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The Heart of Hospitality: Great Hotel and Restaurant Leaders Share Their Secrets
The Heart of Hospitality is the essential guide to creating exceptional customer service and hospitality for guests of all generations, including millennials, boomers, and more. Created by leading customer service expert and Forbes.com contributor Micah Solomon , it features top hospitality professionals including Herve Humler (Ritz-Carlton), Danny Meyer (Union Square Hospitality Group), Tom Colicchio (Top Chef, Craft) Isadore Sharp (Four Seasons) , Patrick O'Connell (The Inn at Little Washington), and many more. The result is a hospitality management and customer service resource like no other. Features * Virgin Hotels CEO Raul How Virgin Hotels created its innovative, future-friendly hospitality approach.
* Tom Colicchio (Craft Restaurants, Top Chef): How to create a customer-centric customer experience in a chef-centric restaurant.
* Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Chairman Isadore How to build an unsinkable company culture.
* Danny Meyer, Union Square Hospitality Group His secrets of hiring, onboarding, training, and more.
* Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company President and COO Herve How to engage today's new breed of luxury travelers.
* Chef Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin): How to create different experiences for different guests-in the very same dining room. * Designer David Rockwell (W, Nobu, Andaz): Secrets of designing hotel and restaurant spaces that resonate with modern travelers.
* Restaurateur Traci Des Building a "narcissism-free" hospitality culture.
As Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company President and COO Herve Humler says in his foreword to the book, "If you want to create and sustain a level of service so memorable that it becomes an unbeatable competitive advantage, you'll find the secrets here."
* Tom Colicchio (Craft Restaurants, Top Chef): How to create a customer-centric customer experience in a chef-centric restaurant.
* Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Chairman Isadore How to build an unsinkable company culture.
* Danny Meyer, Union Square Hospitality Group His secrets of hiring, onboarding, training, and more.
* Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company President and COO Herve How to engage today's new breed of luxury travelers.
* Chef Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin): How to create different experiences for different guests-in the very same dining room. * Designer David Rockwell (W, Nobu, Andaz): Secrets of designing hotel and restaurant spaces that resonate with modern travelers.
* Restaurateur Traci Des Building a "narcissism-free" hospitality culture.
As Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company President and COO Herve Humler says in his foreword to the book, "If you want to create and sustain a level of service so memorable that it becomes an unbeatable competitive advantage, you'll find the secrets here."
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
192 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2016
148 people are currently reading
546 people want to read
About the author
Micah Solomon
10 books26 followersMICAH SOLOMON (Seattle, WA) has been named by the Financial Post as “a new guru of customer service excellence.” He is a top keynote speaker and consultant on customer service issues, the customer experience, and company culture. A successful entrepreneur, he coauthored the bestselling Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit. His expertise has been featured in FastCompany, Inc. Magazine, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes.com, NBC and ABC television programming, and elsewhere.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 18, 2021
Totally different from my expectation of stringent guidelines and measurement on tangible items such as bed size, layers of bed linen, setting of the table, etc
The book elevated values hotels bring/ cultivate in customers, and that’s how they thrive.
The book elevated values hotels bring/ cultivate in customers, and that’s how they thrive.
October 24, 2016
The Heart of Hospitality: Great Hotel and Restaurant Leaders Share Their Secrets
This book is an enjoyable, interesting read. I have 30 years in Customer Service Leadership roles with top tier companies and I learned several actionable new ideas from this book.
Micah Solomon brings his wit and insights together in a delightful manner. The information provided is well organized and logically presented. Unlike many other books about customer service, this one doesn't read like a textbook. It's a great balance between concepts and practical examples that bring those concepts to life.
I can also say that while this book is focused on the hospitality industry, the principals here apply to just about any industry.
I highly recommend this book.
October 24, 2016
Read this book if:
- You interact with hospitality professionals
- You want to participate in the hospitality industry 2017 & beyond
- You're interested in customer experience and loyalty in the service industry
Rarely does a book cover both the high level themes and practical applications of insanely great customer service. This book covers it all and presents it in an incredibly accessible way. The author quickly sets the table (so to speak ;), then covers everything from Virgin Hotels to IBM Watson to Top Chef celebrity Tom Colicchio. Must have taken years to compile all this info -- probably why the legendary President of Ritz Carlton wrote the foreword!
- You interact with hospitality professionals
- You want to participate in the hospitality industry 2017 & beyond
- You're interested in customer experience and loyalty in the service industry
Rarely does a book cover both the high level themes and practical applications of insanely great customer service. This book covers it all and presents it in an incredibly accessible way. The author quickly sets the table (so to speak ;), then covers everything from Virgin Hotels to IBM Watson to Top Chef celebrity Tom Colicchio. Must have taken years to compile all this info -- probably why the legendary President of Ritz Carlton wrote the foreword!
July 6, 2024
It’s taken a while to read as it was a “work” related book. Nevertheless I highly recommend it to anyone who’s working at anything in any segment. Hospitality is a human centred business and as such, taking care of details is key to success, having a constant drive to deliver the best experience possible is what I want to give to my life: family, friends and work.
Sure, the best practices are meant to secure the bottom line but the message of the book is to aim even higher and the profit will come.
Also, on a hotel segment or consulting very useful points for someone who’s only seen 1% of the “operational” side of the business it was thoroughly illuminating in the technology vs. Human service and the training of staff to secure the best experience possible.
Sure, the best practices are meant to secure the bottom line but the message of the book is to aim even higher and the profit will come.
Also, on a hotel segment or consulting very useful points for someone who’s only seen 1% of the “operational” side of the business it was thoroughly illuminating in the technology vs. Human service and the training of staff to secure the best experience possible.
October 27, 2025
As a former manager who is now retired, a book on best practices in business is something I only read for pleasure. This one is both intriguing and thought-provoking. Having a heart for customer service is a subject near and dear to my heart. Recommended with 4.5 stars.
October 26, 2016
I own and manage a busy and growing spa and salon in Ann Arbor (Vis-a-Vis Spa and Salon, if you’re in the area). For me, I found The Heart of Hospitality to be one of the most useful business books I’ve read in some time. I think any business that has customers (and that’s pretty much all of us) will find it equally useful. Not to mention encouraging. It’s both fact-based and a real pick-me-up.
What makes reading this book so great is, basically, two separate elements.
First, the knowledge within it, which he’s gathered from a pretty incredible cast of hospitality leaders as well as his career and insights as a customer service practitioner and consultant.
Second, it’s that he writes in a wonderfully personable way that makes you feel less like you’re reading another business guidebook and more like you are getting the chance to sit down with an expert and chat about hospitality over coffee. Though he explains models and theories, he always illustrates them with real-life experiences, many of them at some of the greatest customer-serving businesses in the U.S. (and, in a couple of cases, outside the US as well).
As a single location spa owner from Ann Arbor, it’s very easy to think, “I could never get my business to function at the level of the Ritz Carlton or one of the other five star companies profiled in The Heart of Hospitality.” But that’s not at all the feeling I got from the book. I felt the author was gently yet firmly (and often, humorously) showing me and any reader that it can be done—and how to do it. While every reader and every situation are different, I doubt that anyone could read this book without thinking, “I could use this in my own business—and it would make a transformational difference.”
What makes reading this book so great is, basically, two separate elements.
First, the knowledge within it, which he’s gathered from a pretty incredible cast of hospitality leaders as well as his career and insights as a customer service practitioner and consultant.
Second, it’s that he writes in a wonderfully personable way that makes you feel less like you’re reading another business guidebook and more like you are getting the chance to sit down with an expert and chat about hospitality over coffee. Though he explains models and theories, he always illustrates them with real-life experiences, many of them at some of the greatest customer-serving businesses in the U.S. (and, in a couple of cases, outside the US as well).
As a single location spa owner from Ann Arbor, it’s very easy to think, “I could never get my business to function at the level of the Ritz Carlton or one of the other five star companies profiled in The Heart of Hospitality.” But that’s not at all the feeling I got from the book. I felt the author was gently yet firmly (and often, humorously) showing me and any reader that it can be done—and how to do it. While every reader and every situation are different, I doubt that anyone could read this book without thinking, “I could use this in my own business—and it would make a transformational difference.”
October 31, 2016
I own and manage a busy and growing spa and salon in Ann Arbor (Vis-a-Vis Spa and Salon, if you’re in the area). For me, I found The Heart of Hospitality to be one of the most useful business books I’ve read in some time. I think any business that has customers (and that’s pretty much all of us) will find it equally useful. Not to mention encouraging. It’s both fact-based and a real pick-me-up.
What makes reading this book so great is, basically, two separate elements.
First, the knowledge within it, which he’s gathered from a pretty incredible cast of hospitality leaders as well as his career and insights as a customer service practitioner and consultant.
Second, it’s that he writes in a wonderfully personable way that makes you feel less like you’re reading another business guidebook and more like you are getting the chance to sit down with an expert and chat about hospitality over coffee. Though he explains models and theories, he always illustrates them with real-life experiences, many of them at some of the greatest customer-serving businesses in the U.S. (and, in a couple of cases, outside the US as well).
As a single location spa owner from Ann Arbor, it’s very easy to think, “I could never get my business to function at the level of the Ritz Carlton or one of the other five star companies profiled in The Heart of Hospitality.” But that’s not at all the feeling I got from the book. I felt the author was gently yet firmly (and often, humorously) showing me and any reader that it can be done—and how to do it. While every reader and every situation are different, I doubt that anyone could read this book without thinking, “I could use this in my own business—and it would make a transformational difference.”
What makes reading this book so great is, basically, two separate elements.
First, the knowledge within it, which he’s gathered from a pretty incredible cast of hospitality leaders as well as his career and insights as a customer service practitioner and consultant.
Second, it’s that he writes in a wonderfully personable way that makes you feel less like you’re reading another business guidebook and more like you are getting the chance to sit down with an expert and chat about hospitality over coffee. Though he explains models and theories, he always illustrates them with real-life experiences, many of them at some of the greatest customer-serving businesses in the U.S. (and, in a couple of cases, outside the US as well).
As a single location spa owner from Ann Arbor, it’s very easy to think, “I could never get my business to function at the level of the Ritz Carlton or one of the other five star companies profiled in The Heart of Hospitality.” But that’s not at all the feeling I got from the book. I felt the author was gently yet firmly (and often, humorously) showing me and any reader that it can be done—and how to do it. While every reader and every situation are different, I doubt that anyone could read this book without thinking, “I could use this in my own business—and it would make a transformational difference.”
October 24, 2016
Read this book if:
- You interact with hospitality professionals
- You want to participate in the hospitality industry 2017 & beyond
- You're interested in customer experience and loyalty in the service industry
Rarely does a book cover both the high level themes and practical applications of insanely great customer service. This book covers it all and presents it in an incredibly accessible way. The author quickly sets the table (so to speak ;), then covers everything from Virgin Hotels to IBM Watson to Top Chef celebrity Tom Colicchio. Must have taken years to compile all this info -- probably why the legendary President of Ritz Carlton wrote the foreword!
- You interact with hospitality professionals
- You want to participate in the hospitality industry 2017 & beyond
- You're interested in customer experience and loyalty in the service industry
Rarely does a book cover both the high level themes and practical applications of insanely great customer service. This book covers it all and presents it in an incredibly accessible way. The author quickly sets the table (so to speak ;), then covers everything from Virgin Hotels to IBM Watson to Top Chef celebrity Tom Colicchio. Must have taken years to compile all this info -- probably why the legendary President of Ritz Carlton wrote the foreword!
April 10, 2017
Superinformative and easy to read. Contemporary examples of excellent customer service, split into topics and thoroughly analysed. Heavy focus on upper-upscale/luxury hotels and high-end restaurants, however some ideas can be actionable in a lower price point segments.
September 28, 2018
A Good and easy book to read. It is a pity that is almost entirely focused in high-end, five-star, highly expensive hospitality players. Still, if this is your market focus, will be a good reading for you.
May 21, 2023
О ЧЕМ КНИГА:
Эту книгу должен прочитать каждый, кто работает в индустриях, связанных с клиентским сервисом. Автор разбирает подходы топ-компаний из сервисных индустрий: гостиницы, рестораны, парки развлечений, фитнес и медицина. Книга написана на основе обширной консультационной практики Соломона, а также через интервью с руководителями ведущих компаний, таких как Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, сеть ресторанов Starr и Union Square, парки развлечений Six Flags и многих других.
Большая часть книги посвящена тому, как сделать первоклассный сервис частью культуры и ДНК вашей компании.
Автор напомнил мне про многие вещи, что я так знаю, что нужно делать, но не делаю) Книга написана с юмором и читается как разговор с опытным консультантом. Хочется взять и сразу внедрить в своей компании многое из прочитанного.
ГЛАВНАЯ МЫСЛЬ КНИГИ:
В клиентском сервисе ничего не должно быть случайным. Чтобы оказывать своим клиентам действительно первоклассный сервис, надо создать работающие стандарты, выстроить все процессы, постоянно проводить обучение сотрудников и нанимать правильных людей(а также вовремя увольнять неподходящих). Кажется всё просто, но эффективность кроется в системе и деталях.
ЗАЧЕМ ЧИТАТЬ ЭТУ КНИГУ?
Чтобы получить лучшие практики клиентского сервиса и применить их в своем бизнесе.
МЫСЛИ И ВЫВОДЫ ИЗ КНИГИ:
- Обязательно надо вложить в одно предложение мысль, в чем заключается первоклассный клиентский сервис в моей компании и доносить это ежедневно для сотрудников как мантру. И это не должно оставаться словами, а четко соблюдаться и поддерживаться каждый день.
- Распечатать главные стандарты сервиса на отдельных карточках и выдать их своим сотрудникам, чтобы они их носили с собой.
- Очень важно сейчас избегать формального языка и заученных фраз при общении с клиентами.
- Онбординг новых сотрудников - важнейший процесс, влияющий на качество их дальнейшей работы. СЕО должен обязательно в этом участвовать.
- Надо выстраивать систему и культуру сервиса так, чтобы сотрудники отвечали "Да" на любые запросы клиентов и никогда не говорили "Нет".
- Можно сделать понедельник и пятницу "днем историй про исключительный сервис", где на встрече с сотрудниками рассказывается случай недели.
- Надо обязательно применять "инжениринг языка". Постоянно пополнять и давать сотрудникам список слов и фраз, которые они должны применять и избегать в разговорах с клиентами.
- Mistery guest, в итоге, плохой инструмент для оценки работы сотрудников.
- Надо выстраивать разный уровень сервиса для разных поколений клиентов. Сейчас важно понимать различия в ценностях между поколениями.
ЧТО Я БУДУ ПРИМЕНЯТЬ:
BUBL method:
B: Begin immediately
U: Un-code the guest’s messages and pacing
B: Break your schedule
L: Leave room for more interaction
ЕЩЕ НА ЭТУ ТЕМУ:
- Карл Сьюэлл "Клиенты на всю жизнь"
- Be Our Guest by Disney Institute
Эту книгу должен прочитать каждый, кто работает в индустриях, связанных с клиентским сервисом. Автор разбирает подходы топ-компаний из сервисных индустрий: гостиницы, рестораны, парки развлечений, фитнес и медицина. Книга написана на основе обширной консультационной практики Соломона, а также через интервью с руководителями ведущих компаний, таких как Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, сеть ресторанов Starr и Union Square, парки развлечений Six Flags и многих других.
Большая часть книги посвящена тому, как сделать первоклассный сервис частью культуры и ДНК вашей компании.
Автор напомнил мне про многие вещи, что я так знаю, что нужно делать, но не делаю) Книга написана с юмором и читается как разговор с опытным консультантом. Хочется взять и сразу внедрить в своей компании многое из прочитанного.
ГЛАВНАЯ МЫСЛЬ КНИГИ:
В клиентском сервисе ничего не должно быть случайным. Чтобы оказывать своим клиентам действительно первоклассный сервис, надо создать работающие стандарты, выстроить все процессы, постоянно проводить обучение сотрудников и нанимать правильных людей(а также вовремя увольнять неподходящих). Кажется всё просто, но эффективность кроется в системе и деталях.
ЗАЧЕМ ЧИТАТЬ ЭТУ КНИГУ?
Чтобы получить лучшие практики клиентского сервиса и применить их в своем бизнесе.
МЫСЛИ И ВЫВОДЫ ИЗ КНИГИ:
- Обязательно надо вложить в одно предложение мысль, в чем заключается первоклассный клиентский сервис в моей компании и доносить это ежедневно для сотрудников как мантру. И это не должно оставаться словами, а четко соблюдаться и поддерживаться каждый день.
- Распечатать главные стандарты сервиса на отдельных карточках и выдать их своим сотрудникам, чтобы они их носили с собой.
- Очень важно сейчас избегать формального языка и заученных фраз при общении с клиентами.
- Онбординг новых сотрудников - важнейший процесс, влияющий на качество их дальнейшей работы. СЕО должен обязательно в этом участвовать.
- Надо выстраивать систему и культуру сервиса так, чтобы сотрудники отвечали "Да" на любые запросы клиентов и никогда не говорили "Нет".
- Можно сделать понедельник и пятницу "днем историй про исключительный сервис", где на встрече с сотрудниками рассказывается случай недели.
- Надо обязательно применять "инжениринг языка". Постоянно пополнять и давать сотрудникам список слов и фраз, которые они должны применять и избегать в разговорах с клиентами.
- Mistery guest, в итоге, плохой инструмент для оценки работы сотрудников.
- Надо выстраивать разный уровень сервиса для разных поколений клиентов. Сейчас важно понимать различия в ценностях между поколениями.
ЧТО Я БУДУ ПРИМЕНЯТЬ:
BUBL method:
B: Begin immediately
U: Un-code the guest’s messages and pacing
B: Break your schedule
L: Leave room for more interaction
ЕЩЕ НА ЭТУ ТЕМУ:
- Карл Сьюэлл "Клиенты на всю жизнь"
- Be Our Guest by Disney Institute
January 23, 2025
Το άκουσα σαν ηχητικό βιβλίο λόγω χρόνου. Το βιβλίο είναι πολύ καλό για όποιον ενδιαφέρεται να ασχοληθεί ή ήδη ασχολείται με τον τουρισμό και την φιλοξενία για να πάει ένα βήμα παρακάτω σε όσα ήδη ξέρει ή για να μάθει καινούργια πράγματα καθώς και να πάρει καινούργιες ιδέες. Πολύ ενδιαφέρον το γεγονός οτι έχει συνεντεύξεις απο διευθυντές μεγάλων ξενοδοχειακών επιχειρήσεων, που λένε την γνώμη τους για διάφορα θέματα.
Μερικά απο τα πολλά που ξεχώρισα:
- Αντιμετώπισε τον κάθε πελάτη σαν να είναι ο τελευταίος, κάνοντας τον να νιώθει ξεχωριστός.
- Βρές και δημιούργησε συστήματα αντιμετώπισης καταστάσεων για γρήγορη επίλυση συχνών προβλημάτων.
- "Επέλεξε" ανθρώπους που είναι ζεστοί, έχουν κοινοί λογική και λατρεύουν την φιλοξενία.
- Δημιούργησε κουλτούρα του Ναι και προσπάθησε να είσαι ελαστικός σε όποιος κανονισμούς μπορείς. (απέφυγε τις αρνητικές λέξεις και το Όχι όπου μπορείς).
- Εξυπηρέτησε με αυθεντικό τρόπο χωρίς όμως να ξεπερνάς τα όρια. Language engineering.
- Δημιούργησε κάτι αυθεντικό στο ξενοδοχείο. Δημιούργησε εμπειρίες που μπορούν να νιώσουν οι πελάτες χωρίς όμως αυτές να φαίνονται ψεύτικες ή στημένες.
- Προσπάθησε όσο μπορείς να θέλουν οι πελάτες να ανεβάζουν στα social για την επιχείρησή σου. Κάνε το ξενοδοχείο σου friendly σε οικογένειες.
- Κάνε όσο πιο εύκολο μπορείς να κάνει κάποιος κράτηση. Προσπάθησε να μην χρειάζεται χρόνος σε αναμονές για οπουδήποτε. Χρησιμοποίησε την τεχνολογία για την διευκόλυνση των πελατών.
Μερικά απο τα πολλά που ξεχώρισα:
- Αντιμετώπισε τον κάθε πελάτη σαν να είναι ο τελευταίος, κάνοντας τον να νιώθει ξεχωριστός.
- Βρές και δημιούργησε συστήματα αντιμετώπισης καταστάσεων για γρήγορη επίλυση συχνών προβλημάτων.
- "Επέλεξε" ανθρώπους που είναι ζεστοί, έχουν κοινοί λογική και λατρεύουν την φιλοξενία.
- Δημιούργησε κουλτούρα του Ναι και προσπάθησε να είσαι ελαστικός σε όποιος κανονισμούς μπορείς. (απέφυγε τις αρνητικές λέξεις και το Όχι όπου μπορείς).
- Εξυπηρέτησε με αυθεντικό τρόπο χωρίς όμως να ξεπερνάς τα όρια. Language engineering.
- Δημιούργησε κάτι αυθεντικό στο ξενοδοχείο. Δημιούργησε εμπειρίες που μπορούν να νιώσουν οι πελάτες χωρίς όμως αυτές να φαίνονται ψεύτικες ή στημένες.
- Προσπάθησε όσο μπορείς να θέλουν οι πελάτες να ανεβάζουν στα social για την επιχείρησή σου. Κάνε το ξενοδοχείο σου friendly σε οικογένειες.
- Κάνε όσο πιο εύκολο μπορείς να κάνει κάποιος κράτηση. Προσπάθησε να μην χρειάζεται χρόνος σε αναμονές για οπουδήποτε. Χρησιμοποίησε την τεχνολογία για την διευκόλυνση των πελατών.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2020
This book is already out of date or useful just for beginners. I found quite a little use of it because:
1) it is published in 2016, it means written earlier. Life moves much faster. If I read something I am looking for instruments how to make my service better. It is impossible to do it with lessons from past.
2)it talks only about US and very narrow set of examples. Europe is more advanced according to my experience or there are just not the best examples.
3)it does not speak about modern approach to hospitality
4)it touches many themes in general but too general.
1) it is published in 2016, it means written earlier. Life moves much faster. If I read something I am looking for instruments how to make my service better. It is impossible to do it with lessons from past.
2)it talks only about US and very narrow set of examples. Europe is more advanced according to my experience or there are just not the best examples.
3)it does not speak about modern approach to hospitality
4)it touches many themes in general but too general.
October 11, 2021
Great insights into what it takes to keep customers loyal and happy during these fast-changing times. I was pleasantly surprised that the book had 1 chapter dedicated to how systems and processes enable businesses to provide good customer service. Overall, enjoyable read on how the best in the hospitality industry operate.
February 5, 2025
Read this for a guest service class at school. Very insightful. Last chapter focuses on technology in hospitality, but only briefly mentions AI. Hopefully future versions account for the rapid and recent evolution of AI and impacts on the hospitality experience.
September 18, 2022
Really really really good stuff here.
February 25, 2024
Nice at times but felt very surface level.
December 7, 2024
I read it for my work research purpose. It's amazing reference indeed.
May 24, 2025
Interesting things to think about more from a consumer angle than a provider of hospitality.
May 9, 2020
This book covers pretty much main points in hospitality and hospitality business. Service standards, customer focus strategies, company visions, employees’ motivations and inspirations, you name it. Revenue will follow by if all of the fundamentals are strengthen and maintained. Im impressed of the viewpoints from professionals and seniors about this industry which I’m pursuing as my career.
My bedside book for my career :)
My bedside book for my career :)
August 13, 2022
For a change, this was a very enjoyable and interesting work related read. Filled with a lot of information that it's obvious, but still a good refresher, but highlighting a lot of best practices and ideas that certainly left food for thought.
May 17, 2025
great informative read. It is more geared towards five star, massive hotels but things are still applicable for smaller properties! I marked this book up like it was a journal and it will be very useful as I work my way up the hotel management chain
June 26, 2017
A splendid read for hoteliers!
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