Hospitality Industry struggles with Experience Economy

When we travel, we all have to sleep. Why are we prepared to pay € 25 for a night sleep in a hostel, € 50 for a bed & breakfast, € 100 for a three star hotel and € 500 for an exclusive hotel? Where we choose to sleep differs and varies with our travelpurpose (business, holiday, romantic weekend), our budget and our previous experience or reviews from friends or total strangers on a website. This is in a nutshell what the Experience Economy (Pine & Gilmore, 1999) is. We are prepared to pay a higher price when the added value and experience is perceived to be higher. “We are on the threshold, say authors Pine and Gilmore, of the Experience Economy, a new economic era in which all businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers.”

But when do we become loyal clients that come back? And when do we become ambassadors for a hotel or restaurant and tell our friends about our experience? Only when the reality is perceived better than what we expected to get. Only when we got the WOW-Experience. And this is where the struggle for high end luxury hotels and restaurants begins. The expectations are allready very high when the guest comes in. Ofcourse a hotelguest of a luxury hotel will expect to get a spacious room that’s superclean, with a nice view, well designed interiors, good and various choices of food, a beautiful spa and swimmingpool and friendly and professional staff. So, what will give him this extra memorable experience? Is it a well orchestrated show with lights and music, an unexpected flashmob of dancing staff, a singing waiter on rollerblades? I don’t think so.

I believe the Hospitality Industry focusses too much on design and concepts. Ofcourse I was stunned with the view on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, the first time I saw the 150m wide infinity pool, but will this experience bring me back the next time? No, I don’t believe so. So what will?

It’s connecting with the people and the atmosphere that they bring into the hotel that makes the difference. And with connecting I don’t mean the professional and helpful smile I get when I ask a question. It’s connecting from heart-to-heart. From one human being to another. Sharing a joke or a laugh, a concerned look when you share that your child is sick at home. The singing waiter can be a memorable experience to come back for, if the singing waiter is genuinely enjoying what he’s doing, radiating with fun and connecting to others, in stead of doing a daily routine like the pianoplayer in the lobby. I believe orchestrating experiences to deliver something new, only lasts for a short time and doesn’t create the loyal guest that returns and returns. We all know and feel that a theatre play is not real, however nicely performed. Or are you the kind of person that likes to see the same show over and over again? It’s fake or real that makes a the difference. Can you tell the difference between a real and fake smile in the picture? (Pine & Gilmore also realized this when they wrote their other book “Authenticity”, 2007)

Still, stafftraining for Hospitality Industry is often focussing on doing things right and in the same (our) way. A very logical left brain way of doing things. This results in professionalism with a bit of a distance, easy to measure and control,but leaving very little room for acting out of the box.

So how to get this genuine personal touch into the picture?

Work on well-being, happiness and playfulness with your staff. Playful Training will allow them to open up, connect with others from their own selves and dare to come up with creative ideas to engage with the guests in new and memorable ways that come from their hearts.

Let me hear what you think.

Playfully yours,

Annemarie Steen (Playful Facilitator & Speaker of 21st century Leadership Skills)

Look what happened after a two day Joy-Care Leadership workshop that I delivered with www.ha-p.com for the management of Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore. A few participants dared to take the initiative of organizing this ‘Coffee Break Dance’ where colleagues share the fun of leaving their comfortzone. Do you think the laughter is fake (orchestrated) or genuine (from the heart)?

Caregivers Recharge Event Singapore

Last week I had the privilege of delivering an interactive Joy-Care workshop(*) with Avi Liran at an event in Singapore. The event was organized by Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for the Caregivers of Singapore. Almost 150 participants joined us in a series of playful and fun exercises to destress, recharge and connect with eachother. After the workshop many participants (from Singapore, Philipines, Myanmar, Malasia and India) came to thank us for the uplifting experience and insights with simple tools that they can implement into their daily lives, working with sometimes difficult patients and many stressfactors. I feel very grateful for the opportunity.

(*) Our Joy-Care Concept is based on insights and findings from Positive Psychology and neuroscience. The playful and fun experiential learningexercises are aiming to enhance the participants well-being in teaching and stimulating the 5 elements of well-being; positive emotion, engagement/flow, relationships, meaning and accomplishments (PERMA as described by Martin Seligman in “Flourish”)

Experiential Learning in daily life

Hi there,

It is my firm believe that we can learn from any experience we have in life. From simple things, like when you drop an apple on the floor, it’s very likely a brown spot will appear after some time, to more complicated experiences, like having a burnout.

It’s built in our system to learn from experiences. Otherwise we would not be able to walk, speak, survive. I believe it’s also built in our system the desire to make meaning out of experiences. And when we do, it enhances our happiness and well-being. Did you ever meet someone that experienced some sort of crisis in their lives, that said “looking back, it was the best thing that happened to me.” Do you have similar experiences in your life?

When I’m working with groups, I invite them to (for them) weird experiences, like laughing for no reason, dancing and moving, playing active games, etc. They seem to have no relation at all to their workenvironment. However, when I invite them to reflect on the experience by asking “What just happened?” “How does it feel?” and “How does this experience relate to your work?” it’s amazing what meaningful insights come to the surface.

Kolb described this proces of making meaning in his Experiential Learning Cycle.

First you have an experience (you drop an apple), then you reflect upon the experience by asking questions like “What happened?” (the apple dropped, I see a dark spot appearing). This results into an insight like when I drop an apple, it will bruce. The action that comes from this insight, is perhaps be more careful handling apples.

These same learningquestions can be applied to daily experiences, either positive or negative, either simple or complex.

Questions that will help you are:

What just happened?

How does it make me feel?

What did I do?

What did the other person do (next)?

What can I learn from this?

How can I apply this insight?

What options do I have?

What will I do next time?

What action can I take now?

Good luck and I wish you many meaningful experiences and learning.

With enthusiasm,

Annemarie Steen