Saturday Briefing

By Ruthann Yamanaka  –  This is the fourth in a series of eight articles written by Outrigger’s executives in support of our Value of the Week program. Every other week, one of our company’s executives will introduce the value of the week and share what that value means to them. This week’s author is Ruthann Yamanaka, Outrigger’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Planning, and this week’s Value of the Week is: Na Mea Ho‘okipa (Hosts) – We, as hosts, welcome and entertain guests and friends with warmth and generosity. – Kaipo Ho

Outrigger is in the business of hospitality, where every employee — regardless of title or position — is a Host first and foremost. Typically, people are hired into a hotel with a specific job and title — for example, as a Housekeeper, a Bellman, an Accountant, a Programmer, or an Assistant — and it is normal for the person to view him/herself as being only a part of the company.

At Outrigger, we have these titles and more, and some positions serve guests directly, while other positions serve other employees. Our value of Na Mea Ho‘okipa emphasizes that every employee is more than a part of our Company. Rather, each Outrigger employee is the Company. Why? Because every individual who works at Outrigger reflects, through their own words, actions, and attitudes, the values and culture of Outrigger. Every employee is a Mea Ho‘okipa (host).

Na Mea Ho‘okipa is offering the best that we have — however plain, big, or elegant our house, or the wealth of our bank account, or material possessions. What’s most important is our spirit of caring and aloha. Hospitality in The Outrigger Way is expressing gratitude for the opportunity to serve as a Host, feeling honored to share our culture with others, and our belief that hosting is a privilege, not a burden.

In ancient Hawai‘i, the rules were very clear — no matter how inconvenient, costly or troublesome, you were expected to show ho‘okipa, or hospitality. Moreover, you were expected to do it without complaining or grumbling. If you did it grudgingly, it was as bad as not doing it at all. And if you were a bad host, you could be ridiculed or disgraced in public. The importance of practicing ho‘okipa well has carried over the generations and — in The Outrigger Way — is integrated into our corporate culture.

The word hospitality comes from the French word hospes, meaning host. The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenia, which means “love of strangers.” In Outrigger culture, good hosts extend ‘aloha’ to strangers. In other words, a host is a person who “welcomes and entertains guests or strangers with warmth and generosity.”

Hosts that excel in “welcoming” are approachable and create a feeling of belonging among people. These special hosts are “in the moment” when interacting with others, not distracted by what they need to or want to do next. If we find ourselves thinking about our next task while interacting with others, we are not “in the moment.” Good hosts make the people they are with feel their interaction is the only thing that matters at that point in time. Establishing and maintaining friendly eye contact with guests and others while speaking, really “hearing” what the other person is saying, allowing others to express their thoughts in their own way, and “putting ourselves in the other person’s slippers” — in other words, seeing the world through the eyes of someone else — helps to build long-lasting bonds between hosts and guests and creates memorable experiences for both.

Our Ke ‘Ano Wa‘a values are based on Hawaiian words, yet the concepts are universal. Every country where Outrigger conducts business — from Australia and Thailand, to the mainland U.S. and the South Pacific — demonstrates hospitality in ways that are special to the history, beliefs, and protocols of these special places. The diversity of ethnicities that proudly represent Outrigger as Hosts is as colorful as the brightest rainbow.

Na Mea Ho`okipa is a powerful value that is a foundation to Outrigger’s culture. At Outrigger,

Ruthann Yamanaka

hospitality is our business. Through 60+ years of dedication, our company has earned the reputation for excellence in hospitality, and the driving force has been the constant commitment of our employees who joyfully live Na Mea Ho`okipa and strive to attain higher levels, each and every day. Through cooperation, compassion, and the courage to extend The Outrigger Way, regardless of how tired we feel or busy we may be, Outrigger employees remain committed to being exceptional role models of Hosts for our guests and among our own ‘ohana. Together as an Outrigger ‘ohana, our ability to continue to set new standards of gracious hospitality is our competitive advantage — in the past, present, and future.