Will Guidara: Zero-Cost Business Move With The Highest ROI

Summary

Meb Faber interviews Will Guidara, author of 'Unreasonable Hospitality' and former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, about applying hospitality principles beyond restaurants to any business. Guidara explains that hospitality is about intentional, creative relationship-building and argues it's a powerful, often overlooked competitive advantage. The discussion includes practical implementation tips, the importance of empowering teams, and examples from various industries, including financial services.

• Will Guidara defines unreasonable hospitality as being relentlessly creative and intentional in how you make people feel.
• He distinguishes between service (the functional exchange) and hospitality (the emotional connection), emphasizing the latter as a key differentiator.
• Guidara shares practical methods for building a hospitality culture: inspiring through words, sharing stories, empowering teams with resources, and systematizing graciousness.
• Examples include a hotel streamlining late check-ins and a UPS store allowing employees to comp one order per day to build customer relationships.
• The conversation highlights how small, thoughtful acts can transform customer experiences and employee engagement in any industry.
• Guidara connects the rise of AI to an increased need for authentic human interactions in business.
• He discusses his conferences (Welcome Conference and Unreasonable Hospitality Summit) as forums for sharing these ideas across sectors.
• Meb Faber relates the concepts to financial services, suggesting advisors can use similar low-cost, high-impact gestures to build client loyalty.