Why all hoteliers need to be 'Artists'
By Robin Hawksworth
Hoteliers are often a unique breed who relish the opportunity to compete in a extremely competitive, erratic, global, human industry that constantly changes with each passing hour. Each day they open their doors with the aim of perfectly delivering unique individual services to millions of travellers, through the actions of a million more employees.... all with in the construct of delivering correct profit margins. Simply understanding the basic needs of both their guest and their employee is in itself a feet not unbecoming of a world class psychologist. The qualities required of a great hotelier to deliver all of this are too many to list here but above all they need to become Great Artist's.Why great ARTISTS!
When I say the word 'Artist', I refer to someone who has a unique vision derived from their perspective on the world which they tirelessly work towards creating to pass on to others. All artist's are creative people but truly great ones live with a deep down need to constantly create and share their ideas.
Great artists learn from their own personal experiences and those from others around them until they eventually form their individual view point. At this junction they often create their best work with out even thinking about how to do it.... it just happens. The creative process simply becomes so natural to them that they draft out their vison, push forward and create with out the nagging doubt of self-talk interrupting them along the way.
The time frame in becoming an artist is very short for most people as we are all born with the gift of expression. Over time some choose to hide their gifts, some are taught to suppress them and some use them collectively as part of another's masterpiece. Great art takes time to master!
Learn the medium.
I could not create a 2 meter brass sculpture for your lawn to the best of my ability today as it would take me time to learn the medium. Likewise you can learn guitar in a few months if you applied yourself, took the time and some lessons but would you end up playing exactly like Eric Clapton or BB King? Probably not, they took time to learn the medium, they watched and then applied it in a way that only they could as individuals.
Like most things in life we invariably learn our skills from another person. After acquiring the motor or mental skills we then absorb them and formulate them until we can communicate to others through our version of our chosen art form.
Creation does not always have to result in the physical, in the case of a skilled hotelier there is an art form in delivering a stimulating environment for others to enjoy. Like the great designers of Baccarat who sculpt lead crystal glass into stunning liquor decanters, they understand that one of the primary function of their art form is to create an empty space into which another's art form can be placed, viewed and enjoyed. Creating this emptiness is equally as important as producing the perimeter of glass.
Creative people inspire creative people.
Why I like art is that it is one of life's virtuous circles, we all get inspired to be creative from creative people and then we go on to inspire others. Stimulation is easily fostered by just exposing people to creative environments. There is no specific method to this or specific tasks. Simply having your teams form a choir, paint together or openly communicate ideas in a forum each month can easily spark creativity in each other.
Our complex brains often soak in so many things that we cannot always put them down in words or learnings especially as art is often an emotional experience as well as a physical one. Exposure allows us all to absorb at our own rate.
A unique view from a collective hotel company vision.
A large proportion of hoteliers work for one of the many International brands which are heavily structured around global standards. These 'straight line' polices and procedures are often seen by some as a discouragement for creating unique individual art. Far from it! They can actually encourage it! Just compare a branded hotel company to the world of classical music - To be able to play Mozart you would have to firstly attain a certain level of skill to join an orchestra, be trained to read the score and obtained a level of trust from your colleagues before taking the stage with them. However the key to a great performance is often the skill or the ART of the conductor. It is his or her's skillfully produced collective narrative of Mozart's music that will actually sell the tickets...The historic piece of music from a masterful composer did not change - it was simply delivered to an appreciative audience in a unique individual style!
Go be an artist!
If you take a look around, you will notice that we often try to build our systems and our buildings in straight lines as most people feel more comfortable with that. We like order, a slight authoritarian approach to business but if you can look beyond that you will see many opportunities to embrace ideas in a world full of wonderful curves. Your own body is a complex mix of curved systems, nature is full of curves and fluidity, even life itself is uncertain with plenty of twists and turns every day. Build these into you hospitality art form, embrace the chance to stand out in ways that lead naturally to human interactions. Play on the complexity of being human.
Hospitality is a melting pot of creative ideas. Whether you are a single person who preforms a specific role or you are the leader of the organization, ask yourself, How can I turn this into an art form and share my uniqueness with the world? Chefs create ART every moment of everyday, there is definitely an ART to connecting emotionally with guests, even the understanding of psychology in some quarters is looked on as an ART form.
Hospitality desperately needs more artists creating unique places for guests to relax, interact in and be stimulated in. This should be encouraged by all, so please go unleash your inner ARTIST, start creating and stimulate others......
Source www.rdhawksworth.com
