On September 7th, the Las Vegas Sun ran an article originally published in the New York Times with the headline: “Hotels tout cleaning but guests aren’t all that sure” by Jane L. Levers.  As  you can imagine, it caught my eye.

Cleanliness connotes an objective standard – “tout” speaks to the emotional –  no wonder guests aren’t all that sure.  

Perceptions are emotional – and emotion drives behavior.  So I read the article.  

The double whammy on the hospitality industry is being caught in the vortex of perceptions of guest and employee.   Ms. Levere reports the guest reaction as mask usage “seemingly optional.”  That really doesn’t help much.

We can readily see the mask and non-mask. We can get compliance – adherence to the rules. This is the bare minimum expectation.   

But an extraordinary guest journey and experience is a result of a much higher bar, we need commitment.  Commitment means internalizing the values – i.e., believing in the purpose/mission and committed to doing the right thing no matter who is around to police the rule.

Bridging the gap between new regulations and our desire to engage the enthusiasm of our employees is either a burden or opportunity depending upon how we perceive it. And that has a whole lot more to do with the workplace culture than the requirement itself.

The best news is that we are all on this journey together – being both guests and staff as we move through home, work and community.   And we know that our confidence is built from our relationships with those around us and the values we share.   Engaging team members hearts and minds creates a cultural integrity that will shine through to every guest, every  day.