H—3B

648. Mr. Ringer had not been in the South. Island since 1940, but he had had reports from members of automobile associations at the main centres which bore out the opinion he formed in 1940. Accordingly, we quote Mr. Ringer's views on the South Island. He said that accommodation there was insufficient in Picton, Christchurch (which is overcrowded for at least three months in the year), the Marlborough Sounds (where there are no licensed houses), Nelson, Westport, Hokitika, Ashburton, Timaru, Pukaki (on the road to Mount Cook), Queenstown, Dunedin, Manapouri, Te Anau, Stewart Island, Akaroa, and Arthur's Pass. The exceptions in the South Island were Blenheim, Greymouth, and the Bluff. No comment was made on Invercargill as there has not been sufficient time for any rebuilding to be undertaken since the restoration of licenses was carried. 649. The basis of much of Mr. Ringer's criticism was that hotels should expect to provide sufficient accommodation during the seasons when accommodation is in special demand. They should, if necessary, be prepared to close down certain rooms or a wing in the off season. This procedure is adopted abroad, where the hotels seek to give adequate service to the travelling public. Unless it is adopted in New Zealand, there will never be adequate service from licensed hotels for the travelling public and there will never be adequate response from the public to the provision of good accommodation. Section 7.—The Need for Training Hotel Staffs (See para. 583) 650. In our view, hotel service should be regarded as a vocation for which adequate training is required. The better the training, the higher the status of the service. 651. Through the courtesy of the American Legation in Wellington we received some literature showing the great attention paid to the training of hotel staffs in the United States. These publications comprise the courses in hotel administration of a department of Cornell University, of the Lewis Hotel Training School at Washington, D.C., and of the Florida State Board for Vocational Education. 652. Many hotels in America are, of course, on a very much larger scale than any hotels in New Zealand. Nevertheless, the reason for the existence of an hotel is the same in any country. It should be essentially a home, although the characteristics which are developed in each hotel will depend upon whether the hotel is classified as a transient, commercial, residential, or resort hotel, and on whether the hotel is operated on the American plan, which makes one charge, including both room and meals, or on the European plan, which makes a separate and distinct charge for room and for meals. 653. Yet, whatever the particular character of the hotel, the hotel should be a domestic establishment, and we quote the following passage from an instructional book of the Florida State Board for Vocational Education : Since a hotel is a domestic establishment run for profit, it follows that it will succeed in proportion to its ability to make money by providing domestic service and homelike conveniences with the greatest efficiency. Many of its patrons will demand better accommodation and service than they are accustomed to at home. In the development of this function the sale of liquor in the American and Canadian hotels is subordinated to the provision of good accommodation. 654. The principles of training are broadly divided in America into " the front of the house," " the back of the house," and " management and executive." The courses of training comprise personnel methods ; hotel operation and the management of the different departments; quantity food preparation; hotel menu planning; hotel cookery ; hotel stewarding ; hotel house-keeping ; food and beverage control; hotel accounting. Trainees are given practical experience in model hotels or training schools* One course states that the seven basic principles of hotel service in every department are " service, cleanliness, efficiency, economy, courtesy, hospitality, and honesty."

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