Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect

Will Guidara, former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, shares essential hospitality lessons for every business, highlighting the importance of radical reinvention, a partnership between the kitchen and dining room, and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality. Guidara's team surprised a family with a magical sledding trip to Central Park and filled a private dining room with sand to console a couple with a cancelled vacation. He also emphasizes the importance of giving more, not less, and the magic that can happen when a busser starts thinking like an owner. Every business can choose to be a hospitality business, and Guidara encourages us to find the magic in what we do.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 25 January 2024
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

Will Guidara, the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, a struggling New York City two-star brasserie, has shared essential lessons in hospitality for every business. At the age of twenty-six, Guidara took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant that had never quite lived up to its majestic room. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant in the world. Guidara's transformation was remarkable, achieved through radical reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining room, and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality.

One of Guidara's most memorable examples of hospitality was when his team surprised a family who had never seen snow with a magical sledding trip to Central Park after their dinner. They also filled a private dining room with sand, complete with mai-tais and beach chairs, to console a couple with a cancelled vacation. Guidara's hospitality extended beyond those dining at the restaurant to his own team, who learned to deliver praise and criticism with intention. He emphasized that the answer to some of the most pernicious business dilemmas is to give more, not less, and that the magic can happen when a busser starts thinking like an owner.

Today, every business can choose to be a hospitality business, and Guidara encourages us all to transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences. He shares sparkling stories of his journey through restaurants, featuring industry's most famous players like Daniel Boulud and Danny Meyer. Guidara urges us to find the magic in what we do for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve.

Weight: 484g
Dimension: 162 x 241 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529146813