There’s no doubt that today’s hotel leaders have to be technophiles, embracing the ever-changing world of the business ecosystem and somehow managing to get all their API- connected tech to work in unison.
Unfortunately, the required attention on the tech stack comes at the opportunity cost of focusing equally on the “people stack.”
Yet in the sometimes-harsh terrain that we digital nomads traverse in the world of endless journeys, it’s clear that after a travel day filled with digital interactions, the smiling faces offering a warm welcome appear as an oasis in the desert.
For those of us on the guest side of front desks, bars, host stands, and guestroom doors, our minimum expectation is that your highly optimized tech stack works efficiently. Guest loyalty is not created by apps, QR codes, and auto-generated welcome texts, even if they are “personalized.” Nor is loyalty created by loyalty points alone; we already get all the points we need from credit card spend and OTAs. Focusing on those things alone will continue to turn your hotel rooms into a commodity, purchased solely on the basis of location and price. Frankly, after a long day of travel the last thing I need to do is use another app or QR code, unless you force me to. I’ve checked already called an Uber on my smartphone, checked in for my flight on the Delta app, selected my rental car from my Avis app, used Maps to find your hotel and pre-ordered my fast-food meal (to eat in the car) on my Chik-fil-A app.
Alternatively, experiencing authentic, genuine connections truly stands out in a world of hotel homogeneity. Although much has changed since I started my career as a bellman at a Marriott three decades ago, one thing remains the same: It’s the people that make the difference.
Going back to my original point, it seems to me that the major focus of hotel leaders these days is skewed to the tech world, especially since AI burst onto the scene about three years ago with the promise of the people-less personalization, just in time to help solve all of the post-COVID era staffing issues. Yet as exciting as AI is, you just can’t automate the heartfelt vibe of hospitality, which is a mutual, shared exchange of energy equally affecting the giver and the receiver. AI can power the easy tasks, but only the humans you hire as staff can create hospitality experiences.
I read and hear a lot of talk bemoaning today’s workforce, with words like entitled, unengaged, and unmotivated being thrown around. But from what I see as a hotel trainer who spends 70-plus days a year teaching hotel training workshops filled mostly with Gen Z and millennials, the real issue is the lack of inspired leadership.
My impression of the younger generations who are early on in their careers is that most of them are hungry and eager to learn, like a bottle of resin poured into a mold, waiting for a drop of catalyst to convert it to become solid and durable.
It’s clear to me that behind every smiling face greeting guests is an inspired leader with a passion for “generativity.”
Generativity is my new favorite word which I came across recently in reading an article on psychology. However, the word itself is certainly not new, and when I researched its etymology, the word became even more meaningful to me. The term generativity was a minted by Erik Erikson in the mid-20th century as part of his theory of psychosocial development throughout one’s lifetime, which contrasted with the Freudian focus on childhood experiences having an oversized impact.
According to Erikson, humans go through eight stages of development in life, each presenting a sort of conflict of choices. In middle adulthood, the choice is between stagnation or generativity, which he defined as a desire to mentor, guide and nurture the next generation.
One reason the word really hit with me is because at my phase of my career, when so many peers are eagerly taking early retirement, what keeps me out on the road 38% of my life — or 138 days each year — is what I now know to be generativity.
While it’s always been rewarding to receive positive feedback at the end of my training workshops, or afterwards in the form of emails and DMs, I now recognize that these messages are even more meaningful. I just love it when I bump into participants from many years ago who share comments about how our seemingly “micro” encounters have somehow had a lasting impact on their career paths.
Perhaps Erikson was right when he talked about that while parenthood is one way to express generativity, teaching, sharing knowledge and engaging in one’s community provides another option for those who are not parents or for those whose kids are grown.
Generativity is Erikson’s positive alternative to the other option he identified, which is the stagnation that results from self-absorption and unproductiveness in middle age.
There are lots of great things that will come about when you foster a spirit of generativity among your leadership team. Not only will your frontline staff benefit from the mentorship and your guests benefit from the positive hospitality experiences delivered by satisfied staff, but your leaders also benefit as well from knowing they are leaving a legacy in this world.
I often teach a class I call “The 3M’s of Hospitality Leadership: Model, Measure, Mentor,” which has a strong focus on mentoring; hereafter, I will call this generativity. One of our activities is to break out in teams and share a story about someone from earlier in your career who mentored you, and how that affected your career thus far. When I ask for volunteers to share their stories with the general session, nearly every hand goes up. And more than once a tear is shed as participants reflect gratefully on those who have touched their lives.
If you want to inspire a passion for generativity in your leadership team, I highly suggest an activity like this as a starting place.
Doug Kennedy is president of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. Contact him at doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CoStar News or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.