Societal changes, COVID-19, talent shortages and digitalization have created a perfect storm for the hospitality industry. The pressing question now is how to exit this storm and reinvent new value propositions for the industry and its stakeholders. Could hospitality be on the verge of developing a higher purpose simply based on its innate DNA?
In my recent book, ‘Hospitality Vibes' I suggest that creating positive energy through the human skills intrinsic to hospitality should serve as a driving force, not just within the industry but across all sectors that involve human interaction. I outline a framework for implementing ‘Hospitality Vibes’, where success is measured by the quality of meaningful exchanges rather than purely transactional outcomes. As the AI landscape becomes the norm, I believe that true business differentiation will soon lie in the quality of human connection. In this article, I explore the inspiration behind Hospitality Vibes and the transformative impact of hospitality-driven human skills across the industry and society as a whole.
A Book About Understanding Human Connection
I wanted to address the crisis in the hospitality industry. I had many questions that deserved a clear answer. Why still go to a hotel or restaurant when there are short term online rentals and food delivery services? We all know people who’ve worked for hospitality in some shape or form and then left. Why is this industry often just a professional stop gap? How can we attract and retain talent? How can it be reinvented post-pandemic? What is hospitality’s true sense of purpose today? One main overarching theme kept coming up: our innate need for human interaction and connection.
Since the rise of significant external forces, our industry has been looking for new ways to frame what we do, how, why and who for. I believe that the key to redefining success and attractiveness in the hospitality sector lies in a very simple mind-shift: moving the emphasis from offering services to creating vibes.
‘Hospitality Vibes’ - Meaning
‘Vibes’ for me means the positive energy that emanates from a person, place, situation or interaction. Quite simply, positive frequencies or ‘good vibrations’ that help create a sense of engagement, and so, leave an indelible mark on a person. Much is being written these days about ‘transformative experiences’ – well, creating a connection, an emotion or a meaningful exchange is not exactly rocket science, it’s what the human psyche has been designed for. Let’s promote more opportunities for these exchanges to take place rather than remove them.
Many psychologists confirm that positive exchanges have a direct impact on creating good relational energy, which in turn, has a massive impact on personal and societal happiness. Entering into a hospitality establishment should be fertile ground for creating joyful interaction with the service providers – this is a prime way of creating relational energy, i.e., positive energy from interacting with hospitality people, guided by their human-centric know-how.
At first I imagined the book being exclusively for hospitality, but the more I progressed, the more I realized the framework is applicable across all industries and contexts that rely on a human exchange. Creating hospitality vibes is not just aimed at going from service provider to customer, but also from manager to employee and, even better, co-created among employees and peers. It’s a mindset, a modus operandi, a framework for both living and working.
Hospitality as a Means of Addressing Loneliness
The concept of developing hospitality vibes is highly relevant at this specific moment in time because loneliness is a growing pandemic in many societies. It’s not uncommon to have lots of virtual friends on social media or colleagues via Zoom, but very few people to interact with in the real world. Interestingly, addressing this problem is exactly where our industry can create a higher purpose for itself. The number of people experiencing a sense of loneliness and alienation is increasing; there’s an urgent need to create new bridges towards as much real, daily human interaction as possible. This is a unique opportunity for hospitality to reinvent itself as a conduit to a happier, more connected and vibrant society.
Based on my research findings from neuroscientists, anthropologists, psychologists and experts on the experience economy, a few pillar concepts have emerged:
- Loneliness is unfortunately an epidemic on the rise;
- Humans are sociable creatures who thrive on connection and collaboration;
- Good relationships, strong community ties and a sense of belonging are key drivers of human happiness;
- Positive relational energy is created from human interaction.
Humans are not naturally designed to go where our increasingly digitalized society is headed. We are beautifully made creatures, built to thrive in a humanly-connected environment hinged on real time and real life. Since hospitality’s DNA is essentially people-centric and driven by human skills, it makes sense to develop its role as a third place in today’s ever-shrinking social landscape. In doing so, the industry would be positioning itself with a strong and unique value proposition: a catalyst for human interaction and social connection to address current societal issues such as alienation, loneliness and depression.
Furthermore, this sense of ‘higher purpose’ should also be extended to the hospitality task force, who stand to benefit from a deeper set of values and a more meaningful role. I believe that these additional dimensions would help reduce the high level of talent constantly leaving the sector.
Hospitality as a "Third Place"
In sociology, the term “third place" refers to a social environment that is distinct from the first place (home) and the second place (work). It is a setting where people can gather, interact, feel accepted and develop a sense of belonging. More than just a ‘venue’, a third place is ideally a place where things happen – life happens! The concept was popularized by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his book The Great Good Place, where he argues that third places are vital for creating a healthy fabric of community and social cohesion.
These spaces serve as anchors for community life and are essential for promoting human exchanges outside of home and work. Traditionally, third places are libraries, community centers, churches, cafes, bars and sport centers. But notice how many are disappearing, replaced by new trends such as remote working, online socializing, chatbots and urban planning discouraging community interaction. Hospitality needs to step in and fill this gap. Entering a hospitality venue should be more than just consuming a service, it should be about human engagement, an opportunity for meaningful exchange.
Hospitality has always been a social industry, but now, it should take an even greater role in bringing people together at a societal level - and this also includes its staff. When hospitality industry practitioners are committed to this higher purpose, their work can move from simply a job to more of a calling.
The Hospitality Vibes Framework
The Hospitality Vibes framework is based on three pillars: design, co-creation and technology. These elements work together to create an environment where human connection can flourish.
1. Design for Space and Jobs
Bringing people together requires a spatial and sensorial approach to design, e.g., where to place the coffee machine or water cooler for best social outcomes. At EHL Singapore campus, we have a piano that anyone can play and have a spontaneous sing along. At our Lausanne campus, our bar area is famous for its open, dynamic layout that favors social networking. For facilitating intergenerational connections, we have some ping pong tables which are a great place for our CEO (an ex table tennis champion) to meet and play with the students! The tradition of eating together, as in old fashioned universities, is also a strong social focal point of our campuses. An interesting fact: firefighters who eat and cook together perform better than those who don’t1..
2. Co-Creation Through Programs
Employees should be encouraged to become active participants in shaping guest experiences, rather than just be seen as service providers. Hospitality staff need to adopt a ‘host’ mentality, not merely a ‘service’ one. Reframing their professional status as ‘experience facilitators’ may require investment in specialized training, but I believe this is money well spent since it feeds into the higher purpose of their role within the industry and contributes to career longevity.
Furthermore, the nature of employee roles will change from delivering services to hosting and facilitating interactions. Hence, the industry needs to design different jobs and have a different human resource strategy.
3. Tech As Enabler
Rather than replacing human interaction, technology should free up employees to focus on relational aspects of hospitality. The founder of citizenM, for example, Michael Levie introduced the idea of ‘social butterflies’ - staff members whose primary role is to engage with guests (from giving sleeping tips to suggesting where to go). With automation handling transactional tasks, employees should be encouraged to use what they’re good at and weave it into the hospitality offer. E.g., give language help to visiting guests or be an available tennis partner if a guest is looking for someone to play with.
I’ve seen hotels where staff organize activities with guests as well as with fellow employees. It’s important to weave fun and relational fiber into the workplace – especially among employee peers. Creating strong social ties AND a higher purpose to the job is what could help hospitality deal with its current talent shortage.
EHL’s Role in This New Hospitality Vision
EHL is the change agent who identifies and develops new hospitality codes (e.g., human relational skills, behavioral expertise in social interactions, redefining ‘service excellence’). If Hospitality Vibes is to be considered the new value proposition of the industry, then EHL is clearly the leader in disseminating this concept. We are the focal point, serving as the lens through which this new perspective on the industry can be viewed.
First of all, from a teaching perspective, it is here that future graduates learn the art of human connection, empathy and effective communication – indeed, these human skills are what define our curricula, whether at bachelor, master, or executive education level. To then develop and deliver hospitality vibes at industry level is equally integral to EHL’s position as the sector’s innovator. We need to spread this knowledge and best practices to the industry and beyond.
Future Goals: Implementing Hospitality Vibes
The next step is turning the concept into an actionable movement. I see three key developments:
- A Hospitality Vibes Index to benchmark best practices.
- Executive training programs to help companies implement Hospitality Vibes, e.g., train the trainer.
- A Hospitality Vibes Certification for businesses committed to developing human-centric skills.
The first Hospitality Vibes certification was recently awarded to Circles, a Sodexo subsidiary. Their feedback after our dynamic training session:
"Circles partners with clients worldwide to build workplace communities, improve employee experiences and grow business. In our collaboration with EHL, we explored new ways to develop meaningful connections among employees and enhance the human dimension of the workplace. As a thought leader in the employee experience space, Circles understands that a vibrant workplace community drives productivity and engagement, ultimately contributing to their clients’ business performance."
Dr. Meng-Mei Chen and Circles C-Suite Executives- the first Hospitality Vibes certified organization
Another example is my conversation with a leading global audit firm, which understands that AI will take over the traditional number crunching tasks and it needs to re-position itself by providing human insights through human interactions. Going forward, the aim is to work with more corporate firms looking to improve employee engagement through social connection by leveraging the design, co-creation and technology framework.
At EHL, we believe in demystifying the components of human interaction and creating new building blocks with the patterns. In an era where technology is reducing face-to-face connection, hospitality has a unique role in reviving the art of meaningful engagement. This is not just about improving service, it’s about shaping a society where human connection remains at the core of our experiences.
1.Kniffin, K. M., Wansink, B., Devine, C. M., & Sobal, J. (2015). Eating together at the firehouse: How workplace commensality relates to the performance of firefighters. Human performance, 28(4), 281-306.
