Growing up as an upper-class kid in college, it was so easy to assume that trades were not as important as they really are. By trades I mean skilled labor careers like welders, plumbers, landscapers, painters, etc. As a kid I always knew I’d get into owning and operating businesses, and I thought becoming a tradesman would make my parents ashamed. However, since growing up and experiencing what’s needed in running an establishment, I now know that running any kind of hotel or restaurant would be impossible without skilled tradesmen.

First of all, the buildings I run my hotel-restaurants out of could not be built to begin with if it weren’t for the hundreds of skilled tradesmen required for construction. Without concrete workers to dig and pour the foundation, without carpenters to raise the walls, without painters to paint them, without plumbers and electricians to install all the appliances my guests take for granted, and without contractors and construction companies to organize it all, hotels and restaurants would be nothing more than a pile of building materials sitting on the floor.

In the past I touched on the importance of skilled labor in running a hotel kitchen in the past. From knowing a good appliance repair company to making sure your perimeter drains are inspected, I’ve touched on why some trades are important already, but today I’m talking about the overall importance of all trades, not just drainage and appliance repair. In running a hotel-restaurant I’ve come into close contact with tradesmen of all types, and it’s by doing business with these tradesmen, by asking them questions about their trades, that I learned how essential their services are and how much they should be respected in the marketplace. Years of owning a business has taught me that while I make money through transactions these skilled tradesmen make money by applying their skills, and that’s why while I may be only able to charge $30 for a meal and $190 for a bed to sleep in, a mechanic can charge $150 per hour of their time. If I were to sell my time it might only be worth $20 per hour because while I make money through transactions I don’t actually have any labor skills that I can sell.

The types of tradesmen I commonly do business to make it possible for my hotel-restaurants to exist are mold remediation specialists, landscapers, drywall experts, carpenters, painters, janitors, electricians, plumbers, security and fire experts, locksmiths, and many more. Each one of these is extremely important, and without them businesses of all kinds, not just hotels and restaurants, could not exist let alone operate. Even hospitals and police stations couldn’t exist without masons and bricklayers to build the walls, golf courses couldn’t exist without landscapers, public swimming pools couldn’t exist without tilers, museums couldn’t exist without carpenters, and the list goes on.

So next time you give acknowledgements for the success of your establishment, always remember to give skilled tradesmen their due acknowledgements right there beside your friends and family, because without them your establishment would still be nothing more than an idea in your mind.

Thank you for reading. May 2024 continue to be a fruitful year for you and all of yours!