Belonging & Experience

Posted on 16 Jul 2025

All industries go through eras. Under the surface, hospitality has experienced a few of its own over the last few decades, from an era of convenience, where how we order, pay, and even how things are delivered made eating out and socialising more accessible, to the era of experience, where social media dominated and our meals out were driven more by checking in and a fear of missing out.

However, in the years following the pandemic, hospitality has found itself in a whole new era, one that is slowly moving away from over-the-top experiences and “going just to say you’ve been.” What has been driving footfall more than anything else in recent years is a feeling of belonging.

Lockdown taught us many things, but perhaps most significantly, it redefined the importance of our shared spaces. Post-Covid, we’re seeing more and more in reviews and in conversations across the industry that our biggest metric for return custom is belonging as much as it is satisfaction.

So how do we capture that?

When we talk about delivering excellent customer experiences that tap into this need for belonging, it’s perhaps not a case of learning anything new, but returning to the basics.

An owner or dedicated member of staff whose role it is to be welcoming and convivial was the norm in many restaurants (or shops) as we grew up: a caring host who embraced authenticity and celebrated individuality. When we cast our minds back, we can all picture that person, the landlord of a pub, the owner of a café, the chef who comes out to the table after a meal. There’s something immediately comforting about someone who makes you feel at ease.

There are simple ways we can achieve this.  Having a visible staff presence when someone first arrives makes a big difference. People naturally crave direction when entering somewhere new, so a greeting area, while not always practical, helps set the tone from the start. Even if staff are busy, just acknowledging a customer and letting them know they’ve been seen and will be helped shortly goes a long way in putting people at ease.

We give compliments, earnestly. There’s a warmth and kindness in a compliment from a stranger that sticks with you. We don’t overdo it, but genuinely commenting on an outfit or a pair of earrings can make a real difference to someone’s visit, and it doesn’t cost a penny.

Going out has never been more expensive. At a time when people have less money in their pockets, we need to look at every resource available to create an experience that feels like incredible value. The food needs to be right, the drinks, the music, the lighting, all of it contributes. But when it comes to service, that’s where we can really make the difference.

There’s practical service, making sure plates are cleared, drinks are topped up, no one is waiting too long.  But there’s also the service of belonging. The difference between a good customer experience and a great one often isn’t how fast the food arrives, it’s about engaging with customers, asking genuine questions and listening to the answers. Asking what’s next in their day, sharing a little of your own story, these are the moments that build familiarity with a venue in ways perfectly chilled drinks never will.

In a world where every human interaction seems to come at a premium, the simple act of asking how someone’s day is can have a huge impact on their experience, and one that particularly for our younger guests, is becoming a unique interaction. If you’re used to ordering via QR code, having shopping delivered, and self-scanning at stores, then warm, personal moments are increasingly rare, and while big chains chase automation and speed, all the evidence points to this: it’s the small moments of human interaction that guests crave most.

Maybe it’s time to look again at our customer-facing roles, whatever our industry, and reflect on the memorable moments that once shaped our dining experiences. When we remember those with warmth, it becomes clear why belonging is once again at the heart of hospitality.

Because it always was.

Tom McNeeney

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