It's not enough to speak a common language.

Interculturality in the hotel industry, catering, aviation and cruise ship

Interculturality means the meeting, interaction and influence of people from different cultural backgrounds. It is not simply the presence of multiple nationalities or cultures in the same hotel, restaurant, plane or ship. That is just multiculturalism.

We can talk about interculturality when these people communicate, work together, provide or receive services, manage conflicts, adapt to each other, and in the process develop some kind of common operating system.

Accordingly, intercultural competence does not simply mean knowledge of the customs of other cultures. Rather, it is the ability to recognize different interpretations, to be able to examine the same situation from multiple perspectives, and to shape our communication in a way that does not compromise professional standards, safety, or human dignity.

One guest wants a quick check-in at the front desk, without unnecessary questions or long explanations. The next guest feels impersonal if they are not asked about their trip and are not told in detail what they will find at the hotel.

In a restaurant, someone may perceive it as attentive care if the server repeatedly approaches their table, while for others it is disturbing and intrusive. On an airplane, one passenger may find the direct tone friendly, while another may feel that they are not receiving the respect they deserve.

They all expect good service. But they don't necessarily mean the same thing:

International tourism is not just about different languages. It also involves different social norms, communication styles, hierarchies, time perceptions, eating habits, conflict management patterns and service expectations. Moreover, it is not just guests who come from different cultural backgrounds, but also employees, managers, owners, suppliers and partners.

Therefore, interculturality is not a nice, modern HR topic, nor is it simply a celebration of diversity. In the hotel industry, hospitality, aviation and cruise, intercultural competence directly impacts guest experience, occupational safety, team functioning, complaint management and ultimately business results.

Culture is an interpretive framework, not a diagnosis

It is easy to talk about interculturality while attributing characteristics to nationalities. Germans are precise, Americans are direct, Asians are reserved, Southern Europeans are loud, Eastern Europeans are hierarchical. Such phrases seem simple and useful, but in reality they often do more harm than good.

A person's behavior is not solely determined by their passport. It is also shaped by their generation, social and family background, religion, profession, financial situation, international experience, personality, and the role they play at a given moment.

The same person can behave very differently as a business traveler, a family vacationer, a first-time foreign visitor, or an experienced world traveler.

Culture is therefore not an instruction manual for a person, but rather a possible explanation for why we interpret the same situation differently.

Having traveled to over a hundred countries, working for airlines, airports, hotels, and on cruise ships and riverboats, my experience is that knowing the cultural background often helps to understand a reaction, but it can never replace attention.

We don't serve cultures or lead nationalities. We work with people who bring their own systems of interpretation with them.

Same service, different guest experience

Companies try to standardize service quality with standards, processes, and metrics. However, the guest does not perceive the standards, but what happens to him. And he always interprets this through his own expectations.

Some people see speed as professionalism. Others need time, connection, and personal attention to truly feel cared for. A short, to-the-point response is effective for one guest, but cold to another. Addressing them by name can be a thoughtful gesture, but it can also come across as too direct.

In addition to cultural background, individual communication and behavioral styles also shape reactions. I wrote about this in detail in the article Not all “difficult guests” are difficult – How to use the DISC model in the hotel industry, catering and transportation . The two approaches complement each other, but do not replace each other: DISC can help identify individual communication preferences, and interculturality shows the social and cultural environment in which these behaviors develop.

Relationships with hierarchy can also vary significantly. Some guests take it for granted that the first employee they meet will solve the problem on their own. Others are only willing to talk to a manager because, for them, a higher position means real decision-making authority and respect.

The differences are even more striking in complaint handling . Some people immediately, loudly and in detail express their dissatisfaction, and then consider the matter closed after the problem is resolved. Others do not want open conflict, smile, remain polite, but later write a bad review or never return.

The volume of the complaint is therefore not always proportional to the depth of dissatisfaction.

Culturally intelligent service doesn't mean allowing everything to every guest. It means recognizing that the same reaction doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.

Four sectors, four different forms of appearance

In the hotel industry, guest interactions typically last several days. This provides an opportunity to correct errors, identify preferences, and personalize service. At the same time, guests do not meet just one staff member. The differing styles of reception, housekeeping, restaurant, wellness, technical department, and management can easily result in a fragmented experience.

A culturally sensitive receptionist alone is not enough if the rest of the organization does not understand why it is important to convey the same information consistently, yet tailored to the specific guest.

In hospitality, interculturality is even more directly manifested. Food is not just a product, but can also be an identity, a family memory, a religious rule, a social status, and a communal experience.

The timing, length, rhythm, portion size, role of alcohol, tipping, formality of service, and accepted table manners may vary from culture to culture and guest to guest.

Refusing a request is therefore not always a simple service issue. The guest may feel that their identity, beliefs or lifestyle, or attitudes are not taken seriously. At the same time, the restaurant must also keep clear boundaries regarding food safety, allergen management and operations. The good solution here is not unconditional accommodation, but empathetic, precise and honest communication.

In aviation, encounters are short, intense and often time-pressured. The passenger may be tired, anxious, delayed, do not understand the rules or do not speak the language properly. The employee must communicate quickly, clearly and consistently.

However, there is a clear line in aviation: safety regulations are not a matter of cultural negotiation. They can be interpreted in different ways, and specifics of address, body language, or conflict management can be taken into account, but the rule must be followed by everyone.

Intercultural adaptation lasts as long as it does not compromise safety, legal compliance, or the dignity of other passengers.

Hotel cruising combines all of this in a unique, closed system. Guests and crew live in the same space for days or weeks. The crew itself is extremely diverse, while the composition of the guest base can change completely from one route, season or charter to another.

Ocean cruise ships have a larger organization, stronger departmental boundaries, and more hierarchical levels. River cruise ships have smaller teams, more direct relationships, and employees often perform multiple roles. I wrote more about the different operations and service philosophies of the two worlds in a previous article titled Luxury is Not About the Size of the Ship – An Inside Look at the World of Ocean and River Luxury Cruising .

On a smaller ship, the relationship may be more familiar, but cultural differences also emerge more quickly and visibly. There is nowhere to retreat to from a misunderstanding: guests and colleagues meet again the next morning.

A common language does not automatically mean a common understanding

In multicultural teams, we often assume that if everyone speaks English, communication is possible. In reality, the same sentences can have completely different meanings.

“Yes” can mean that the employee understood and will complete the task. But it can also mean that they heard the instruction, do not want to contradict the manager, or do not dare to admit that they did not understand it correctly.

Some people naturally ask questions and discuss the task. In another culture, the same thing can be considered disrespectful. Some people see direct feedback as clarity, while others experience it as a personal attack. Some employees immediately report the error, while others hide it because for them, making a mistake means shame, loss of status, or punishment.

The question is becoming less and less theoretical. As I presented in the article Who will serve the guest tomorrow?, the Hungarian and European hotel and catering industry is increasingly relying on workers from Asia and other third countries in more and more areas. However, the employment of new colleagues cannot end with an employment contract, the provision of accommodation and a few days of professional training. Integration also requires mentoring, language support, mutual cultural preparation and leaders who are truly capable of managing a team with diverse backgrounds.

Leading a multicultural team doesn't mean repeating the same message slower, louder, or in simpler English.

The manager's task is to check whether the parties really understand the same thing when it comes to tasks, responsibilities and deadlines:

• Is it clear who decides?

• When should I report back?

• What does it mean that the work is completed?

• What should you do if someone notices an error?

• Is it even safe to ask or contradict?

In aviation, shipping, the kitchen or the technical field, this has not only service but also safety consequences. An uncertain, polite “yes” cannot be enough. Understanding must be checked, preferably by repeating the specific task and by written or visual confirmation.

A leader must also be aware of their own cultural automaticities. What they consider loyalty, professionalism, initiative, or respect is not necessarily a universal standard.

Where does cultural sensitivity end?

One of the dangers of conversations about interculturality is that we confuse understanding with acceptance. Cultural background can help us understand behavior, but it does not automatically make it acceptable.

Cannot be justified by cultural difference:

• discrimination;

• harassment;

• humiliation;

• corruption or theft;

• violation of safety regulations;

• disregard for the dignity of other people.

It is also unacceptable for someone to refuse to take instructions from a female manager, to work with a colleague of a certain nationality, or to treat a guest differently because of their origin, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

Cultural competence is not limitless. On the contrary: it is the ability to distinguish between the unusual, the ambiguous, and the unacceptable.

A culturally intelligent organization is not one that accepts everything. Rather, it is one that is able to flexibly manage differences while clearly protecting professional standards, safety, and human dignity.

What can companies do?

Most intercultural training loses its practical value when it starts talking about countries and general national characters. Employees should not learn flags and stereotypes, but rather how to handle situations.

It is much more useful to work with real situations:

• with misunderstood instructions;

• with a different complaint handling style;

• with religious or dietary requests;

• with a conflict between a manager and a subordinate;

• by refusing a safety rule;

• with tension within a multicultural team.

Intercultural aspects must also be incorporated into the operation. It must be clearly defined when to ask for feedback, how to check understanding, what language assistance is available, and when managerial intervention is necessary.

It is important that critical instructions are not only verbal. Brief written, visual or digital confirmation may be particularly needed in housekeeping, kitchens, technical areas, airport aprons and ship operations.

Technology can help with multilingual information, translation, making standards available, and answering routine questions. However, as I emphasized in the article Artificial Intelligence Isn’t Taking Away Hotel Jobs, But It Is Taking Away Poorly Organized Work , technology doesn’t always understand cultural differences, language barriers, and the context behind human reactions. A translation program may convey the words of a sentence, but it may not recognize what silence, a polite smile, avoiding eye contact, or an uncertain “yes” to a manager mean in a given situation.

When selecting and developing leaders, intercultural competence should therefore be given the same weight as professional experience. It is not enough for someone to have worked in a multi-national team. The question is whether they have truly learned to think from multiple perspectives, are able to adapt their communication, and can remain empathetic and consistent at the same time.

We serve people, not cultures.

In international tourism, every shift, flight, dinner and cruise is a cultural encounter. The goal is not to create a separate user manual for every nation, but to learn to listen, ask, clarify and adapt when necessary.

In the meantime, however, we must not abandon professional standards. Good service does not become intercultural by fulfilling every request of every guest, and a good leader does not become a person by finding a cultural explanation for every behavior.

Rather, the essence of intercultural competence is to recognize that not everyone interprets the same words, gestures, rules, and service situations in the same way.

If we understand this, there will be fewer misunderstandings, more accurate communication, a stronger team, and a more personal guest experience.

The question is not how many nationalities work at a company and how many countries its guests come from, but whether the organization is truly able to learn from differences.

And what do you think? Do tourism and hospitality companies today really develop intercultural competence, or do they mostly just expect everyone to somehow understand each other in a common language?

About the author

Tamás Pakuts has been working in the world of tourism, hospitality, aviation and luxury shipping for nearly 35 years. During his international career, he has gained experience in management, consulting and development positions in many countries in Europe and Asia.

His professional interests focus on how tourism is linked to transport, economic policy, regional development and national competitiveness. His analyses often examine areas where tourism goes beyond the world of hotels and guest nights and has an impact on the national economy as a whole.

As the founder of Szálloda.blog, he regularly publishes on current issues in tourism, mobility and transport, paying special attention to long-term trends, international best practices and strategic connections.

The original article was written in Hungarian, the translations are generated by AI.

Source of images: AI, szalloda.blog

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• Not all “difficult guests” are difficult – This is how the DISC model can be used in the hotel industry, catering and transportation

• Luxury is not about the size of the ship – An inside look at the world of ocean and river cruises

• Who will serve the guest tomorrow?

• Artificial intelligence won't take away hotel jobs, but poorly organized work will