WHY IS IT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND THAT HOSPITALITY IS ENTERTAINMENT
In its simplest form Hospitality is Improvisation personified when we Entertain. Friends and Acquaintances, Food, Drinks, Conversation & Memories.
When we entertain at home, we plan as much as we can in advance and are generally ready on time when the doorbell rings. The front driveway is swept, there is room to park, cobwebs have been cleaned from the front door, flowers in vases, hors d'oeuvres chilled, ice cubes fresh and a great selection of drinks are ready. The kids are smiling as are the adults.......proud in the knowledge that the floors have been swept, shelves dusted and furniture cleaned, lights adjusted and cushions puffed. Our stage is ready for the most important ingredient of the event, the conversation.
From here on in, it is Improv in its purest form.
Conversation flows. Initially in twos as coats are removed and hung leading to more open conversations as things warm up. There is not a single moment of silence from our guests' arrival to their departure, our faces project our enjoyment of their presence and our conversation is warm, interesting and all-inclusive. Not the 'all-inclusive' that we have adopted in the resorts but a combination of experiences that are memorable, partly planned, ad hoc but definitely not scripted.
This Hospitality play has no scripts, no planned entry 'stage right', no drum rolls or cymbals crashing. It is 'improv' at its best.
Our hotels and resorts are no different. Putting all the corporate standards, procedures and branding aside, shutting ourselves out of the company politics, the hierarchy, the uniform, the shift that has just started or is almost over, we in the hospitality industry are all entertainers without a script. Front of house or back of house, we warmly welcome our visitors and our colleagues with the same genuine eye-to-eye contact, words of 'non-scripted' welcome, setting the stage for the experiences and pleasant surprises that we have in store. As we move through our series of stages, the entrance, the reception, the lobby, the elevator, the rooms corridor, multiple opportunities for un-scripted conversation exist and should be exploited. Introduction of Mr & Mrs Guest to Teresa the room attendant or Joe from Maintenance on the way to the room is just one of the ways that this entertainment experience can be amplified.......if Teresa and Joe realise they are a part of the show and engage in a creative way.
Conversely the back-of-house or more affectionately the heart-of-house is no different with similar opportunities for entertainment and interaction. Why should all our attention go toward our guests when our colleagues are as critical to our success as the paying guests. Managers, supervisors, owners are all equally part of this theatre, this play, this experience that we are selling. Creative thinking for the development of interesting storylines should not only be encouraged, it must be exploited, planned, researched but not scripted.
This concept is fun. It must be fun. It is as rewarding for us as it should be for our guests. If done well, it will become the magnet that is needed to attract associates to our industry. Not necessarily just young associates but associates of all ages, all levels of society, those with talent and those whose talents can be developed further. Let's face it, all of us have the power to smile, to speak, to empathise, to communicate verbally or non verbally, to laugh, to sympathise, to empathise.
Let us all put Entertainment back into Hospitality!
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