Wellness in Hospitality - Interview with Hugo Rodriguez

“We really need to go to a much flat chain of command...that kind of flexibility is needed, and at the end of the day it is going to just increase productivity.” - Hugo Rodriguez

Hospitality is experiencing a period of mutation right now, requiring rapid adaptation from hoteliers. In Spain, reports are showing that 9 out of 10 hotels have closed. The few that remain are fighting to stay relevant to the new breed of guests - a younger demographic that is redefining what luxury means today. It may seem as though everything is descending on the industry all at once: over-supply of services, shifting market demands and accelerated technological advances. Only a discerning hotelier will be able to sift through the noise and adopt sustainable changes for their hotel.

I spoke with Hugo Rodriguez who is part of the emerging younger generation of hoteliers taking on the challenges of the pandemic head-on. Hugo’s adaptability and his thirst for knowledge shone through in our conversation, and his insights are invaluable to the industry at large.

Interview highlights:

1. Proficiency and flexibility

Young people generally place less importance on titles than their more experienced counterparts. With a lot of companies both in hospitality and in other industries hiring these young people, the traditional structure and job descriptions are being slowly phased out. Hotels, in particular, tend to have similar job descriptions for at least two to three positions that appear consecutively on the hotel’s hierarchy of employment. These are being merged into one hybrid role that favours proficiency and flexibility for maximum efficiency. As such, employment structures in hospitality may become less and less about the title and more about the productivity of the staff and management.

2. Evolution of business hotels

By now hoteliers have reached a general consensus that the business segment needs a strong pivot in order to stay relevant. Though business travel is expected to make a comeback, it’s highly unlikely that it will reach the same pre-pandemic levels. Business travellers are also likely to travel for networking purposes rather than actual work as the majority of work tasks can now be performed remotely at very little cost. Thus, companies are focusing on creating hybrid events that won’t carry thousands of people as before, but are more focused and give value to their attendees. The response from some forward-thinking hoteliers has been to turn some of their available spaces into studios that these companies can use for lessons, training and whatever else their hybrid event might require.?

3. Customer-centric hotels

Although hospitality is a service industry, very few hotels manage to keep their operations truly customer-centric. One area Hugo pointed out was the check-in process. In luxury hotels specifically, there is an exorbitant fee charged when the guest does not stick to a specific check-in time. This kind of rigid structure doesn’t take into account the guest’s travel times, thus putting lots of pressure on them to either delay their arrival by hours if the flight is too early or make a frantic beeline for the hotel if the flight is late. Hopefully, there can be a model that allows more flexibility and is less stressful for the guests while still giving staff ample time to prepare for the guests’ arrival.

Change rarely comes easy, especially when the structure needing the change is centuries old. It may seem unnatural for the first few months when hybrid concepts are being implemented; however, as long as the leadership demonstrates their active role in the operation, the staff will feel supported and will be more open to adopting these necessary changes.

Many thanks to Hugo for his fantastic take on the issue of hospitality and how we can pivot for a brighter future.

Thank you to everyone who has been following this series and engaging in the constructive discussions in the comments section. If you are a hotel general manager, hotel owner or investor and you are interested in being part of my Wellness in Hospitality interview series, direct message me here on LinkedIn. Please note responses may take a couple of days due to increased interest in putting wellness at the core of hospitality.