Hospitality service, be it good or bad, will be what a hotel is remembered for. In this TV show Nicolas Mayer discusses how good service is a home away from home.
A focus on hospitality service
Many industry participants I believe sometimes have lost focus on the fact that service has at least an equal part to play to product. In provision of services. So very specifically, hospitality has come out of a service orientation where the building was important, but it was never the key. So you had lots of inns that were not so glorious but great service, whereas it has too much shifted now into an asset game, with service being left to the side.
Ritz-Carlton, in the 80s, in the 90s mainly in the 90s, did something very much right, and I think it has been adopted by many other ones, sometimes even improved, but looking back at Ritz-Carlton and saying what did they do back then, why did they do it, what was George Schultz's motivation back at that time? I think from there you find many of the seeds that has now seeped into many other companies that do it right.
Ultimately service is attention and time from someone that is taking care of me when I am away from home. And I think that is a very important element, I mean, even very seasoned travellers have a certain residual, let's say loneliness when you are travelling, right? You are away from home, you are away from your family, you are away from your, you know, familiar surroundings and as you arrive in a new place, very psychologically intuitively, you are looking for experiences that make you feel welcome and warm, to say you are safe here, you're welcome here, you're appreciated here, and in that space is where service happens.
It's probably not very complex from an intellectual perspective, but it is never the less very difficult to get it right because it's long term, and it's consistent. You know, if you built a building, you have to have a one-time effort, get it right.
Providing service and making sure you have a team, a workforce within your hotel, that consistently provides this kind of service, means that you have to be on it every day.
The Hospitality Channel is very interested in hospitality service, operations and staff. Look out for the next 10 industry experts to be announced as part of Hospitality250.