The tyranny of choice
Prague beer museum | Unsplash via alban.martel
From the Blog, The Good, the Bad, and the Funky, by Yvette Jong, for HOTELSmag.com
It’s 2020. Between work and personal decisions, and everything we manage to squeeze in between, we now have more choice than ever. And with that comes the constant need for decision-making. As hospitality professionals, we proudly present guests with more choices, believing that autonomy and the option to hyper-customize makes for an improved experience.
It’s the start of a new decade – the (hopefully) improved roaring ’20s — and I’m glad to be back writing my blog after a short hiatus to discuss trends and paradigms.
Before putting pen to paper, each blog I write will first be (hotly) debated within my team to get Gen X, Y, Z and baby boomer insights, and will seek to provoke conversation and debate across the industry. At the same time, I’d love to encourage you to think about how these topics relate not just to the industry, but also to your teams, your friends and families, and most important, yourselves.
It’s 2020. Between work and personal decisions, and everything we manage to squeeze in between, we now have more choice than ever. And with that comes the constant need for decision-making. As hospitality professionals, we proudly present guests with more choices, believing that autonomy and the option to hyper-customize makes for an improved experience.
We now have multiple types of “luxury,” 10 daily specials, 15 room types, 50-page wine menus and hundreds of brands.
But if you’re familiar with Barry Schwartz’s TED Talk on the “Paradox of Choice,” or the more recent popularization of FOMO (the fear of missing out), you’ll recall that more choice actually induces stress and anxiety for many. “Am I where I should be?” “Is this the coolest hotel?” “Is this the best appetizer?” “What am I missing out on?”
To make it an even bigger challenge, within parent companies there are multiple brands that appear strikingly similar and target the same guests. With travelers taking the lead on trip planning, are we overwhelming them with options that make the process a chore rather than a treat? Does the endeavor to create new brands yield the highest conversion?
While in many ways we pride ourselves as a society of excesses, we should ask if there might really be something to the phrase “less is more.” If this healthier lifestyle is something we strive for in our personal lives, how can this transpire in business without compromise to the bottom line?
When I think about this topic I’m reminded of an old Holiday Inn Express tote from Hong Kong that read, “more of what you need, less of what you don’t.” I’m also reminded of my own new year’s resolution – to choose wisely, laugh more and stress less. As you dive head first into the new decade, I’d love to know your thoughts.
Craft House Founder and Director, Yvette Jong, contributes regularly to her HOTELS Magazine Blog titled, "The Good, the Bad and the Funky." Topics of discussion include all aspects of hospitality development, operations, branding, marketing, human resources, sustainability and much more.
