Applied economics of hospitality production: reducing costs and improving the quality of decisions through economic analysis

Hospitality management as an academic pursuit is currently in a growth cycle. The vast majority of theories for any rapidly evolving field, by necessity, will be based on the application of existing bodies of knowledge. For example, sociology was based primarily on theories borrowed from psychology. The quickest and certainly the most efficient means of expanding the body of hospitality knowledge is to apply relevant theories and principles from related fields. This paper researches how application of the economic principles of short- and long-term decisions, and the three stages of production, can benefit hospitality managers. Reinventing the wheel works no better in academics than in business. Since the discipline is new and in search of full academic recognition, we must move quickly by assembling a theoretically complete body of knowledge that is responsive to real-world needs.