Bradley Stoller Op Ed: Language and Hospitality, a Student’s Experience
Congrats to Bradley. He surprised us by writing this article on his own in the fall and it just got published. A *huge* thank you to Kaarina Kvaavik and Ivy Hughes at Language IO for running it on their site.
Here’s the full text link and an abstract is below.
Greg
As I opened the hotel’s large golden doors, I was astonished at the beautiful interior. The lobby was eerily similar to the many renovated lobbies in Anthony Melchiorri’s TV show Hotel Impossible. But beyond the décor, what was most surprising, was the front desk’s customer service. Before I was even seven feet away from the front desk, I heard the woman say: “Hello Sir! Welcome to International Hotel! How can we best be of service to you?”
I was just a lowly student with a foreign face, but that didn’t matter to her. She was ready to help. It was a demonstration of her commitment to cross cultural hospitality. Being only 16, I was both astonished and impressed that the employees took me seriously. Regardless of location, the most successful hotels effectively make the guest feel as though they are the number one priority.
