How to create a culture of belonging
Plus: Night Auditor Appreciation Day, remote working, designing for locals & more
Together with
Good morning - and happy Night Auditor Appreciation Day! One of our themes here is the importance of showing appreciation for your teams, especially the people in roles that don't get a lot of attention. One of those roles is the Night Auditor. Listen to our podcast on this yesterday if you missed it, and check out this page from MDO on how you can celebrate the people on your teams working in this important role.
Today, we’re looking at:
Podcast: How hospitality leaders can create a culture of belonging
People: The pandemic didn’t create remote working - it exposed it
Guest experience: Design hotels for locals and travelers will come
Operations: Raising room rates isn’t the only way to combat higher expenses
From our community: A contribution from Michael Hraba
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ON THE PODCAST
Stay WEIRD: How hospitality leaders can create a culture of belonging
with Shelley Brown on the Hospitality Daily Podcast

We've been talking about recruiting and hiring and engaging people in hospitality for years, but what's beneath all of that is creating a culture of belonging. The very best hospitality leaders I know focus on this because they know that if you welcome people to your teams well, and make them feel like they belong they are not only more likely to stay engaged and do their best work - but will help you recruit other talented people.
Shelley Brown began her career in hospitality, and today on the podcast, you'll hear the early experiences that shaped her view on all of this, the importance of belonging and psychological safety, the "belonging equation," the W.E.I.R.D. framework for creating a culture of belonging - and the importance of continually practicing and aligning around values that foster a culture of belonging.
TOGETHER WITH MDO
Night Auditor Appreciation Day is today!
MDO is hosting Night Auditor Appreciation Day today, May 18th – a day dedicated to recognizing and honoring the hard work, dedication, and expertise of night auditors across the world.
Hospitality Daily readers can click the link below to receive a free Starbucks gift card to give to their night auditor and show appreciation.
PEOPLE
The pandemic didn’t create remote working - it exposed it
by David Eisen for Hotels Magazine
The pandemic revealed the viability of remote working, which had always made sense but required a catalyst for widespread adoption. This shift has benefited the hotel industry through higher (and more evenly distributed) demand, but as the industry still faces staffing challenges it must focus on providing fulfilling work experiences and opportunities for career growth.
GUEST EXPERIENCE
Design hotels for locals and travelers will come
by Katherine Price for Hospitality Investor
At IHIF this week, Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin said he is turning the historic approach to hospitality “upside-down” by prioritizing local communities over travelers. “Make sure you cater for them, give them a reason to come to that brand, make sure they use the bar, the restaurant, the public spaces to work remotely… you will pick up the [traveler] because it is buzzing.”
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OPERATIONS
Raising room rates isn’t the only way to combat higher expenses
by Isobel Lee for Hotel Management
Despite the challenges of the current macroeconomic outlook, asset managers and operators have an opportunity to stay ahead of the competition by improving productivity and efficiency, hoteliers said at IHIF in Berlin this week.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
from Michael Hraba
Best practices = "what everyone else is doing" so there's no differentiation & it's homogenized which is a danger b/c it commodifies hospitality, making it *solely* about location & rate.
Don't worry about what other people are doing. Focus on what you do, and then do it better.
— Michael Hraba aka Just this hotel guy, you know? (@HHotelConsult)
May 17, 2023