Where has hospitality gone?

Hospitality once meant welcoming the stranger - offering warmth, safety, and generosity.

Today, in many hotels, it has become a transaction.

Efficient check-in. Automated check-out. Brand standards perfectly delivered.

But something is missing.

A few years ago in Dresden, I dined at the Rosengarten restaurant. The general manager greeted us personally. Our name was written at the table. The staff smiled - genuinely. We were thanked… even hugged on departure.

That is hospitality. Not systems. Not slogans.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “True hospitality consists of giving the best of yourself to your guests.”

Many modern managers have become operational supervisors, focused on budgets and statistics.

But a General Manager should also be a host.

Maintenance and efficiency matter.

Yet a warm welcome costs nothing - and means everything.

That is the soul of hospitality.