Why do you work in hospitality?

I invite you to think about this question as we begin a new year because having a clear and compelling answer to this will help you stay motivated to serve your teams, your guests, and perform at your best.

Hospitality is about belonging

For Life House CEO Rami Zeidan, the motivation to provide hospitality and enable travel is clear and personal.

I grew up in Minnesota to Lebanese immigrant parents, and I didn't feel like I really belonged, Rami told me. What I found is people who got out and traveled had a better sense of their belonging in the universe. Travel, especially in this day and age, is about discovering your universal belonging and discovering where you fit in the universe and where everyone else fits. When you understand that, you feel safer, more comfortable taking risks, and more comfortable interacting with new people.

And it’s this, Rami says, that really brings meaning and value to our lives. That’s the beauty of travel.

Hospitality provides the chance to change lives

Craig Poole is the President of Reading Hospitality, a three-time Hilton Connie Award winner, and was recognized as General Manager of the Year by the American Hotel and Lodging Association. For him, hospitality is a chance to change lives.

That starts by showing leadership. That means I have to be worthy to be followed, Craig told me. You have to want to do things that are worthy of following. My pockets are full of trash in the morning because I pick up trash all the time. Because people see me pick it up, they pick it up. I don't do it for that reason, but I know that's what happens.

Craig draws inspiration from leaders outside of hospitality as he leads his company. I'm 70-some years old. I grew up when Martin Luther King was around. ‘Follow me, I'll take you to the mountain.’ And he walked out front, he took the rocks, the dogs, the water, he took the beatings, he went to jail, but he was always behind the people he was leading. And Mahatma Gandhi did the same thing. He said, ‘Follow me, we'll take some salt out of the sea, we'll free ourselves.’ And he went to jail and took the beating, and he was always there. And Jesus Christ did the same thing. ‘Follow me, I'll make you fishermen and men.’ So it's the same thing. I looked at three people and others and said, you know what? It worked for them. Can't be that hard.

For Craig, the way he changes lives goes beyond just creating a good work environment to helping them in practical ways, like buying homes through his work with Habitat for Humanity.

Someone asked me how often I can do this. I said every time someone wants a home, I'm going to help them get a home.

While every business is different, I want to see the opportunity for using your hospitality business to create good in the world.

What is your “why”?

Simon Sinek famously encouraged us to reconnect with our “why” to perform at our best. As we begin a new year, I encourage you to reflect on what this is for you and keep reminding yourself each day why you do the work you do.

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Josiah Mackenzie hosts the Hospitality Daily Podcast to help you stay informed and inspired each day by the most interesting people in hospitality.