Reimagining Hospitality: Focus on Comfort & Care

In this episode, Josh explores the evolution of the hospitality industry from ancient times to modern-day, emphasizing how hotels have continually adapted to meet the changing needs of travelers. It delves into the importance of creating spaces where guests feel safe, seen, and comfortable, using personal anecdotes to illustrate the advancements in hotel design and service. This episode highlights the significant role hospitality plays in providing care during times of distress and the essential nature of anticipating guests' needs. The episode also touches on the broader impact of the industry on job creation and economic contribution, emphasizing the meaningful and fulfilling aspects of working in hospitality.

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Transcript

To   think about  ancient times You've got these weary travelers. You've got people that are in distress, that are needing care. And I would say today the space of hospitality has evolved significantly. There's still a lot of ways that's happening, right?

If something happens at your home, and your water heater busts the first thing you do is you go, you go to the hotel, and you get taken care of. If something happens with a natural disaster or any of these other things,  hotels still serve in this place of caring for people in a time of need. 

I think that's significant. Outside of that, though, I think about , being in the hotel space thinking about how to meet people's needs, those needs have evolved over time. And now I think there's new ways that people are weary. It's not the same as it was thousands of years ago, but there are new ways for us to meet those needs.

We give them a safe place to stay. We give them something that feels predictable. They know what to expect. We give them  space to  relax. But there's so much more that can happen now that I think is about, okay, how can within this space, how can people feel seen? and heard and have a sense of belonging.

That's, I think, moving beyond just the base level needs of safety. And, you can see that evolution happen with the different types of hotels that have existed,. As people moved into cities. , inns became hotels and became larger. And then as people started traveling by car, motels were built along the sides of the interstate, to create a good space for, Travelers to stay.

You've got continuation  if you look at  new brands that exist, a new hotels that are being built there's, I think, still trying to answer that same question of how do I like meet the needs of today's traveler? Maybe you've got like a big business meeting that you're coming into town for, right?

So how can this hotel meet That person's needs. Maybe it's about, I've got a wedding that lots of people are traveling in for, or I'm attending a funeral or right. Like all of these different things what is the reason somebody's staying with us or what, why someone needs a place to stay and how can we create a solution that's really caring for the underlying needs that they have.

 When we think about meeting the needs of today's traveler, that's evolved. 

 I think a good example of this is just recently I surprised my kids. We were, we were all in the car, and I said, hey, we're going to Orlando tomorrow. And we live in Dallas, and so they, don't fly very often. I have four kids, from 13 to 4 years old.

And, the joy that lit up on their face of the surprise about getting to fly to Orlando was huge, just by itself.  Then, when we get there, we get in the van, we were saying, okay, we're gonna go to the hotel. And this part, I think, was just so special , you've probably seen the wonder and amazement of a kid's eyes light up when they Get to a place.

We went and stayed at this place called the Evermore Resort.  They've got a four acre swimming pool lagoon in the middle of the property and , they've really built it more as  a vacation rental style with multiple bedrooms. So they're solving a need that I have of needing multiple bedrooms all in a place, but with the consistency of, what we would expect at a hotel.

And   I was able to relax because we had enough space for everybody to have some room. We had a living room and a kitchen and it just. This is just a great example of how companies are still innovating to try and meet the needs of today's traveler.

As you can imagine, traveling with four kids can be a bit stressful and hectic. And even if they're having a great time, I think a lot of times it's hard as a parent to still have a great time. And it was so nice to have the space. That was  this safe haven even after things were busy and there's so much going on with Getting there and whatever else .

We had this space to come back to that was a resting spot and for me as a parent that was significant.

I think staying in the evermore is this large, grand experience that doesn't always need to translate to, traveling every day. A lot of times when I'm on a business trip, I, I just want to get to the room and order room service and get a burger and crash.

And knowing that everything is taken care of makes the biggest difference for me. Having a painless check in process. is so significant,  I'm sure you're , can think about lots of examples in your role and working at a hotel of how do I create these frictionless experiences for people where, , they feel seen.

, there's less pain and friction involved on their part because they just already know you've got it taken care of. On the sales team, a lot of times that's anticipating somebody's needs before they ask for it. Because you've done events like this before and this is their first time.

And having somebody that's really  on your side, , on the event side being the client. That makes such a huge difference, knowing that you've got somebody at the hotel that's Hey, I've been through this so many times, and I've got your back. I'm gonna help, I'm gonna make sure you've got what you need.

I'll check in with you to see if anything new comes up, because I know sometimes that happens, right? Being available and helpful, I think, goes such a long way.  When you work at a front desk and there are people who come in more than once, and you already know their name. That goes such a long way.

It's back to those psychological needs of just feeling seen. These small things like that of how to really care about someone and care for them go such a long way. And it's not only meaningful to that guest, but  also  it's meaningful for you,  it makes the job more meaningful. 

I think about that a lot is, for all of us, I think, to have a level of happiness, we need to be engaged in our work and fully plugged into it. And I think hospitality is one of those places that's really easy to do. How can I lean into really putting  Love and effort into the work that I'm doing because it makes such a clear impact and you also see the direct response from the guest oftentimes you get to actually be involved in the result of the work. It can be hugely satisfying.

So not only do you get to make that impact directly but you're also part of such a bigger movement. The hospitality industry is responsible for about 8 million jobs in the United States. And , the last time I checked, it was about 660 billion in GDP. 

And that's significant. That's a significant thing to be a part of.  On one side. On the other, when you're thinking about these 8 million jobs, so many of those are not directly  customer facing and even if, you're working as an analyst for an online travel agent.

 You're still directly contributing to the impact, , of caring for other people.  I think that's a big deal. And there's still care you can put into the work you're doing. On our team, we've got, 25 folks that do revenue management and commercial performance for hotels.

And , most of the time we're not talking to the guest but we're talking to the general manager and we're talking to the director of sales. on a daily basis, and we can make their lives easier. We can help show care to them. And that care also transfers through to the care for the guest.

If I can make the general manager a little less stressed because their job is very busy with lots of demands. If our work can help make that person less stressed and that then continues on right down to the guest directly,  and I don't take that lightly. I think that's a big part of, if you're part of the hotel industry, if you've got a job within the space, you are making an impact on caring for guests that, need support.