The timing perfect, the words accurate: Klaus Schwab's criticism of the lack of hospitality on the part of some people from Davos made the kind of headlines that no tourist professional likes to read about their town just before the WEF. “Why is he hurting Davos?” That's the question you heard about it. “Does he do that?” , is my counter question.
If Klaus Schwab gives an interview ten days before the WEF, he is guaranteed the attention of the world public. A host of world politics and global economy for decades, he knows the finesse of media relations and the effect of targeted provocation. Nobody wants to pretend that he and his wife Hilde were snapped at in Davos for helping them out of the car while not stopping. But it is certainly not the rule. There can be no question of a hastily instigated hostile mood on the part of the locals against the WEF or even against all tourists. Not in Davos and not in other Swiss holiday resorts.
However, Schwab is not entirely alone in his experience: It was less than half a year ago that US television icon Oprah Winfrey rushed through the world's media with her “Täschligate”. An apparently poor service in a Zurich boutique immediately took the colorful presenter as an opportunity to complain about racism in Switzerland. Klaus Schwab did not go that far, Davos and Switzerland are close to his heart. That is probably why he has put his finger on a sore spot: Even a single negative experience can make a guest's overall impression of a place turn negative.
And it is precisely this overall impression that determines whether a guest returns or recommends us to others. That is exactly why hoteliers and other hosts remind even their best employees of the basics of friendliness and helpfulness. Klaus Schwab did nothing else.
“100 percent friendliness is an illusion.”
Even lesser-known guests sometimes experience negative things. While some simply swallow it, others complain immediately. However, the vast majority of people today write on social networks: Social media and in particular the travel industry review portals are Western Walls and fan altars at the same time. Complaints, especially since they are public on social media, are initially annoying for the companies concerned. However, well-managed companies have long since noticed that reviews, even negative ones, have something good about them: They show what customers think without make-up.
Professionally evaluated, they can help improve offerings and services. Not all industries are finding it easy: Complaints are still dropped too often, because complainants are just annoying too. However, anyone who doesn't take their customers seriously will soon have a problem with their reputation. And anyone who has a bad reputation is mercilessly punished by the market.
Back to the “friendliness debate”: Hospitality is not just the obligation of hoteliers and innkeepers. It comes from anyone and everyone who comes into contact with guests. There will always be individual black sheep.
Good role models can help them get going: Hoteliers, hosts, ski school managers or station supervisors in holiday resorts are just as much a role model for their employees as entrepreneurs, managing directors or sales managers in other parts of our canton. 100 percent friendliness is nonetheless an illusion, in Davos and elsewhere. However, the majority of the guests at the recently completed WEF are likely to have returned home satisfied. Klaus Schwab's annual little wake-up call has probably had an additional effect. It is to be hoped that it will have some effect in tourism as in other sectors.
He probably didn't hurt Davos: The WEF guests have disappeared again and with them the inflated headlines about the issue of kindness. Until WEF 2015.
This text was published in the Bündner Tagblatt on January 28, 2014.