There is no doubting that most countries face a daunting and challenging time ahead as businesses and economies are rebuilt. However, there is optimism about the long-term future and a strong belief that hospitality can play an important and central role in the future, in social and cultural sustainability, in tourism, in economies all across the world, and in breaking down barriers. It could, all together, mark the start of a new era for hospitality with both sustainability and service sitting very much at its heart.
In the United Kingdom, especially, service has never been a respected concept. It has been seen as being secondary but there is little doubt that service is growing and becoming more important all the time. Service to others, as a concept, is once again growing. There has been a deep frustration with the perceived self-interest of politicians and businesses, a frustration which is seeing the balance change with many in the emerging generations now believing that service to others is a central theme. It creates a natural purpose and definition to life.
The millennials are showing the highest volunteer rates of any generation: they value helping others, buying food that’s eco-friendly, supporting products and organizations that are socially conscious, and wanting to do good in their community and in the world. Companies all across the world are going to be asked, by consumers and employees: do you meet this criterion?
For hospitality, this does mark a significant opportunity, arguably the greatest opportunity it has faced in its long and proud history. Hospitality companies have shown during the Covid-19 crisis that they can play an active role in communities, helping the vulnerable and supporting those who face food poverty. Hospitality today also has a stronger and genuine purpose in how it can interact and operate with communities, how it can tell the story of local cultures and histories, and how it can talk to global audiences and break down traditional barriers. Hospitality can operate with genuine purpose as it can be a leading role model in how it serves others.
“Chefs have the power to change the world.”
It has long been argued that chefs do possess the power to create genuine social change if they could really come together and work as one. It is food which is the one true universal language, it is argued, and food which brings people together to break down barriers. Of course, there is sound logic to the argument but, in truth, is unlikely to happen as, first, chefs are skilled in their craft with a passion for their skill rather than possessing any passion of social activism. Second, restaurants are often working to low margins and do create great wealth to lead any global change.
A restaurant though is a stage which can educate and break down barriers. This is an important asset in itself.
The previous saying really should be that “hospitality has the power to change the world” for it does, both locally and globally. Service can really be purpose for, in a world which has been dominated by anxiety, stress, and tension, it can bring relief and break down traditional tensions.
Leadership, of course, will sit right at the heart of the change. It will be hospitality leaders who will dictate the future direction of businesses and hopefully in the knowledge that their businesses possess the genuine ability to create real difference and become a role model industry. Just as leadership sits at the heart of the change, so leadership will be determined by the behaviors and ethics that they will allow to work by.
As has been well documented, the challenge now is to rebuild the lost trust that has developed in all leaders over the last 20 years. Leadership has been called into account and it will be how business leaders are able to think with greater breadth which will allow for that trust to be rebuilt successfully. The demands of a new sustainable agenda will be to once again think more deeply about the way their business behaves with the consumer, the employee, and the local community. Leaders will be expected to act with greater purpose and greater care and with the interests of a bigger agenda in future.
This is the opportunity for hospitality to be a role model industry which can support real change across so many areas. The industry has long been known and criticized for lagging behind others in a number of areas: in technology, in diversity and inclusion, in working with communities. Now it needs to catch up and become a genuine leader where it matters. This can be an exciting new era for the industry but only if it takes it. If the industry has lagged behind previously, then it needs to accept that it has work to do, does need to change, to bring in fresh ideas, new innovation, and thinking.
For so long, the industry has felt as almost a second-tier industry. It has now the opportunity to become one of real importance and one which can pave the path to a stronger future.
It can be an industry that does bring hope, change, and optimism to communities all across the world. It is time for the industry to lead, to be a beacon of hope and good, to bring people together and be a home for all talent.