For decades, Indian hospitality has traded on two things as non-negotiable: luxury and the ancient ethos of Atithi Devo Bhava, the belief that the guest experience is sacred and the guest is, quite literally, divine. But speak privately to seasoned hoteliers and consultants and they’ll share an awkward truth. Many “five-star hotels” deliver one-star service in five-star settings. Chandeliers and charcuterie boards on the surface, fear-driven service behind the scenes.
Consider this anecdote making the rounds in hospitality circles: a weary business traveller checking into a luxury hotel in Mumbai requested an early check-in after a red-eye flight. The receptionist smiled apologetically and repeated, “Policy, sir. Check-in 2 pm.” The room was visibly empty on the screen. He wasn’t asking for free champagne or a brass band, just a pillow before his calls began. The hotel upheld its policy with the loyalty of a regiment; the guest later left a review that rivalled War and Peace in both length and sorrow.
Meanwhile, in Will Guidara’s widely cited story from Unreasonable Hospitality, a waiter sprinted out of a high-end New York restaurant to buy street hot dogs because the guests mentioned missing them. That act became legend. It wasn’t Michelin stars that impressed them; it was staff empowerment. A simple hot dog became a story, and stories become unpaid marketing.
Now contrast that with a scene in a Delhi five-star hotel, where a child dropped their ice cream cone and was told to purchase another. Not because the staff lacked compassion, but because they lacked permission. The price of the ice cream was insignificant; the cost to the family’s guest experience was not.
Policy First, People Second
Walk into any premium Indian hotel lobby and your senses are greeted by marble floors, brass lamps polished to near enlightenment, carved rosewood, classical music, sometimes a live sitar that screams culture with volume on full.
Behind the velvet curtains, however, frontline staff often operate in a climate best described as “the fear of being yelled at, fired, or universally blamed”. Kindness has been bureaucratised. A complimentary bottle of water requires approval. A late checkout needs three signatures, a WhatsApp message, and possibly a blood sample.
This SOP-first culture ensures safety, but it strangles the thing that makes hospitality magical: human discretion. When restaurants and hotels buck this trend, its an outlier like in the case of #Social or a few handful of places that empower their employees.
The Human Cost of Luxury
The industry’s romance fades fast for new recruits. Hospitality roles offer long hours, low pay, and limited training. One industry report estimated only 1 percent of hospitality workers in India had any formal training as of 2022, which explains the lack of confidence in improvisation. If you’re terrified of losing your job, you won’t hand out a free cookie, let alone a free room upgrade.
A young trainee at a well-known chain once shared this gem:
“We’re told to smile at guests, but not to decide anything for them.”
The irony writes itself.
Where Indian Hospitality Still Shines
Yet it is unfair to say Indian hospitality has lost its soul. The warmth lives on, but thrives where rules loosen. One guest joked online that “even a 3-star hotel in India has better hospitality than a 5-star in the West”, and they weren’t entirely wrong. I mean, take this amazing dining experience I had.
Examples bloom everywhere in the everyday:
- The Taj doormen who remember guest names across decades, including presidents and film royalty.
- A Goa homestay owner who drove guests 40 minutes to the railway station because taxis were unavailable.
- A Mumbai street-food stall that toned down its fire-level spices for tourists, not because someone told them to, but because they cared.
These moments reveal that the problem isn’t cultural warmth. The problem is the system.
Indians are naturally hospitable. We simply haven’t built systems that reward initiative.
How Indian Hospitality Can Reclaim Its Greatness
If Indian hotels want to reclaim their global reputation, the solution isn’t marble, Michelin menus, or monogrammed bathrobes.
The solution is empowerment.
- Give frontline staff discretionary budgets.
- Remove approvals for obvious kindness.
- Train for judgment, not just compliance.
- Praise thoughtful mistakes more than robotic obedience.
Hospitality isn’t the art of perfection; it is the art of permission to care.
India doesn’t need to learn hospitality from the West; we simply need to rediscover our original promise.
Because Atithi Devo Bhava was never meant to be a tagline in a tourism campaign. It was meant to be lived.
If you’re new here or curious why I explore hospitality, branding, culture and food in the same breath, you can learn more here.
This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
I nodded along through this entire post because I have definitely felt that difference in treatment you talked about. It is honestly frustrating to pay full price for luxury but still get ignored by staff who are busy chasing after foreign tourists. You really pinpointed the issue with the ‘robotic’ service where they memorize scripts but forget actual warmth and common sense. It is sad to see that the genuine care we pride ourselves on is becoming so rare in these big hotel chains.
Agree with you totally, Meetali. Indian hotels need a lesson about our ancient practice of Atithee Devo Bhava. As you mention, they need permissions from the higher-ups for everything. I have been travelling these past few years and have seen the apathy of most hotels, whether one star or 5.
Atithi Devo Bhavo…. the meaning of this line is losing its value with the passage of time. Yes, we do not get what we pay for and that what I personally experienced in my last trip to Nainital. Horrible experience and the attitude was that they are doing a favour to us. It pains but the question is how to make them understand ?
That sounds like an insider’s experience. Hospitality is now the finance game. There’s not much of warmth left in it, only capitalism exists. People know you when you tip them.
Really eye-opening piece, Meetali. You make such good points about how sometimes “five-star” hotels fall short in the basic areas that matter most to guests. Thanks for calling attention to why hospitality needs more than fancy lobbies.
Your blog brilliantly exposes the gap between India’s luxurious hotel aesthetics and its fear-driven service culture. With vivid anecdotes and sharp observations, it argues that true hospitality isn’t chandeliers but empowered staff. The writing is insightful, relatable, and timely, reminding us that Atithi Devo Bhava thrives only when people—not policies—are trusted to care. lovely read.
This is so gracefully written, Meetali. I love your power of observation. We still have a long way to go in hotel hospitality.