Guest service training that changes daily hotel service

Most hotels have run some form of guest service training, and most managers have seen the same result: a burst of energy for a few days, then old habits return. The problem is rarely the content. It is what the training focuses on, how it is practised and what happens in the weeks after the trainer leaves.

Rainer Lagemann has trained guest-facing hotel staff for ten years: reception, reservations, spa and restaurant service. He came up through the German apprenticeship system and later sold hotel software, which he left because he wanted to change something in people rather than in systems. What follows are his lessons, framed for any hotel that wants training to show up in daily service.

Why guest service training should start with connection

A common complaint among hotel and restaurant staff is that guests are rude. In Lagemann's view, that rudeness is usually the consequence of what happened before. What is often missing are the basics of building a relationship:

• Being aware and attentive when a guest arrives
• Greeting every guest
• Calling the guest by name
• Introducing yourself by name, for example as a waiter at the table

“Because if there is a connection, usually, people are not rude to you anymore.”

Rainer Lagemann, 6:06

He sees digital tools making this harder. Handhelds help smaller teams, but a waiter who only looks at the device while taking an order builds no connection. Small human touches fill that gap: appreciating a guest's choice of dish, saying it is a good choice or one of the house best sellers. In his experience those details make the difference at the end of the day, including in tips.

Great service sometimes means doing less

Most training is about going the extra mile. Lagemann also asks the opposite: what can you leave out? A colleague in the industry put the goal to him this way: the guest should not have to think anymore, because you already did the thinking for them.

“It could be helpful not to do something extra, but to leave it out. That will make a difference.”

Rainer Lagemann, 12:36

His favourite example is the arrival question “Did you have a safe trip?” A business guest can hear it several times a week. Checking in before a training, sometimes as a kind of mystery guest, he answers honestly: hours of traffic, a missed train. Often the reply is simply a request to sign the form. The lesson for any front desk: if you ask a question, be prepared for a negative answer, and do not ask it out of routine just because it has been asked for twenty years.

He draws a clear line here. Truly automatic tasks are exactly where digitisation and automation belong. The individual moments, where someone decides on the spot how to respond to a guest, should be handled by a person. Luxury guests, he adds, can buy marble anywhere. What they cannot buy is authenticity and a real connection. A related article looks at what a hotel host really does.

The last impression and the small details guests notice

First impressions count, but the last impression is what lasts. At checkout, staff often keep typing while asking whether everything was fine. His advice costs only a few seconds: look up, make eye contact, ask the question and wait for the answer before printing the invoice.

The same thinking applies to processes. He describes an upscale hotel in Austria that filled the in-room espresso machine with fresh water before he arrived, so he only had to press a button. In a restaurant in Germany he was offered his receipt for tax purposes as a QR code on his phone, without asking. Both removed a small step the guest would otherwise have to think about.

Role play that staff are willing to do

Most people dislike role play, especially on camera. Yet in his experience it has the biggest impact of anything in a training, and participants agree afterwards, not before. The trick is the wording. Instead of announcing a role play, he tells the team they are going to record best practice videos that will show new employees during onboarding how a guest should be welcomed.

The team then practises one sequence again and again on camera, such as serving a table, handling a complaint or upselling at reception, with short corrections in between: better eye contact, turn towards the guest a little earlier. Nobody wants to look bad in a video future colleagues will watch, so people are far more engaged. The result is better skills plus onboarding clips, which matters when turnover is high.

How to make guest service training stick

Asked about the biggest mistake hotels make with training, he does not hesitate.

“I think the probably largest biggest mistake is the one you just mentioned, that it's just a one spot training and then nothing happens afterwards.”

Rainer Lagemann, 31:13

Without follow-up, the next session a year later meets a team that thinks the last one made no difference. He also warns against training without clear expectations. To keep the effect going, he uses a simple self-review tool he borrowed from a well-known leadership coach and runs together with hotel leaders:

• The team chooses criteria from the training, such as introducing yourself, making eye contact and not asking routine questions on autopilot.
• Each week, every employee rates themselves on a scale from 1 to 10: did I give my best this week?
• Leaders provide the list as a checklist, online or on paper.
• Every few weeks the criteria change, so the exercise does not become boring.

With thirty or forty criteria, a team is reminded of the training for almost a full year. In his experience people tend to criticise themselves the most and the hardest, which is why this very simple tool works. When teams notice that ongoing guest service training levels them up, they start looking forward to the next session.

Selling, perspective and keeping good people

Many hospitality staff feel that selling conflicts with helping. His approach is to change perspective. Someone who has worked as a waiter or receptionist for years, and has rarely been a guest in a luxury hotel, may simply not know what guests expect. Exercises, and where possible a stay in the hotel or a sister hotel, help teams feel the difference between a small room and a larger one. Then an upgrade stops feeling like sleazy sales. An extra €50 on a €290 room can seem a lot to the person at the desk, but you never know a guest's motives.

Training also depends on who stays long enough to be trained. Twenty years ago hotels competed for guests; now they compete for staff. Hiring people who stay is the subject of a related article on the realistic job preview. His two levers: staff accommodation as attractive as the hotel itself, and excellent uniforms that earn respect from guests, ideally chosen with the team. You can watch the full conversation for more of his examples from the floor.

Frequently asked questions

What should guest service training cover?

In the view of trainer Rainer Lagemann, the basics come first: being attentive, greeting guests, using their name and introducing yourself. Add the moments where staff decide on the spot, such as reacting to a negative answer or making eye contact at checkout. Automatic tasks can go to technology.

How do you make hotel staff training last after the session?

Plan the follow-up before the training starts. One method: the team picks criteria from the training, everyone rates themselves weekly from 1 to 10 on whether they gave their best, and the criteria rotate every few weeks. With thirty or forty criteria, that keeps the lessons alive for almost a year.

Why do staff resist role play, and how can you change that?

People dislike acting on camera and fear looking bad. Calling the exercise best practice videos for onboarding new colleagues changes the mood, because staff want to show their best version. Practise one sequence repeatedly, such as a welcome, a complaint or an upsell, with small corrections each time.

Should hotels stop asking guests about their trip?

Not necessarily, but they should not ask it out of routine. A business guest can hear the question several times a week. If you ask it, be ready for a negative answer and respond to it, instead of moving straight on to the registration form.