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How to master the ‘Art of Hospitality’

As Hospitality is back centre stage during the festive season, ‘The Hospitality Hero’, Steven Hesketh, shares insights from across the industry on what the art of hospitality really looks like.

Steven, a hotel owner, who is also Chair of Chester Hospitality Association and Vice-Chair of Liverpool Hospitality (Association), as well as a Committee Member for UK Hospitality (Northern Region), has recently developed a new strand to his 30 year hospitality career, stepping out as The Hospitality Hero’. He is on a mission to bring people together across industry, as well as from the wider business arena, to see what we can all learn from a trade that must keep evolving.

In an event last month he hosted industry experts including Steve Ogden from Chester Grosvenor, Peter Schriewersmann (Happy Days Group) Jim Dorington (Artezzan) and Liam Barrie (Round R’s); and marketing expert and mentor Jamie Wray (Ways to Wow). Across panel interviews, discussions and presentations, all came back to this message: “Hospitality is at the heart of community - Hospitality can change the world”. Steven spoke about how he sees Hospitality as a safe space to release from the world, no matter what our circumstances are -and how ‘The art of hospitality is the heart of hospitality’.

On a mission to bring the industry together to connect more fully to the art of hospitality, Steven spoke about how he believes “Hospitality = humanity. It’s the same thing….and it’s the only thing that’s going to fix this world”.

He went on to say: “Being hospitable is being human. If we can educate ourselves on being human again the world can be a different place. Let’s remember what hospitality is all about. It’s about being human and being kind to each other.”

He also went on to discuss how he feels good hospitality comes from education - and this is where we are failing our kids. He said: “The values of hospitality are not being taught in schools, and more often than not the industry is looked down upon as a career choice - but hospitality develops leaders, harnesses interpersonal skills, rewards team work, and provides challenges to help young people grow, in a fun creative environment within which they can thrive. Some of the most famous entrepreneurs started their careers in hospitality. It’s such a strong foundation for developing strong work ethics, understanding the importance of the customer experience - and people being your priority. “

He added: “As an industry we don’t shout loud enough about the contribution to society that hospitality makes -and this needs to change if we wish to keep the industry alive and future ready, engaging the next generation of workforce”.

Steven believes that as we bring young people into the industry we need to empower them with skills from ‘days gone by’ - so that we focus on the welcome, teaching teams not to be afraid to engage with customers, but to positively proactively embrace this.

Liam Barrie, who works alongside his brother consulting with small independent restaurants in the North West after a career working within brands such as Est Est Est and Living Room shared how he initially learnt the trade of true hospitality when rolling out Planet Hollywood’s globally - the focus was on the importance of making everyone feel special, something he went on to incorporate into everything he did - and something he believes must remain at the core of hospitality now. “In terms of what’s changed over the years - the fundamentals remain very much the same - people need to feel listened to and acknowledged and cared for”.

Jim Dorington from Artezzan added to the conversation: “Hospitality all comes down to service. Second rate service has become standard - we have become used to bad service and that’s bringing the perception of hospitality as a whole down. We actually don’t have to do much to impress - we need to focus on the little touches, often these things cost nothing - when we really care about surprising and delighting our customers”. Jim spoke about how at Artezzan they create a family atmosphere, consciously focusing on how the customers, and staff, feel. Making them feel special is the priority.

As speakers discussed why this focus is not always paramount they mused that often the training isn’t in place, and so those rising through the ranks lack the right support and structure - especially those who find themselves ‘Accidental Managers’ (82% according to The Caterer). All shared that when recruiting they don’t necessarily look for industry experience (unless in a kitchen role), as they prefer to train their teams based on their needs - but that training and development around customer centric service is paramount.

Bringing his expertise to the table, and sharing with the 100 strong audience his ‘Ways to Wow’ business mentor Jamie Wray shared the power of focusing on the ‘wow mindset’ and the power of exceeding expectations. He talked about disrupting the market and building teams of people who LOVE to deliver exciting moments, alongside the importance of building business systems which enable you to do that from the first moment of interaction with a potential customer. His mantra was very much “Hospitality is more than just an industry. It’s a mindset. Service is a transaction - experience is what people want”.

Taking on his role as a champion for the industry, dedicated to improving hospitality service and culture both in the UK and Internationally, Steven was facilitating these conversations, and as well as highlighting what the industry does well, he felt it was important to also explore where improvements can be made, to facilitate progress and create more positive movements around customer service and customer experience.

Bringing inclusivity and gender diversity into the conversation, Steven hosted LGBTQIA+ champion and founder of Beyond the Binary, Alex Jay Lynam, who explored how many venues are failing when it comes to inclusivity. Alex shared how by not being actively inclusive, organisations were in fact seen to be dismissive of the needs of LGBTQIA+ communities -but how it only takes small things to make a huge difference. They spoke about how to create affirming environments for customers and guided on how to make changes through embedding into a culture rather than performing a tick box exercise. Inviting people to“get it wrong to get it right“, Alex encouraged curiosity to help connect those working in the hospitality industry with the LGBTQIA+ audience.

Wrapping up the event Steven concluded: “I am passionate about hospitality, and about the next generation of leaders in the industry. I invite them to love, care for and develop the industry - and to remember that the art of hospitality is the heart of hospitality….and that a simple “Hello” goes such a long way.”

Here are 5 top tips from the experts on how to master the ‘Art of Hospitality’:

1. Remember we are all human and start from there. Hospitality and humanity are the same thing. Focus on how to make people feel something, on how to show people they are valued and connect, really connect, with people (Steven Hesketh, The Hospitality Hero)

2. Build the best teams - teams of people who LOVE to deliver exciting moments to create that WOW factor for your customers (Jamie Wray)

3. We have to get it wrong to get it right. Don’t be scared to go there. Inclusion training is just as important as food hygiene to make the hospitality industry hospitable to all. (Alex Jay Lynam, Beyond The Binary)

4. Remove the noise and get back to the good old values of genuinely listening to people - this is how you can truly connect, excite and delight (Steven Hesketh, The Hospitality Hero)

5. Invest in your team and their development. Help people to grow and excel, so they can deliver true excellence - it has to be a team effort (Steven Hesketh, The Hospitality Hero) Steven has developed his H.E.R.O values based on the messages he is championing and his work is focused around:-

• Heralding Hospitality as a dynamic industry and crucial to place making of towns and cities
• Economics and Employment - championing the impact Hospitality brings to Regions, the UK and the wider world
• Respect and Retention - Educating, Developing, Training and Supporting Employees and Operators
• Opportunity - Illustrating the changes this industry provides through People, Place and Perception

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .