The Engagement Myth: Leading Young Teams in Hospitality

There are conversations that, when repeated too often, eventually become unquestionable truths.

In Hospitality, one of them is this:

“New generations are not committed.”

For a while, I admit it, I thought so too.

I thought it after an unexpected absence in the middle of August.
I thought it when someone told me they did not want to work a double shift “because it wasn’t worth it”.
I thought it when I saw turnover among people who, in theory, had every reason to stay.

But over time, and above all through experience—the good and the bad—I came to understand something that made me deeply uncomfortable:

it was not their problem.
It was, to a large extent, a problem with how we were designing work.

And that changes the conversation entirely.

When commitment is absent, we must stop demanding it and start understanding it

I remember a season perfectly when I felt the team was not pulling together.

There were good people, with the right attitude, even willing to give their all… but something was not working.

There was no energy.
There was no real engagement.

And my initial reaction was the most common one:

– demand more
– apply more pressure
– remind them of the standards
– insist on the service culture

The outcome was the opposite of what I expected.

More distance.
More burnout.
More disconnection.

Until one day, speaking with one of them—one of those people we tend to label as “uncommitted”—they told me something I have never forgotten:

“I don’t know exactly what you expect from me… and I don’t know whether I’m doing it right.”

That was when I understood that the problem was not attitude.
It was clarity.

The major mistake I have seen repeated across many hotels

Over the years, I have seen the same pattern across different teams and hotels:

• improvised onboarding
• poorly defined roles
• open-to-interpretation standards
• no feedback
• leadership focused on urgent matters

And then comes the conclusion:

“they are not committed.”

It is a dangerous oversimplification.

Because what is really happening is this:

We are asking for engagement in environments that are not designed to foster it.

The mindset shift that made me rethink everything

There was a pivotal moment.

I stopped asking myself:

“Why are they not engaged?”

And I started asking myself:

“What am I doing—or what are we failing to do as an organisation—that is causing them not to engage?”

That question is uncomfortable.

Because it shifts responsibility.

But it is also liberating.

Because it opens the door to action.

What I have learned from working with new generations

After working alongside, training and also feeling frustrated by younger professionals, there is one thing I know for sure:

They are not less committed.
They are less tolerant of inconsistency.

And, understood properly, that is an opportunity.

I have seen real commitment when:

• you explain the reasoning behind decisions
• you clearly define what doing a good job means
• you provide ongoing feedback (not only when there are mistakes)
• you structure progressive learning
• you lead through presence, not hierarchy

And I have also seen the opposite:

total disconnection in teams where:

• everything is taken for granted
• no one explains anything
• recognition does not exist
• development is an empty promise

The experience that changed my perspective most

There was one team where we decided to do something different.

Nothing revolutionary.

But it was intentional.

– we redefined roles with absolute clarity
– we properly structured onboarding
– we established visible standards
– we introduced short weekly feedback meetings
– we explained decisions, including the uncomfortable ones

We did not raise salaries.
We did not reduce workloads.

But something unexpected happened:

the team began to engage.

Not everyone, of course.
But a clear majority did.

And that was when I understood something essential:

commitment cannot be demanded.
it must be built.

The cost of continuing to blame the wrong generation

It is easy to blame new generations.

But it is a trap.

Because while we do so:

• we do not review our models
• we do not improve our systems
• we do not evolve the way we lead

And the problem persists.

In Hospitality, where service is the product, this has a direct impact:

– poorer guest experiences
– lower guest loyalty
– higher turnover
– greater operational pressure

And, ultimately, lower profitability.

Five decisions I would not compromise on today

After everything I have experienced, there are five things I am certain of and would never do differently again:

• Never hire someone without structured onboarding
  What is not taught properly at the beginning is paid for over months.
• Do not allow ambiguity in roles
  High expectations without clarity create frustration.
• Provide ongoing feedback, even when it is uncomfortable
  Leadership silence is one of the greatest mistakes.
• Explain decisions, even when they are unpopular
  Transparency earns respect, even without agreement.
• Design development; do not improvise it
  Without progress, there is no connection.

I do not believe we are facing a weaker generation.

I believe we are facing a generation that is forcing us to become better managers.

And that, although uncomfortable, is an enormous opportunity for Hospitality.

Because the hotels that understand this:

• will attract better talent
• will retain more stable teams
• will deliver better experiences
• will build stronger businesses

Three final insights from experience

The first:

Commitment is not something an employee brings from home.
It is something a hotel creates… or destroys.

The second:

New generations are not breaking the sector.
They are exposing its weaknesses.

The third:

Managing a hotel today is not only about running operations.
It is about designing an environment where people want to give their best.

And that is not easy.

But it is, probably, the most strategic decision we can make.