25 Benefits of Embracing Hospitality in Healthcare
Hospital in Hospitality: UbiquityAdvisors.com
As hospitality professionals, we’re always looking for new ways to create unique guest experiences, deeply personalized service and uncommon memorable moments—the kind guests never forget. In the restaurant world, exceptional guest service is somewhat of a categorical imperative. Productive employees, limited turnover, minimal friction, guest loyalty and solid brand equity are all ends to the means of making people happy. Lately however, I've been noticing an increasing number of opportunities to cross-pollinate hospitality principles throughout industries not commonly associated with hospitality (i.e., outside of the food & beverage or lodging sectors). Healthcare, in particular, stands out as a field ripe for this integration.
After more than three decades in hospitality, I’ve worked in nearly every aspect of the industry. Over the last few, I’ve been broadening my focus to consider ways the principles of hospitality can be integrated within other service-oriented sectors like healthcare. The idea for this white paper came from speaking with countless owners and leaders in various industries—from retail to healthcare - about hospitality and learning how much they admire it, appreciate it and seek to develop it within their own organizations. But few understand how to build the internal architecture that supports the kind of consistent, high-level service one finds at a Ritz-Carlton or savors at Eleven Madison Park.
The first phase of my research involved searching for specific measurable advantages that might exist for healthcare networks that make a more concerted effort to adopt greater hospitality-based initiatives throughout their organization.
I found that Watermark Consulting conducted a Customer Experience ROI Study which showed that “Customer Experience Leaders” outperformed the S&P 500 Index by over 260 points, demonstrating the significant financial gains associated with prioritizing more personalized customer experience. I didn’t take long to find multiple specific examples of hospitals enjoying measurable success by integrating guest-first (or rather “patient-first”) hospitality initiatives into their operations. In fact, those that did so, not only enhanced overall patient experiences - but saw significant operational benefits as well:
1. Enhanced Patient Satisfaction / Press Ganey Survey Scores
Implementing hospitality-focused initiatives, such as personalized care and attentive service, leads to higher patient satisfaction scores. e.g., The Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York implemented a hospitality curriculum focusing on empathy and teamwork which resulted in significant increases in patient compliments and higher patient satisfaction scores.
2. Improved HCAHPS Scores
Hospitals emphasizing hospitality report significant improvements in HCAHPS scores, influencing reimbursement rates and public ratings. e.g., Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, IL implemented a comprehensive environmental hygiene program, including staff training and patient communication about cleaning protocols. This led to a significant improvement in HCAHPS cleanliness scores, moving from the 62nd percentile in 2010 to the 73rd percentile in 2012.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston established a Center for Clinical Excellence and provided communication training to staff, enhancing patient interactions. These efforts contributed to leading national scores on patient satisfaction measures.
3. Reduced Readmission Rates
Adopting hospitality practices, like comprehensive discharge planning, can lower readmission rates, leading to cost savings. e.g., Indiana University Health Saxony Hospital in Fishers, IN adopted daily interdisciplinary team meetings inspired by Ritz-Carlton’s service model, resulting in a reduction of 30-day readmissions for hip and knee replacements to 0.74%, significantly below the national average.
Similarly, Homestead Hospital in Homestead, FL implemented a multifaceted approach to patient-first improvements including patient education, discharge planning and follow-up care that reduced heart failure readmission rates from 33.3% to 18.18% over three years.
4. Increased Patient Loyalty
A hospitable environment fosters trust and loyalty, encouraging patients to return and recommend the facility to others. e.g., Indiana University Health Saxony Hospital adopted Ritz-Carlton-inspired practices, reducing 30-day readmission rates for joint replacements to 0.74%, significantly below the national average.
5. Competitive Differentiation
Hospitals offering exceptional hospitality stand out in competitive markets, attracting more patients. e.g., The Center for Advanced Healthcare at Brownwood (The Villages, FL) designed its facility to resemble an elegant hotel with amenities like “Living Rooms” instead of waiting rooms which markedly enhanced patient experience and set it apart not only from local competitors but from most other traditional hospitals.
6. Enhanced Staff Morale
A culture of hospitality boosts staff engagement and satisfaction, reducing turnover rates. e.g., Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in Kansas City, MO implemented comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion training (a recently politicized and thus now divisive initiative) which fostered a more inclusive work environment, a feeling of being valued among more staff members which ultimately improved staff engagement.
7. Operational Efficiency
Streamlining processes with a hospitality mindset improves workflow and reduces bottlenecks. E.g., HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland, IL adopted a patient-centered approach to discharge planning that improved care coordination and reduced readmission rates, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
8. Increased Revenue Generation
Satisfied patients are more likely to utilize additional services, increasing revenue streams. e.g., HealthAlign Partnership in Maryland recently deployed Community Health Workers to assist high-risk patients. This program reduced readmissions by half and inpatient spending by 35%, resulting in over $3MM in savings and a 3.8:1 return on investment over two years.
9. Improved Clinical Outcomes
A welcoming environment can positively impact patient recovery and overall health outcomes. Consider Homestead Hospital in Homestead, Florida’s initiatives in patient education and follow-up care which not only reduced readmissions but also contributed to better clinical outcomes across the board fand noted a particularly significant increase in outcomes for heart failure patients.
10. Better Online Reviews
Hospitable experiences lead to positive online reviews, enhancing the hospital’s reputation. Refer to Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA) - where staff hospitality training directly resulted in enhanced patient experiences and appreciation of process improvements reflected in a greater number of positive online reviews and higher patient satisfaction scores.
11. Increased Referrals
Happy patients and families are more likely to refer others, expanding the patient base. E.g., Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in Kansas City, MO reportedly began an initiative to place a greater focus on cultural competency and patient-centered care which led to increased patient satisfaction and referrals within surrounding diverse communities.
12. Enhanced Community Relations
Hospitals that prioritize hospitality often enjoy stronger ties with the community. e.g., St. Charles Madras Hospital in Madras, OR implemented cultural competency training to better serve its diverse patient population which strengthened community trust and public relations.
13. Reduced Legal Risks
Positive patient experiences can decrease the likelihood of malpractice claims. E.g., Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, now closely monitors patient satisfaction and addresses concerns proactively in order to reduce malpractice claims and legal risks.
14. Improved Patient Compliance
Patients are more likely to follow medical advice when they feel respected and cared for. Bain & Company's findings consistently emphasize the importance of adapting to changing market conditions, focusing on customer needs, embracing new technologies like AI, and adopting a structured approach to strategic decision-making to achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage across various industries that rely on customer follow-up and some independent action or service scheduling post transaction.
15. Better Resource Utilization
Hospitable practices can lead to more efficient use of resources, which reduces waste.
16. Increased Staff Productivity
A positive work environment enhances staff productivity and performance. Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, IL began training environmental services staff to communicate effectively with patients about their cleaning protocols which not only improved patient perceptions but also enhanced staff engagement in and ownership of facility cleanliness standards.
17. Enhanced Patient Safety
Hospitable environments encourage open communication, leading to improved patient safety. Take for example, Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, IL - their focus on environmental hygiene and staff training led to a 50% decrease in Clostridium difficile infection rates, which measurably enhanced patient safety.
18. Greater Patient Engagement
Patients are more engaged in their care when they feel valued and understood. Jeroen Bosch Hospital in the Netherlands utilized bedside terminals for patient engagement, leading to improved patient well-being and an estimated annual savings of $100,000 per 500 occupied beds.
19. Improved Cultural Competence
Hospitality training can enhance staff’s ability to cater to diverse patient populations. e.g., Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in Kansas City, MO developed programs like the CHICOS Clinic to train bilingual and culturally sensitive clinicians, which dramatically improved care for Spanish-speaking families.
20. Better Crisis Management
Hospitable practices equip staff to handle crises with empathy and efficiency. (See St. Charles Madras Hospital’s (Madras, OR) cultural competency initiatives which helped the hospital respond more effectively to community needs during crises, such as public health emergencies.
21. Enhanced Facility Aesthetics
Investing in the physical environment contributes to a more welcoming atmosphere. The Center for Advanced Healthcare at Brownwood (The Villages, FL): The facility’s hotel-like design created a more welcoming environment, positively impacting patient perceptions, experiences and recovery rates.
22. Increased Staff Morale & Volunteer Participation
A hospitable culture attracts more high EQ staff & volunteers, enriching patient support services. e.g., Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in Kansas City, MO initiated patient-centric inclusion engagement efforts within the community which encouraged greater volunteer involvement.
23. Improved Dietary Services
Offering personalized meal options enhances patient satisfaction and nutrition. Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania introduced an on-demand food delivery system, achieving 98% of meals delivered within 45 minutes and 88% staff utilization, enhancing both patient satisfaction and operational efficiency.
24. Greater Technological Adoption
Hospitable environments encourage the use of patient-friendly technologies. e.g., St. John of God Health Care in Australia developed a digital patient admissions portal, achieving an 86% adoption rate and enhancing patient trust and satisfaction.
Additionally, Mount Sinai and UCHealth elevate patient experience with hospitality-forward technologies that are ripe for adoption and seamless integrate with EHR systems like Cerner and Epic - e.g., “Cheers CRM” by Epic or Health Cloud” by Salesforce. These platforms store and track patient preferences, care plans, provider interactions, each individual patient’s personal level of satisfaction and SDoH while offering opportunities to trigger notifications for required follow-ups and personalized care…a lot like OpenTable’s reservation and guest profile platform for restaurants.
25. Long-Term Financial Sustainability
The cumulative effect of these benefits contributes to the hospital’s financial health and sustainability. Take for example HealthAlign’s collaboration with Maryland hospital systems to implement a program deploying Community Health Workers (CHWs). These CHWs are frontline public health workers with a deep understanding of community resources, tasked with assisting patients at high risk for hospital readmission due to medical, psychological, functional, and socioeconomic complexities. This hospitality-based program of enhancing personalized support through compassionate and community-centric care
Focused heavily on the social determinants of health. This reduced readmissions (Only 8% of program participants were readmitted within 30 days post-discharge, compared to 18% among non-participants. At 90 days, readmission rates were 23% for participants versus 34% for non-participants) and increased long-term financial stability (Over a two-year period, the program achieved more than $3 million in savings and a 3.8:1 return on investment. Per-patient hospital charges decreased by 35% after 30 days and by 9% after 90 days for program participants).
FOLLOW THE LEADERS
After speaking with dozens of physicians and senior members of leadership at various hospitals, I learned that many healthcare professionals want their own version of the Chick-fil-A or Ritz-Carlton effect: recognition, customer loyalty and sustainable revenue from exceptional personalized service.
Whether it’s St. Regis’ personal butlers or the magic of Disney, iconic organizations that have become synonymous with warmth and luxury, make hospitality look easy. But reading Ritz Carlton's unofficial play book: "The New Gold Standard" or Disney's best practices and processes manual: "Be Our Guest", won’t transform your hospital overnight.
Books, training modules and seminars can inspire, but real transformation takes something deeper: a foundational reprogramming of how your organization hires, develops, educates and continually coaches talent.
Hiring people with the technical skills is one thing. Hiring people who possess genuine empathy / care about others and how their behavior affects them is another. It's not easy, but it's definitely possible to hone one's ability to identify and develop real "people pleasers” on the more technical aspects of service. These are the folks who can be trained to improve upon their hard skills far more easily than any highly skilled technician, clerk, manager or specialist can be taught to care deeply. And in the hospitality world, caring matters most.
STARTING POINT
Start With Your “Why”
Successful organizations begin with one question: Why are we doing this? Not "What do we sell?” or "How should we sell it?”, but more…”Why do we exist?". If your answer is simply to make money or dominate a market, you’re likely better off as a silent partner and not as a frontline leader.
Hospitality starts with purpose. Without it, the best-laid service strategies and development plans will underperform. When tough moments arise—demanding patients, difficult family members, long hours or emotional burnout combined with a lack of sleep—only a deep connection to purpose and a sense of community will keep your teams going.
UNDERSTAND - IT’S A HUMAN THING
Anyone who frequently dines out or spends a significant number of nights each year in luxury hotels can easily fall into the trap of thinking that the delivery of exceptional service requires little more than an interest to do so, a modicum of common sense and some level of awareness - but anyone who has had a successful history of management in the hospitality industry knows that's not the case.
Hospitality is rooted in an understanding and appreciation of the human condition. It’s simple but not easy - as it requires a lot of: empathy, patience, resilience and the ability to zoom out to see the big picture while obsessing over much smaller details.
Reshaping your hospital's culture around hospitality is no small task. It demands that every department's team members buy into a shared purpose of service leadership that's based on a deep appreciation of our shared humanity...not because it’s mandated, but because they believe in it. Otherwise, when gratitude from patients is lacking and the emotional strain is high, your teams will burn out.
This is why intrinsic motivation and regular reinforcement is so vitally important in service roles like healthcare. And why such a strong camaraderie among those who spend most of their waking hours serving others in ways most others would struggle to comprehend. Like a restaurant’s staff, that unspoken bond among "work families" often ends up fueling them more than bonuses, free lunches or accolades in the local magazine ever could.
A study by SHRM found that peer recognition is the third most important factor in employee satisfaction, after job security and compensation.
In a survey by Globoforce, 89% of HR leaders agreed that ongoing peer feedback and one-on-one check-ins are key for successful outcomes.
The same survey found that 51% of employees would leave their job if they did not feel appreciated.
ALIGNMENT
Working in a restaurant often feels like being a deaf musician—you’re performing for others without ever really being able to enjoy the music yourself. Whether working behind a bar or at the bedside, delivering extraordinary service requires the ability to find joy in creating joy. It may sound a bit like a cliché, but the best hospitality comes from those who value giving more than receiving and are hard-wired to derive enjoyment from the pursuit of excellence.
That being said, hospital employees and hospitality staff can occasionally struggle with feeling like their job is sometimes a thankless one. However, patients and guests are just as likely to experience a similar frustration. When a patient perceives a general lack of care or attention, the relationship between patient and all providers within the system begins to fray.
Just as a server who avoids eye contact, fails to address a guest properly or forgets an order may appear indifferent or seem to lack empathy, a front office clerk, nurse manager or physician can easily (and inadvertently) offend by not consciously considering the patient’s expectations of exceptional care. To the guest or patient, a failure for an employee to promptly acknowledge them, politely engage with them or empathize in a genuine fashion can feel like a personal slight.
We see this in restaurants all the time. The irony is - what the restaurant guest sometimes sees as poor service, the employee may interpret as entitlement. This misalignment of service expectations can create significant friction - and it's not exclusive to any one industry or vertical.
FRAMING & EXPECTATIONS
In his book "You May Also Like", Tom Vanderbilt discusses how our ability to categorize things—wine, food, or even service—shapes how much we enjoy them.
“If you judge every wine against a single ideal he argues (say, a Château Margaux), it’s hard to appreciate anything other red wine. But, if you learn to place gastronomic experiences in context, you can enjoy more wines for the expression of what varietal they are.
Instead of comparing all these lesser things to that bottle of Château Margot, your ideal benchmark for red wine, and decreasing your liking of most other red wines - you can appreciate lesser vintages and/or varietals for what they are and thus learn to appreciate all the other wine in the world.
In studies done with beer and coffee, - [Zellner] interviewed people about their drinking of and appreciation for specialty beer and gourmet coffee versus their regular equivalents.
The ones who tended to put their drinks into categories actually liked the everyday beverages more than people who simply lumped everything together as either "Beer" or "Coffee".
Their hedonic contrast was reduced. In other words, the more they could discriminate what was good about the very good, the more they could enjoy the 'less good' even if they were enjoying it as the less good.”
This concept applies to hospitality, as well. A guest may enjoy service at Applebee’s in Allentown, Pennsylvania more when they compare it to other local casual dining competitors—but perhaps not as much as if they compared it to Eric Rippert's Blue at the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman.
Almost instinctively, You've probably said something like "it's not bad… for Fast Food." You are not only limiting the scope in which you are judging the food and service, you have also arguably freed yourself to enjoy the experience more for what it is...or at least lessen your discontent.” But not everyone does that…especially when they’re exhausted or in pain.
Still, delivering memorable service at both ends of the spectrum is possible and not mutually exclusive…so long as the service teams are mindful of and trained to pick-up on the subtle cues that indicate a patient’s unspoken expectations and needs.
As a consultant, I've encountered more than a handful of stakeholders in industries outside of those traditionally associated with hospitality. Sometimes, they’re the first to pushback on retraining staff - and, in my opinion, it’s never worth a “hard sell”. Either you recognize the need or you don’t. For those that do but need a little convincing - the hesitation is most commonly voiced in the following ways:
“What if we spend all this time and money re-training our people and they leave?”
“People around here don’t expect 5 star service.”
“I mean…we’re not the Four Seasons.”
To which I respond:
What if you don’t spend the time & money re-training them and they stay?
Not every guest expects great service—but everyone appreciates it.
Do you see any value in doing what you do better?
OUTRUNNING THE BEAR
In highly competitive markets, companies know that they need to deliver in some way, something better than the competition. But in less saturated markets, where customers have fewer alternatives complacency can easily creep in. That’s dangerous. It not only erodes motivation among high achievers on your team — it leaves you wide open when competition does show up.
While the old adage "You don't have to outrun the bear. You simply have to outrun the other campers." may hold some truth; an equal truth is that by being better than you have to be, you widen the gap between yourself and other competitors whether in the present to in the future.
I prefer to outrun the bear, not just the other campers. If you have a long-term view of success, it’s imperative to surround yourself with others who would rather thrive than barely survive.
Whether you’re building teams from scratch or reprogramming staff that are already in place; look deeply into each of them and find away to awaken that inexorable part of them that wants to be better than they have to be.
Believe me when I tell you that stripping away avoidable: frustration, anxiety, stress and disappointment will often give way to one's fun, confident, and competitive sides that are far more congruent with the betterment you desire. That’s how you prepare teams for sustainable differentiation.
SELF-FULFILLING PROPHESY
I've seen more than a few managers (and owners) in the hospitality space who who determinedly pursued “attentive service” and "committed to delivering compassionate care" mistake on-going complaints, low satisfaction scores and reports of how often they were missed the mark - as a natural consequence of being in that particular service or industry.
Too many managers write off complaints as “...just the nature of this business.” Over time, staff can actually become conditioned to believe that bad reviews, low patient satisfaction scores or the perception of poor service are all inevitable - focusing only on what they’re doing well and ignoring or dismissing what could be done better.
This “toxic positivity” leads to a kind of self-congratulatory culture that causes attrition—both internally and externally. Eventually, patients (like guests) don't return after one too many negative experiences. And neither do the best employees who eventually feel like they no longer "belong" there.
Knowing full well that good customer service can mean something different for everyone, delivering excellent service to everyone can feel like trying to hit a moving target. But we all share a fundamental set of emotional needs, regardless of our personalities, where we’re from, what we believe or what do for a living. The foundation of genuine hospitality is a recognition of that.
“hospitality is the recognition of the shared humanity among people that, when displayed, makes a someone feel seen, recognized, valued, and welcomed.”
DEFINING HOSPITALITY
Surprisingly, even the most seasoned hospitality professionals struggle to eloquently define hospitality in a few brief words of prolific prose.
But while even those highly skilled in the art of hospitality may define it differently, you'd be hard pressed to find any one of them who disagrees with the notion that, at its very core - hospitality is the recognition of the shared humanity among people that, when displayed, makes a someone feel seen, recognized, valued, and welcomed.
And although the means by which hospitalitarians create an emotional connection with guests are as varied as an artists' own personal style or brushstroke; those who are most successful at it, seem to perform with not only purpose and intention, but with the fundamental understanding that this shared humanity offers a myriad of things we all have in common - if only we look hard enough.
In the world of luxury dining we know that, to the untrained eye, it looks as if we, as hosts, are merely selling food & beverages. The reality is that the items on the check are only secondary to providing a momentary escape for each guest where they’re recognized, appreciated and cared for in a way that frees them to enjoy the moment, their company and the memorable story a Chef wants to share - if only for a brief moment in time.
In his book "Setting The Table" Danny Meyer talks about the first four gifts we receive upon taking our first breath: eye contact, a comforting smile, a warm embrace and a good meal. One cannot overestimate the power of such an initiation to life nor the inevitable associations we make with similar gifts that expand our understanding of the world and our place in it.
Essentially, Meyer says we spend the rest of our lives, looking for and savoring experiences that remind us of these earliest gifts and the owner, who makes their guests feel seen, appreciated and embraced are more than halfway there to a successful and sustainable business.
Replace the word “guests” with the word “patients” and imagine how much better you can make someone feel who desperately needs to feel better.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
For those wondering how to achieve better results without changing there values, mantras or original mission statement …or threaten the delicate balance and positive aspects of their existing culture that took so long to establish, I'd implore you to start by re-evaluating your people (from the top down) on their level of: desire, effort and ability to either effect the change you seek or support those who can effect such change.
Each and every stakeholder must be committed and empowered to being better than they need to be and, at a minimum, willing to physically place themselves in the customers' lifecycle journey with a charitable mindset. This means taking and examining a detailed and honest look from outside of their own daily operational position and perspective to see how patients experience the service(s) offered.
Exceptional service isn’t spontaneous. It’s planned. Start your plan by mapping your patient's lifecycle. Have one hundred or one thousand possible patient types? Start with the ten most common and go from there. Walk through every touchpoint as if you’re them. What’s delightful? What's confusing or frustrating? What could be nicer, faster, easier or cleaner?
I use a simple exercise in restaurants and clubs that you can use at any hospital, urgent care center or clinician’s office - I call it “stakeout”. In this exercise, office managers walk the perimeter of the property twice throughout the day and observe everything—from signage and parking to cleanliness and greetings. They then choose five various points to sit or stand for 20 minutes and record everything they see from that vantage point.
Although elementary exercises like this might seem like an inefficient use of time, they often facilitate a nuanced understanding of your facility and of guests’ perceptions that give weight to (and direction from) mission statements that can become surprisingly ambiguous and banal over time.
They'll see patterns and opportunities. And taking advantage of even the smallest of the opportunities that present themselves will create ripples. In hospitality, we try to see what a guest might need before they ask. The same approach can help patients feel truly seen and safe—especially for vulnerable populations…or a patient who has lost their way and might appreciate directions.
From the way a phone is answered to how a waiting room is managed, hospitality teaches that every detail counts—and patients notice. Poor service doesn’t usually stem from laziness. It’s almost always derived from a consciousness gap —or mere misalignment of mutual understandings of context and expectations between both parties of a transaction ( i.e., seller and buyer or provider and patient). It’s leadership’s job to identify every point where those gaps exist and bridge them.
By combining thoughtful focus, ongoing training and modern technology*, you can sharpen your awareness of these gaps in service and expedite the integration of hospitality at the forefront of each department.
Hospitality isn't just about being nice. It’s about making people feel the soul of your organization. And the art of doing this effectively - with tact and panache relies heavily on your ability to: find self-aware people who care, teach them to develop perspective, integrate standardized operational systems and hold them accountable while respecting their dignity.
THE HUMAN CONDITION
I often refer to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs when presenting an introduction to Hospitality for clients seeking to bridge gaps in Service and reprogram staff. Simply put, Abraham Maslow outlined five levels of basic human needs - and the deeper a business goes in order to fulfill one or more of these needs, the more successful they will be in forging strong bonds both with with loyal customers and motivated team members:
LEVEL 1 Survival: "This place sustains me."
LEVEL 2 Safety: "I am safe here."
LEVEL 3 Belonging: "I belong here."
LEVEL 4 Extension of Self: "This is my place."
LEVEL 5 Affirmation of Purpose: "I feel a deep spiritual bond with this place"
Outside of human sciences that go into coaching (i.e., philosophy, psychology, sociology and behavioral economics); there's also a lot to be said for the powers of observation and basic empathy.
Although neither party to a transaction may be "at fault" for failing to recognize a disconnect from serving basic human needs; the party providing the service, product or amenity has a far greater incentive (i.e., profit) to bridge the gap by understanding the consumer's (or patient's) inherent emotional needs and meet them than the consumer / patient's incentive to meet the emotional needs and expectations of the service provider.
In customer-facing roles, "emotional labor," a term coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild, refers to the work required to manage the emotions of a customer as part of one's job duties, often involving suppressing, evoking, or manipulating feelings to fit the demands of the workplace and the perceived expectations of customers. This can include displaying a calm demeanor even when feeling stressed, or appearing happy even when faced with negative feedback.
Hochschild defines “EL” as "the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display," . According to ScienceDirect, It's the work of managing one's own emotions, or the emotions of others, to achieve a desired outcome in a customer-facing role. Although when done effectively, EL can dramatically improve patient satisfaction, build trust, and lead to faster recovery times; the problem occurs when people are not suited for high-stress jobs like healthcare and managing their “resting b-face” means suppressing their true feelings or engaging in surface acting (displaying emotions they don't feel). This can expedite emotional exhaustion, stress and ultimately attrition due to burnout.
"It may seem implicit in the philosophy of ‘Enlightened Hospitality’ that the employee is constantly setting aside personal needs and selflessly taking care of others. But the real secret of its success is to hire people to whom caring for others is, in fact, a selfish act." -Danny Meyer | Setting The Table
These proinciples can extend far beyond human interaction - all thge way to facility design that makes people feel safe and welcome. Designing with warmth, light, and sound in mind can reduce patient anxiety and support better recovery—not just better aesthetics. A clinical setting can feel cold and transactional. But what if it was designed with the intention of easing anxiety and creating comfort—just like a luxury hotel lobby?
THE NEXT STEP
The integration of hospitality into healthcare transcends mere customer service; it taps into our shared humanity. By prioritizing intentional empathy, clear communication and a welcoming environment, healthcare providers can foster deeper connections with both patients and staff which leads to increased trust, loyalty, and ultimately - better outcomes for everyone.
From enhanced patient satisfaction scores to improved financial outcomes, the case for embracing hospitality in healthcare is compelling. The 25 benefits and strategies detailed illustrate the tangible advantages of a prioritizing the human experience within medical settings.
As healthcare professionals reflect on these findings and associated philosophies, the central question remains: How can we more intentionally cultivate environments where every patient feels truly seen, valued, and welcomed, ultimately leading to a more positive and effective healthcare journey for all?
If you’re interested in a tailored strategy for applying these principles to your organization or simply interested in discussing further, feel free to read more on the topic of hospitality at hospitalityhelpline.com or drop me a line at ubiquityadvisors@gmail.com.