Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

THE GENTEEL HOST!
How would you treat a special friend or relative that you invite to your home? Your
answer will help explain how guests visiting a hotel should be treated. The earliest trav-
elers were offered meals and a safe night’s rest by families living near trade routes. Families
invited travelers into their home for today’s equivalent of lodging and foodservices.
Guests in your home do not have to pay for their night’s lodging, for meals during
their visit, or for your considerate service. Paying guests in a hotel deserve similar service.
A hotel’s basic vision and mission, along with the policies and procedures about how they
should be delivered, must incorporate a service emphasis.
Do the terms customer and guest mean the same thing? Perhaps they do in a dic-
tionary; however, in the world of hospitality, hotel staff who treat their visitors as guests
will likely be more successful than competitors who treat their visitors as customers. The
tradition of a hotelier as a genteel host is just as relevant today as it was in the earliest
history of the lodging industry.
If you were registering at a hotel, would you want to be greeted by a front desk
agent reading a newspaper or doing homework and who said, “Just a moment,
please,” while you waited? In response to your question about room location, would
you want to be told, “It’s that way” (indicated by a pointed finger)? If you and other
guests experience such interactions that indicate lack of basic respect and courtesy,
you are not likely to return to the property. As well, friends and family members will
likely learn about the unacceptable visit.
Perhaps you think that these extreme violations of basic courtesy do not happen
in any lodging property, and certainly not in a “good” hotel. Accept a challenge: Ask
any road warrior for examples of service in “good” hotels that violated basic courtesy
standards. You likely will hear many “war stories” from each person you interview.