Certainly, a luxurious facility, delicious food & beverage, amenities that respond to our guest’s needs before they’re actually realized, begin to tell the story of “The Art of Hospitality.”
I could have written a list of what we do for our guests, but it would have become a novel, so the short list lends its design to telling a better story. If it’s:
- Mostly legal
- Morally correct
- Not awfully impossible
You can count on us to make it happen for you!
What Hospitality Means to Us
This blog post is the opening segment on what Hospitality means to us. It comes from your words. We plead guilty to listening intently and paying attention to the details.
That said, I promise we’ll build a list, or three, encompassing our Personal Assistants’ special tricks and trade secrets behind the magic they create every day. How about:
- A Gatsby Style Picnic Boat Charter around the secretive Gardiners Island. It’s purported to be the largest privately held island in the United States and is sure to amaze and bewilder the mystery aficionado in each of us.
- A North Fork Wine Tour in a vintage automobile that is sure to be a special ride.
- A ride in a 1940’s Caddy Convertible like Jackson Pollock’s.
But the essential element here is people, a team that loves what they do – taking care of travelers who are seeking something beyond elaborate, overstated monoliths. Almost twenty years ago we made a promise to envision excellence in everything we do at the inn. Once that decision was made, the alternatives vanished.
The conversations with our guests establish a tone of casual attentive service being delivered by a warm, caring, informed team. Each day our team gives our guests the very best of their hearts and souls, it’s just who they are and it is the culture of “The Art of Hospitality.”
Of course, living by the beach makes all of us smile just a bit brighter!
My Journey in the Trade
Let me begin the telling of this tale with absolute honesty, this is not my story alone. I have a bit of help with the keyboard tonight, as I recount my 50 years in the enchanting Hospitality arena. A few very special names come to mind, icons like Leona Helmsley, Andre Soltner, Larry Lowenstein and Warner Leroy … the entire list is long and there is plenty of time to tell this tale.
Let it suffice to say my love of Hospitality is a gift given to me by some very special friends. It has made the last fifty years of my life a wonderful journey, tasting delicious food and consuming fine beverages – sometimes to excess!
When I left Wall Street and the restaurants behind, a new chapter began. As a hotelier, our guests give us the opportunity to thrill and amaze them as never before, because now they spend several days in our care. “Wow” has a new meaning and perfect, though truly unattainable, is a word we hear often.
Why We Listen to You
If you’ve listened to my interviews on Nathan Chan’s Founder Podcast or read them in his magazine, you’ve heard my words about our brand.
The culture and emotional intelligence of our team matters, by paying attention to the details and listening to our guests, they make it all a little better everyday. Our guests have a story to tell and when we hear their words, we learn to be better at everything – every day!
The most common compliment we receive is a very simple one. It goes beyond all the special things we have built, the things you can actually touch, and the services we deliver.
Again and again I respond to guests who compliment everything we do for them. Then they tell me what stands out as perfect, that it was our people who made all the difference in their trip. I am truly left speechless, with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye that says THANK YOU so very much!
Hospitality Lives Here
Hospitality is alive, it’s not found in a book and cannot be learned in a school. You are born with the obsession to take care of people, to nurture them, simply because it matters to you to make them smile.
It’s a deep desire to give of yourself and the absolute generosity of being selfless.
I could certainly use a bevy of adjectives to qualify true Hospitality. Several contenders come to mind – genuine, kind, curious, intelligent, empathetic, and honest.
They all matter, but what really makes the difference is having an obsession for caring about people, looking directly in their eyes, and letting them know how much you care – that you love making them happy.
Hospitality Defined
An American Statesman named Henry Clay (born in 1777) had a few words to say that have always touched my heart. I am unsure if he was speaking to Hospitality, but his words certainly work for what we believe in …
“Courtesies of a small and trivial character
are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.”
As a fallback the dictionary isn’t half bad …
… but my vote is cast for Henry Clay.
The “Art of” is central to everything we do at the Mill House Inn. It is how we create such memorable experiences for our guests. We invite you to experience it for yourself.
– Gary
