The art and dynamism of Hospitality

The tradition and principles of Hospitality has a worldwide spread that is associated with values such as kindness, attention, care, respect, etc. Everybody recognises hospitality in some way or another. The Oxford Quick Reference Dictionary defines Hospitality as “the friendly and generous reception and entertaining of guests and strangers. Hospitality is a process: It includes an earnest invitation, a cheerful welcome and entertainment, safe shelter, and a courteous send off.

From a brief review of historical literature, two distinct types of hospitality, (from many other types) that exist today can be identified: -

1. Private Hospitality: A definition from 15^th century Elizabethan England described private hospitality as “a liberal entertainment of all sorts of people, at one’s house, whether neighbours or friends, with kindness, especially with meat, drink and lodgings.”
2. Commercial Hospitality: Modern commercial hospitality evolved from the accommodation of aristocrats in the 18th century, i.e., hospitality extended by courtiers to persons of higher rank than themselves. The innkeepers of yester-years Grand Hotels knew what it took to please their aristocratic guests, and they assembled organizations to deliver it. They recognised that different groups of travelers have different expectations as to what they will pay for accommodation, and what they will receive for that payment.

Fundamentally, Private Hospitality meant acts by individuals toward individuals in a private setting such as the home, whereas, Commercial Hospitality involved meals, beverages, lodging wellness and entertainment been provided to travelers and guests for profit.

Hospitality can only happen when there is an encounter between, at least - two people. This can be the reception of visitors or guests and also strangers or unknown people. People experience hospitality if they feel being welcomed. It is easy to welcome people you know, but true hospitality shows itself when meeting the unknown person – and this is the challenge, those in the business of commercial hospitality face.

The generous and friendly way guests will be welcomed is the core of hospitality, but there are a lot of different elements that influence this reaction. Two key elements determine the initial experience of the guest. Firstly, it is the orientation of the guest by the host (organisation), with the creation of a free space where the guest can enter and feel comfortable and safe. Secondly, it is the hospitality of all those who has contact with the guest (the hostess at the entrance, the waiter/s who serves the guest, etc).

At the beginning restaurants referred to their consumers as customers, but at some point the terminology shifted to patrons being called guests as a means of softening the relationship to make it more hospitable and less transactional. It is intended to tell employees that they are supposed to treat those who patronize their operation as if they were their guests. However, this presumes that the employees know what that means. Unfortunately, many simply don’t and that’s a problem – because managers themselves do not truly understand the difference between hospitality (which is philosophical) and guest service (which is demonstrative).

Hospitality is, at its core, a business built on people - guests and staff alike. Essentially, it means thinking from the perspective of the guest to ensure a high-quality, positive experience.

 It is not about heads in beds or seats in dining rooms. It’s about people holding other people’s experiences in their hands — with care, attention, and genuine presence. You can measure guest satisfaction, but you can’t spreadsheet sincerity. You can track check-in times, but not the quality of the welcome. You can monitor voice-of-the-customer scores, but not the feeling a guest carries home with them.

Shafeek Wahab- Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Mystery Guest Auditor, Ex-Hotelier

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