Embracing Leadership and Core Values the KAJ Way

When you walk into a family-owned hotel, you want to be treated like family. Every detail — from the welcoming smile of the concierge to the fluffy, freshly-folded towels — is an invitation to rest, relax, and make yourself at home. These people-centric, family-centric values are what drive KAJ, both in how we treat guests and how we treat employees. 

The truth is, the simplest philosophies are sometimes the hardest to follow. But at KAJ, those philosophies are more than lip service; they are fundamental to who we are. We work each and every day to create a culture where the happiness of guests and employees takes center stage. It's people first. Always.

The KAJ team believes that hospitality is all about the human experience. Take a journey through our five core values to find out why hospitality with KAJ is far more than just a job. 

We are Here for People

Helping others is at the core of every decision we make. We want our employees to have the same uplifting experience as our guests. We work tirelessly to foster an environment where our employees and our guests are genuinely interested in each other and create a community of support, encouragement, and comfort. 

Fundamentally, we find that happier employees mean happier guests, and happier guests mean happier employees. So we’re here to put humanity at the forefront of every choice we make and every interaction we have.

We Motivate to Succeed

Everyone comes to the table with their own unique stories, characteristics, and needs. It’s our job (and passion) to keep learning and listening to help foster success for every individual. We show up every day ready to motivate, serve, and learn from our guests and coworkers.

We’re here to support you as you try out new skills and grow into a more professional, well-rounded person. We foster enthusiasm through a supportive team environment, and are always there to ensure our employees have the opportunity to flourish in whatever areas they’re passionate about.

When you’re excited about your work, it’s easy to succeed. Simple as that. 

We Show up with Empathy

The beauty of hospitality is that it provides the opportunity to learn about all types of people, and improves your ability to interact empathetically with a wide range of personalities. KAJ prides ourselves on listening to our employees and our guests, and showing up with our full selves.

It’s not always easy, but we show up with empathy, seek to understand with compassion, and strive to smooth over any cracks with ease. Many members of our core team started in housekeeping or front desk service just like you, so we know the highs and lows and we are here to help you through them as you work your way up.

When everyone is heard, we move forward together.

We Overcome Obstacles

Trust us, if we could fix life so that it was smooth sailing 24/7, we would do it! The fact is, problems are simply a part of the world we live in. What matters at KAJ is how you overcome and persevere. 

There’s a lot going on in hospitality—you may encounter an angry customer, a chair might break, you might trip and spill something. It’s okay! Being solution-oriented takes practice and patience, but we believe that yelling doesn’t clean a rug and self-doubt only leads to more spills in the future. 

We can’t stop problems, but we can solve them with confidence, commitment, and care.

We Include Others

Hospitality is a team sport. You can’t be a successful hospitality company without embracing a collaborative mentality. This past year and a half has been hard for everyone, but KAJ has persevered because we believe in the power of our community.

Leadership comes from everyone. We make decisions as a group because no one is an expert on everything at KAJ. The hands-on knowledge of a housekeeper or dishwasher could solve our problems just as well as a manager’s know-how—after all, even the best manager can’t be everywhere at once. 

Our ideas may have gotten us this far, but your innovation and creativity can take us into the future.   

Hospitality turns caring into a career.

A career in hospitality, and especially a career with KAJ, is a chance to dedicate your time and compassion directly towards the people who need it most. 

Not every job allows you to leave at the end of the day with the satisfaction of helping others. A job in hospitality can be difficult at times, but the feeling of having made a direct difference to someone’s life is priceless.

At KAJ, we are committed to you and your professional development, and are always thrilled to add another motivated helper to our team. To learn more about adopting a career that empowers you to lift up others, build empathy, and succeed in a supportive, family environment, contact KAJ Hospitality today!