By Kellie Rixon MBE FIH: Because I gotta have faith, faith, faith.
Hey, you crazy gang out there in Hospitality Land. It’s Tuesday morning and the sound of distant (well actually quite close) construction work hangs in the air as I prepare for another busy day at my hotel. I thought I’d take a few minutes to capture where my head is and what’s happening in my little corner of the world to hopefully try and connect or inspire anyone out there who’s reading this and maybe feeling a bit challenged this morning.
There’s a few things I love about being in a hotel through development. The excitement and anticipation is a big part. That buzz when the investment is signed off and the builders march in. All full of hope and big ideas. I know how lucky we are to be part of a project with big investment in a sector which is forever being pinched and squeezed to within an inch of its life. I never take it for granted. Today the hotel finds itself with a committed and generous ownership who really believe that investment is essential. That creates a combined sense of optimism and hope about good things to come. It’s hard to sleep some nights when you’re running through scenarios or working through project lists, especially if you’re working through the development, but I believe it will all be so worth it in the end. I believe it will be truly magical.
I love how times of challenge and stress also brings out the best in some people. They step up, they stretch and occupy the space you hoped they would when even sometimes they didn’t believe they were capable. It’s really tough on the front line though. My team will tell you that right now. It’s difficult when circumstance and environment conspire against you to deliver what you know you’re capable of. It’s frustrating and can feel like a daily battle just to stand still. In times like these we must listen to the great poet who taught us…you gotta have faith (thank you George Michael).
Now faith is an interesting one. I find even using the word makes some people recoil in horror (my husband Gary for one). It seems a bit outdated, old fashioned and even divisive. But I think faith is alive and kicking and has a huge part to play in modern day life. Now I’m not talking about religion here (I wouldn’t poke that bear), I’m talking about the belief that things will get better. That you can influence a positive outcome. That you matter and the part you play is vital. Faith that things will come good in the end.
If you’ve been in hospitality for as long as I have, you must have more than your fair share of faith. When the odds are stacked against you and you feel like you’re riding that line between chaos and survival you simply have to have faith (a strong team, a good plan and the tools for the job, but for this scenario just faith!!). I joke but I’ve seen it in the best of people. They rally the team, they provide solace and comfort, they inspire, and they send you back out to fight again and you believe it and it sometimes works out just as you’d hoped.
Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes your faith is truly tested. We’ve all been there. When someone lets you down or doesn’t stand up for you. When circumstances seem to work against you. When the waves of constant challenge wash over you. Faith can be fragile. It’s easy to blame in these situations. To point a finger at an individual, organisation, guest or a faceless corporation, but that usually is just wasted energy.
Having faith when times are tough isn’t easy. Today is going to be a tough day. I know people will not be happy when we’ve had to change tables, rearrange meetings and respond to the ever-present unpredictability of developments, but I do take solace in the message… this too shall pass. We will come through this, and we will succeed. I have faith that the foundations we have put in place and the talent of people around me will get us through. I believe not just today but always.
My faith has been tested many times in business and in life. I have suffered from the feeling that I’m not good enough, strong enough or capable enough to expect anything to go right. After speaking to a few people whose opinion, I really respect I hear that’s an all-too-common feeling. People you would never believe had a day’s doubt in their life. Who’ve achieved great things and seemed to be able to breeze through life looking fabulous and effortlessly brilliant. Now I don’t take pleasure in hearing they have struggled but it does make me feel less alone with these feelings of a lack self-worth and inadequacy. I suppose I need to have a little more faith in me.
In the tough times and the good times, we could all do with a little more faith. A friend of mine is struggling with a sick partner at the minute and as devastating as this time can be I told him of my experience with our boy and how my faith helped me get through. My faith was a clear belief that things will get better, a trust that if we work hard and put the effort in, it would be rewarded with a positive outcome. A clear approach to positive words and proactive actions and making things happen. I truly believe it makes a difference. Curiously, if you approach situations like this you still may not achieve what you hoped but believe me, you’ll feel better knowing you gave it everything you’ve got.
So, my final messages and thoughts to you out there in this unpredictable, challenging, unforgiving and wonderful world of hospitality is don’t lose faith. You matter and what you do matters too. Your mood, your approach, your impact changes lives. Not always in a big way but some days the small ways are all someone needs. If that someone is you today then look for the small things which restore your faith. Squeeze some joy out of the day, it’s there I promise you, you just have to look a little closer, go on, I have faith in you.
