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Is the customer always right? Perhaps not always, but the phrase has gained traction in the hotel industry. This is due to hotels having adopted a mixed form of two models: a customer-centric business model (Tang, 2014 ) and a profit-centered business model (Agarwal, Erramilli, & Dev, 2003 ; Taillon, 2014 ). These models have likely been adopted as meeting customer desires can aid in profit maximization.

This mixed model is potentially missing important components. A first missing component seems to be our team members. Notably, this has led to problems with human resources. There are more than 1.1 million open positions in hospitality according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023). AHLA (2023) identified 82% of hotels as facing staffing shortages, with 26% of these properties facing extreme shortages that hindered operations. This shortage of team members coupled with our industry’s 73.8% turnover rate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022 ) means we have increased recruitment and training costs and decreased operational efficiencies.

We are also paying more for the team members we do successfully recruit and retain. AHLA (2023) identified 64% of hotels as having increased wages beyond inflation with 36% of hotels adding benefits such as incentive programs. The wage increases are an annual 6.1% since 2020 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023 ). All of this combines to mean that we need to do a better job of recruiting new team members while limiting turnover.

The next group of individuals who are often overlooked within our industry’s model are community members. This oversight has led to challenges in crafting positive relationships with the communities our properties co-exist with. For example, 68% of hotels self-report an element of community opposition to their operations (American Hotel & Lodging Association, 2023 ). The American Hotel & Lodging Association (2023 ) identified the most common elements as being related to noise, traffic, or other disturbances (i.e., approximately one-third of hotels self-reported this). Community friction coupled with the lodging’s growing focus on sustainability has resulted in increased costs for community engagement programs and environmental initiatives.

Hotels feel pressure to contribute more to their local communities. This may align with the profit-centric model, as Deloitte (2023) found that 72% of travelers consider a hotel’s community impact as a component of their brand loyalty assessment. But how is the lodging industry working with the local community? Here are a few examples:

  • 53% of hotels increased the sourcing of local of goods, with an average annual increase in local procurement spending of 4.8% (American Hotel & Lodging Association, 2023)
  • 39% of hotels have implemented community benefit programs, such as local hiring initiatives or support for local charities.
  • Some hotels encourage team members to participate in volunteer activities. These programs can benefit the community. Yet too often these programs aim to address company image rather than genuine community needs - specifically, approximately 85% of motivation lacks altruism (Taillon & Jamal, 2009 ).
  • Hotel generated accommodation tax dollars are income generated funds often used to pay for community hygiene efforts and prudent projects and endeavors to further develop communities (Litvin, Crotts, Blackwell, & Styles, 2006 ).

Potential team members, like much of modern society, care more about doing good at work and working for organizations that care about the community and their team members than ever before. Incorporating voluntary practices to contribute to the well-being of the community and employees through hotel policy fosters a work environment of productive employees, engaged employees, and increases job satisfaction (Zhang, Tan, Chen, & Jiang, 2024 ). Yes, hotels exist to make a profit. Yet, there may be an opportunity for hotels to make a profit, improve employee morale while limiting turnover, and improve community relations simultaneously. This can all take place in a “Hospitality With a Heart” approach. Many hotels can offer effective cases.

The Essence of Hospitality Team Members

Hospitality at the core is going out of the way to make a guest feel welcome and extending kindness to impress goodwill. This care and consideration of others is a synergy generated by the team members that effortlessly extends to each other, the customer, and can be extended to inclusion of community. Team members choosing employment in hospitality normally have a desire to help at their core. Companies may be able to hold on to their human resources better if they do good in the community, as hospitality personalities are often aligned with organizations that share their core values.

YAAAAA:uZ 0Sx3SXh9cGNRk5G2Ojx7_QGWndwhSYCTob316zO6EutkBuXdUOUGGyyJmdwpRJSGf6qFQiR7JlBTQRJE_8HKxEPgi_UfPS7Xa_YwviKyUX4sDIs9Qp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paula Silva (2006) completed a large-scale study on the alignment of hotel companies and team member job attitudes. As one may expect, pay, whether they have been promoted or foresee a promotion soon, benefits, and the nature of the work were identified as the most important parts of a hospitality employee’s attitude (YAAAAA:uZ 0Sx3SXh9cGNRk5G2Ojx7_QGWndwhSYCTob316zO6EutkBuXdUOUGGyyJmdwpRJSGf6qFQiR7JlBTQRJE_8HKxEPgi_UfPS7Xa_YwviKyUX4sDIs9Qp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silva, 2006 ). Yet, the single most important finding in her study may be that moral values, including most importantly those of supervisors, lead to a higher job satisfaction and intention to stay at the company.

An organization that aligns the values with those of their team members will have lower turnover and higher job satisfaction. These trendlines have shown to be significant and are growing in importance over time given emerging generation value systems. How can a hotel management team leverage unique strategies to align team member interests and value systems with meaningful community impact at a low cost though? There are best practices available based on our management experiences.

Case Study #1: Supporting Refugees

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged all business sectors. Yet, we were particularly strongly impacted in the travel and hospitality industries. Hotels found themselves with an unprecedented number of empty rooms as global travel patterns subsided. Simultaneously, the United States saw an influx of refugees and immigrants seeking refuge from various global crises, beyond COVID’s impacts.

Amidst these challenges, the hospitality industry identified a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on their communities by supporting vulnerable populations. Hotels are designed to be safe havens for travelers. Some of these properties extended their role to become havens for those in need. While this trend emerged from COVID-19, it works post-COVID as well.

A notable example comes from a group of lodging properties in greater San Francisco. These properties repurposed some vacant rooms to provide temporary housing for refugees and immigrants. They worked with a local organization (Compass Family Services) and their local government (i.e., City Hall) to obtain grant support for the program (Alvarado, 2024 ; Thadani, 2023 ). The program was effective with more than 100 refugee families from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Venezuela moving into the InterContinental San Francisco, where they also attended classes for job training, language, and general integration (Thadani, 2023 ). The hotels were not giving away rooms. Rather, they were leveraging grants to fill empty rooms with individuals in the community that needed these empty spaces. This is an example of a win/win for the community and lodging properties. This may take creativity, but it leads to excellent results!

Case Study #2: Assisting Home Insecure Community Members

Home insecurity is a significant issue that affects many people in the United States and concerns are consistent. The median-priced home in the U.S. reaching $3,000 per month, pricing out 2.4 million renters in 2023 from buying a home (Habitat for Humanity, 2023 ). Homelessness continues to be on the rise, increasing 12% in just one year with more than 653,100 people experiencing homelessness per night and 40% experiencing unsheltered homelessness per night (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2023 ). Increases in homelessness have resulted in overflowing shelters with individuals and families seeking sustainable housing solutions.

The hospitality industry is responding to this rising issue and extending temporary shelter to the home insecure by providing hospitality that reduces fear and anxiety while offering a sense of safety. Although not permanent, temporary housing solutions give local government and non-profit organizations time to coordinate long-term housing solutions to local residents and enhancing their quality of life and in turn can be a viable revenue source for a hotel while doing good for the community.

The practice of using hotels for temporary shelter was termed “welfare hotels” in the 1980’s and resurged during the pandemic with programs such as “Project RoomKey”. Project RoomKey was a rehousing California state funded program partnering with local hotels and motels to accommodate housing insecure unsheltered residents during the pandemic (California Department of Social Services, 2020 ). This program was considered a success because it allowed longer lengths of stay giving time for partnerships to form between local government, homeless services, and health care providers to coordinate permanent solutions (Abt Associates, 2024 ). Project RoomKey participants reported a positive experience at the hotels and motels sharing experiences of autonomy, privacy, and safety and appreciation for not being separated from partners and pets.

Case Study #3: Disasters, Victims, and Hotels

Hotels can choose to prove shelter and support to those in need of assistance during natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires, flooding, etc. We both have been employed in the lodging industry when a hotel impacted our community and came through to help those in need in several instances. This always brought a sense of enormous pride in the organization and leadership.

Government agencies frequently contract with hotels during these times as well. Firefighters, emergency medical teams, FEMA personnel, and many additional professionals are often brought in during and after disaster events. For instance, wildfires are burning through our state (Washington) right now. We have colleagues who manage hotels in affected areas such as Chelan. Many of these properties are collaborating with NGOs and government agencies. First, this ensures that personnel have a safe and comfortable place to stay. Secondly, this makes the community a better place to be. Finally, the team members at the hotel have a meaningful job to attend to, which is known to limit turnover and increase job satisfaction.

Another approach to helping this group is to donate items such as toiletries, socks, bedding, furniture, etc. Hotels may need to renovate; donating old furniture may be a wise approach. Toiletries and beddings are particularly highly sought after goods during and immediately following a disaster. Hotels have both in high quantities. Hotel parking lots can also serve as much needed staging and storage sites to support emergency services and staff.

Case Study #4: Domestic Violence

We have seen first-hand the effect that a hotel’s inclusion in a domestic violence program can bring to community members. Specifically, an NGO we agreed to work with brought women who were experiencing domestic violence situations to our property for 1-3 days. The women often brought children. We were only called on approximately once/month. The idea was to immediately get the women and children to a safe place. In the 1-3 days they stayed at the hotel, the NGO would pay a low rate (i.e., we agreed to the normal employee rate for our property). The NGO figured out a more long-term plan and the women and children would move on after just 1-3 days.

Our hotel ended participation after being in the program for approximately six months. The purpose of ending our relationship with the program was to maximize revenue based on occupancy level opportunity. In layman’s terms, profit superseded good will. This may have seemed wise on paper as hotels have a mandate to maximize revenue. Yet, losing a program that the team feels is important can have a detrimental impact on profit. Losing the moral or dedication of team members (e.g., motivation, quiet quitting) or perhaps even having team members leave the company is unlikely to be worth it over a program such as this.

Conclusion: the Future of Altruism in Hospitality

Altruism stems from a concern for the well-being of others. Hospitality personalities often choose this field because they have a deep-seated concern for the well-being of others. Fostering trust within a community is something team members want and are motivated by within their place of work. This is more true of younger generations than at any other time in history.

Furthermore, job satisfaction and value system alignment between a team member and their employer reduces conflict, inspires selfless behavior necessary for effectiveness in hospitality settings and establishes foundational core values. The opportunity to build strong partnerships and contribute through volunteering and charity can serve a business purpose while also bringing fulfillment to team members, benefits to the community, and continued success under many traditional hotel metrics.

We want to leave hoteliers with some final ideas, beyond those we outlined above, that one could perhaps pursue when seeking better community involvement that team members most appreciate:

  • Partner with community organizations, schools, and local non-profits. There may be opportunities to support donations, volunteer efforts, or raise general awareness. Do not forget about the way this may impact your property’s tax structure or the grants that may be available to fund this!
  • Source local products and services. This can work two-fold in your favor: 1) improve the local economy and 2) foster community partnerships.
  • Implement programs that allow guests to contribute to local charitable causes supported by the hotel or stay for a cause. This needs to be more than requesting a donation though. It should be made experiential for guests, and potentially captivating. This is when donations are highest and team member job satisfaction most impacted (e.g., field trip to a site where the donations go).

References:

Agarwal, S., Erramilli, M., & Dev, C. (2003). Market orientation and performance in service firms: Role of innovation. Journal of Services Marketing, 17(1), 68-82.

Litvin, S., Crotts, J., Blackwell, C., & Styles, A. (2006). Expenditures of accommodations tax revenue: A South Carolina study. Journal of Travel Research, 45, 150-157.

Taillon, J. (2014). The concept of environmental management systems. Hotel & Business Management, 3(1).

Taillon, J., & Jamal, T. (2009). Understanding the volunteer tourist: A qualitative inquiry. The VolunTourist, 4(4).

Tang, T. (2014). Becoming an ambidextrous hotel: The role of customer orientation. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 39, 1-10.

Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from http://www.hotelexecutive.com/.