To create an age-friendly world, we need hospitable design

Hospitality is more than good service at a restaurant or hotel. It’s a design framework that benefits every kind of business, according to Cornell experts.

Researchers from the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures (CIHF) examined design through the experience of older adults interacting with everyday services, from hospitals to libraries and banks. The paper, “Hospitality is Humanity,” published in the Certified Senior Advisors Journal’s July issue.

“It’s important to understand your clients deeply and modify your responses to address their needs,” said Heather Kolakowski, associate teaching professor at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration and executive director of CIHF. “In hospitality, we call this empathetic listening, which is part of the universal design thinking process. Universal design means that everyone should be able to use the service with equal ease.”

Unclear documentation and longer waits can provoke heightened anxiety in patients during healthcare visits, the team said, summarizing research from Peter Yesawich, Ph.D. ’76, and Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D. ’95. Taking a hospitable approach means clearly communicating the timing, location and anticipated cost as well as providing a welcoming, well-designed waiting room with artwork, ambient noise and privacy.

Well-designed signage is important for guests navigating a complex facility for the first time, the research team said.

“As you get older, eyesight and coordination become more challenging,” said Chris Tanner, program manager at CIHF. “So, using larger fonts, giving clearer instructions and making buttons larger is important.”

The growing presence of digital interfaces across all services also creates new challenges for older adults. For a population with decreased dexterity and eyesight, navigating small, complex digital interfaces can create confusion and frustration.

“An app is not always the answer to every question,” Kolakowski said. “It’s become even more relevant in regard to businesses introducing AI capabilities and investing in that technology. There’s a significant amount of our aging population that that technology is just not accessible to them. It’s frustrating to them and it’s hard to manage.”

But as the U.S. population ages and the ratio of available caregivers to patients becomes imbalanced, technology may have to serve a bigger role, Tanner and Kolakowski said. In these cases, technology should be built on universal design principles, ensuring all audiences can easily use it.

“As far as shifting demographics go, we call it the silver cliff, and it’s definitely been discussed within the senior living industry,” Tanner said. “The use of technology is still being explored as to how we can automate some of these processes in a way that still provides the level of service and care that they need.”

Tailoring services to accommodate the needs of all patrons builds a stronger relationship between service providers and receivers, the researchers said. Beyond encouraging customer retention, Kolakowski also thinks a hospitality ethos could help rebuild trust between people and the institutions they may have lost faith in.

“It holds critical importance because of the division we’re feeling in the country today, both politically, economically and even culturally between generations and groups of individuals,” Kolakowski said. “When someone makes an effort to meet your needs, it leaves a lasting impression. It has a strong impact because of its personal nature.”