THE HOTEL INDUSTRY by Roger Martin

“Traditionally, managers in the hotel industry view employees as disposable. . . .

Although there’s little loyalty or sense of shared purpose on either side of the equation, most employees do what’s asked of them. . . . which just might explain the mechanical quality of the courtesy extended by many hotel employees. What's more, good service isn’t an end in itself but a means to continued employment.

[Four Seasons hotelier Isadore Sharp] saw a direct causal relationship between employees who felt well-treated by their employer and guests who felt well-treated by hotel employees. ‘Employees believed only what they saw,’ he told me. ‘If we were seen showing greater concerns for profit, prestige, quotas, rather than for customers and employees, there’d be no belief in our values, no whole-hearted commitment.’

Four Seasons set out to treat its employees far differently than the rest of the industry. To make them feel as permanent a part of Four Seasons as economically as possible, Four Seasons went further than any other chain to retain employees during downturns. It offered more employee training than any other chain. It sought to fill managerial jobs from within rather than by hiring from outside.”