Gen X in Hospitality: Still Here. Still Working. Still Wondering Why Everyone Thinks We’re Not Cool.

 Published 20.05.2025 - Michael A. Di Palma

 Let’s get this out of the way:

We’re Gen X. - That group of 40–60-year-olds who look 45 on Zoom, feel 85 in our joints, work like we’re 30, party like we’re 20 (for about 12 minutes), and recover like we’re 110.

We are—scientifically speaking—held together by sarcasm, caffeine, bad knees, and a vague memory of what free time used to feel like.

And yet… we’re still here. In the madness of the hospitality industry. Running the show, fixing the chaos, and somehow mentoring three generations at once without snapping.

So what’s it like being Gen X in hospitality today?

 

We’re the In-Betweeners

We’re not Boomers. We’re not Millennials.

We’re the middle child of a hospitality family—forgotten, under-celebrated, and yet weirdly responsible for everything.

We learned tech when it showed up. We ran operations before there were apps for it. We know how to write a schedule and how to explain it to someone who thinks “availability” is a suggestion.

 

We Still Know How to Serve

Real service. The kind that doesn’t start and end with an iPad. We know how to read a room, fix a vibe, and charm a table at the table.

And we remember when guests didn’t expect a 12-step tasting menu, a personalised QR code, and a candlelit therapy session—just a good steak and someone who gave a damn.

Real, human, presence-in-the-room service.

 

We Adapt—Quietly

We’ve pivoted more times than a sous chef avoiding eye contact during service. New systems? We’ll learn them. New menu? We’ll fix the margins.

Just don’t ask us to do a TikTok dance unless you’re covering the physio bill.

 

The Myths We’re Done With

  • The ‘I’ll do it all’ delusion as a badge of honour. No thanks. We’ve done the 80-hour weeks. And guess what? You don’t get a medal. You get sciatica.

  • Loyalty over sanity. We’re not lifers just for the sake of it. Respect us or lose us.

  • Top-down terror. Lived it. Hated it. And we’re not passing it on.

 

The Things We Still Bring to the Table (Even if We Need Glasses to Read the Menu)

  • Experience. Proper, hard-earned, table-turning shifts.

  • Empathy. Because we remember when the industry was brutal and didn’t care if you cried in the walk-in.

  • Balance. We’ve worked the brunch shift on 2 hours of sleep. We know what matters—and what doesn’t.

 

Final Thought

We’re not trending. We’re not going viral. But we’re still the backbone of this industry.

We show up. We deliver. We train. We care.

And we’ll still be the ones fixing the mess when the till crashes and the printer’s on fire.

So, here’s to Gen X in hospitality:

Not obsolete. Just really REALLY GOOD AT WHAT WE DO…AND OCCASIONALLY HOLDING IT ALL TOGETHER WITH ESPRESSO AND IBUPROFEN.

Ooops, sorry for yelling.