As my previous article 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 explained, a common theme in hotel mission (and vision) statements is STILL SOP-Customer Satisfaction in some form or another. The concept is like a worn-out and old donkey that is still being used to carry people and goods, and which should have been allowed to retire on grassy pasture ages ago. Yet its proponents continue to work the donkey.
The concept no longer meets the changing needs of mankind, which are mainly spiritual, healing, emotional, and energetic. The industry’s so-called wise thought leaders obviously believe that this worn-out, old donkey of a concept is the best that mankind can conceive for hospitality.
Here are two typical, corporate-style, emotionless, SOP-Customer Satisfaction mission statements to excite you:
“…100% guest satisfaction is always our first priority.”
“We are one united team of dedicated hotel professionals committed to the achievement of guest satisfaction, high productivity, conservation of natural resources, and profitability.”
………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………….…… Oh! I must have dozed off. Sorry!
You can almost imagine the intense excitement amongst the new staff during their General Orientation when they hear that their job is all about satisfying people according to corporate SOP manuals: “I’m so glad that I came to work here! Whoopeee! I have found my purpose in life! I’m a Satisfyer!”
In contrast, here are three mission statements from hotels that decided to base their hospitality experience on Heart-Based Hospitality instead:
“To enhance the spirit of authentic Thai hospitality; and to inspire love, care, and compassion
in all guests and team members.”
“To create a heavenly oasis of love, care, compassion, and heart-touching hospitality.”
“The resort is a loving and fun family-like home where the hospitality touches the heart deeply, and makes spoken and unspoken dreams come true.”
They all have a very different goal, don’t they? Compare them to Best Western’s mission:
“The vision of Best Western International is to lead the hospitality industry in superior customer care. We strive to provide the highest levels of service to Best Western® hotels and to their guests with integrity and honesty such that brand loyalty continues to thrive.”
The CEO and Executive Board still don’t know the difference between hospitality and service. Can you see this? I think it’s a common problem with hotel group Executive Boards.
Indeed, here is the overall goal of one Heart-Based Hospitality hotel:
“The resort provides … an unforgettable tropical haven of happiness where the guests experience wonderful feelings; find inner peace; restore balance and harmony between their body, mind, and soul; and rediscover their love for themselves and each other.”
Usually, the senior management team create statements, which they would ideally like to read or hear guests say about the hospitality experience as a goal and measuring stick showing progress. Here are some examples:
- “I don’t want to leave here. I’ve not experienced such inner peace for so long.”
- “The hotel has a heavenly and homely spirit.”
- “Our stay felt timeless.”
- “I was overwhelmed by the kindness and warmth of each member of staff and quickly felt at home and totally at ease.”
- “The staff provide such gracious (Thai) hospitality.”
- “The spirit of hospitality is so strong in loving kindness, heart-warming care, and compassion.”
- “All of the staff are so kind, soft, and gentle.”
- “The staff have warm hearts, are beautiful inside out, radiate love, and show genuine care.”
- “Staying at the resort is an experience you’ll never forget. The staff treat you with so much kindness and warmth. It was amazing!”
- “I left relaxed, rejuvenated, and recharged.”
I expect that some readers are thinking: “This is impossible! You can’t turn those statements into reality!” I expect that many people have thought that it would be impossible to fly, to go into space, to heal deadly diseases, to harness nuclear energy, to make things invisible, to travel around the world without falling over the edge, and so on. It is actually easy to create a spiritual, energetic, and heart-based hospitality experience like in those statements.
How? The hospitality industry should first stop listening to the Siren-like calls of the industry’s so-called thought leaders. In Greek mythology, the Sirens were creatures who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. It is also said that they could even charm the winds. Can you see the similarity?
For years the “thought leaders” have been keeping the industry entrenched in the traditional SOP-Customer Satisfaction concept, which promotes a business model that is good for shareholders, but prevents the hospitality industry from achieving its unlimited potential by creating hospitality that is soaked in the spiritual essence of hospitality. Do you remember this quotation?
Surely the hotel industry can see the difference. But I suppose not … because nobody ever tells the esteemed thought leaders at hotel conferences that hospitality is a spiritual and energetic path trodden with practical feet. Nowadays the Siren call is for contactless service, for more technology, and for the use of automation to replace human beings. All in the name of “enhancing the guest experience” as CEOs put it. It’s a shame that they are called “thought leaders”.
What do guests experience as the Heart-Based Hospitality mission and vision statement are implemented? It’s beautiful! Speaking from the experience of seeing the transformation in the hotels, the staff soften. Their body language softens. The way they speak softens. The fast and jagged body language of SOP-Customer Satisfaction fades away gradually. The employees are happier and you can see it in their faces and body language. The spirit of unconditional love, kindness, and compassion blossoms gradually more and more.
The energetic feeling of the property changes. I don’t think that corporate office folks generally understand energy and how the frequency of energy can be increased to enhance the hospitality experience. I expect that one day in the distant future, hotel conferences will be held on how to increase the frequency of energy of hotels.
In my experience, the two words that cause corporate hoteliers and hoteliers generally to reach for a crucifix are “energy” and “spirituality”. This is in spite of the fact that the human body is made of energy and that we affect each other all the time by means of our thought energy and heart field energy. Moreover, human beings have a spiritual nature.
The corporate concept of SOP-Customer Satisfaction has to be thrown into the Dustbin of Obsolete Ideas and replaced for there to be change in a hotel (and in the hotel industry). Its adherents have to be removed from their leadership positions if they refuse to change. They can work in hotels and hotel groups where they feel more comfortable in the Rut of Tradition. Once that is done, there will be no obstacles along the path to revolutionizing hospitality.
If an emotionless and mechanical, SOP operational manual, “Have a nice day!” SOP-Customer Satisfaction guest experience is your thing, wonderful! But please don’t get in the way of change in the hospitality industry. There is no ceiling to hospitality that is dripping with unconditional love, compassion, metta loving-kindness, and heartwarming care. The warmth is limitless as the statements above hint at.
The donkey is exhausted and it’s time to put it out to pasture. I’ll finish with a thought for all SOP-Customer Satisfaction folks out there:
