We all know that good service is kind, correct, respectful, efficient, and effective, but what if those qualities mean different things to different guests?
With the exception of ultra-local businesses, hospitality businesses have never been so diverse. Not just guests come from different backgrounds, but so do employees.
And they all have culturally influenced expectations around greetings, food arrangements, punctuality, compensation, negotiation, giving feedback, and so much more.
Cultural diversity is not something you can navigate by slapping another one-size-fits-all process on it. It requires cultural intelligence.
What is Cultural Intelligence?
Cultural intelligence refers to the ability to effectively recognize, understand, (if appropriate) adapt, and respond to culturally laden situations, especially when there are cultural differences at play. The term was coined by London Business School professor P. Christopher Earley and Nanyang Business School professor Soon Ang in 2003.
The terms "cultural intelligence" and "CQ" (Cultural Quotient) are often used interchangeably, but there's a difference. Like IQ and EQ, CQ refers to the score one can get when taking a cultural intelligence test, while cultural intelligence refers to the set of skills that allows one to successfully navigate culturally diverse situations.
The Four Capabilities
Earley and Ang break cultural intelligence down into four capabilities:
1. CQ Drive:
- The motivation you have to learn about and engage with different cultures.
- Also known as the motivation capability
2. CQ Knowledge:
- How well you understand different cultural values, customs, and ways of thinking.
- Also known as the cognitive capability.
3. CQ Strategy:
- The ability to plan and adapt according to cultural differences.
- Also known as the meta-cognitive capability.
4. CQ Action:
- The ability to adjust your behavior and communication based on cultural context.
- Also known as the behavioral capability.
CQ assessments test respondents on all four of these capabilities.
Cultural Intelligence Examples
Examples of cultural intelligence demonstrate dominion of multiple of the four CQ capabilities.
Let's say that a Spanish hotel expects a German business traveler to check in today. Officially, check-in time starts at 3 p.m., but it sometimes happens that not all rooms have been cleaned by that time. However, the hotel frequently receives German guests, and the manager has learned (CQ Drive) that Germans tend to care a lot about punctuality (CQ Knowledge).
The manager has therefore made sure that the business traveler's room is ready for her by 3 p.m. (CQ Strategy).
Another example of cultural intelligence could be that when someone coming from India starts working for a Dutch restaurant, they notice how everyone from the sous-chef to the cleaner voices their concerns about the operations of the place. They get curious, as they've always learned to avoid conflict (CQ Drive) and notice how in the Netherlands, being able to speak up is actually seen as a valuable trait (CQ Knowledge). And while it's hard, they slowly adapt and start to share when something bothers them or they think a process could be improved (CQ Action).
The Importance of Cultural Intelligence in Hospitality
The cultural intelligence of your organization and individual staff members impacts both the experience of your guests and how well employees work together. The latter is especially true if your staff comes from culturally diverse backgrounds.
A 2025 study around cultural intelligence in hospitality found that "customer contentment rises and worker success improves with cultural intelligence since it enables superior personalized guest relationships."
But those aren't the only benefits of developing cultural intelligence.
It Improves Performance
When employees understand each other's cultural differences, they can take these into account when interacting with one another and adapt in a way that is more likely to get the job done.
The same applies to managers trying to get different members of a team aligned behind the same vision, or wanting to improve team performance. Dr Peter Varga, Assistant Professor at EHL, notes that "presenting a speech, project ideas and medium/long-term objectives to a culturally diverse team can be more difficult than one might think, because depending on the culture, colleagues may interpret them differently." (Source: Cultural intelligence: Fostering excellence in human experiences).
Based on their cultural background, people may need a different managerial approach, and managers who have the CQ to understand that and adjust to it are much more likely to make progress.
Cultural intelligence also improves performance towards guests. A PhD study confirmed that the meta-cognitive intelligence of frontline hospitality employees predicts how they perform, and that increased meta-cognitive intelligence positively affects task performance.
It Increases Employee and Customer Satisfaction
A study found that "higher levels of cultural intelligence among employees were associated with increased guest satisfaction, suggesting that employees who possess a better understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures are better equipped to meet the needs and preferences of guests from various backgrounds."
It makes sense that guests who feel understood and respected will have a better experience than those who don't, and are therefore also more likely to return.
It's no different for employees.
Cultural intelligence enhances understanding between staff members of different cultures and allows them to adapt their behavior and communicate effectively without suppressing their own identity.
When there's less internal conflict and employees feel respected by their colleagues, they're less likely to go work for a competitor or leave the industry altogether.
It Prevents Conflict and Complaints
Less internal conflict also means that employees can focus better on their jobs. Similarly, when guests feel their cultural needs are met, they're less likely to complain about things that are inappropriate to them or don't meet their expectations.
That, in turn, puts less load on your staff, allowing them to focus on other responsibilities.
It Attracts a Wider Range of Guests
By offering, for example, different culturally appropriate meal options and facilities, it's possible to attract a wider range of guests. Just be mindful that the line is a thin one, and what is a necessity in one country might not be in another.
A hotel chain that opens a branch in Dubai would do well to include a prayer room, whereas guests at the chain's branch in Italy probably won't expect one.
It Boosts Innovation
New ideas come from different ways of thinking and looking at things. Companies with culturally diverse employees and high cultural intelligence can harness those differences to spark respectful yet innovative discussions.
Even when it comes to the cultivation of cultural intelligence itself, a team of employees from different backgrounds could form a workgroup to discuss how and when the business should culturally adapt to its guests and when not.
It Supports Brand Reputation and Collaboration
How you handle different cultural contexts influences how others see you. Cultural awareness can mean the difference between a successful and a failed marketing campaign, collaboration with a local vendor, or expansion.
This is why it's important to make cultural intelligence a part of your company values and to give everyone the proper training in cross-cultural interactions, not just guest-facing staff.
Cultural Intelligence Training
Developing cultural intelligence among your staff can be done in various ways. You can start by having everyone in the company take a cultural intelligence assessment, but you might also want to work with a cultural intelligence consultant to develop a company-specific set of criteria and metrics for cultural intelligence improvements.
A consultant can also help you decide on the best course of action. That could entail:
- providing regular cultural intelligence employee training.
- offering group or one-on-one cultural intelligence coaching.
- organizing work groups in which members of management and personnel come together to discuss real-life scenarios where they had to use cultural intelligence and can bring forth situations in which they thought a guest's behavior or request was a bit odd or surprising.
- doing a group exercise in which everyone brainstorms the cultural biases they may have, and the cultural biases that may exist in the company.
Tracking metrics such as guest satisfaction, bookings from new market segments, and employee retention can help build buy-in from leadership and ensure your efforts are paying off.
Be Mindful of Cultural Appropriation
There is a difference between
- Learning about the customs of your guests so you can greet and treat them in a culturally appropriate way, or adapting your facilities and service to the customs of your location
and
- Taking elements of a culture and turning them into something of your own without respecting their essence or the history behind them.
An example of the latter would be the many places across the world now offering yoga classes led by instructors who just work through a series of postures without knowing anything about the tradition behind the practice.
An Opportunity to Have an Impact
Hospitality is an inherently human industry, and it's more culturally diverse than ever. Fostering cultural intelligence in the workplace among both leadership and employees is crucial not only for delivering an excellent guest experience but also for ensuring smooth collaboration.
On a higher plane, hospitality businesses that cultivate cultural sensitivity offer guests and employees the chance to connect in a way we're all craving for: through curiosity, understanding, and respect.
Assistant professor at EHL Hospitality Business School
