Unreasonable Hospitality in Action: How We Transformed GamiCon48V

The Power of Unreasonable Hospitality: Lessons from Chapter 1

I was so impressed by Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara that we used it as a guiding principle for GamiCon48V. Our Sententia creed—generosity, graciousness, and gratitude—felt perfectly aligned with Guidara’s philosophy, but his book challenged us to take these values even further.

As we prepared for our 48-hour online event, we divided the book among our team members, using each chapter to inspire our event team meetings. With the help of AI tool Napkin.ai, we visually mapped key themes, discussion questions, and applications to elevate our event experience. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing insights from each chapter and how we applied these lessons to our blockbuster gamification event for adult learning—so you can do the same in your own learning experiences.

Chapter 1: Making People Feel Seen & Valued

Will Guidara opens the book with a simple yet profound truth: people want to feel seen, valued, and like they belong. In hospitality—and in any experience we design—small, thoughtful gestures can transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. The emotional impact of genuine care often outweighs any financial metric, yet it’s these moments of connection that create long-lasting loyalty and impact.

How We Applied This at GamiCon48V

1. Personalized Welcome Experiences: Rather than treating participants as faceless attendees, we created a welcoming and personalized experience at every touchpoint. Event team members greeted each person, ensuring they felt seen from the moment they arrived. Local prime-time hosts engaged in real-time conversations, fostering a sense of connection and community. And in the Help Center, Herbert, our AI chatbot, provided instant support, quickly directing participants to where they needed to go. Just as a world-class restaurant recognizes and values returning guests, we ensured every attendee felt acknowledged, supported, and part of something special.
2. Surprise & Delight Moments: Inspired by Guidara’s emphasis on small, unexpected gestures, we introduced unexpected “gifts” during the event—like access to exclusive bonus content, shoutouts, personalized gamified challenges, and exclusive membership access to the Sententia Game Garage to make each participant feel special.
3. Intentional Community Building: We designed an interactive steampunk-themed world that seamlessly connected the Da Vinci’s principles of our event’s steampunk narrative, led by our heroine, Elara. This fostered real connections, ensuring that every attendee felt like part of something bigger than just another online conference.

Lessons for Your Own Learning Events

1. Create Moments of Recognition Before your event, identify ways to acknowledge and celebrate your participants. This could be as simple as a personalized email, a welcome message using their name, or recognizing a specific contribution they’ve made in the past.

2. Infuse Small Acts of Hospitality Think beyond logistics—what little things can make someone feel truly welcomed? Maybe it’s sending a quick personal note, offering a moment of connection before diving into content, or adding a surprise giveaway.

3. Prioritize Emotional Connection Over Efficiency In a rush to execute an event, it’s easy to focus on checklists instead of experiences. Shift your mindset: How will attendees feel when they engage with your event?

Discussion Questions to Consider

• Think of a time when someone went above and beyond to make you feel valued. What was the impact?
• What small gestures could you implement to create a stronger sense of belonging in your events or training sessions?
• How do you balance efficiency with genuine human connection in event planning?

 Reflection Exercise

Write down three small, intentional actions you could take this week to make someone feel seen and valued—whether at work, in an event, or in everyday life. Then, reflect on how these actions enhanced the interaction.

At GamiCon48V, we weren’t just designing an event—we were designing experiences that made people feel valued, seen, and connected. And that’s the essence of Unreasonable Hospitality. How will you bring this philosophy into your next learning event?

Explore our Chapter 1 book study, created with Napkin, HERE and stay tuned for the next chapter insights!