To deliver excellent service, it is not enough to understand how to do it and to have the skills to do so, you need to experience it first.

Working in hotel operations every day we often tend to forget what it means to really empathize with your guests and to put yourself in your guests’ shoes. Everyone knows or has been told a million times that you are supposed to use the guest name at least twice in every guest interaction, if possible, and yet at every hotel I ever worked in, we would always struggle to consistently deliver on this promise. Why is it possible that something as simple as using the guest name can yet be so difficult to do consistently across the hotel at every turn?

While we understand the importance of it, we forgot how good it makes us feel to be special and recognized. It is a good feeling to walk into your favorite restaurant and to be greeted by name, right?

Many hotel companies offer their employees discounted rates when traveling within the company, and I strongly recommend taking advantage of it. Looking at what your sister hotels are doing, getting new ideas, and relearning the importance of genuine service, is incredibly enriching and refreshing.

The skills to deliver excellent service and to lead your teams to do so can be learned, but the passion and the true understanding of how to be successful in delivering excellent service come from experience. Not only work experience, but to experience your industry as a guest.