Like many of our colleagues who have been around for more than just a while, we continue to marvel at the entire Covid 19 "experience." So many people in so many places have been hit so hard, it is difficult to imagine such a thing ever happening. With that said, we are immensely proud of how our Hospitality family continues to find optimism and continues to think in creative and meaningful ways to support one another even when many of our own have been so dramatically impacted. . The selflessness and other-centricity of our industry, while deep in the throes of this crisis, is something that should make us all proud.
There are countless ways to make contributions to very worthwhile organizations in order to try to ease the impact of Covid 19, and many of our Hospitality colleagues are doing exactly this. As we look to contribute in meaningful ways, we should also be thinking about the future of our industry. While we would all agree that we will emerge from this crisis (and will be better and stronger for the experience), we need to be thinking about the future of our industry as we know it. Yes, we will emerge, but what will we look like? What behaviors will change that will impact Hospitality going forward?
While analyzing and re-analyzing all of this, we would like to challenge you, our colleagues and friends, to aggressively hire qualified interns this summer and beyond. We’ve all hired (or at least have considered hiring) interns in the past. Whatever your criteria for such hiring, now is the time to expand your horizons. While writing a check is a noble endeavor if you have the means to do so, consider that if you put the same funds to use by employing bright and eager minds, not only are you giving someone a chance, an opportunity to contribute and learn in one of the most challenging environments ever, but you are also impacting their livelihood and how they support themselves and their families. When you are looking for a productive way to contribute, hire an intern, pay them fairly for their work, and revel in the fact that you are not only receiving a work product, but you are putting your money where your mouth is by letting aspiring Hospitality professionals glimpse hope for the future, during a period of time that has shaken all of us to the core.
Of all the things that cause us concern during this most difficult of time-frames, the spirit and the optimism of our Hospitality industry colleagues does not give us any pause whatsoever. Let’s define ‘doing the right thing’ a bit differently, and let’s pay it forward to our younger colleagues and make sure that they have ample opportunity to experience that which we already know, which is that there is nothing like the Hospitality industry, in good times or in bad.