06: Is Hospitality the Key to Local Business Growth?

1 00:00:00,640 - > 00:00:03,520 SPEAKER_00: Every once in a while, a conversation introduces 2 00:00:03,520 - > 00:00:06,879 you to an idea that seems obvious the moment you hear it, 3 00:00:06,959 - > 00:00:09,679 and yet somehow you've never considered it before. 4 00:00:09,919 - > 00:00:12,400 That's exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago. 5 00:00:12,640 - > 00:00:15,359 And since then, I found myself looking at businesses, 6 00:00:15,599 - > 00:00:18,719 communities, and even small towns a little differently. 7 00:00:18,879 - > 00:00:21,920 I've been paying attention to the places people return to, the 8 00:00:21,920 - > 00:00:25,199 places they recommend, and the places that seem to become part 9 00:00:25,199 - > 00:00:26,800 of the story of a community. 10 00:00:26,960 - > 00:00:29,839 And the more I pay attention, the more I think there might be 11 00:00:29,839 - > 00:00:32,240 something important hiding in plain sight. 12 00:00:33,359 - > 00:00:36,799 Welcome to Small Town Stories, the podcast exploring the 13 00:00:36,799 - > 00:00:39,600 business behind main streets and the people shaping small towns 14 00:00:39,600 - > 00:00:41,520 across Canada, the U.S., and beyond. 15 00:00:41,679 - > 00:00:45,439 I'm Jan Ditville, top right podcast host, marketer, and 16 00:00:45,439 - > 00:00:46,560 small town local. 17 00:00:46,719 - > 00:00:49,520 And every Thursday, we're diving into honest conversations about 18 00:00:49,520 - > 00:00:54,000 entrepreneurship, creativity, marketing, reinvention, and what 19 00:00:54,000 - > 00:00:56,799 it really takes to build something meaningful in a small 20 00:00:56,799 - > 00:00:57,679 town today. 21 00:00:57,920 - > 00:01:01,119 From local storefronts to growing brands, community 22 00:01:01,119 - > 00:01:04,319 builders to nationally recognized names, this is where 23 00:01:04,319 - > 00:01:06,719 modern business meets small town life. 24 00:01:06,879 - > 00:01:08,319 Let's get into it. 25 00:01:09,599 - > 00:01:12,239 Well, hello, and welcome back to Small Town Stories. 26 00:01:12,319 - > 00:01:15,599 I'm your host, Jan Ditchfield, and I'm really glad you're here. 27 00:01:15,920 - > 00:01:18,959 A few weeks ago, I was driving down a long country road with a 28 00:01:18,959 - > 00:01:22,000 podcast playing through the speakers of my car when I heard 29 00:01:22,000 - > 00:01:25,280 a phrase that's been quietly following me around ever since. 30 00:01:25,519 - > 00:01:28,239 The podcast was called the Heirloom Podcast, and it's one 31 00:01:28,239 - > 00:01:29,280 of my favorites. 32 00:01:29,439 - > 00:01:32,400 And the episode was about hospitality and economic 33 00:01:32,400 - > 00:01:33,200 development. 34 00:01:33,439 - > 00:01:36,400 And now, if I'm being completely honest, that is not the sort of 35 00:01:36,400 - > 00:01:39,280 episode title that would normally stop me in my tracks. 36 00:01:39,519 - > 00:01:41,920 It sounds more like something you'd expect to find on the 37 00:01:41,920 - > 00:01:45,359 agenda of a municipal planning conference than in the middle of 38 00:01:45,359 - > 00:01:46,879 a podcast playlist. 39 00:01:47,120 - > 00:01:50,480 And yet, somewhere in the conversation, the host began 40 00:01:50,480 - > 00:01:54,000 talking about hospitality as a driver of economic development 41 00:01:54,000 - > 00:01:55,200 in small towns. 42 00:01:55,439 - > 00:01:58,719 They spoke about the role hospitality plays in shaping how 43 00:01:58,719 - > 00:02:02,400 visitors experience a community and how these experiences 44 00:02:02,400 - > 00:02:04,640 influence whether people choose to return. 45 00:02:04,879 - > 00:02:07,920 And they talked about greeting visitors on the street, thanking 46 00:02:07,920 - > 00:02:11,360 them for spending time in their town, and recognizing that in 47 00:02:11,360 - > 00:02:14,879 many small communities, tourism is not simply a nice addition to 48 00:02:14,879 - > 00:02:18,159 the local economy, but an important part of it. 49 00:02:18,400 - > 00:02:22,000 What struck me was not the economic development part, it 50 00:02:22,000 - > 00:02:23,840 was the word hospitality. 51 00:02:24,080 - > 00:02:27,680 And as I listened, I realized that hospitality is not a word 52 00:02:27,680 - > 00:02:29,759 that I hear very often in Canada. 53 00:02:30,240 - > 00:02:32,560 At least not related to business. 54 00:02:32,800 - > 00:02:35,439 We tend to talk about customer service instead. 55 00:02:35,680 - > 00:02:38,800 And we talk about whether a business provides good service, 56 00:02:39,039 - > 00:02:41,919 whether staff are helpful, whether somebody answers the 57 00:02:41,919 - > 00:02:45,680 phone, or whether a restaurant gets the order right, or even 58 00:02:45,680 - > 00:02:48,159 whether an experience meets our expectations. 59 00:02:48,639 - > 00:02:51,280 Customer service is a familiar concept. 60 00:02:51,520 - > 00:02:54,960 And most of us understand what it means, and most of us have 61 00:02:54,960 - > 00:02:58,000 opinions on whether it's improving or declining. 62 00:02:58,400 - > 00:03:01,439 Hospitality, however, feels different. 63 00:03:01,680 - > 00:03:05,280 It's a word that seems to carry a broader meaning, one that 64 00:03:05,280 - > 00:03:09,199 extends beyond transactions and into relationships. 65 00:03:09,520 - > 00:03:12,800 And while customer service and hospitality are often treated as 66 00:03:12,800 - > 00:03:15,840 though they're interchangeable, they're not actually describing 67 00:03:15,840 - > 00:03:16,960 the same thing. 68 00:03:17,280 - > 00:03:20,240 Customer service is concerned with what happens during an 69 00:03:20,240 - > 00:03:23,680 interaction, and hospitality seems to be concerned with how 70 00:03:23,680 - > 00:03:26,159 somebody feels during that interaction. 71 00:03:26,400 - > 00:03:30,319 And that distinction may sound subtle, but once I noticed it, 72 00:03:30,479 - > 00:03:32,319 it became difficult to ignore. 73 00:03:32,560 - > 00:03:36,240 And this episode got me thinking because I started thinking about 74 00:03:36,240 - > 00:03:38,400 the businesses I've been visiting while recording this 75 00:03:38,400 - > 00:03:38,960 podcast. 76 00:03:39,120 - > 00:03:42,560 And I thought about the places people gather, the places they 77 00:03:42,560 - > 00:03:45,919 seem to recommend to visitors, and the places that somehow 78 00:03:45,919 - > 00:03:48,319 become part of the identity of a community. 79 00:03:48,560 - > 00:03:50,800 And then I started thinking about the business owners I've 80 00:03:50,800 - > 00:03:54,000 spoken to over the past several weeks and about the role their 81 00:03:54,000 - > 00:03:57,360 businesses play in the lives of the people around them. 82 00:03:57,599 - > 00:04:00,800 And all this thinking led to me wondering whether some of the 83 00:04:00,800 - > 00:04:03,919 most successful small-town businesses are not necessarily 84 00:04:03,919 - > 00:04:07,199 the ones that provide the best customer service, but the ones 85 00:04:07,199 - > 00:04:10,080 that understand something larger about hospitality. 86 00:04:10,319 - > 00:04:14,159 And not hospitality as an industry, but hospitality as a 87 00:04:14,159 - > 00:04:16,319 way of making people feel welcome. 88 00:04:16,800 - > 00:04:20,240 That idea stayed with me because the more stories I collect in 89 00:04:20,240 - > 00:04:23,759 small towns, the more convinced I become that people rarely 90 00:04:23,759 - > 00:04:26,639 remember a place simply because of what it sold them. 91 00:04:26,800 - > 00:04:28,959 They remember how they feel when they were there. 92 00:04:29,199 - > 00:04:32,240 They remember the conversations they had, they remember the 93 00:04:32,240 - > 00:04:35,439 atmosphere, they remember whether they felt noticed, 94 00:04:35,680 - > 00:04:38,560 acknowledged, and comfortable enough to return. 95 00:04:38,879 - > 00:04:42,160 And in many ways, that's true of communities as well. 96 00:04:42,399 - > 00:04:45,120 We often talk about what attracts people to a town. 97 00:04:45,360 - > 00:04:49,439 And we talk about the buildings and tourism, the businesses, the 98 00:04:49,439 - > 00:04:50,959 festivals, the events. 99 00:04:51,199 - > 00:04:54,560 And then we get deep into amenities and infrastructure and 100 00:04:54,560 - > 00:04:56,720 all the economic development strategies. 101 00:04:57,040 - > 00:04:59,040 And all of those things do matter. 102 00:04:59,439 - > 00:05:02,720 But before any of those things can have a lasting impact, 103 00:05:03,040 - > 00:05:05,360 people have an experience of a place. 104 00:05:05,920 - > 00:05:09,199 They decide whether it feels welcoming, they decide whether 105 00:05:09,199 - > 00:05:12,399 they enjoy being there, they decide whether they'd like to 106 00:05:12,399 - > 00:05:12,959 come back. 107 00:05:13,120 - > 00:05:16,879 And it's made me wonder whether hospitality might be one of the 108 00:05:16,879 - > 00:05:20,800 most important things small towns have to teach all of us. 109 00:05:21,120 - > 00:05:23,759 Part of the reason that I found myself returning to this idea 110 00:05:23,759 - > 00:05:26,480 over and over again is because I've spent most of my 111 00:05:26,480 - > 00:05:29,439 professional life working in fields that revolve around 112 00:05:29,439 - > 00:05:29,759 people. 113 00:05:30,319 - > 00:05:33,920 Before I ever built an online business and became a podcaster, 114 00:05:34,000 - > 00:05:36,639 and before I spent my days talking about entrepreneurship 115 00:05:36,639 - > 00:05:39,199 and marketing and audience growth, I worked in the 116 00:05:39,199 - > 00:05:40,399 nonprofit sector. 117 00:05:40,639 - > 00:05:43,360 My career was built around fundraising, community 118 00:05:43,360 - > 00:05:47,680 engagement, leadership, bringing people together around a common 119 00:05:47,680 - > 00:05:48,240 purpose. 120 00:05:48,480 - > 00:05:52,160 And looking back, it strikes me as somewhat ironic that I spent 121 00:05:52,160 - > 00:05:54,879 decades working in relationship-based industries 122 00:05:54,879 - > 00:05:57,680 without hearing the word hospitality very often. 123 00:05:57,920 - > 00:06:01,199 And perhaps that's because hospitality sounds almost too 124 00:06:01,920 - > 00:06:02,399 simple. 125 00:06:02,639 - > 00:06:04,800 It's not a particularly impressive word. 126 00:06:04,959 - > 00:06:06,560 It does not sound strategic. 127 00:06:06,720 - > 00:06:08,079 It doesn't sound innovative. 128 00:06:08,240 - > 00:06:10,560 It certainly doesn't sound like something that belongs in a 129 00:06:10,560 - > 00:06:12,720 conversation about economic development. 130 00:06:12,959 - > 00:06:16,319 But I began noticing that many of the people and businesses I 131 00:06:16,319 - > 00:06:20,079 admire most seem to understand it intuitively. 132 00:06:20,639 - > 00:06:22,879 One of the things that I've enjoyed most about creating 133 00:06:22,879 - > 00:06:26,160 small-town stories has been the opportunity to spend time 134 00:06:26,160 - > 00:06:29,279 observing the rhythms of this community again that I live in. 135 00:06:29,519 - > 00:06:32,560 Not as somebody who grew up here, but as somebody who left 136 00:06:32,560 - > 00:06:35,680 and built a life somewhere else and then eventually found my way 137 00:06:35,680 - > 00:06:36,000 back. 138 00:06:36,240 - > 00:06:39,360 And there's a difference between living somewhere and paying 139 00:06:39,360 - > 00:06:40,399 attention to it. 140 00:06:40,639 - > 00:06:43,360 When I was younger, I moved through Merrickville the way 141 00:06:43,360 - > 00:06:45,759 most young people move through the places they grow up. 142 00:06:46,000 - > 00:06:49,519 I knew the streets, I knew the people, I knew which businesses 143 00:06:49,519 - > 00:06:53,120 existed and which ones didn't, but I wasn't particularly 144 00:06:53,120 - > 00:06:56,240 interested in examining why certain places seem to matter so 145 00:06:56,240 - > 00:06:58,000 much to the communities around them. 146 00:06:58,240 - > 00:07:01,120 Now I find myself paying attention to things I would have 147 00:07:01,120 - > 00:07:04,000 missed entirely 30 plus years ago. 148 00:07:04,240 - > 00:07:06,720 I pay attention to the businesses people mention when 149 00:07:06,720 - > 00:07:09,600 visitors ask for recommendations, and then to the 150 00:07:09,600 - > 00:07:12,639 places that seem to draw people back again and again. 151 00:07:12,879 - > 00:07:17,120 And I notice where conversations happen, where neighbors run into 152 00:07:17,120 - > 00:07:20,639 each other unexpectedly, and where people linger a little 153 00:07:20,639 - > 00:07:22,000 longer than they need to. 154 00:07:22,240 - > 00:07:26,240 What keeps catching my attention are the routines that shape a 155 00:07:26,240 - > 00:07:27,040 community. 156 00:07:27,279 - > 00:07:31,120 Not the big events or the obvious landmarks, but those 157 00:07:31,120 - > 00:07:35,199 small patterns that repeat themselves day after day. 158 00:07:35,519 - > 00:07:38,399 And it's the coffee shops like the Village Bean that people 159 00:07:38,399 - > 00:07:39,680 visit every morning. 160 00:07:39,920 - > 00:07:42,879 And the stores like Anarchy Gallery, where people stop in 161 00:07:43,040 - > 00:07:44,879 even when they don't eat anything. 162 00:07:45,199 - > 00:07:48,560 And then there are those places that gradually become part of 163 00:07:48,560 - > 00:07:50,800 the background rhythm of people's lives. 164 00:07:51,120 - > 00:07:53,759 Because there is a difference between a business that serves 165 00:07:53,759 - > 00:07:57,120 customers and a business that becomes woven into the daily 166 00:07:57,120 - > 00:07:58,240 life of a community. 167 00:07:58,480 - > 00:08:02,319 The businesses that become part of people's routines occupy a 168 00:08:02,319 - > 00:08:04,160 different role altogether. 169 00:08:04,399 - > 00:08:08,319 They become the landmarks in people's personal stories. 170 00:08:08,639 - > 00:08:11,199 They become the places where neighbors run into each other 171 00:08:11,199 - > 00:08:12,319 unexpectedly. 172 00:08:12,560 - > 00:08:16,480 They become the backdrop for conversations, celebrations, 173 00:08:16,959 - > 00:08:21,439 difficult seasons, ordinary Tuesdays, and all the little 174 00:08:21,439 - > 00:08:23,920 moments that eventually make up a life. 175 00:08:24,319 - > 00:08:27,680 The businesses that stay with people the most are rarely 176 00:08:27,680 - > 00:08:30,000 remembered because of that product alone. 177 00:08:30,399 - > 00:08:33,279 Sure, people might walk through the door because they need a cup 178 00:08:33,279 - > 00:08:37,919 of coffee or a gift or a meal, but the businesses that become 179 00:08:37,919 - > 00:08:41,120 part of the community story, well, they seem to offer 180 00:08:41,120 - > 00:08:43,039 something more difficult to define. 181 00:08:43,279 - > 00:08:46,159 Over the years, we've created all kinds of language to 182 00:08:46,159 - > 00:08:47,360 describe that experience. 183 00:08:47,600 - > 00:08:51,360 We talk about customer service, customer experience, reputation, 184 00:08:51,600 - > 00:08:55,679 brand loyalty, and yet the word that keeps coming back to me is 185 00:08:55,679 - > 00:08:56,720 hospitality. 186 00:08:57,200 - > 00:09:00,000 I suspect, however, that hospitality has very little to 187 00:09:00,000 - > 00:09:03,519 do with industry and a great deal to do with belonging. 188 00:09:03,840 - > 00:09:07,279 It's the feeling that somebody is genuinely pleased that you're 189 00:09:07,279 - > 00:09:07,600 there. 190 00:09:07,840 - > 00:09:11,039 It's the sense that your presence is not an interruption, 191 00:09:11,120 - > 00:09:13,120 but a welcome addition to the room. 192 00:09:13,440 - > 00:09:16,960 Perhaps that's why hospitality extends so naturally beyond 193 00:09:16,960 - > 00:09:20,000 business, because communities practice it too. 194 00:09:20,240 - > 00:09:23,039 In fact, many of our strongest impressions of a place are 195 00:09:23,039 - > 00:09:25,600 formed long before we buy anything. 196 00:09:25,840 - > 00:09:28,240 They're formed through the people we meet and the 197 00:09:28,240 - > 00:09:31,200 conversations we have, and the ways that a community 198 00:09:31,200 - > 00:09:34,639 communicates, whether intentional or not, whether 199 00:09:34,639 - > 00:09:36,000 there's room for us there. 200 00:09:36,559 - > 00:09:40,080 Visitors experience hospitality long before they ever step foot 201 00:09:40,080 - > 00:09:41,120 inside of a shop. 202 00:09:41,440 - > 00:09:43,759 They experience it through the people they encounter. 203 00:09:44,240 - > 00:09:46,240 And they experience it through the conversations on the 204 00:09:46,240 - > 00:09:50,080 sidewalks, the directions offered to strangers, the 205 00:09:50,080 - > 00:09:54,159 recommendations that are shared freely, and the countless small 206 00:09:54,159 - > 00:09:57,200 interactions that shape our impressions of a place. 207 00:09:57,679 - > 00:10:00,399 And when I think about the stories people tell when they 208 00:10:00,399 - > 00:10:03,600 talk about the places that matter to them, what strikes me 209 00:10:03,600 - > 00:10:06,799 is that those stories rarely begin with infrastructure. 210 00:10:07,039 - > 00:10:09,200 People don't usually start by talking about economic 211 00:10:09,200 - > 00:10:13,440 development plans or tourism strategies, zoning decisions, or 212 00:10:13,440 - > 00:10:15,200 even municipal priorities. 213 00:10:15,519 - > 00:10:18,000 Even though all of those things do play an important part in 214 00:10:18,000 - > 00:10:22,080 shaping a community, what they start with are the memories of 215 00:10:22,080 - > 00:10:26,240 businesses they visited as children, neighbors who check in 216 00:10:26,240 - > 00:10:30,000 during the difficult seasons, or the coffee shop where they meet 217 00:10:30,000 - > 00:10:31,440 friends every Saturday morning. 218 00:10:31,919 - > 00:10:34,879 And when people describe a place that mattered to them, they're 219 00:10:34,879 - > 00:10:38,240 often describing a feeling just as much as a location. 220 00:10:38,639 - > 00:10:42,240 And that feeling is difficult to measure, which perhaps is one of 221 00:10:42,240 - > 00:10:44,159 the reasons it gets overlooked so easily. 222 00:10:44,480 - > 00:10:47,600 It's much easier to count visitors than it is to measure 223 00:10:47,600 - > 00:10:48,320 belonging. 224 00:10:48,559 - > 00:10:52,480 It is much easier to track economic activity than it is to 225 00:10:52,480 - > 00:10:55,600 quantify whether somebody feels connected to a place. 226 00:10:56,000 - > 00:10:59,919 And yet that sense of connection influences so many of the 227 00:10:59,919 - > 00:11:01,279 decisions people make. 228 00:11:02,080 - > 00:11:05,919 It influences whether they stay, it influences whether they 229 00:11:05,919 - > 00:11:06,559 return. 230 00:11:07,039 - > 00:11:09,840 It influences whether they recommend a community to friends 231 00:11:09,840 - > 00:11:10,559 and family. 232 00:11:10,720 - > 00:11:13,360 It influences whether they choose to invest their time, 233 00:11:13,679 - > 00:11:15,519 energy, and attention there. 234 00:11:15,840 - > 00:11:18,000 Which brings me back to that podcast episode. 235 00:11:18,240 - > 00:11:21,120 The hosts who were talking about hospitality as economic 236 00:11:21,120 - > 00:11:21,840 development. 237 00:11:22,000 - > 00:11:24,799 Well, at first I assumed they were describing two different 238 00:11:24,799 - > 00:11:25,440 ideas. 239 00:11:25,840 - > 00:11:29,200 The longer I sat with it, however, the more I began to 240 00:11:29,200 - > 00:11:32,240 wonder whether they're simply approaching the same idea from 241 00:11:32,240 - > 00:11:33,360 different directions. 242 00:11:33,919 - > 00:11:36,720 Economic development is often framed as a question of 243 00:11:36,720 - > 00:11:37,519 attraction. 244 00:11:37,840 - > 00:11:39,279 How do we attract visitors? 245 00:11:39,440 - > 00:11:43,600 How do we attract businesses, investments, families, and 246 00:11:43,600 - > 00:11:44,480 opportunities? 247 00:11:44,960 - > 00:11:47,200 Hospitality asks a different question. 248 00:11:47,600 - > 00:11:52,080 Once people arrive, what kind of experience are we creating for 249 00:11:52,080 - > 00:11:52,240 them? 250 00:11:52,799 - > 00:11:55,200 Because growth doesn't happen in a vacuum. 251 00:11:55,519 - > 00:11:56,960 It happens in places. 252 00:11:57,200 - > 00:11:58,799 And it happens among people. 253 00:11:59,200 - > 00:12:02,240 And people are far more likely to return to places where they 254 00:12:02,240 - > 00:12:06,080 feel welcomed than places where they simply feel accommodated. 255 00:12:06,399 - > 00:12:09,440 It's as though some of the strongest communities understand 256 00:12:09,440 - > 00:12:10,559 this instinctively. 257 00:12:11,039 - > 00:12:14,159 And they understand that growth is not only about encouraging 258 00:12:14,159 - > 00:12:17,679 people to come, it's also about giving them a reason to return. 259 00:12:17,919 - > 00:12:21,200 That may be true for businesses and communities alike, and 260 00:12:21,200 - > 00:12:23,840 perhaps even for many of the meaningful relationships we've 261 00:12:23,840 - > 00:12:25,360 built throughout our lives. 262 00:12:25,679 - > 00:12:28,639 We all remember the places where we felt like we belonged. 263 00:12:28,879 - > 00:12:31,200 We remember the people who made space for us. 264 00:12:31,440 - > 00:12:34,000 And we remember the communities that welcomed us. 265 00:12:34,320 - > 00:12:39,120 And perhaps hospitality matters because it shapes those memories 266 00:12:39,120 - > 00:12:41,360 long before we realize it's doing that. 267 00:12:41,600 - > 00:12:44,559 And perhaps that's why a conversation on a podcast has 268 00:12:44,559 - > 00:12:46,159 stayed with me for weeks after. 269 00:12:46,399 - > 00:12:49,039 Maybe hospitality isn't simply about something we offer to 270 00:12:49,039 - > 00:12:49,840 visitors. 271 00:12:50,240 - > 00:12:53,759 Maybe it's just one of the ways we can care for the places we 272 00:12:53,759 - > 00:12:54,399 call home. 273 00:12:54,639 - > 00:12:58,480 Anyway, just something to noodle on until the next time we talk. 274 00:13:00,000 - > 00:13:02,159 Thanks for listening to Small Town Stories. 275 00:13:02,320 - > 00:13:04,639 If you've enjoyed today's conversation, make sure you're 276 00:13:04,639 - > 00:13:06,720 following the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 277 00:13:06,879 - > 00:13:09,840 And if you haven't done so yet, I'd be really grateful if you 278 00:13:10,000 - > 00:13:11,200 left a rating and review. 279 00:13:11,360 - > 00:13:13,600 It really helps more people discover the show. 280 00:13:13,840 - > 00:13:16,480 You can follow along on Instagram at the Small Town 281 00:13:16,559 - > 00:13:20,240 Stories Podcast and visit us online at the Small Town Stories 282 00:13:20,320 - > 00:13:21,519 Podcast.com. 283 00:13:22,159 - > 00:13:24,559 All right, I'll see you next Thursday for another 284 00:13:24,559 - > 00:13:27,759 conversation about the business behind Main Street.