What the Hospitality Industry Can Teach the Church: Six Surprising Findings

We talk about “church hospitality.” But how much do we really know about it?

The hospitality industry spends billions of dollars studying guest experience, testing everything from first impressions to restroom lighting to perceived fairness while waiting in line. Meanwhile, many churches rely mostly on intuition or tradition. Yet hospitality is more than greeters and coffee; it’s a science.

What happens when we take what the world’s best researchers know about hotels, restaurants, and customer experience and apply it to the church? I recently spent a day digging into numerous scientific journals, nerding out on what the church can learn from the hospitality industry. Here are six surprising findings that can improve the way your church welcomes people.

1. First Impressions Matter More Than “Peak-End” Moments

For years, experts have relied on the peak-end rule, which claims people remember the highest moment and the ending of an experience more than