What Do Audiences Expect from Your Hospitality Business?

Being aware of audience expectations is always important.

05:35 24 December 2024

Being aware of audience expectations is always important. This doesn’t mean that you have to adhere to them so strictly, but it’s always important that your decisions are based on them in some regard (knowing why you’re subverting them if so, for example). 

In hospitality, it can feel as though the trend has been set by countless businesses that have come before you. Still, even on this well-trodden ground, there is room for you to put your own spin on the industry and leave your brand with the ability to make a bold impression.

Quality Service

Wherever people go, they’re going to expect or at least hope to be taken care of by the staff and to enjoy their time with your business. Customer service is important in any industry, but here, it really stands tall as being something that’s integral to the experience. You want your customers to feel as though your staff is attentive without being overbearing, and you also need to be receptive to feedback without allowing your employees to be berated by customers. Drawing a firm line in the sand and informing customers that you won’t tolerate any abuse toward staff can help to keep things civil and also ensure that your staff knows you’re on their side.

A Consistent Experience

It might be that your business has been successful enough to allow you to form a chain – opening multiple branches across multiple areas. If this is the case, you don’t necessarily want one branch to stand tall above the others in the minds of your customers; you want them to find a consistent experience wherever they go. Part of that is in how you maintain each given location and who you hire, but it also comes down to training and branding. You want each location to feel connected, and each employee to know exactly how to stay within those guidelines. This can be helped through a robust training program, perhaps with the help of an intranet provided by consultants like Claromentis.

A Comfortable Space

This is all before even mentioning the physical environment, which is sometimes what people remember most about a hospitality experience. It can be difficult to customize your own space in a way that feels both objectively comfortable and also unique to your brand. The kind of cuisine that you’re offering and the kind of atmosphere that you’re trying to evoke are all going to play a role in the materials that you use and how you use your space. There are also other considerations like wanting to be able to fit as many people as possible while also not wanting to make it crammed, and how loud to play music so as to allow conversation while giving people a sense of privacy.

It’s a juggling act, and one that you have to be able to answer for yourself, but having the help of interior designers and previously successful businesses like yours might help to come to a solution.