Book Review! I love non-fiction. I love hearing (or reading) people’s stories. I love when a non-fiction piece is a true page turner. Most of all, I love when something read in a book lines up with life in such a way that feels as if the author knew it was meant for you. Partly great book buying by the consumer, partly great book recommending by a friend (or algorithm), or maybe, they’re a very good author capable of targeting a wide audience. All wins!

Guidara’s “Unreasonable Hospitality” takes a perspective on interpersonal relationships unlike anything I have experienced before. He creates an atmosphere of sincere optimism while sharing heart-breaking details from his childhood and simplifies every lesson down to his most foundational truth: people like to be treated well. Throughout written text and mass media, it seems ingenuine to say we benefit by “giving people more than they expect” but Guidara introduces this concept as if it’s a no brainer. He provides real-life anecdotes from his time as a young college grad in restaurant management, depicting each scene with enlightening details of giving people more than they expect.

Effortless prose guides the reader to see there is no better way to lead a team or assist customers than by placing them at the center of whatever experience you provide. This is a well-known business model, but Guidara goes far enough to say it can and should be applied to fields outside of hospitality. Unfortunately, it is easy to be hyperaware of events deemed “too good to be true”. As a result, we may lose the joy of genuine human connection if constant concern exists on legitimacy of goods and services we receive. Socially, we have come to see “exceeded expectations” as a scheme to get something in return (or a scam to take from us in the first place) and Guidara combats this notion with the extreme opposite: purposely giving more.

Unapologetically, this book pushes the reader to accept unreasonable hospitality as the best way to foster genuine connection, provide service, and as a gateway to fuel team dynamics, in and out of the hospitality domain. Guidara introduces these concepts so natually that just eight chapters in, he convinces you there is no better way to provide services or make people feel a sense of belonging.

Applying this concept to life will be very difficult since no one else around you has read it yet.

Source: Guidara, W. Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. Optimism Press. (2022).