Why Guests Feel What Employees Feel – The Untold Link Between Workplace Culture and Guest Satisfaction
- Bianca Bacher
- Apr 28
- 3 min read
When smiles feel forced, guests notice.
There’s a saying in hospitality: “Service comes from the heart.” But what if the heart of your team is tired, misaligned, or under pressure?
In high-end hospitality, we obsess over scent branding, curated playlists, and architectural harmony. But we often overlook something far more influential: the emotional climate of our team.
The truth is simple but powerful: Guests don’t just see your employees. They feel them.
Culture Isn’t Contained to the Back Office
According to a global study by Deloitte, 94% of executives and 88% of employees agree that workplace culture is crucial to business success [1]. And in hospitality, success is guest satisfaction. The link between the two is often underestimated.
A negative team dynamic—a toxic manager, constant understaffing, unresolved tensions—doesn’t stay behind the scenes. It quietly but consistently trickles into every interaction. Guests might not articulate why the service felt cold, disorganised, or transactional… but they’ll remember how it made them feel.
The Chain Reaction from Employee Mood to Guest Mood
A 2023 study by Harri found that engaged employees are 87% more likely to provide outstanding service and customer care [2]. These team members aren’t just more productive—they’re more emotionally present. They pick up on guest cues, adapt in real time, and genuinely want to create memorable experiences.
On the flip side, employees experiencing burnout, lack of recognition, or interpersonal friction tend to disengage—and that disengagement is palpable. Research published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management confirms that poor internal communication and unresolved conflict correlate with significant dips in service quality scores [3].
Emotional Intelligence Can’t Survive in a Toxic Culture
Training your team in emotional intelligence is a smart move—but it won’t stick unless the work environment supports it.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) involves recognising emotions in yourself and others and adjusting behaviour accordingly. In hospitality, that can mean sensing an irritable guest and knowing when to lean in or give space. But developing this skill requires psychological safety—something that disappears when the workplace feels volatile, hierarchical, or overly pressured.
A toxic or misaligned culture shuts down empathy. A healthy, values-driven culture lets it thrive [4].
The Role of Leadership: Culture is a Daily Practice
Hospitality leaders often underestimate the soft signals they send. Culture isn’t built by slogans on the wall—it’s shaped in the everyday:
How do you respond when a team member makes a mistake?
Are staff encouraged to speak up—or stay quiet?
Do your employees feel their emotional labour is seen and valued?
Studies from Gallup show that recognition and belonging are among the strongest predictors of both employee retention and customer satisfaction [5]. Leadership that prioritises empathy, feedback, and inclusion doesn’t just keep teams intact—it directly enhances the guest journey.
Something to Reflect On
As you think about your own team, I invite you to reflect—not on the metrics, but on the mood:
What emotional tone does your team bring into the room each day?
Are your employees smiling because they want to—or because they have to?
What unspoken dynamics could be quietly undermining the guest experience?
Because in hospitality, culture isn’t hidden. It walks, talks, and checks guests in every single day.
References
Deloitte (2016). Global Human Capital Trends: The new organisation – Different by design.https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/human-capital/articles/introduction-human-capital-trends.html
Harri (2023). The Link Between Employee Engagement and Guest Satisfaction in Hospitality.https://resources.harri.com/blog/the-link-between-employee-engagement-and-guest-satisfaction-in-hospitality
Karatepe, O. M. (2022). The effects of internal communication and emotional dissonance on frontline employees’ service delivery.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2022-0431/full/html
LCCA (London College of Contemporary Arts). The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Hospitality Management.https://www.lcca.org.uk/blog/hospitality/the-power-of-emotional-intelligence-in-hospitality-management/
Gallup (2020). State of the Global Workplace.https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace-2021-report.aspx
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