What are hospitality quotes?
Hospitality quotes are powerful and proven distillations of the shared experiences of hoteliers and their staff. Whether it’s a pithy description of a common challenge that everyone should expect and overcome, a brutal hard truth that every hotelier must accept, or an insightful piece of wisdom that can change minds and shine a light on possible solution, there’s a hospitality quote to help any frustrated, uninspired or just curious hotelier make more of the opportunities around their business.
In this blog, we’ve picked some of the best hospitality quotes available on the web that you and your team can take inspiration from at your hotel. Table of contents
Best hospitality quotes that show the power of hospitality
There’s always something to be learned from listening to others, especially in the case of these hospitality quotes:
Hospitality quote 1:
“Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.” – James Cash Penney
Lesson from this short hospitality quote:
The ultimate goal is not just for your guests to become loyal to your brand but become advocates for your business, incentivising other travellers to stay with you. Kindness and courtesy as a foundation of your service goes a long way in making sure guests always leave your hotel feeling satisfied.
Hospitality quote 2:
“Customers may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel”.
Insight from this hospitality quote for guests:
A lot of the time this quote also applies to what the guest sees. Often your guest won’t necessarily care what colour their carpet or wallpaper is, or what greeting you give them each day, but they’ll certainly care about and notice how they feel emotionally during and after their stay. It’s all about the experience and whether you have engaged them on the level they were hoping for.
Hospitality quote 3:
“There is only one boss. The Guest. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else”.
Learning from this hospitality quote for hotels: More revenue, less work What if you could boost your hotel's revenue while also reducing your workload? Our smart hotel platform helps you do exactly that.
Perhaps, it’s long been known that the customer is always right but this quote brings focus to the greater implications if you fail to resolve any real or perceived negative experiences a guest may have. It’s vital to address criticism in a timely and respectable manner, and come to an outcome that pleases all parties.
Inspirational hospitality quotes to motivate hoteliers
Everyone needs reminding why they love what they do from time to time, and what the keys are to succeeding in that pursuit. Here are some quotes to fuel the fire and inspire you:
Hospitality quote 4:
“There is no hospitality like understanding.” – Vanna Bonta
Takeaway from this quote on hospitality:
This is, perhaps, the key to it all. Understanding your guest deeply gives you the greatest head-start in being able to deliver hospitality that truly makes them feel welcomed and cared for.
Hospitality quote 5:
“Hospitality is about trying to support multiple functions in one space.” – Miguel McKelvey
Thoughts on this hospitality industry quote:
This couldn’t be more true of a hotel, where many departments need to work together to create an overall sense of hospitality. When it all comes together, it’s a rewarding experience for both guest and hotel so it should be a goal that inspires your business to strive for improvement.
Hospitality quote 6:
“Never say no when a client asks for something, even if it is the moon. You can always try, and anyhow there is plenty of time afterwards to explain that it was not possible.” — César Ritz
Comments on this hotel hospitality quote:
This is one of the easiest ways to keep a guest on your side. Even if you know immediately something can’t be done, letting the guest know that you will investigate it for them makes them appreciate the effort and won’t be turned off by an instant rejection of their request.
Motivational hospitality quotes to inspire success
Teamwork is of course essential to your hotel being a motivated, harmonised, and hospitable environment. If not all staff are on the same page, then guests will have an uneven experience. Here are some quotes to help you motivate your team and get your teamwork on track:
Hospitality quote 7:
“Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie
Important note on this hotel motivational quote:
This sums up teamwork perfectly. No individual has to be brilliant or perfect for a goal to be achieved, you simply have to be striving for the same goal in unison. If you can successfully motivate your staff to this end, that’s when guests will start singing your praises.
Hospitality quote 8:
“None of us is as smart as all of us.” – Ken Blanchard
Quick reminder from good hospitality quote:
Again, another reminder about why running a hotel or providing hospitality cannot be done in silos or by people acting independently of one another. Often, to find the best solution to a problem, it takes different perspectives and personalities to voice ideas before the group can decide the best course of action for the business.
Hospitality quote 9:
“Motivate them, train them, care about them, and make winners out of them… they’ll treat the customers right. And if customers are treated right, they’ll come back.” — J. Willard Marriott, founder of the Marriott Corporation
Action step from this hospitality motivational quote:
If anyone knows about hospitality, it’s Marriott. And it’s a very simple lesson to ensure you hire and manage staff effectively – though not always easy to achieve. Here are some hotel staff hiring tips if you need them.
Short hospitality quotes for guests
Short hospitality quotes are like little gems of wisdom, encapsulating the essence of guest service in a few memorable lines.
Hospitality quote 10:
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Lesson from this hospitality quote:
This profound quote by Mahatma Gandhi beautifully captures the soul of hospitality. It suggests that in the act of serving others, one discovers their true self. This lesson is vital for hoteliers and their staff, as it emphasises the importance of selflessness and dedication in service. It reminds us that true satisfaction in hospitality comes not just from fulfilling duties, but from going beyond them to genuinely care for and serve guests.
Hospitality quote 11:
“People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Reminder from this hospitality quote:
This quote is a powerful reminder that the emotional impact you make on your guests is paramount. It’s not just the luxurious amenities or the efficiency of service that guests will remember; it’s the warmth, care, and empathy they experience. This insight is crucial for hotel staff at all levels, as it underscores the importance of creating positive, emotional connections with guests. By focusing on how guests feel during their stay, your hotel can create lasting impressions that turn first-time guests into loyal patrons.
Benjamas Kitsaengklai,
Assistant General Manager
Ping Nakara Boutique Hotel and Spa
Funny and positive hospitality quotes to brighten your day
Humour and positivity are infectious, and in the hospitality industry, they can be just the right ingredients to create a welcoming atmosphere. They also serve as a reminder to staff that while professionalism is key, the human touch – often expressed through humour and positivity – is what truly makes a guest’s stay delightful.
- “When I sell liquor, it’s called bootlegging; when my patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it’s called hospitality.” – Al Capone
- “I love checking out the minibar in a hotel room. It’s like opening a treasure chest.” – Ryan Reynolds.
- “Hotel rooms are funny things. They make everything look different. If people were meant to pop out of bed, we’d all sleep in toasters.” – Emma Forrest
Such quotes can be used in various touch points across the hotel, such as in-room cards, social media posts, or even during staff meetings to keep the environment light-hearted yet professional.
Famous hospitality quotes from big names
If something worked for the most successful and wealthy people in the world, there’s a good chance it will work for you too – even if it’s on a smaller scale. Check out a few quotes on hospitality from famous names:
Hospitality quote 12:
“The key is to set realistic customer expectations and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them — preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.” – Sir Richard Branson
Takeaway from this hospitality quote:
In reality, most hospitality businesses often promise their customers the world but fail to deliver on those lofty goals. It’s crucial not to deceive your guests with any of your marketing or messaging. It’s a much better idea to give them more than they expected, rather than risk not living up to their expectations.
Hospitality quote 13:
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates
Learning from this hospitality quote:
Externally, you might always subscribe to ‘the customer is always right’ but you should also take this approach internally. Don’t dismiss negative feedback without first considering where it came from and why it occurred.
Often, you’ll discover ways to improve your service – and even small details can make a big difference to guests.
Hospitality quote 14:
“Great companies are built by people who never stop thinking about ways to improve the business. – J. Willard “Bill” Marriott
Knowledge from this hospitality quote:
Another gem from the founder of Marriott. Resting on your laurels is a sure way to allow your competition to catch up and surpass you, and for your guests to become disillusioned with your refusal to innovate. How you do this is up to you – it might mean upgrading your technology, renovating your property (or properties), overhauling your loyalty program, or something else.
Great hospitality quotes from technology professionals
More than ever, the success of a hotel is defined by its effective use of modern technology to optimise, streamline, enhance and analyse their hotel processes. It’s no surprise, then, that hoteliers can learn a great deal from technology professionals that, while not in the hospitality industry themselves, still offer nuggets of wisdom that are increasingly applicable in an increasingly technology-driven industry.
Hospitality quote 15: Visualising the benefits of IT
“Perhaps the greatest consistent challenge I encountered was just the acceptance of technology in our industry. For many years technology was viewed as a ‘necessary evil’, or a tool that had not reached sufficient functionality and maturity to be a truly competitive asset to hospitality managers.” — Richard Brooks
Hospitality quote 16: IT Managers
“Early in my career as an IT manager at a hotel, maybe 75% of my issues were hardware related, leaving little time to improve applications or processes. Today, those hardware issues are almost completely gone and IT managers can make much more valuable contributions to hotel operations and guest satisfaction. Inexpensive, reliable, standard hardware and operating systems are really what have allowed technology to expand in hospitality.” — Robert Bennett
Hospitality quote 17: New technology
“Each seven to 10 years, there is a new generation of technology that challenges suppliers of systems to upgrade or rewrite in order to remain current. Hospitality technology vendors and users must learn to be agile and adapt to change — or suffer a loss of leadership or even relevance. This form of creative destruction has continued to ravage the industry from its technology beginnings, and provides openings for new companies with new ideas periodically to shake up this industry.” — Dave Berkus
Hospitality quote 18: Self-service technology
“All self-service applications are counter to the once held principle that hospitality functions need to be conducted on a face-to- face basis. In other words, technology had to remain out of the guest’s sight in order to preserve the sheltering of automation.” — Michael Kasavana
Hospitality quote 19: Cloud technology
“What is most exciting to me now is that by combining the power of cloud computing, and the universal access to data via the Internet, we can create business intelligence applications using large databases that will allow the hospitality industry to serve guests better, improve operations and therefore thrive. I predict that data-driven analytics will become one of the next awesome technology-based developments to benefit hotels.” — Robert Bennett
Hospitality quote 20: Smartphone technology
“Smartphones and the proliferation of apps give us the power to do so many things from the palm of your hand. The hospitality industry has embraced apps to the point that mobility is an essential part of how hotels communicate with guests and vice versa.” — Ted Horner
Hospitality quote 21: Hotel guests and their needs
“I feel that the front desk of the future will change with the developments in mobility and cloud-based applications. Guests are going to be driving the needs for the technology deployed in the hotels, unlike currently where hotels are deciding what their guests need.” — Harbans Singh
Hospitality quote 22: Big data and insights
“The potential insight available through big data, to better understand what is happening and why, as well as the possibility to achieve real personalisation in online commerce and relationships between hotels and their guests.” — John Burns
