In the hospitality industry we often talk about the importance of helping guests. Really, helping anyone inclined to inquire about your home, or with questions on your area.
The justification to do so is usually two-fold. First, it feels good to give knowing you probably just made their vacation the most memorable they've ever had. Also your kindness will not be forgotten, creating a repeat and high referral guest base.
I've had friends probe me on my varied ways of giving. “You just sent that guest to another house! They were ready to book with YOU!" Or, “Why spend a lot of money on gifts? The house is already great."
For me, it's about making sure someone's vacation is perfect. It brings a little bit of light to people and gives them a well-deserved break from working long hours. I'm appreciative that they trust me and my home for their vacation, giving me the freedom to pursue my own independent work. Helping is the least I can do for them.
The Importance of Give and Take With Your Guests
Being probed prompted me to do a little bit more research on the impacts of giving, to which, I stumbled upon Give and Take, by Adam Grant. It's an incredibly interesting book, grounded in research of why giving (i.e. helping) can have a more significant impact on our personal and professional success than taking or matching.
Giving, taking or matching are “reciprocity styles," or way we relate to each other. Givers tend to have a relating that is more concerned about creating value for others, than claiming value for oneself. Takers, on the other hand, seek value for themselves (in sometimes an insincere way- by pretending to be a giver) and matchers (most of us) desire equal giving and taking.
Through his many examples, Adam aims to prove that not only do givers perform the worst (compared to matchers and takers), but that givers also tend to outperform them to a higher degree, consistently. I tend to have a great disdain for labels, but I challenged myself to read this book with an open mind and to understand how my tendencies, according to his behavioral indicators, may impact my future growth in hospitality. I also didn't read this book unquestioningly; “givers are great, therefore I will always give to my guests." That would be silly.
Guests are not always right, and should not be given into, especially if there are malicious and disrespectful actions towards you or your staff.
I'm especially protective of my teams and have asked guests to pack their bags immediately. Of course, I help said guests by suggesting vacant places to rent, and offer a refund, but what matters more is that my team knows I have their back; it builds trust in me, our business, and the stretch goals we may place upon them.
Like me, many of you also move between giving, taking and matching in life and in your hospitality career. This book provided stories, research, and insights that were very interesting and applicable to our work as vacation rental owners and prove how giving (i.e. genuinely helping) can exponentially grow you and your business.
This guest post was written by Kris Getzie, Founder & Principal Consultant at Volo. She is a vacation rental expert and author of the recently published Vacation Rentals For Newbies.