HR & Organizational behavior

How Cultural Intelligence Can Improve Guest Experience in the Hospitality Industry?

This research project examines how cultural intelligence is currently applied in the Swiss hospitality industry, with a focus on identifying key challenges and opportunities linked to cultural norms, values, and behaviours of guest from China, India, or the Gulf States. The goal is to better understand intercultural interactions and improve the guest experience in Swiss hotels.

cultural-intelligence-hospitality

Start & End Date

01.02.2025 - 31.07.2026

Main Applicant

Varga, P., EHL Hospitality Business School

Partner

• Chen, M.-M., EHL Hospitality Business School

• Fernandez S., EHL Hospitality Business School

External Funding

HES-SO

Investigating Cultural Intelligence in the Swiss Hospitality Industry

Project Description

New business trends emerge in the post-pandemic world, forcing hospitality organizations to be more flexible and adaptable to the market than ever before. Comprehending cultural intelligence (CQ) can make the difference between flourishing and struggling in today's global world, particularly in the service-oriented hospitality sector where attention to detail distinguishes between an average and extraordinary service.

As a result of changing tourism dynamics in Switzerland in the last two decades, new stakeholders emerged from hitherto underrepresented countries, such as China, India, or the Gulf States. This resulted in new challenges in service encounters stemming from culture-related misunderstandings or conflicts.

In order to help Swiss hotels to fully benefit from the changing and globalized tourism dynamics, this project has four main objectives: 

  1. Understand the current level of CQ among Swiss hotel staff.
  2. Identify the main culture-related challenges and opportunities that exist in the Swiss hotel industry regarding visitors' cultural norms, values, and behaviours.
  3. Understand guests’ experience and expectations in Swiss hotels.
  4. Develop CQ-based solutions for best practices.

In summary, this project aims to improve the experience and satisfaction of guests by equipping Swiss hotels to be more culturally aware and responsive.

Join Our Study on Cultural Intelligence in Swiss Hospitality

As international travel and guest expectations evolve, your frontline experience is invaluable. We’re collecting insights from hospitality professionals to better understand how cultural awareness and guest interaction shape service excellence.

If you regularly engage with guests from India, China, the Gulf States (whether in a hotel, restaurant, or travel dining setting), your perspective will help us to identify best practices in welcoming international travelers.

guest-experience

EHL Blog Insights

Cultural intelligence: Fostering excellence in human experiences

In this article, Dr. Peter Varga highlights the challenge of today's globalized and at the same time shrinking world, and asks: How can we develop our cultural intelligence to face the future, especially in an industry where positive human interaction lies at the heart of creating transformative experiences?

Cultural-Inteligence

Our Team

Dr. Peter Varga

Assistant Professor

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Dr. Meng-Mei Maggie Chen

Assistant Professor

meng_mei_chen_EHL

Dr. Sébastien Fernandez

Associate Professor

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Géraldine Assen

Research Assistant

Géraldine Assen Portrait

Kelly Schatz

Research Assistant

Kelly-Schatz