Mr. Nijhawan

Diversity Issues

Accommodating the International Guest

By Sanjay Nijhawan, COO, Guoman Hotels (UK)

Welcome to the hospitality in the twenty first century: the last twenty years has witnessed the evolution of a global marketplace. A global age demands acute global awareness, keeping up with demands from international guests requires foresight and keen planning.

In a multi-cultural environment problems can occur when differences in hierarchy, status and protocol lead to poor communication and misunderstanding.

Every society has numerous nuances that would make it irresponsible to suggest a uniform approach to understanding any country's social/business customs or etiquette. Yet, having a set of loose guidelines can assist in bettering awareness and avoiding offence.

In this essay I outline five essential practices that meet the growing demand for multi-cultural awareness within the hospitality industry.

1. Effective linguistic communication and provisions

Of course as any good hotelier knows cross-cultural communication all starts with identifying and understanding the cultural demographic of your hotel. This should be kept in mind in order to maintain an effective and proactive recruitment policy so that your hotel provides at all times a good mix of staff who, between them, are equipped with the necessary range of language skills. Build on what you've got too - ensure regular language training is available to staff to build on staffs' linguistic repertoire simply or to maintain existing language skills.

First impressions count so it is imperative that the booking process should be conducted in the guest's local language.

There are ways you can make things easier for your guest to identify the staff who can speak their language, and it's not rocket science - staff name badges should display country flags in accordance with which languages they can speak. It's a simple technique which can spare your guest embarrassment.

Think also in terms of written as well as spoken language; in a good hotel the guests shouldn't feel dependant on staff to go about their business. We often take for granted just how much we rely on written language to go about our daily lives until we find ourselves in a situation were we are faced with a language barrier ourselves. So, it pays to be sensitive to this need in the international guest. It can be quite demeaning for example for a non-English speaker who may otherwise command respect and be used to having a high level of responsibility in his / her work, to find themselves faced with the task of filling out a simple guest check-in card in a language they don't understand and having to rely on the front-of-house staff for assistance. It may sound like a small thing, but in many Eastern cultures keeping face is of paramount importance, so causing a situation whereby someone risks losing face will not be forgotten.

Likewise apply this philosophy not just to paper literature but signage around the hotel. Guaranteed, your guests would prefer to find the bathroom for themselves without having to stop and ask you because you don't have signage in Chinese.

These are the basics of any truly culturally accommodating hotel, and you'd be wrong to think that all communication relied on language to keep things running smoothly.

2. An international menu

Guests want to be able to eat well - this of course goes without saying, so why is it then that so many hotels still overlook international eating habits?

A large percentage of hotel guests in Britain during the period of June to September are Middle-Eastern as this is the time during which most of their business is conducted. During this period especially it is paramount to include and to highlight halal dishes on the menu. It's incredible the number of hotel establishments that I have encountered that seem to think that by offering a couple of vegetarian options they have their bases covered. This attitude doesn't even reflect multi-cultural Britain, let alone the demographic of a world-class hotel!

The food on offer needs to satisfy a variety of tastes from different areas of the world - I wouldn't expect to be presented with a menu full of unfamiliar dishes when I stay in a world-class hotel so why would I expect my guests to suffer food that they found strange or unpalatable? It's our job to make our guests feel as comfortable in the hotel as they would in their home country so work with your chef to create a menu which responds to the trends of your hotel and encourage feedback from your guests. If you can get your menu right, rest-assured, you're already half way there to accommodating the overseas guest.

Another aspect which is rarely acknowledged is eating habits. How many of you already knew for example that the Greeks never eat their main meal of the day before 10 pm? Ask yourself, honestly, if you had a large group booking of Greeks at your hotel, would this cause problems? Consider also, that international business travellers may be quite accustomed to a 24 / 7 dining experience, so by having a range of outlets within the hotel operating at different times, you can ensure you are working around your guests and not vice versa.

3. Provisions for religious and cultural rituals

Religious needs vary but can be of paramount importance to some cultures. It is therefore imperative that you think carefully about setting aside a quiet, private space which guests can use as a space for prayer regardless of their religious ethnicity. The space must be strategically located in order to ensure guests can have 24 hour undisturbed access. Overlooking to provide a space for prayer effectively excludes many people for whom space is integral to their worship.

Do your research as attention to detail will not go unnoticed. For example, September sees Muslims everywhere observe Ramadan. Normally not offended by the presence of alcohol, it is courteous during this holiest of festivals to ensure a room's mini bar has been cleared out in preparation for receiving a Muslim guest.

Another good example we could look at is how it is quite customary for the wives of middle-eastern guests to observe strict religious policy. For example, it is not unusual for an Arabic lady to spend most of her visit to the UK in the hotel as her culture does not permit her to walk around the city without correct religious clothing and without being chaperoned by her husband. For this reason, we try to ensure we offer specially-tailored in room services such as Arabian spa treats to ensure that they get the most out of their stay with us. This is something Guoman started trialling (x) years ago and proved such a hit that the proceeding intake of middle-eastern guests increased significantly - the ladies were actually persuading their husbands to book Guoman on account of personal recommendations about this innovative service we offered!

So, my point is, it pays to be observant. Make sure your guests feel comfortable and fully accommodated to practice their beliefs.

4. The media

Let's be honest, we all like a bit of TV to unwind especially after a busy day, but how many of you have been a victim of classic 'Hotel TV Frustration Syndrome' (or HTFS)? You know what I'm talking about. It's that moment when you pick up the remote in anticipation of watching something of interest, something you can switch off to, and low and behold, all you've got is a choice of 24 hour news, Nickelodeon or a movie channel that specialises in the out-of-date variety! Well, now let's turn that situation on its head; how many of you can confidently testify that the quality of your foreign channels on offer won't leave your international guests suffering with a case of HTFS? Take the time to conduct some in-house research - after all, who better to be the judge of quality than the guests themselves (but as discussed in part one of this essay, don't forget to make this a multi-lingual survey!). With some really top quality Arabic channels, a Bollywood movie channel and a large variety of daytime international soaps, you'll be ahead of your game.

Let's not forget either the simple stuff because it's often the simple things which go unchecked yet get noticed first. Make available a selection of good daily foreign language newspapers. But I'm not just talking about a couple of European publications - if you don't cater for your hotel's international demographic, the conscientious business traveller will quickly start to lose faith in you as a world-class establishment. In addition to European papers we always make sure we provide a selection of good quality broadsheet Arabic, US and Japanese newspapers such as Asharq Al Awsat, Wall Street Journal and Nikkei.

If you're establishment loans out laptop computers to guests firstly be sure all the language features are fully enabled, including international character palettes. Secondly, set up the interface according to the guest's language of preference - under no circumstances should the guest be expected to do this for themselves, and yet still I hear criticisms of so-called international hotel chains who will hand over a laptop with an English interface to a non-English speaker without even asking about their language of preference.

5. Diversity awareness: avoiding cultural faux pas

Sharing knowledge is key to good corporate understanding. Support your staff by not assuming that they are aux fait with all nationalities and their customs. A quiet word of advice or a tactful hint could avoid a potentially embarrassing cultural faux par. It's easy to do. In my (x) years working in the hospitality industry I have inevitably witnessed several such situations. Take for example an embarrassing situation a slightly over-zealous front-of-house staff encountered some years ago:

The hotel in question was expecting to receive an influential business executive from Japan. As the guest arrived, the concierge, before taking the guest's suitcase, bowed very deeply. Thankfully, the guest's face, in typical Japanese style, did not betray his true feelings. It was only later that the guest intimated that he had found the situation rather surprising and embarrassing. For one, a Japanese guest would not expect to be greeted in Japanese style outside of Japan and to do so can be viewed as somewhat contrived and often leaves the Japanese feeling confused and unsure how to respond. Secondly, the system of bowing is a very complex one which depends heavily on the hierarchical relationship between the two people, so to bow either too low or too little could be construed as the height of rudeness.

This situation, could easily have been avoided had the staff been properly briefed with regard to correct protocol. Another common cause of embarrassment is, not to put too fine a point on it, inappropriate physical contact. By that I don't mean what you're probably thinking, but that in some cultures, for example certain orthodox Middle-Eastern cultures, a man would never shake hands with a woman. So when unsure, it's always better to practice reserve.

Delicately balanced and sensitive to the slightest economic fluctuation, be sure to monitor carefully, and respond to, the trends of your hotel's demographic. If, for example your hotel took a large advance booking for a group of Swiss delegates, rather than resting on your laurels feeling pleased that your hotel's marketing strategy has proved successful, you need to be looking for ways in which to prepare to impress. So, rule number one - preparation. An advance booking is a golden opportunity as it gives you time to research customs and share this knowledge at your next staff meeting, or at the very least email out a staff bulletin containing top tips of dos and don'ts and a protocol brief.

Intercultural training is now increasingly being recognised as a critical element in succeeding on the global stage. For those that work within the hospitality industry, knowledge of different ethnicities, religions and cultures plays a crucial role in breaking down barriers. As Martin Luther King once said, "Men hate each other because they fear each other, and they fear each other because they don't know each other."

So as advocates of intercultural communication it's our responsibility to ensure our staff members are trained in, and have a keen awareness of, the needs of the international guest in order to create a multi-cultural haven that guests will want to return to.

With extensive experience oin working for some of the biggest brands in the business, including Hilton, Holiday Inn, Marriott and Forte, Sanjay Nijhawan has been in the hospitality industry for over 17 years. Mr. Nijhawan joined Thistle Hotels in 2004 as general manager for The Tower in central London. Earlier this year Mr. Nijhawan was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Guoman Hotels (UK) overseeing the development of a collection of six international deluxe properties in central London. Mr. Nijhawan graduated from Thames Valley University in 1992 with a degree in hotel management. Mr. Nijhawan can be contacted at 0870 333 9280 or Sanjay.nijhawan@guoman.co.uk Extended Bio...

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