Hostmanship - The Art of Making People Feel Welcome

by Jan Gunnarsson, Olle Blohm

More than 100 000 people have been inspired to adopt a welcoming attitude after having read this book! It has undergone a significant re-write since the original version, being extended with the story of Peyman, the bus driver from Umeå, who with his natural Hostmanship makes his passengers' day a better one - every day! A fun-filled and thought-provoking book, full of remarkable stories. You'll certainly recognize yourself - there are examples from many different situations and work environments. The book is also available in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Dutch. This is what readers have "This book was a wake-up call for me! If you look after your guest, your guest will look after you!" This is what the Swedish author Jan Gunnarsson says about the "I could say that this book literally changed my life. Since its publication I've been like a travelling salesman in Hostmanship. I've addressed tens of thousands of people in every imaginable location, both in Sweden and abroad. I've stood in churches, in a lighthouse and any number of town halls around the country in front of leaders and co-workers from the private and public sectors. One day they might be phone engineers, piping wholesalers or doctors in the audience, and the next day maybe marketing people, a management group or some freshly-qualified students. An audience whose experience spans from the biggest companies to fledgling sole-trader companies. Everywhere I've been I've met so many wonderful and professional people who've shared their thoughts around the concept of good Hostmanship." The book was written by Jan Gunnarsson and Olle Blohm. Now in print for the fourth time in an updated edition. The book first came out in May 2002, and forms the basis for several of our seminars and is already being used in different courses around Sweden. www.vardskapet.se

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 8, 2013

Reviews

[Ed Brenegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important books on relationships in business that I've ever read. A must read.

[Tosh Lý · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

[Gjalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mooi geschreven met veel voorbeelden die het concreter maken, inspirerend.

[Liselotte Doornbos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ondanks dat ik dit boek moest lezen voor school, heb ik er echt van genoten. Het boek bestaat uit inspirerende verhalen die je aan het denken zetten.

[Martijn Euyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jan Gunnarsson tells us about hostmanship in a disarming way. Hostmanship is all about the way we can give others a warm feeling of being welcome. He gives great and sometimes very funny and inspiring examples of situations where people do or do not achieve to deliver hostmanship. Jan describes in a very personal way what his vision is on hostmanship: the art of making others feel welcome. He has a wide variety of examples available to litter his argumentation.

While reading the book I began to ask myself why there are so many examples of failures to be a true host to others. Jan barely scratches the surface of an answer to this. But he makes a start to an answer somewhere at the beginning and at the end of his book, where he says that hostmanship is a result of reflection on our own performance in relation to others and that hostmanship is only possible if we are a decent host to our selves.

It may get to far for Jan's goal for this book, but it would have been more than an amusing and inspiring story if Jan had worked the basis for hostmanship out in more detail.

That doen't mean this isn't a relevant argumentation. The world would be a better place if we would be practicing more hostmanship to each other. Therefor I would recommend it to all those who want to be more welcoming to others.

[Rebecca Schaft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het boek geeft een goed beeld van wat hostmanship is en in welke verschijningsvormen je het tegen kan komen. Naar je gasten toe, naar je collega's toe, naar jezelf toe. De waarde van hostmanship is herkenbaar en de voorbeelden inspireren. Een kanttekening is wel dat niet alle voorbeelden even goed zijn uitgewerkt en de samenhang hierdoor wat kan ontbreken. Metname naar het einde van het boek toe.
Wat ik in het boek miste waren antwoorden op vragen zoals: hoe ontwikkel je hostmanship (bij anderen, bij jezelf?). Welke stappen kun je als organisatie zetten om hostmanship te bevorderen en welke valkuilen zijn er?
Het is nu vooral een appel, er wordt beroep gedaan op je gutfeeling, op je eigen behoefte om bij te dragen aan een mooiere wereld. Prima natuurlijk, maar hen die het aanspreekt zullen vooral bevestigd worden in datgene wat zij al in zich hebben en mogelijk al hebben ontwikkeld. Desalniettemin een erg leuk boekje dat je met veel plezier kunt lezen. Ook erg leuk om samen te lezen als collega's of vrienden: samen kun je daarmee je eigen wereld mooier maken.

[Mance · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very quick read! It was light and positive, so it did go by very quickly.

Hostmanship is a natural instinct, I suppose; one can't create a precise recipe for it. This being the case, you can read this book and think "Oh, but that's just common courtesy." But I think it's the author's approach of showing many examples of good hostmanship is the best way to go about it. I think about his examples and his experiences in my life and consider how to apply the principles I strive for.

This would be an excellent book for a group of employees to read and discuss.

[Antoinette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik heb dit boek gelezen als onderdeel van een studieopdracht. Het is een soort managementboek, over hoe je anderen tegemoet moet treden binnen een organisatie; de klant, je collega's en jezelf. Het boek staat vol met allerlei anekdotes en advies over hoe je een goede gastpersoon kan zijn. Ik vond het een beetje interessant, maar ook wat wollig. Het had veel meer to the point kunnen zijn.

[Romanka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most part of the book are just author's obvious statings about hostmanship, which did not brought anything new. But I liked the real author's stories collected during his long carrier in hospitality.