the hospitality experience is a mindset

The book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara prompted me to write this article.Not because it introduces new service tools or revolutionary concepts — but because it brings hospitality back to something that is often overlooked: mindset.

Guidara does not describe hospitality as flawless service or perfectly designed processes. He describes it as a conscious decision to give more than what is expected. Not for reasons of efficiency. Not because it is written in a handbook. But because one chooses to.

While reading, several familiar principles resurfaced — ideas that have accompanied me throughout my career: “The customer is king.” “Go the extra mile.” “Surprise them.” “What can we do differently?” I was shaped by these principles, and I mean this in a very positive way. They influenced how I show up in my work and how I engage with people. This mindset has enabled me to build sustainable relationships, create meaningful experiences, and foster trust with both customers and employees — with measurable impact.

I believe that a strong focus on Hospitality Experience, grounded in human-centred capabilities such as empathy, adaptability, creativity, resilience and cultural intelligence is a strategic asset for any business. These capabilities help preserve the human touch and enable employees to transform everyday interactions into meaningful, memorable experiences by anticipating customer needs and creating emotional connection.

And this leads me to a fundamental question:

If Hospitality Experience is a mindset, why shouldn’t it be lived, learned, and applied in other industries as well?

Hospitality Experience is still often associated with hotels, restaurants, or travel. With clearly defined service processes, high quality standards, and the ambition to continuously optimise the guest journey in order to differentiate from competitors.

At its core, however, Hospitality Experience is shaped by three principles: anticipation, personalization, and emotional connection. The ability to recognise needs before they are articulated. To treat people not as numbers, but as individuals. And to create experiences that go beyond mere functionality.

When you look more closely, it becomes clear that some of the most powerful hospitality moments today occur outside the traditional hospitality industry. They are rarely loud or obvious. Instead, they show up in subtle details — in the way someone is welcomed, in how attentively they listen, and in whether a person feels genuinely taken seriously or merely processed.

This is where Hospitality Experience becomes relevant across industries. These moments are not coincidence, nor the result of individual talent alone. They emerge from conscious decisions, clear principles, and a shared mindset embedded in daily practice. Hospitality Experience, therefore, is not an exclusive discipline of the hospitality industry, it is a competence that can be learned, trained, and transferred.

What other industries can learn from The Hospitality Experience

1. Anticipation instead of reaction

   True hospitality begins before the actual interaction takes place. It is about reading signals, understanding context, and thinking ahead. Organizations that lead with anticipation prioritise customer context over rigid processes, trust employees with decision-making authority, and allow judgment to guide action instead of fixed rules.Anticipation is not intuitive talent, it is a capability that can be developed.

   
   

2. Personalization beyond systems

   Personalization is not a name in a database or an automated touchpoint. It emerges when people are attentive and willing to deviate from standard solutions when it makes sense. As Guidara describes, small, seemingly “unreasonable” decisions often create disproportionate impact. This requires organizations to move beyond “one size fits all” approaches and to trust employees to offer individual solutions.

   
   

3. Designing Emotional Connection Intentionally

   What people remember is rarely the process itself, but the feeling a moment leaves behind. Emotional connection arises when individuals feel genuinely seen, not perfectly served, but truly acknowledged. Designing interactions consciously, treating listening as a core competence, and recognising relationships as part of value creation all contribute to experiences that last.

   
   

4. Mindset before rules

   Rules help ensure consistency and quality. Mindset enables excellence. Organisations that prioritise principles over checklists, orientation over control, and trust over micromanagement create the conditions in which Hospitality Experience can thrive. It comes to life when people understand why they do something — not only how.

Conclusion

Hospitality Experience is not an exclusive competence of the hospitality industry. It is learnable, trainable, and above all transferable, if organizations are willing to prioritize mindset over pure efficiency. The real question is not whether organizations can afford “unreasonable hospitality” – but whether they can afford not to.