I have recently been delving into the world’s hotel education establishments on the back of Son-Number-Two’s desire to seek a career in the hotel industry. A social, outgoing, off-beat soul, Sam set out to find a place that would allow him to blend his natural traits with the rudiments of the hotel business: an industry that appeals to his people-centric personality.
It’s been quite an eye opener, often a rather disappointing one.
Like most parents of those who seek hotel nirvana, we – perhaps misguidedly – headed off to the respective homes of cheese fondue and the hamburger. We sought adventure and inspiration on our journey, but what we found was a lot of the same traditional status-orientation that grips so much of the hospitality world.
‘The world’s leading hospitality school’; ‘Taught by the largest faculty of any hospitality school in the world’; ‘The Best Hospitality School in The World’; ‘One of the world’s highest ranked hospitality schools’; ‘Enjoys an outstanding international reputation and is ranked Number One…’; ‘One of the leading hotel schools worldwide’.
Of course, each establishment went on to explain how it is uniquely qualified to be the best and to provide Sam with an unrivaled platform for his future success. But, after half an hour or so, Sam’s interest began to wane: ‘Looks boring’, ‘Seems too serious’, ‘Blah’, ‘Yaawn…’ and the like greeted website after website of freshers in suits and ties, all looking rather starched.
Son’s attention drifted into the more seductive world of Facebook, NBA 2K16 and TroyBoi, leaving me to singlehandedly navigate the hospitality-education-world with ever-decreasing enthusiasm.
Pausing for refreshment between fact-oriented dirge, it dawned on me that the genesis of the industry’s often self-proclaimed lack of innovative spark might well, in part, be found in the initial experiences those who enter the industry have when selecting their preferred hotel school.
Now, those of you who have been through any kind of hotel education voyage might disagree that the experience you encountered was dull and predictable. But, if you concur that our industry needs to be more current, more inventive and more enticing, surely the very first experience one has of the industry should be more so. We all embrace simple signs when shaping decisions about our futures, so when potential applicants are greeted by a set of such uninspiring and undifferentiated status-centric pronouncements, it’s no wonder they look for pastures more interesting.
Like all brands – educational or otherwise – what any potential student, customer or guest wishes to know is ‘will it fit me, will I enjoy it and will I benefit from it? (and yes, ‘can I afford it?’)’. The fact an education brand may be biggest, best, oldest, generates the most number of research reports and is the leading something-or-other is helpful only to a point. While most students will inevitably want to be associated with institutions that are at the top of their game, no potential hotelier, engineer, architect or philosopher will be inspired purely by status (and if they are, then maybe they are not the type of students this industry so badly needs).
So, why does the manner in which the leading hotel schools convey their brands to potential students accentuate achievement, perhaps more than innovation? One answer might be because such hotel schools feed major hotel brands, which themselves are not inherently entrepreneurial.
This is all said having spent only a few short hours looking at the world’s leading hotels schools’ websites, but that is all the time a prospective student would likely give it as a first pass. And first impressions can sometimes be the only impressions. If it seems dull or predictable, and possibly more concerned about trumpeting its own credentials than how it inspires students, many teenagers will move swiftly on to something that seems more current and compelling.
I took a brief look at what some of the more innovation-centric universities say about themselves: Stanford: ‘Our culture of collaboration drives innovative discoveries in areas vital to our world, our health and our intellectual life’. MIT: ‘To advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century’. University of California, Irvine: ‘Experience the Power of I. UCI is a place where, together, we make a world of difference’. University of Munich: ‘At the nexus of ideas that challenge and change our complex world’.
While addressing and solving the world’s problems might sound grandiose, with a growing awareness amongst teens that the world faces escalating environmental, social, cultural and economic challenges, surely such proclamations are more relevant and motivating to wide-eyed 18-year-olds than knowing a hotel school is top of its class.
There is some evidence of hotel educators conveying a more open-minded, collaborative and contemporary flair. The Oxford School of Hotel Management, for example, seems like the kind of place that would be inclusive, imaginative and fun. And the way it conveys what it offers is sprinkled through the words of past and present students, rather than the school’s corporate communications team. Hotelschool The Hague’s ‘Discover Your Potential at The Heart of Hospitality’ and ‘Dedicated to the innovation of the international hotel industry’ is encouraging, as is Cornell’s ‘The World’s Most Adventurous Business School’.
Sure, a tagline and a homepage should not be confused with the reality of four years of higher education, but even the smallest hints of creativity and differentiation are important when taking an initial glance at where in the world you might end up learning your trade.
Perhaps comparing Stanford to a hotel school is a tad unfair. One could argue that Stanford’s raison d’être is innovation, but why should hospitality education be any less so, particularly when so many in the industry feel it’s a creative laggard?
For the industry to shift from an all-too-common acceptance of conservatism it needs to attract those creative souls who have been beguiled by other industries; those that seemingly offer a better platform for a lifetime of invention and fulfillment. It may well be that the leading hotel schools are ultimately more imaginative than they convey themselves as being, but until they stop focusing on the fact that they’re the toppest of the top, they’ll continue to be bypassed by those who could revolutionize what we mean by ‘hospitality’: how it benefits those who work within it and are served by it.
Oh, and ultimately Sam and Hotelschool The Hague have chosen each other as partners. Placing an emphasis on attitude and personality, HTH choreographed an entire day of creative interactions and exercises with past and present students, lecturers and fellow applicants. While its World Top-Five ranking provides a sense of reassurance that Sam will get a great education, what really mattered was that he felt a sense of connection to its refreshingly open-minded and imaginative ethos.
The Dutch have a saying about the importance of being down-to-earth: ‘Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg’, which means ‘Just act normal, because that’s crazy enough as it is’.
A perfect fit.
James Stuart is managing partner of The Brand Company, a hospitality-specialist brand consultancy based in Hong Kong.