Hospitality, where has it gone?

I may sound like an old-timer - because I am. After more than fifty years in hotels, I’ve witnessed incredible progress in technology… and, sadly, regression in hospitality.

When I started out in the 1970s, we used handwritten ledgers, mechanical switchboards, and the Whitney Rack system. Everything was slower. Everything was manual.

But one thing was fast and constant: personal guest care.

We spoke to guests daily. We invited them for coffee. We fixed problems before they left. Feedback wasn’t a public review - it was a conversation.

Today? Technology is brilliant. Systems are seamless. But somewhere along the way, hospitality became real estate. Brands divested. Investors demanded returns. Costs were cut. Staffing shrank.

Now we chase online reviews instead of real dialogue. We automate check-in - and eliminate the welcome. We reduce service - and call it efficiency.

Many hotels have become “heads in beds” operations, driven by statistics instead of relationships.

But behind every report is a guest. A real person.

Hospitality was never about occupancy charts. It was about connection.

So here’s my plea to managers: step away from the spreadsheets. Go have coffee with a guest. Listen. Learn. Engage.

Because hospitality didn’t begin with algorithms.

It began with people.

Let’s not forget that.