Without realizing it, my dedication to tourism fulfilled me so much… that I came to love it without limits of time and dedication.
The great masters in my life have been and still are today all those people who knew and know how to behave in any circumstance in front of each and every scenario with clients, dialogue, empathy and solution.
Nowadays, for many reasons and circumstances, we are not… or not sufficiently… aware that the traveler has been given expectations about his trip, hotel, stay, activities during his trip, services and encounters according to the descriptions and promises that our venue has published (with certain tendencies) and for which he has paid “the price” we have asked for… for such reasons his interpretive vision has turned into illusions, which as intangibles have created expectations that “excite” him as a consumer… reasons why he has chosen us.
In all conscience I think that too often we forget the commitment we acquire with the client… “with all clients”… first of all for our “made” promises to attract him, and without a doubt the stars we hold… along with the services that are presupposed to them…. Upon arrival he may experience at his first contact as soon as he enters that it is a “transaction” (not a welcoming reception and handing over of keys) the check-in procedure, which he will receive with a certain lack of interest, professionalism and even… unawareness at times of the “human values” of a business based on hospitality and welcoming… Necessary foundations to dedicate oneself to the noble business of tourism… and that only those who possess them, those who feel pride and passion for their work… together with the gift “of the host” to be able to offer the security of the well-being of the space.
Tourism is a profession, like working in healthcare, teaching, medicine, law…. it is not just a means! or just any job…. Consequently, not everyone is prepared, suitable and qualified to be able to provide services in it…
We would perhaps say that “anything goes” or “it’s good enough”… or that “the end justifies the means” to obtain more profit??? Yes… but not in tourism! Never in hotels! Nor in tourist businesses or establishments!!! …the honesty and dignity of the businessman and the company in a true and genuine tourist business must not disappear “swallowed” by greed and the vulgarity of overly generalized services.
Let us reclaim professionalism for all tourist businesses, absolutely all personnel dedicated to working in hotels, restaurants, bars, travel agencies, etc. etc. to become qualified and trained professionals and to be imbued with the essence of service… Something they are not taught in schools… but they must carry inside.
I would like to believe that we are still in time to recover the level and dignity of our services in hospitality… That self-taught “way of being” full of kindness, dedication, sensitivity and devotion… is the purest concept that our industrial predecessors of these businesses established; making the concept of “hotel tourism service” an art, which gave us worldwide credibility… it did not matter the market segment or the amount paid for our services and accommodation… They were the clients!! and we were aware that it was a duty and an obligation not only to meet the expectations created… but to try to exceed them to achieve the longed-for happiness more than satisfaction, of the clients during their stay among us… they had chosen us as Country, resort and hotel… having invested their savings (let us not forget respect for money)… to enjoy a stay among us…. a stay for which “the whole team” of the chosen establishment worked offering the best of themselves… something that is not learned in any university or training center!! …attentions, welcome, affection, respect, and effort to empathize. Feeling pride in our work and profession… we treated the client as we ourselves dreamed of being served and treated… we did not feel undervalued servants… on the contrary we felt “hosts” confident in being able to give the best of ourselves, we transmitted happiness and friendliness, we made the impossible easy… we acted as human “willing people”… that simple… and we never had until years later a center for specialization and private professionalism…
Feelings, our concepts, wills, and initiatives led us to a qualitative evolution of services and therefore to the economic growth of the sector achieving an honorable success earned by hard work and a reputation for human services of the highest world level.
Incomprehensibly even today we do not have a University of Tourism in Spain… I fear that nowadays, they do not even learn “to work in tourism” the philosophy in conscience of what service means in the world of tourism”…
The economic speculation generated by the misunderstood freedom of prices… is impudently propitiating in our Country a radical change in the concept of services to run a tourism business, without anyone taking legal measures to prevent ‘someone’ from breaking the rules and if they do, to close the business or at least withdraw their official stars….
Human relations and what has to do with them… empathy, service, attentions and welcome… is reduced to a pseudo-product… full of surprises, unreliable, of uncertified and unguaranteed reputation in the hands of opinions of unknown origin, giving the sensation that in the end you “buy” with uncertainty, due to lack of reliability and government guarantee… You acquire “a few hours” to occupy a more or less comfortable room, with the right to enjoyment for fewer and fewer hours… which with luck you will have already “paid” before your arrival… so that when you arrive at check-in… you will have the opportunity to occupy the type of room you thought you had reserved… because… they are not going to grant you a room change… nor are they going to accompany you with your luggage… and of course don’t expect your room to be prepared… nor expect amenities, nor “bath” towels, nor expect the room to be at a comfortable temperature… etc. etc. I mean that all this and much more affects in terms of detriment of services and…. it is real and palpable… surely today’s product is the consequence of the detriment of services in favor of “more profit”… it is about obtaining the maximum profitability demanded by the greed of the “new investor”.*
*Nevertheless, despite the seriousness of this underlying reality and the lack of structures in cities with deficient infrastructures, lack of protected housing and scarce services… Every year we break records…. At what price?
I understand that the most serious thing is the loss of the human factors inherent to the tourism business, the services and the love for this business… Which curiously being basic values… cost no money… and are not taught “because they are not transmitted” and it is only a question of principles and dignity among human beings.
Perhaps we will be right if instead of referring to hospitality and tourism.. we call it: “rooms for rent by the hour for occasional consumers” …
*Soon we will see special prices for those who bring their own linen from home….
Let us think about the founditions and pillars of the future.
Jose Aleixandre Caballero* Technical advisor director of tourism companies and businesses.
