Excellent hotels, have their own unique "hospitality", hotel culture, but also to the greatest extent from its hospitality culture reflected, this issue of etiquette, we in the script of history, the industry in the glimmer, spy on the hotel hospitality culture obsession and madness. This paranoia, like a pair of hidden wings, brings unparalleled pleasure and glory, attracting people to chase a lifetime.
The "spiritual home" of hoteliers
Bohumil Hrabal (1914-1997), Czech writer, wrote a 130,000-word novel in eighteen days, "I Once Served the King of England", telling the story of a hotelier, presenting the hustle and bustle of the times with the experience of small people, interpreting the poetic lightness with a very picturesque plot.
Europe before and after World War II is the grand and deep background of the novel, and the changing restaurants and hotels are like a scene of stage. The protagonist, Jane Dieter, is a penniless hotel restaurant waiter, a small waiter who observes this grotesque society with the innocent curiosity and natural honest eyes of a child—like a kaleidoscope of almost madness and absurdity. In his heart, he is obsessed with the dream of a "hotel person", and he is deeply in awe and pursuit of hotel culture.
"I have served the King of England", is the reply that the protagonist Dieter gets when he asks his manager why he knows so much about the "way of hospitality". The hotel manager's sense of hospitality of honor, pride and glory coexists, and I am afraid that only hotel people can appreciate the preciousness of this "special honor".
The industry that can give practitioners a sense of honor is supported by a deep cultural core, and the basic credo of Statler, the father of modern hotels in the United States, is that "guests are always right", so resolutely, but without flattery, we can only feel the admiration of the profession and the strong gentlemanly demeanor. (Caesar Liz/Cesar M. Ritz said something similar – guests can never go wrong. ）
Stills from the movie "I Served the King of England"
World War II was a watershed in the history of the world and a watershed in the history of hotel development. Before World War II, if there were indeed a group of "noble hoteliers" or "gentleman hotelmen", they would all be dying out after World War II and are becoming a Zhenxi species. Mr. Szevanka, the restaurant manager of the Grand Hotel de Paris, and Mr. Gustav, chief concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel, both died at the hands of Nazi guns in the film.
But in the real world, this may also be another metaphor: under the tragic commercial war or the extremely aggressive chain development model, there are more indifferent services, flattering design, and missing "hospitality", the industry has lost the hospitality culture of the past, and more and more hoteliers have lost their proud "spiritual home". (Of course, that's certainly not the film's intent.) ）
"When we stay in a more beautiful hotel, it's like watching an intriguing movie."
The sense of glory that hoteliers in the past brought with them made things behave naturally, but now, the hospitality culture tends to be alienated, and it has gradually solidified into a "middle-aged depression" - they drive themselves to do decent things, but they are not natural enough. The service staff resisted with polite distance and deliberate avoidance.
The sense of service becomes a culture, and only those who participate in it can perceive its honor. What we talk about is often just some superficial forms of service, and the establishment of culture has not been implemented. Guests, hotels, and services are caught in a "fake pleasure atmosphere" based on profit, and when major problems come, this relationship is vulnerable, and it is difficult to heal.
The following includes a few short stories, as well as some insights, expounding the hotel's "five ways of hospitality", with a simple heart, observing the seeds of the industry that are spreading and shining. In the fading heat wave of the fading tide, they are like California gold, hiding shashuo and waiting for newcomers to sing.
01
Belonging/ Belonging
"The déjà vu incense, the pale orange pattern on the porcelain bowl, the curvature of the window sill under the night light, the child in the elevator who actively helps you to quicken the number of the floor, and the throbbing when raising a knife and fork to start breakfast, all have a detached kindness." 」
When someone brings you a bottle of wine to "give it a try," you don't really need to take a sip, but you need to smell it and tell you if the bottle is in good condition. This is the golden rule of wine tasting, and the accommodation industry also has a high culture like wine tasting, which is an unspoken and conventional rule. That is: what kind of positioning hotel, what kind of people to attract. Temperaments are similar, temperaments are connected, and over time, the stories left behind gradually tend to the same kind of pen and ink. For visitors, staying in a hotel, it feels like you have been here: the déjà vu incense, the pale orange pattern on the porcelain bowl, the curvature of the window sill under the night light, the child in the elevator who actively helps you to brighten the number of floors, and the throbbing when raising a knife and fork to start breakfast, all have a detached kindness, which is a subtle sense of belonging.
When you truly identify with a hotel, you default to the fact that it is filled with people and things that share your taste. What makes you relax is this unfounded cognition. In the past, the class difference was extremely obvious, the aristocracy and ordinary people lived in completely different hotels, and the hotels were mostly divided into their own positions by the elite and money, which revealed a kind of cognition - a hotel, representing a class, an identity. In today's all-encompassing market, class and power have been downplayed, but we still need a "brand positioning" to create our own "identity", which is the most effective way to make guests feel a sense of belonging.
Hemingway spent his days at the Ritz Paris, chatting and drinking with friends, and he also said: "When I dream of an afterlife in heaven, the action always takes place at the Ritz Paris." (When I imagine my own life in paradise after death, the scene is always shown as the Ritz Paris.) Coco Chanel spent the rest of her life at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, where her beloved Asian lacquerware, gilded mirrors and black-and-white contrasts are filled in the world. The hotel's "exclusive access" for her is less than a 3-minute walk from 31 Rue Compont in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, which is also Chanel's first shop.
I believe that in every era there are popular "net red hotels", the past net red hotels are mostly concentrated in aristocratic hotels, the rich have punched in, the poor are full of expectations because of a kind of admiration, they are eager to live in Paris Ritz, is to become a noble person worthy to enter the hotel, they yearn to belong to that world. This psychology of "convergence of groups", like a beam of fireworks, leads people to the edge of dreams. Today's market, but filled with many "artificially manufactured" net red hotels, in a sense, the destruction of the natural principle of the industry's sense of belonging, the root of the guest punch card comes from the external strong interference of the heart satisfaction, so the resulting fiery phenomenon is more or less overdrafted the future business income, the hotel should really feel anxious about this - people do not come to find a sense of belonging, indicating that the loss is also very easy.
02
Entertainment / Entertainment
"Staying in a hotel, of course, is not to live like home."
Some people say that the hotel is the residence of the "homeless", whether it is the wandering of the body or the wandering of the mind, based on this, the "home away from home" criterion is reasonable. The hotel gives a homely atmosphere, relaxing, comfortable, sheltered haven. However, most people do not stay in a hotel to live like their families. They want more, and this extra demand comes from the satisfaction of a "sense of entertainment." The more high-end the hotel is, the more content that produces a strong sense of entertainment.
The Ritz London
Caesar Ritz (the father of modern luxury hotels, also known as the "Julius Caesar" of the hotel industry) at the Lucerne National Hotel, in order to celebrate the wedding of a European nobleman, Caesar Ritz used Lake Lucerne outside the hotel as a big show, and held a Zhang Yimou-style "light song and dance show", and realized this idea in the 1880s, I am afraid that zhang Yimou needed a little more courage and talent to effectively achieve it.
During her tenure at the SAVOY Hotel in London, Ritz hosted another banquet that stunned the whole of Europe: the lobby of the Savoy Hotel was filled with water, becoming a lake, and became a "Venetian water city". Ships from Venice, guests set up a feast on board and enjoy wine and food while listening to Venetian singers and bands playing famous songs. This is not a kind of "hospitality" that gives all of its money, and I believe that those who have enjoyed this feast on the ship will never forget this scene.
Built at the foot of Cleveve, the highest mountain in the whole of Cotswolds, Ellenborough Park is one of the best retreats for the British royal family, overlooking the Cheltenham Racecourse, which hosts gold cup, the world's premier event in the world of horse racing, every year. This location determines that it has an unusual origin. At the start of the spring racing season, the helipad at Cheltenham Racecourse was too busy to be peaceful, with countless private helicopters waiting to land in the air, and Her Majesty the Queen and her family watching the race in the box on the top floor. At this point, 61 rooms at the Ellenborough Park are emptied. The event itself is the hotel's biggest "entertainment program", with guests arranging a thoughtful pick-up service to reach the racecourse from their hotel rooms in less than five minutes. Consciously precipitating their own entertainment culture is a valuable attitude, people give the hotel a more and more complex mission, the expectations for the hotel are becoming more and more elusive, it is certain that not many people really only regard the hotel as a temporary "rest" place.
03
Trust / Trust
"Understatement of cold violence can make people angry, black humor will make people bitter, and long disappointments are like a big snowflake on a stamp, falling into a lonely snow forest." A sense of trust will save all. ”
It's not easy to win a trust. The hotel's problem-solving ability, the meticulous state of work, the way the host expresses, whether the difference between the actual facilities and the brochure defeats the guest's inner expectations, etc., will affect the establishment of trust. The hotel, as a stop on the journey, gives people shelter while pushing the guests into a state of isolation. They can be popular shelters or unsettlingly cold. The greatest sense of trust that the hotel can give is to act as an "all-rounder" and stand up whenever guests need help – with the "I will help you solve all the troubles"!
Hotel Restaurant Paris Ritz 1920s
At the Ricky Kulm Hotel in the Alps, a group of American guests were being told to dine at the hotel. It's early winter, the weather in the mountains is already very cold, the hotel's heating system is broken, and the restaurant is as cold as an ice cellar. The general manager of the hotel was at a loss, and the manager of the restaurant who worked there at the time quickly took action: he adjusted the menu and changed the first course to a hot broth; changed the dining place from the restaurant to a smaller lounge, which looked warmer because it was decorated with red curtains; emptied the pots planted with large plants and poured combustible liquids as a stove; he even had more than twenty bricks baked in the boiler, picked up with flannel cloths, and placed at the feet of the guests for warmth. The American guests were so satisfied with their meals that no one even noticed the temperature of the restaurant.
Suppose that when this group of American guests came to the hotel, ate in the cold restaurant, and asked for help, they only got the reply that "the hotel heating system is broken, it can only be so", and the consciousness did not blame it because of its "unsolvable" appearance, but this unhappy dinner was enough to make people lose their good feelings for a hotel.
Ellenborough Park Hotel
04
Comfort / Comfort
"A good hotel person needs to have a little cleanliness."
Adrien Gloaguen, 25, is a Parisian hotelier and British rapper M.I.A. is his first guest.
Each of his hotels has its own little fetish, such as the unique reading room in the Paradis hotel, and the chocolates offered to guests by the Panache hotel must come from the oldest chocolate factory in Paris. At the same time, he is also loyal to investing money in "sleep", and he has experienced countless sleepless nights to ensure that his guests have a good night's sleep. He believes that giving guests a unique sense of comfort is the most basic hospitality etiquette in a hotel.
Caesar Ritz was a hotelier with a "cleanliness habit", and he built the Ritz Hotel into the most "hygienic" hotel in the world at that time. In addition to the most iconic "one bathroom per room" and the industry's most advanced fresh air system at the time, the hotel abandoned many of the gorgeous decorative fabrics that were prevalent at the time and were easy to absorb dust, such as velvet curtains and curtains, in favor of fabrics that were easier to clean. All bedding is changed per guest and is made of gentle material for frequent cleaning. Replace the large wooden bed of classical style with a large bronze bed. The rooms do not use wallpaper, but paint.
In addition to sleep and the cleanliness of the facilities, very critically, there is also food. We have to admit that no matter what a guest is dissatisfied with the accommodation or service, as long as you can provide guests with a rich and delicious meal to make the guest eat satisfactorily, some of his previous dissatisfaction will disappear. How healing is the comfort that food brings to people.
05
Empathy / Empathy
"The people who stay at the hotel are all travelers in time."
In this day and age, it's sometimes considered odd that politeness can be considered odd. But never show up on hoteliers. Gentleman, polite, and even the desire to write a letter to the guest, to express care and gratitude, in a hesitant tone, privately, sincerely, to mention speculation about his preferences, there are some laughable stems, at the right time, to send some small gifts... In any case, you have to figure out that this "process" is not a mechanized service like a flow of books and emotionless, but a sense of truth and empathy.
Stills from the film "I Served the King of England"
Dieter (Jane Dieter, the protagonist of "I Have Served the King of England", mentioned in the opening chapter), was once infatuated with the women of heaven and was happy to place flowers on their bellies, and this piece appears with the names of many flowers and plants: chrysanthemums, caryophyllus flowers, small wild chrysanthemums, mistletoe parasitism, cyclamen, magnolia flowers, spruce branches, peonies, wild poppies, raspberries..... A piece that should be beautiful, but because of these flowers and plants, let the girls of the Heavenly Building know that they also long for the respect of others in their hearts, and a small person who is not outstanding, Dieter, gives them the most precious things; for example, the agent fat merchant who sells various gadgets, teaches Dick to take money, "You have to learn to throw change through the window in order to get big money from the gate." It is this inner respect and empathy that has greatly contributed to his achievements in the hospitality industry.
One of the specialties of the 19th-century Ritz Paris hotel is "the restaurant offers a la carte service". In the European hospitality industry at that time, the most common way to dine in hotels was "table d'hote", that is: a table for ten people (or even dozens of people), a formal form of dining; everyone's menu was the same, according to the procedure of serving one by one; the meal time was fixed, it was very impolite to be late; all guests wore formal clothes (women wore dresses, men wore tuxedos and bow ties). Also, dishes are usually prepared in advance and may already be a little cold when served. Caesar Ritz and Chef King Escofer have promoted the "a la carte" service, allowing guests to choose their meal times, favorite dishes and flavors, cook instantly, and be fresher and more delicious; the restaurant is based on small tables for two or four people, allowing guests to enjoy more privacy. The empathy that people think can be big or small, as small as a service detail, as large as changing the rules of the industry, hoteliers have empathy, often allowing you to see the key to "market demand".
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The people who stay in the hotel are all travelers in time, they come from the cracks of time, with a focused look of "ready to enjoy and experience", so that under such a bright gaze, everything will become more "effective" than usual - sadness is easy to eliminate; the past is easy to shelve; troubles are pressed under the wheels of coming; happy for a sunrise; screaming for the stars; moved by the sound of the wind; admiring ordinary scenery; capturing a drop of rain that is about to fall; and pondering the provenance of the painting on the wall Say thank you to the service staff who are serious but serious...
People become more willing to amplify beauty, with enough good mood to dilute imperfections. Hotels have an obligation to contribute to a "good memory" for guests, however, we also have to admit that any kind of "human" service is not perfect, it must be accompanied by flaws and situations, but in the "five ways of hospitality", one that is particularly good will become your exclusive culture. The satisfaction that hospitality culture brings to hoteliers is the feeling that when the team you support wins during the World Cup, driving you down the street to hug strangers — an inexplicable honor. If you are stepping on such a cloud, then you at least maintain positive communication with the industry, such as a firework, a faint, but the billions of stars flashing in the universe can not withstand the "closeness" of a firework.