Principles of Hospitality in Property Management
Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and host, and a friendly, welcoming behaviour towards those guests or people we have just met.
Within the property management industry, there’s an incredible opportunity to elevate service and attitude by diving into the key principles of hospitality. By adopting a “guest experience” approach, we create a welcoming and comfortable environment for tenants, guests, or customers.
Unreasonable Hospitality
One unexpected resource I recently enjoyed is the book “Unreasonable Hospitality” by Will Guidara, which details the lessons learned in building a successful restaurant brand. It emphasizes the importance of vision, appreciating each team member’s unique perspective, and being genuine and intentional in exceeding customer expectations to create emotional bonds.
To summarize it briefly, the book is a reflection of how Guidara and his team built a restaurant brand that eventually achieved 3 Michelin Stars. It’s about taking the time to learn all aspects of the business so that when you face a challenge, you have a deep well of resources to respond, pivot, and get creative to overcome it.
“Black and white” means you’re doing your job with competence and efficiency; “color” means you make people feel great about the job you’re doing for them. Getting the right plate to the right person at the right table is service. But genuinely engaging with the person you’re serving, so you can make an authentic connection – that’s hospitality” – Will Guidara, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect
Uncommon Courtesy
Customer service in property management can be complicated, but at its core, it should be as simple as building relationships through friendly and welcoming interactions; treating each individual with respect, empathy, and courtesy. This means being available, actively listening to and engaging in conversation to understand needs, being empathetic and friendly (but not overly personal), and demonstrating a clear intention to help while establishing responsible boundaries. In this digital age, where face-to-face human interaction is minimized, simple, friendly, courtesy can seem uncommon.
Ultimately, good customer service is about being genuinely helpful, and building trust and appreciation through many positive interactions. And while there may be exceptional situations that require a different approach, by following the principles of hospitality and welcoming each request with a friendly, helpful, energy, you can create a positive emotional experience and a productive working relationship with tenants.
Skill, Creativity, and Compromise
It is also important to allow room for the property manager and the tenant to bring their own experiences and creativity to the table and to personalize solutions that are collaborative in nature.
An exceptional property manager not only handles the operational needs of the property but also values the tenants’ input and concerns. They recognize that tenants are the lifeblood of the property and must be treated with respect and kindness, always. They take a proactive approach to tenant relationships that opens the door for comfortable, friendly dialogue. In a high stress situation, where the tenant is emotionally invested in the outcome, maintaining a friendly dialogue that welcomes and encourages engagement until resolved takes skill.
The property manager can lean in and explain the lease, if necessary, and how the rules/regulations and/or bylaws of the property influence the response. Forward consideration with the tenant on the impact to the operations of the property and/or the businesses of the other tenants goes a long way to build understanding and certainly makes having to say no (or some version of no) easier to take.
Every modern commercial lease agreement will have a sentence somewhere in the lease (usually in the Rules & Regulations, but sometimes within a specific section within the body of the lease) that allows for landlords and their agents to be flexible and specific with the individual operational requirements of each tenant. That’s where the experience level of a property manager comes in handy, to allow for appropriate flexibility when constructing a response. That is the place where the individual property manager, with their own creativity, personality, and lived experience can rise to the occasion to create a helpful solution.
In essence, a skilled property manager who prioritizes tenant relations and values uncommon customer service is no different from a top-notch hospitality professional. Both must cater to the needs of their guests or tenants to create a comfortable experience that supports a healthy, successful, long-term relationship intrinsic to every lease and/or tenancy agreement.
By following these principles of hospitality, staying friendly and equally welcoming to all requests or concerns, and finding more creative ways to say “yes” rather than a simple “no”, we can create a culture of excellence and demonstrate the value in our service within the field of property management.
