Originally posted on HotelBusiness.com

SAN DIEGO—Bob Rauch, president of RAR Hospitality, based here, is committed to putting the customer first; so much so, he’ll rise early in the morning for a 15-mile run with travelers staying at one of his hotels. “If I’m in a city where my staff knows I’m at the hotel, I will offer to run with a guest at the break of dawn.

If it means I have to run with triathletes or barely a 12-minute mile, I’ll push myself and spend that time with a guest,” said Rauch.

For Rauch, it’s this type of personal engagement—he calls it “wow customer service”—along with other hospitality insights he teaches to staff members at his properties nationwide and students taking his online courses on entrepreneurship at Arizona State University—and writes about on his website, HotelGuru.com. “Any knowledge I have, I want to engage with people. It’s vital that I pass these lessons on to my team because I can’t be at hotels every day.

I want them to use me as a role model in how to treat guests and how important they are,” he explained.

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