Press Alert: Sparrow in YFS Magazine
Unlock Success: Applying Hospitality Industry Secrets to Your Business
Peter Hansen, co-founder of Sparrow Estate Management, shares 3 core principles every customer-focused business can leverage from the hospitality industry.
By Peter Hansen Full Article Here
Work in the restaurant business long enough, and you discover the value of human connection. People go out to dinner for food, but service creates repeat diners. A big smile, a friendly greeting, or remembering a favorite drink and important milestones build lasting memories and relationships.
I’ve seen this firsthand, having worked in the hospitality business for over 20 years, directing food and beverage operations at hotels from coast to coast, including Mondrian Park Avenue and Hollywood Roosevelt. There’s a significant difference in service between full-time employees and temporary staff covering busy events. Full-time employees, who have time to immerse themselves in the values of an establishment, as well as form relationships with repeat customers, perform at a higher level than temp employees, who, by stark contrast, often only get 30 minutes of training.
What led me to found Sparrow Estate Management, is that discerning and busy homeowners can benefit from the same principles we rely on within the hospitality industry. Here are the lessons that everyone in a customer-focused business can take from the hospitality industry:
Delivering Unforgettable Client Experiences: The Key Lies in the Details
At fine dining establishments, tablecloths are never wrinkled or stained. A napkin that falls off a diner’s lap is swiftly replaced. These are small yet important things. If you have a customer-focused business, even if it’s far from the dining industry, your clients will notice when you bring this same proactive attention to detail.
In our business, this takes the form of averting issues by tackling them early on, having best practices for every area of the home, and responding to customer requests and emails with great speed. Think of this as the way a waiter in a restaurant might smoothly step to the side when encountering a diner walking in the opposite direction to visit the restaurant.
Our end goal is that our clients enjoy their time at home, without needing to consider a to-do list of tasks, and without worrying about when the last time gutters were cleaned, pool filters were changed, or if the cleaning staff will visit on Monday afternoon as usual.
How to Balance Tech Use with Human Interaction
There’s much technology involved in the hospitality industry. Take a restaurant: Reservations are made via apps and services, data is used to understand the guest experience, and even kitchen equipment (think: a walk-in fridge or the dishwasher) needs to work seamlessly.
That’s true in a home, too. When an HVAC system stops working, people notice. Homeowners who turn to Sparrow Estate Management often have residences with complex systems. For our clients, just as in the hospitality industry, keeping up with technology, and making sure it’s maintained and running smoothly — and that you have a go-to vendor for when things break — is essential.
But anyone can read a manual. What we believe is more meaningful is personalized attention. So while we keep up to date on technology, we consider moments of human connection as key to our value. We hold weekly in-person meetings and our clients don’t need to learn a variety of names and roles, since they have a single point of contact. This allows them to form a deep relationship and have a comfort and understanding of what to expect. Moments of connection may feel less tangible than an HVAC system that goes from dysfunctional to working, but that doesn’t make them less important.
Master the Art of Delivering Consistent Results
Often, when a problem occurs — such as a broken window or a downed treen — homeowners have many next steps: finding vendors, obtaining bids, scheduling appointments, and navigating the permitting process.
At Sparrow Estate Management, we take on that list, removing it from our clients’ plates. With just one phone call to us, they can be assured that their problems will be handled and resolved smoothly. We act as their concierge, providing them with solutions.
In the end, when clients interact with a business, these are the core things that matter: feeling seen and understood; smooth, professional and hassle-free interactions; and the delivery of solid and quality results.
Peter Hansen is the co-founder of Sparrow Estate Management, a 5-star service provider offering seamless home maintenance, management, and staffing solutions tailored to luxury homes. With over two decades of high-end hospitality experience for hotels and restaurants in NYC and LA, he applies his knowledge and expertise to offer white glove services to managing Sparrow’s clients’ homes with great precision, care, and attention to detail. Learn more at sparrowestatemgmt.com.
