covering recruitment, human resource management, operations, service quality and customer relations, financial measurement and analysis, promotions and strategic planning.

The analysis systematically provides all the practical know-how you need to produce of a comprehensive business plan for your unit.

Ending with a comprehensive case study that demonstrates all the aspects of business development working in a real-life scenario, the text is ideally suited for lecturers and management development personnel to use as a learning resource through which readers can apply the principles and techniques outlined.

Published 2002 by Butterwortj-Heinemann, Oxford.

'Empowerment: HR strategies for service excellence' shows managers and students the importance of empowerment as part of human resource strategy. It provides a critical perspective of this established vital management technique, identifying factors that will lead to a win: win situation for all concerned.

When successfully incorporated as part of HR strategy, empowerment can:
* enable organizations to gain commercial and competitive advantage
* become more flexible
* improve employee commitment
* use the skills of individual employees to best advantage and enhance personal capabilities.

'Empowerment: HR strategies for service excellence' uses case studies from companies such as McDonalds, TGI Fridays and Harvester Restaurants to build a picture of empowerment of service employees in context, illustrating how different forms of empowerment are employed and different working arrangements are practiced.

Published 2001 by Butterwortj-Heinemann, Oxford.

There is much more to exam success than just knowing the course material.
There are various skills needed for exams such as revising correctly, exam time management and dealing with nerves and stress, and this book practically deals with these. This text is a practical guide full of original techniques that will help the student to: understand what examiners are really looking for, use revision time more effectively, improve memory, make the most of allotted time in an exam, write better essays, learn how to eliminate exam stress, improve diet and lifestyle to boost energy levels. An essential text for exam success.

Published 2001 by Continuum Publications, London.

'Hospitality Retail Management' provides students and managers with a practical guide to managing units in hospitality retail organizations.

Customers rely on a particular chain of hotels, restaurants or pubs to provide the same level of service and environment across the board. This standardised service provides the customer with the security of knowing what to expect from that particular organisation. However, this standardisation allows little room for creativity for individual managers to respond to the particular needs of their local market. There is a growing realisation that there is greater profitability if the chain can offer both standardised services across all its retail operations while at the same time allowing local managers the freedom to interpret the needs of its local market as they see fit.

'Hospitality Retail Management'
shows managers and students how competitive advantage can be gained by adopting management techniques which are both 'tight and loose', and demonstrates how you can manage businesses with well-defined objectives while also allowing local managers to interpret their local market as they see fit.

Conrad Lashley has done extensive consultancy with companies such as McDonalds and uses case studies from these companies to reiterate key issues throughout the text.

Published 2000 by Butterwortj-Heinemann, Oxford.


'In Search of Hospitality' is a unique contribution to the study of hospitality, exploring the practice of hospitality across disciplines, and adopting an international perspective where appropriate.

This title brings together an extraordinary collection of leading researches and writers in hospitality, sociology, philosophy and social history, thereby providing a broad and comprehensive perspective on hospitality. It focuses the study of hospitality across the range of human, social and economic settings, and provides a reference point for the future development of hospitality as an academic discipline.

Harnessing this wide range of viewpoints, 'In Search of Hospitality' offers an intellectually stimulating and innovative approach to the study of hospitality. It is ideal for students and academics within both the applied fields of hospitality and tourism studies and the general fields of business studies and behaviour sciences. It is also suitable for practitioners in hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses, for whom it provides a provocative and informative guide to understanding and providing hospitality within a commercial context.

Published 2000 by Butterwortj-Heinemann, Oxford.

'Franchising in the Hospitality Industry' provides an overview of the issues, debates and challenges associated with business franchising.

In two parts, this text firstly looks at the issues from both an academic and practitioner perspective.
The second part looks more closely at service sector groups in the hospitality industry, such as hotels, leisure and catering using national and international examples and illustrations.
These demonstrate how the theories and debates discussed in the first part, are tackled in real life situations.
Examples used are from well known companies such as McDonalds, Baskin Robbins, Burger King, Choice Hotels, Holiday Inn, Domino Pizza, Pierre Victoire amongst others.

Published 2000 by Butterwortj-Heinemann, Oxford.

Since the service sector now occupies 70% of UK business, it represents an important part of the country's economic success.
This book contains examples from Europe, UK and USA where service quality has been improved through the empowerment of employees. It provides a systematic overview of employee empowerment as a strategy for resolving service quality problems.
The book shows the key issues involved in improving quality in the service sector, covering topics such as customer satisfaction, standardization of service and "scripted" interactions, definitions of quality, satisfaction and value, motives for employee empowerment and implications for management.

Published 1998 by Cassell Publications, London

"Improving Study Skills" will teach you to use your time and effort most effectively, by developing a range of essentially simple techniques for organizing your time, studying, reading, note-taking, information-gathering, presentation, essay and report writing, and dealing with examinations.
This book will help you to improve your performance, reduce stress and reach your full potential. In a series of student-centred sessions, you are taken step by step through a gentle learning process that will hone and polish your skills.
You will enjoy using this book, and your friends will want to borrow it from you, especially when they see the improvements in your performance. Make them buy their own copy!

Published 1996 by Cassell Publications, London

Other Published Works

Organization Behaviour for Leisure Services provides the reader with the conceptual tools necessary for analysing organizational behaviour in the context of hospitality, leisure and tourism provision, and understaanding events in order to take appropriate management action.

Taking the view that leisure services involve an array of industry sectors - they are related, for instance, to work-time spent eating, drinking and staying away from home, as well as the more obvious recreational pursuits - the text uses examples and case studies from a wide range of international businesses such as hotels, restaurants, museums, shopping malls and sports stadia. Specific examples used are from Marriotts, McDonald's, Trafford Centre and many more. With a user-friendly structure and style, the text is an ideal introduction to the fundamental issues involved - perfect for students and managers alike.

This book discusses and questions a number of key elements, including:

  • The individual and the organization

  • Groups in the organization

  • Organizational structures and behaviour

  • Management within the organization

  • Commercial hospitality, leisure and tourism in a service context

There is a Tutor Resource pack available to lecturers who adopt this text. Accredited lecturers can request access to download this material by going to http://books.elsevier.com/academic/defaultmanuals.asp? to request access.

Published 2006 by Elsevier, New York

Get in Touch

For inquiries about hospitality studies, research collaborations, or lectures, please reach out through the contact form.