22 Comments
User's avatar
GALLOP's avatar

"But where are the hospitality critics? Not reviewers!!! Critics!!!"

Your talents are needed more than ever.

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

My life’s work at this point

Joanna Kaze's avatar

Perhaps we need to talk about this more in the live as well, because big yes on everything

Sonja Stojcevski's avatar

Putting my hand up for the critic part, uncomfortable conversation and things that most think but have no courage to say. Unless it’s trending, then everyone suddenly has an opinion. What a great piece! For a while I thought I was the only one being angry about so many things in hospitality but now I see that I’m not alone.

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

YES SONJA we need you! It’s definitely time to blow some dust off our lovely but very hush-hush and conservative industry to make way for better practices, and that, like you said, also requires saying things out loud before other people have done so (GASP!!!)

Thank you for being here and reading, and you are definitely not alone in the frustration :’)

The Upgrade | Anne Marie's avatar

Loved this. I would say I’m a hospitality critic - there are a few of us out there!

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

Absolutely! We should unionize lol

lobster club's avatar

we welcome the rant!

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

Thank you for the lobster stamp of approval 🦞also I miss your letters

Sanchita's avatar

I just can't get on board with the whole Ritz x Frame and Mandarin Oriental x Sporty & Rich. I just can't.

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

I’m bored! Imagine hotels commissioning designers to do this in-house instead :’)

Sanchita's avatar

Now that would be ideal.

kate's avatar

I absolutely looove the idea of hospitality being a humanities subject, and even layering it in with social sciences. The philosophy of, but also the psychology of, hospitality... why we make people feel welcome, what belonging means, how environments shape human behavior, why certain places make us feel at ease, the rituals of hospitality across cultures... Hospitality is so much more than operations or a service, and that is fascinating to me! I think you're really onto something.

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

When you think about it, isn’t it funny that there’s practically nothing about the history of hospitality or traditions etc. in hospitality education!?!? I would do a whole degree in humanities hospitality if I could lol. And the psychology part is equally important if not just the whole basis for excelling in the industry actually haha.

LOVE having you here Kate!

Emily @ Elevate Hospitality's avatar

Hospitality doesn't need fashion's validation ....it needs its own critics, theorists, and cultural language. This is the conversation we should be having!!

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

YES we are cool on our own! Let’s theorize 🤝🤝

Lindsay Caitlin's avatar

Loved this and this is exactly what I love to look at - hospitality thru the lens of culture. not just rooms

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

Yes Lindsay!! We need you

Seriesnthings's avatar

We don’t need another sporty & rich collab hahahaha

Emma Näpänkangas's avatar

We don’t but s&r does lol