How Do You Learn? Why Knowing Your Learning Style Can Transform Your Hospitality Career

In hospitality, we’re always learning — a new SOP, a guest type we’ve never handled, a P&L sheet, a crisis, a new tech system. The pace is relentless. But here’s something we rarely pause to ask:

“Am I learning in a way that actually works for me?”

Because not everyone learns the same way. Some people need to see it. Others need to do it. Some need to read, while some need to talk it out.

And understanding which one you are could change everything — the speed at which you grow, the confidence you build, and even how others perceive your potential.

A Story I’ll Never Forget

In school, I had a friend who unknowingly taught me how I truly learn.
I struggled with reading — long passages in history books would lose me halfway. But this friend? He made history come alive. He would animate the battles, do voices, act out scenes, laugh at the kings and cry with the rebels. History leapt off the pages and played out like theatre in front of me.
One day I said to him,

“I’m sorry I keep taking your time. You should be studying for yourself.”

He looked at me, laughed, and said,

“This is how I learn best. Teaching you makes it clearer for me too.”

And that was it. We were both social learners, we just didn’t have the words for it back then.

Why Knowing  How You Learn Matters

Now imagine you’re in a hospitality setting:

• You’re given a thick SOP binder on check-ins — and you’re drowning by Page 3.

• Or you’re asked to roleplay a guest situation — and you freeze, because you’ve never seen it done before.

• Or you’re left alone to shadow someone with zero instruction — and you’re unsure what to focus on.

The problem isn’t you.

It’s that the style doesn’t match how you absorb best.

When you know your learning style, you:

• Retain skills longer

• Get trained faster

• Feel more confident asking for what works

• Stop comparing yourself to others who “get it” in a different way

It’s like switching from walking uphill in the rain to coasting downhill on a cycle built for you.

The 4 Learning Styles (Simplified)

We’ve found that most hospitality professionals fall into one of these four learning styles. Each style brings strengths — and potential blind spots — depending on how training is delivered.

Here’s a quick guide to recognizing yours:

• 👁️ Visual Learner

  You learn best by seeing. Diagrams, SOP videos, layouts, visual checklists — these help you absorb faster and recall more clearly. You notice what looks off and appreciate clean, consistent visuals in your workspace.

• ✋ Kinesthetic Learner

  You need to do it to get it. Shadowing, roleplays, setting up banquet layouts or practicing service steps hands-on — that’s how you learn. Repetition and real-time correction are your best teachers.

• 📚 Reflective Learner

  You process things best alone and in writing. Give you a handbook, checklist, or process doc, and you’ll study it quietly and thoroughly. You take notes, create your own summaries, and reflect after the shift.

• 💬 Social Learner

  You thrive on conversations. You ask great questions, remember what was said in team meetings, and often teach others just to solidify your own understanding. You grow fastest through group sessions, peer feedback, or 1-on-1 mentorship.

Why This Should Be a Conversation

It takes courage, but telling your manager how you learn best could be a career-changing move.

Say this:

“I’ve noticed I learn best by [watching / practicing / reading / discussing]. Can I try a training format that works for that?”

The best managers will appreciate your self-awareness. And if they’re not used to that? You’ve just introduced a better way to build the team.

💡 Side note: Managers, if you’re reading this — the fastest way to develop your team is to ask, “How do you learn best?” and then train accordingly.

Don’t Know Yet? Take the Quiz.

If you’re not sure where you fit — try this:

🎯 Take the Hospitality Learning Style Quiz

It’s free, takes 2 minutes, and gives you clarity immediately.

Learn Your Way — With HTG

Eclat Hospitality is a proud founding partner of Hospitality Trainers Guild (HTG),
At HTG, we believe every learner deserves a tailored path.
Once you’ve taken the quiz, HTG will help you:

• Understand your strengths and blind spots

• Build a personalized learning plan

• Choose courses, formats, and mentors that suit you — not a generic template

Training should energize you, not exhaust you.

That’s the HTG promise.

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Hospitality is a career of lifelong learning. But it’s also a career where knowing how you learn and having the courage to own it becomes your superpower.

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