hotel and catering industry [noun] [de ho-re-ca, no plural] 
Although all Dutch know the meaning of “horeca”, not everyone is aware of its origin: “horeca” is constructed by combining the first two letters of the Dutch words “hotel”, “restaurant” and “café” (meaning “bar”).
Examples:
– “Studenten werken vaak in de horeca om wat bij te verdienen.”
(“Students often work in a bar or restaurant to earn an additional income.”)
– “Koninklijke Horeca Nederland is de brancheorganisatie van de Nederlandse horeca.”
(“Royal Horeca Netherlands is the sector association of the Dutch horeca.” Check their website here.)
– “Het rookverbod in de horeca is ingevoerd op 1 juli 2008.”
(“The ban on smoking in hotels, restaurants and bars was introduced on the 1st of July 2008.”)
– “<Plaatje:> “Vanaf 1 juli is de horeca rookvrij”.”
(“<Picture:> From 1st of July onwards, hotels, restaurants and bars will be non-smoking areas.” Lit.: “…, hotels, restaurants and bars will be smoke-free”.)
– “Ik zou hem niet aannemen als barman, hij heeft helemaal geen horeca-ervaring.”
(“I wouldn’t hire him as a bartender, he doesn’t have any experience working in hotels, restaurants or bars.”)
– “Zij heeft jaren in de horeca gewerkt, als serveerster, kamermeisje, en barvrouw.”
(“She has worked in hotels, restaurants and bars for years, as a waitress, chamber maid and barkeeper.”)
Related words:
– Hotel: hotel [noun] [het hotel, de hotels].
– Restaurant: restaurant [noun] [het restaurant, de restaurants].
– Café: pub, bar [noun] [het café, de cafés].
– Barman: barkeeper, bartender [noun] [de barman, de barmannen].
– Serveerster: waitress [noun] [de serveerster, de serveersters].
– Ober: waiter [noun] [de ober, de obers].
– Kamermeisje: chamber maid [noun] [het kamermeisje, de kamermeisjes].
– Barvrouw: barkeeper [noun] [de barvrouw, de barvrouwen].
