“Hospitality is an important pillar of democracy”

Hospitality offers more than food and drink, Ivonne Bollow of METRO AG said. It provides places where people meet, spend time together and create shared memories, making it an important support for an open society.

Speaking at METRO Austria’s Wednesday Society of Trade event in Alpbach, Bollow said hospitality should be seen as social infrastructure. The event has brought together business, political and social representatives since 2017 to discuss developments, challenges and opportunities in retail and hospitality.

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Hospitality is an important pillar in preserving democracy.

METRO Cash & Carry International Holding managing director Gero Dittrich also stressed the role of restaurants, cafés, inns and wine taverns. Millions of people meet in such places every day, he said, creating social closeness and opportunities for dialogue across different generations and backgrounds. “Whoever strengthens encounters strengthens community and therefore social cohesion,” Dittrich said.

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Whoever strengthens encounters strengthens community and therefore social cohesion.

Bollow argued that democracy lives wherever people talk to one another, listen and tolerate differing perspectives. Hospitality can create the conversations, debates, friendships, ideas and even disagreements that keep those encounters alive. “Hospitality is an important pillar in preserving democracy,” she said.

In a society increasingly shaped by algorithms that influence what people see, buy and read, hospitality offers something difficult to reproduce digitally: chance encounters, dialogue and community. “Restaurateurs want to give people a home,” Bollow said, describing an open door as more than a business entrance and a host’s welcome as more than a culinary experience.

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Restaurateurs want to give people a home.