Service vs Hospitality...

It Wasn’t the Food. It Was the Way They Made You Feel.

Think back to your best hospitality experience.

Was it the food? Possibly.

I would guess you won’t remember what you ordered, but you will remember how you felt.

The feeling that nothing was too much trouble.

The sense that someone genuinely cared.

That’s not just service. That’s hospitality.

So what’s the difference?

Service is functional. It’s order taken, drinks delivered, plates cleared, card machine presented. Having ‘Steps of Service’ isn’t strong enough, there needs to be more structure.

You see it in fast food places today, a lot of it is done by screens and tech. If your offer is based on soulless Steps of Service, you’ll lose out; either to automation, or a cheaper competitor. Either way, you’ve missed the point.

Tech can’t build human connection. It can’t sense when someone’s tired, nervous, or in need of a quiet table and a smile.

That’s where hospitality wins.

So what is hospitality, and why is it so important?

Great hospitality is in the little things. A warm “welcome back.” A clean, fully stocked toilet. Polished cutlery before food arrives, not after. Nothing out of stock.

It’s not dramatic. It’s not jazz hands. It’s friendly, professional, knowledgeable… and proud.

In the UK, we don’t like forced enthusiasm. We want attentive, not intrusive. Smooth, not overbearing. Service that happens around us, not to us. That means reading the room. Catching needs before they’re spoken. Removing friction before it’s felt.

For golf clubs especially, this matters.

These aren’t one-time guests, they’re members, regulars, locals. Hospitality isn’t about wowing them once. It’s about making them feel they belong, every time.

The danger is, if all you offer is basic service, you’ll end up in a race to the bottom, probably focusing on price. But when you build a culture of true hospitality? You create connection. Community. Loyalty.

Because people won’t always remember what they ordered, but they will remember how we made them feel.

Quick one — if you’ve not done this yet, my scorecard helps you spot gaps across guest experience, costs, and day-to-day ops. Takes a few minutes and you’ll get a proper report at the end.