It’s Time to Perfect Your Moves
by David Klemt
This AI-generated image will make sense after you read this article.
Will Guidara doesn’t just believe in hospitality, he’s all in on the kind that goes beyond expectations and transforms into unreasonable hospitality.
I mean, it’s the title of his best-selling book, and the subject of a Guidara-hosted TED Talk. That should tell you all you need to know about his belief in taking hospitality to “unreasonable” levels.
At the 2025 Bar & Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas, Guidara delivered a keynote that was part challenge, part call to arms. His message was clear: the only true long-term competitive advantage in food and beverage isn’t the food, the drinks, or the space. It’s the hospitality.
The KRG Hospitality team also lives this approach to hospitality. At the end of the day, most concepts are selling the same items. Makes sense given the iron grip purveyors have on F&B, right?
So, a hugely important differentiator is how operators and their teams deliver on hospitality. To that end, Guidara has identified 130 touch points that influence the guest experience. That’s 130 in roads. Or, depending on which moments a team doesn’t leverage, 130 self-imposed obstacles or exits.
The Only Competitive Advantage
“Eventually, someone else is going to come around and create a better product,” Guidara told a packed room in Las Vegas. “The only competitive advantage that exists in the long term is your hospitality.”
That might sound like a line, but coming from Guidara, it’s a philosophy.
He urged operators to “throw [y]ourselves wholeheartedly at the pursuit of those relationships,” referring to the guest connections that drive loyalty, advocacy, and repeat visits.
These aren’t just transactions; these are opportunities to make people feel seen, valued, and appreciated.
Drilling all the way down, whether someone is tossing a few bucks at a quick bite or dropping tens of thousands for an experience, they want the same thing. Everyone wants to feel relevant. To feel important, and even cool.
You may not see the guests you make feel special every day. However, the chances of transforming them into repeat guests increases when you treat them like VIPs regardless of who they are, what they order, and how much they spend.
130 Moments
At Eleven Madison Park, Guidara and his team identified 130 distinct touch points in a guest’s dining experience.
The first moment is that guest researching your venue online, and the last is leaving their table. One of those touch points (or moments) is dropping the check.
And yet, said Guidara, most operators treat it like the end of the story, as nothing more than a transactional curtain call.
Guidara sees it as one last moment to connect. He referenced a study involving 2,000 restaurants: the 1,000 that dropped a mint with the check saw an 18-percent increase in tips. Call it a gimmick if you want, but it’s a small gesture that had a tangible impact. And all those teams had to do was include a mint that costs literally three to five cents.
A Better Ending
As I was sitting in the audience, Guidara’s thoughts on dropping the check reminded me of a Jim Gaffigan bit. Joking about the restaurant experience, he says getting the check can feel like a bit of a gut punch, particularly when the service has been so warm and friendly. Upon receiving the check in his standup bit, Gaffigan deadpans, “I thought we were friends.”
Surely, we can all do better than just walking up, dropping the check, and waiting for payment.
Guidara shared a personal example of turning this touch point into more of a moment. After delivering a particularly high check, he returned to the table with a full bottle of Cognac. He poured a splash into each guest’s glass, then simply left the bottle on the table. Rarely did anyone pour more—but that wasn’t the point. The gesture itself was the takeaway.
Do I expect operators to accompany checks with expensive spirits or wine? No, of course not. But I do want operators, their leaders, and their staff to consider what they can do to leverage the final moments of a guest’s experience.
Review, Rethink, Refresh
Guidara encouraged every operator in the room to review their own touch points.
“In the next month, identify one touch point you may not think about much, and get creative to enhance it,” he said.
This doesn’t mean swinging for the fences and transforming the moment you’ve selected into something needlessly grandiose. Instead, the key is intentionality.
Even a small change—if it’s thoughtful—can become unforgettable.
Further, taking on this exercise should help you fine-tune your service cadence. I recommend undergoing this exercise each month from now until the end of the year, choosing at least one touch point to elevate. More than likely, your steps of service will benefit from this intentionality and resulting refinement.
Team First, Always
Pre-meal, Guidara argued, is the most important time to rally your team.
It’s the moment to communicate the “why” behind your service. This is the time to set the tone, reinforce values, and spread passion.
Pre-meal also happens to be on Chef Brian Duffy’s non-negotiable daily checklist, in case you needed more proof to its importance.
“I believe passion is contagious,” Guidara said during his BRE keynote. “Energy begets energy. Passion begets passion.”
But operators have to be brave enough to go first. Too many are caught up in trying to look “cool,” when what’s actually needed is a little vulnerability and a lot of real talk.
He also reminded leaders to get their hands dirty.
Some people have a romanticized vision of restaurant, bar or nightclub ownership. They think they’ll be the cool person showing up to their hotspot in an expensive drop-top, fawned over by staff and guests alike. The reality is typically much further from that dream.
As an owner, you’ll be the one sprinting to the bathroom to unclog a toilet, or staring at an electrical panel, trying to figure out why half the kitchen went down suddenly.
When your team is in the weeds, the fastest way to earn their respect is to do the most menial task in the room: “Don’t ask them to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself.”
Perfect Your Moves
Guidara uses the word “moves” to describe signature gestures. These are moments that define your operation, steps within your service cadence that set it apart.
Before you start overthinking your cadence or second-guessing every step, your moves don’t have to be dramatic or expensive. What’s important is that they’re yours.
“Only do what you can do well,” said Guidara. “If you can only do one thing, do that one thing and stand out.”
But keep a simple mantra in mind: Complication is the enemy.
“Nothing will gain traction with your team if it’s too difficult to implement.” We take this to heart at KRG, encouraging operators to keep their menus to 12 to 15 items, prepared better than any competitor makes them.
Also, bear this in mind: When team members are invited into the creative process—when they get to contribute to the magic—engagement skyrockets. The back-of-house team should be part of the initial food menu development stage. For the bar menu, the bar team should be actively engaged.
When it’s time for seasonal or mid-year menu refreshes, encourage involvement from the entire team.
Turn Guests Into Ambassadors
This isn’t about over-delivering or giving everything away. Rather, it’s about being present.
When your team is empowered and your service is intentional, you create moments that guests talk about. Those moments turn guests into evangelists.
They come back. They bring others. Your regulars become a legion of ambassadors for your brand.
We live and run businesses in a world where the food, the drinks, and the vibe can all be copied. But that kind of guest loyalty? That’s the one thing that pretenders can’t replicate.
Image: Canva
