Global Franchise 10.2

I t’s easy to blame Gen Z for the state of frontline service. But if your team is disengaged, greeting guests with blank stares, the issue isn’t generational – it’s cultural. And it’s not just about service; it’s about creating hospitality. Good hospitality is emotional work. It requires eye contact, warmth, and genuine care and connection. More often than not, this is not instinctive – it’s learned. Yet too often, we assume teams will just “get it.” They won’t. It must be taught, coached, and modeled. After four decades in hospitality and franchising, I’ve learned that culture fades when leaders focus too much on process and forget that people mirror what they see. If you want your team to make customers feel valued, you can’t just write it into a manual – you have to live it. Most franchise teams are trained up for providing good service – quick check-ins, accurate orders, clean spaces. Necessary? Absolutely. But it's not enough. Hospitality is the extra step that makes guests feel they belong. That positive feeling drives word of mouth recommendations, customer loyalty, and repeat visits. The shift starts with language. At Urban Air, we teach the difference between service and hospitality on day one – and then we take it further.We weave soft-skill coaching into daily operations: smiling, speaking with intention, staying present, reading the room.We role-play it. Give real-time feedback. Most importantly, we make sure our managers model it every single day. Culture isn’t absorbed when it's written in a handbook. It’s absorbed through small, repeated moments on the shop floor. Technology should be implemented only to help teams connect with guests, not hide from them. At Urban Air, we rolled out mobile point-of-sale systems, not to cut labor costs, but to free our team from counters and screens. It allows them to operate where the magic happens – out on the floor, greeting guests and creating moments of connection. The result?We've seen a real lift in customer loyalty and sales. Because connection doesn’t happen behind a desk – it happens between people. Culture only sticks when it’s built into a daily rhythm. One of our best tools for training is using real guest feedback.We highlight the positive reviews to show what great hospitality looks like, and review negative feedback together as a team: “What happened here? How could we approach this situation differently next time?” These conversations turn vague values into valuable coaching moments, giving our teams both agency and accountability. At Urban Air, we define frontline culture with three words: Clean. Safe. Kind. These are not just framed on a wall – they guide how we train, inspect, and reward. Is the park spotless? Do guests feel secure? Did someone offer an unprompted welcome? When leaders walk the floor, praise the right behaviors, and correct mistakes with empathy, teams reflect that energy back. Our first park to implement this strategy saw its revenue climb by 10% and its memberships grow. At another, the Net Promoter Score rose by 25%. Service can be trained. Hospitality must be modeled. If you want your team to deliver it, don’t tell them – show them. INSIDER HIGHLIGHTS 49 Bryan Kelelhut on non traditional growth 50 Phil Broad on TGI Fridays' global growth 54 Brad Sugars on building great leaders How smart leaders can rebuild frontline culture Frontline culture doesn’t collapse overnight – it erodes when leaders stop showing what great hospitality looks like, says Tim Sharp, Brand President of Urban Air Park. Here, he explains how leadership, visibility, and genuine care can make or break a brand’s guest experience “Good hospitality is emotional work. It requires eye contact, warmth, and genuine care and connection. This is not instinctive, it has to be taught, coached andmodeled ” 47 GLOBAL-FRANCHISE.COM Ins ight