I have been an avid reader my entire life. I used to tell my children that when I was growing up, my best friend was a book. I was asked to read the book Unreasonable Hospitality. I really enjoy holding the book in my hands and flipping through the pages. I was heading to WNY to visit my family, and I decided I would do something I never did. I would listen to the audiobook. It's about a 6-hour drive each way to see my family, so I decided to listen to 3 or so hours on the way up and then the remaining 3 hours on the way home. I did manage to listen to the entire book.
Two things about the book stood out to me.
1. I have been practicing Unreasonable Hospitality my entire life lol. Really, what it boils down to is caring about how you make others feel and going above and beyond to achieve that. I always reflect on the Maya Angelou quote: You will forget what people say; you will forget what they do, but you will never forget how they made you feel. Truer words were never spoken. In my teen years, I would make homemade cards for all occasions, mostly funny or spoof cards for my cousins and friends. When my children were little, I would buy them surprises, hide them around the house, and then present them with a treasure map so they could find them. When I worked at the Inn, I always made a point to engage with the guests and try to do a little something "extra" to make people feel special. We had a family staying over at Xmas, and I knew that their mother, who had passed away, loved Nutcrackers, so I went online and ordered mini-Nutcracker ornaments and made a tent card with the origin of the nutcracker and placed it on the nightstand in each room. I had a conversation with a lovely couple who were staying for 4 days. We had the same taste in music. The last day of their stay, they were the only guests in the house, so I created a playlist of our favorite bands, and I came out of the kitchen wearing a T-shirt with Led Zeppelin on it and holding a lighter. It was our own mini rock concert. If we had guests from another country staying with us, I would make cut-out cookies with the colors of that country's flag. I had a couple who shared my love of Pink Floyd, so I made a Dark Side of the Moon cookie. I had guests from South Africa who had seen my cookies on our Facebook page; she asked me to please make her flag. Well, the flag had a bird on it, and I'm creative but not really artistic. I did my best. She LOVED it! It wasn't perfect, but it made an impression. Unreasonable Hospitality is really just putting forth effort, loving what you do, and making a difference. I love it!
2. The book clearly states when hiring employees: Hire slowly and fire quickly. If people do not respect the place they work or the people they work with, they don't belong there. This book tells the story of an incredible team that was able to achieve an incredible goal. It was not just a single person. My gosh, at one point they hired an entire staff to create personalized experiences. You know why? Because they cared. They had passion. You can't teach passion to people. You either have it, or you don't, and you definitely can't let people drain you of YOUR passion. Hiring a warm body is not the answer and tolerating disrespect certainly isn't either. Disrespect comes in lots of forms. The basic principle of having a job should be that you show up. Leave your personal mess at home. I will always practice Unreasonable Hospitality. It is a lifestyle and I embrace it. You should try it. The book was ok. Give it a listen.
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