“What Does Hospitality Mean To You?”
You know when it’s the first day of college and teachers ask you why chose your career? Well, when they asked me, “What does hospitality mean to you”? the first thing I thought was that it meant making anyone and everyone feel at home. Making people feel welcomed, and being able to create an experience for them. It meant turning someone’s dreams into reality.
That’s one of the reasons why hospitality caught my eye when I was choosing my career. I’ve always been interested in a ton of different stuff, but I felt like hospitality had it all. It wasn’t like I was studying for a test or to get a good grade, I learned things that excited me and inspired me. It was like reading a magazine or my favorite book! I got into it because it was my passion. And once I stepped into “the real world” and worked in a hospitality business, I realized I made the right choice.
So back to my answer to the question, it’s crazy how even today (8 years later), that definition has stayed the same to me. If anything, it has made it more real than ever.
I’ve come to learn that the true meaning of hospitality is being kind. Being emphatic. And I’m not only talking about being kind towards the guests and customers, I’m talking about being kind to everyone we meet.
No matter where you work in hospitality, you’ll soon realize that teamwork is really one of the keys to success. It’s like we’re all pieces of one big puzzle. Try doing a puzzle without a couple of pieces. Not the same right? Without one another, we wouldn’t be able to get the same result: creating the best experience for the guest.
A kitchen won’t get to present beautiful and delicious dishes to the guests when there are no clean plates or silverware. Dishwashers don’t have anything to clean if servers and bussers don’t bring everything to them in a timely manner. Service is not gonna run well without a manager or a host leading the pace and making sure people are accommodated. Customers might not come back if their server didn’t provide great service and made sure they had a good time.
See what I mean? There’s beauty in a smooth, well-run service. And believe me, I know that no service can be perfect, but when you work like a well-oiled machine, you can solve any problems that come your way. Teamwork really makes the dream work.
Working in hospitality also means paying attention. To details. To the people around you. To reading the atmosphere and someone’s body language. It means anticipating someone’s needs. It means making magic with the little things.
As many of you in this industry might know, attitude is contagious. How you greet your coworkers and the people around you. How you set the tables and prep for your shift. How you smile and get to know your guest. It all matters.
When you’re on the other side of the table being a customer or a guest somewhere else, you notice all these things. You become more mindful of the process and the effort that it takes to create a great experience.
Working in hospitality makes you step into someone else’s shoes for a minute and understand their perspective. It reminds you that we’re all human. We might be having a bad day, we might be stressed, or sad, or we might be celebrating a special occasion. The thing is, you never know the story behind a person. The story behind your coworker, your boss, or your guest.
That’s why this industry has taught me that being kind is the key to connecting with people. Being kind has the power to turn around someone’s day. It doesn’t matter where you work, what you do, or if you had any previous experience. What matters is your passion for what you do and how you treat people. Every other skill can be learned, but wearing your heart on your sleeve comes naturally.
More than an industry, hospitality to me it’s an attitude. A feeling.
A feeling of being home.
