Making Welcome: Enriching Life and Business with Hospitality

by Eddie Heintz

Recent events have dramatically changed how we conduct our lives. As a result, rediscovering who we are is essential to enhancing our everyday interactions, finding our purpose, and improving the lives of others. In these evolving times, the universal principles of hospitality are not just beneficial to those in the industry, but to anyone seeking to have an enriched life and a thriving business.

Equipped with over three decades of expertise in the restaurant and wine industry, author Eddie Heintz will guide you through his personal journey collecting vital information across multiple disciplines to help you mindfully connect with others and the world around you. Drawing on his own experiences and the wisdom of authors such as Danny Meyer, Don Miguel Ruiz, and Eckhart Tolle, among others, you will learn:

• To connect with your style of hospitality
• The art of not taking things personally
• How the pineapple became the universal symbol of hospitality
• How hospitality supports the practice of living in the moment
• How to alter situational energy to benefit yourself and others
• And much more

In these unprecedented times, helping to ease fears and give comfort to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers alike is paramount. The author’s professional wisdom will guide your passions and leadership development so you can reach your full potential and become the embodiment of hospitality.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

173 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2022

Reviews

[Melany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very quick read. But I loved how fascinating and enriching it was. There were several parts that felt so relatable to me. I loved that it not only stuck to one subject matter but it explained it over different situations. The flow of the book can be quite confusing (or at least it was with me and my ADHD). BUT once you get the hang of the writing style it's truly motivating and uplifting.

I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

[Leslee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found out about this book when my mother bought me a copy; she works with a family member of the author and she thought I would be interested in reading it (she had not read it herself). I'll admit I read it to humor her - it was not something I would have picked out myself. However, I really ended up enjoying it, much more than anticipated.

Right up front: the one con about this book is that the writing is a bit "stream of consciousness" which may not be everyone's cup of tea. I don't know that it "flowed" that well; it was a bunch of thoughts put together. Because of this, I'm planning to go back and read it again soon; there are topics I would like to have pondered a little more before moving on, but it wasn't always clear when it was transitioning to another topic completely vs going to circle back later.

There are many more pros than cons. One pro is that at about 150 pages, it's a quick read! If it were longer, I wouldn't be considering re-reading it so soon, and I doubt I would be able to convince my husband to read it (which I'm planning to do). I read a good chunk of the book on a 2-hour flight. Even though it's slim, there are dozens of practical ideas for increasing the hospitality in your own life.

Another pro is the interesting subject matter - there's a bit of "behind-the-scenes" at a restaurant, a bit of philosophy, a bit of travel/culture, and a lot of relatable situations. Even if you don't work in a customer-facing job, there are pieces of advice that are just good for interacting with any other person. One thing I'm going to work on is being sincere in my words - not saying "How's it going" out of habit, but only if I am truly interested in stopping and hearing about how it's going.

The last pro is that reading this book just left me feeling happy. It's kind of a corny book, but the author's enthusiasm and joy come through every page, and it makes me feel better just knowing that there are people out there in the world like this. The interview with the Kindness Kids in the last chapter was so uplifting. At the end of the book, I also had some actionable items for myself to bring that happy feeling into my own daily life.

I'd recommend this to people who are interested in any of the many subjects: restaurants, philosophy, Hawaii, kindness, working well with others, or making your day better!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for those in hospitality industry

As someone not in the hospitality industry, there were some good points that can still apply to me, but overall I felt it didn't connect well with the industries I reside in.

[Bri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads for this book in a giveaway. This book was a very nice read for me. I work with clients and even though I don't get to see them all face to face this book gave me some nice tips and notes when interacting with them and potential clients. I would recommend this book for anyone that wants to enhance their hospitality skills. I love the author enthusiasm, books like this get me motivated to do better and do more. If you need a nice pick me up book or just insight on working with others then this is the.one.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

After winning a copy of this book I was excited to thumb through it and see what I could take from it. However I ended up reading every page and can safely say this book exceeded all my expectations. A part in the middle dragged for me slightly but overall I can't say enough good things about the way he tackles hospitality from every conceivable angle and gave me so much to think about in my work and personal life. I'm sure I'll be re-reading chapters from time to time.

[Kelley Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a giveaway. I like the simplicity of the message and the various ways the author talked about how to become a hospitalitarian. A simple reminder that with a little effort and listening you can totally make someone’s day.

[Carrollynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read on being hospitable in all situations

Good read and points even as the author proclaims this book is a "tangled thicket of stories, philosophies, and teaching in a somewhat rambling way". I sprinkled it with highlights as this is one I will pick up (digital) again.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a book written by a man who has spent his working life working in hospitality. His information is priceless. I also worked in hospitality and I understand where he is coming from. Read the book and take it to heart. If enough do we can change the world.

[Caitlyn Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly intended for those in the hospitality industry, though there was some good nuggets for laypeople.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. It gave an interesting and enlightened perspective on hospitality.

[Christi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a professional development book after starting my new job as an executive admin. I highlighted a few lines but by the end I was skimming pages. The book is a lot of anecdotes and short stories which are great to learn from, I think the hard part for me was this isn't a topic I am really invested in and I read this more because I felt I should read books like this. I will say if you are looking for the kind of step-by-step, do x, y, z then you will be disappointed. This is (in my opinion) more of a philosophy type book that looks at the world around us and how we could involve the idea of "hospitality" into all aspects of our lives, not just our work lives.