Philoxenia Explained

Philoxenia = Philos + Xenia     Philos = Friend     Xenia or Xenos = Stranger

Philoxenia = Extending friendship to a stranger
                     - the Ultimate Customer Service
                     - the perfect hospitality

Elements of Philoxenia:

• Protection
• Entertainment
• Guidance

Philoxenia as part of a nation’s culture can be seen in many ancient civilisations, from the Arabic nations to ancient Greece, Egypt and China.  It can even be seen embedded in ancient religious scriptures of varied religions.  Although in its true essence  that type of hospitality is given without expecting  anything in return, the expectations of profit in the hospitality industry creates a paradox that alienates the notion of Philoxenia from that of hospitality as an industry.

However my argument has always been that if we are able to transplant the basic ideals of Philoxenia in hospitality management, we can allow ourselves to raise above strategic thinking of the "cost control" type and create organisational cultures that have hospitality so embedded into the everyday operations that Exceeding expectations is not a forced activity but becomes a natural occurrence.