Creative Hospitality: Designing a Memorable Experience Reflection

This report is a student's reflection on designing a memorable hospitality experience during an Earth Week event. The reflection uses the 4R's of reflective writing (Report, Relate, Reason, Reconstruct) to review the creative hospitality activities undertaken. The author describes the key elements of the experience, including staff services, customer interaction, and social media integration. It relates personal understanding, values, and behaviors from past experiences to the creative experience in the course. The author reasons about the application of theoretical concepts learned in the course to the practical experience. It also reconstructs the event, highlighting areas of improvement, such as attracting a more diversified age group and increasing awareness of the environmental impact of tourism. The reflection concludes that the event provided a valuable learning experience and required significant brainstorming and creative exploration.

A MEMORABLE HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE –
A REFLECTION
1

Introduction
The hospitality industry is changing in a dynamic manner. In the scope of this current
hospitality experience held on the Earth week, there were efforts made in designing of a
memorable hospitality experience. This experience was enriched using personal creativity
levels. However there remain some areas which could be improvised for future hospitality
experience. The current reflective experience discusses the key elements of the experience.
Report
The current hospitality experience provided a unique and enriching experience of the Earth
week. The entire experience was built to provide a Green hotel using various ideas and props.
It was created in a manner such that it can attract maximum possible participants towards it.
The key highlights of the experience included way staff of a hospitality unit provides services
to its guests. My learning from the experience included customer service against hospitality
and experience. The guests, who arrived at the property was given service in an appropriate
manner by staffs. The allocation of responsibility amongst staffs had taken place in a manner
to ensure the staffs were at ease. I saw the doorman receive a very heavy suitcase from the
guests, the receptionists welcoming the guests, to make the guests feel warm and hospitable.
The staffs empathized with the arriving guests; there room was made ready by talented
employees at the hotel. There was breakfast provided in the experience. Social media
interaction was also included. The participants were taken without any trail or tests to assess
their knowledge or understanding. The experience was not modeled to attract interests of
varied age groups, as it did not attract the young populace. The entire experience was
designed from the bottom of the heart and to bring happiness to staffs and customers. The
entire experience for customers was designed using the flower of service model. Through
usage of various other models such as ABC Model of Attitudes, SCAMPER Acronym, 6
Persuasion Principles and other concepts, an experience was designed for customers. There
was tremendous transfer of learning which had taken place from theoretical knowledge and
practical experience that was undertaken.
The experience was highly interesting as it required transforming of learned concepts into
practical ones. There was effort that was made from each member of the team to contributing
in [providing an exclusive staff experience. However, I felt that the participation was lagging
from varied age groups. As the event was not enough attractive for participants from the
young age. The event provided significant insights into importance of environment and
2

sustainable tourism concepts. The usage of various materials, which was environmentally
friendly allowed to divert the experience towards a whole new concept in tourism.
Relate
According to me, earlier hospitality concept revolved around creation of an experience in any
manner for customers. The experience could include any aspect that might have a customer
appeal, which could be environmentally friendly or could not be. Therefore, the entire concept
of hospitality industry revolved around customers. This experience provided an alternative
view to the same, as I opened up my experience to include ways in which the concept
environment sustainability could possibly be included in such experience. In this experience,
we had to open up our understanding of the diverse issues facing the environment. Most
importantly ways and means by which tourism could impact the environment. I felt it was
time that a revolution to the entire concept of tourism is brought about. Such revolution calls s
for analysis of customer needs and demands and then designing of the products and services
accordingly to meet their needs. Analysis of customer demands will allow understanding the
inherent nature of the product, which will further allow assimilating understanding way such
products can be made or sourced from the environment. The entire experience took me back
into a period where chemicals were not available and environmentally friendly products were
the only alternative. It called for the experience to be more innovative and creative in nature.
I did not earlier think that customer experience could be designed or products and
services could be made to match customer suitability to the product. I believed that most
hospitality chains or units around the world accepted standardized products to match needs of
its customers. Earlier experiences had been focused upon mainly transforming of products to
create a difference, but in the current experience, there has been a whole new agenda
altogether. There is a relationship between my personal understanding, values and behaviours
from past experience which connects to this creative experience. The past experience has been
the building block for this current experience, as in absence of my past understanding of
values; I would not have been able to shape this current experience. In the past, I had an
understanding regarding, values and behaviours of customers that are integral in delivering of
high quality customer service. Such values and behaviours of mine were the building blocks
which allowed me to build the current experience for customers. This creative experience was
uniquely designed from the past understanding and experiences. Therefore, this project will
form the foundation stone for my future career in the hospitality industry.
Reason
3

In the course there have been a large number of diverse theories and concepts that had been
taught to us. The theories that had been taught had diverse learning’s for the hospitality
industry students. Each of the concept and theories were meant to resolve an issue or
challenge that the student might face in the hospitality industry. It allows developing a
comprehensive understanding of the various aspects of customer services and ways in which
customer service might be rendered. This experience had been directed at the practical
implication of such theories and concept. The experience required us to design a practical
experience for customers by making use of such theories and concepts.
The hospitality brand name that we worked with “Hilton”, already has an established brand
name in the world. Deciding upon activities to be done on the brand name might rather appear
confusing and exhausting. As the brand name has already tried a number of diverse and
versatile concepts for enriching their customer experience. However, with the presence of
learning in theories and concepts, I was able to understand that ways in which the new
experience can be designed. The clean-up event was not focused on a single dimension of
customer experience; rather it was oriented at deciding upon a multitude of factors that could
enhance customer preference for products and services. The application of theories learnt
provided an experience, which could provide the event a scope of exclusivity.
Reconstruct
The event was designed with all possible efforts from each and every team member. There
were tremendous efforts made in brainstorming for the event such that it could stand out from
rest of the events taking place. Further the event was designed to reflect upon our learning as a
hospitality student. All theories and concepts in the backdrop provided designing of concrete
and creative event for participants as well as guests. The core aim of the event was to focus
and highlight upon the main aspect of environmental consciousness in tourism. The concept
of environmental sustainability is rapidly increasing and it is important that the tourism
industry makes a positive contribution into the same. The use of social media interaction was
accommodated; however an extensive usage of social media for creating awareness regarding
the event was needed. Though the event was creative and we tried to bring out the very best in
the event, there are some areas of improvement that could be attended. The event that was
designed was not suitable to attract young participants. The activities were not diversified or
attractive enough such that young people or children and adults would participate in it. While
designing an event the next time, we need to keep it in our attention to make an event that
4

includes activities attractive for varied age groups. While designing of activities for the event,
we could include some games activity or showing of movies or tasting varied cuisines such
that we could attract other participants from diversified age groups as well. Attracting a
diversified age group could have allowed creating more awareness regarding the Earth event.
It would also have led to creation of more awareness regarding the impact of tourism
sustainability. While we studied a single dimensional focus of changing products and services
according to environmentally friendly ways, it is also important that customers are aware of
the potential effects. Tourists and guests of the hospitality industry can create tremendous
impact on the environment. Increasing their consciousness will allow creating of a greater
impact. Therefore, areas of improvement include designing the event in more creative manner
to attract guests into the event.
Conclusion
The tourism event provided high learning experience for all the students in the course. It
required significant brainstorming and exploration of relevant ideas in a creative manner. It
required evaluating various case studies and similar events, from which we could draw
relevant ideas from. This event required tremendous efforts to be made as compared to
making other assignments or reports.
5

6