A programme by Give Five Give Life Foundation
Recovery Beyond Medicine
for Hotels
A lived-experience assessment of hospitality for guests living with cancer or long-term illness, and the people travelling with them.
RBM helps hotel leaders identify subtle barriers within the guest experience and test meaningful improvements using their existing people, spaces and services.
Continue the conversation
Why RBM
Where excellent service can become more personal.
Service can be polished yet still ask too much of a guest: repeating a private explanation, negotiating a change of pace or feeling obliged to accept well-meant attention. RBM examines how those moments affect dignity, independence and enjoyment.
The programme is informed by lived experience, including our founder’s first-hand experience of travelling while living with cancer.
The RBM perspective
Understanding the whole stay.
Each assessment follows the guest journey across the hotel’s spaces, services and interactions. The scope is tailored to the property. These perspectives guide the assessment:
Emotional accessibility
Whether guests feel able to share a need, feel heard and retain control over the conversation. Responses should convey warmth and respect, without pity, assumptions or promises about recovery.
Energy and independence
Where the experience asks for avoidable physical or mental effort, and how guests can conserve energy while continuing to make their own choices.
Continuity and discretion
Whether an agreed need is understood across departments and shifts, so the guest can rely on support without repeatedly explaining private circumstances.
Participation and shared time
How guests and companions can enjoy the hotel together, change their pace or step back from an activity while continuing to feel included.
The pilot
A focused assessment. A practical test. A clear next step.
01
Agree the scope
GFGL approaches selected hotels and agrees objectives, visit arrangements, costs and confidentiality directly with the General Manager or owner.
02
Understand the experience
An incognito guest visit — Silent Auditing — is agreed with the General Manager or owner. Frontline staff are not briefed in advance. The confidential report identifies strengths, observed barriers and priorities for the property.
03
Test and review
Hotel leaders choose a manageable set of adjustments, assign responsibility and agree a review date. Guest feedback, staff feedback and practical measures help establish what improves the experience and what the team can sustain.
The hotel receives a confidential report, a prioritised improvement plan and an agreed review of the pilot. Findings are interpreted within the scope and limits of the visit and feedback collected.
Value for hotels and GFGL
A useful outcome now. A stronger proposition over time.
For the hotel — during the pilot
A fresh view of service quality, clearer priorities and a manageable way to test improvements. The review shows where coordination can reduce avoidable requests, repeated explanations and disruption to the guest’s stay.
For the hotel — longer term
A more informed hospitality standard and a clearer proposition for travellers living with illness and their companions. Documented improvements can support trust, recommendations and repeat visits. Developing visibility through GFGL and relevant organisations is a longer-term programme aim, not a guarantee of bookings.
For GFGL
Practical evidence helps the foundation refine the programme, develop staff-learning resources and build useful hotel relationships. Fees from agreed professional work and optional ongoing support would help sustain programme delivery and further development.
After the pilot
Continuing with RBM.
The pilot ends with a review of results and a decision on next steps. Hotels may continue independently with the agreed improvements or explore ongoing support through the proposed RBM subscription packages.
Essentials
Practical guidance and templates, resource updates and agreed check-ins on guest preferences and everyday service coordination.
Premium
Essentials support plus structured progress reviews and updates to the hotel’s improvement plan, informed by guest and team feedback.
Extra Mile
Premium support plus tailored implementation sessions and staff-learning resources as these are developed, shaped around the property’s priorities.
These service packages are in development. Their deliverables, review frequency and fees will be agreed before any subscription begins. RBM subscriptions cover agreed support for hotel teams; GFGL supporter partnerships contribute to the foundation’s wider mission.
Any future RBM hotel recognition would depend on published criteria and assessment, independently of subscription level. Independent validation and accreditation remain development goals; a pilot does not itself confer accredited status.
Scope and costs
Designed around the hotel’s existing resources.
The pilot starts with the hotel’s current teams, spaces, systems and services. It does not require a new department, software purchase or capital investment. Staff time, agreed operational adjustments, visit arrangements and any professional fees are defined in writing before work begins. Ongoing support is optional.
A conversation with your leadership team
Let’s define what RBM could bring to your hotel.
If GFGL has approached your property, this is the starting point for a focused conversation with your leadership team. Together, we can identify a useful assessment scope and the improvements worth testing.
For an introduction or to continue a discussion, contact Marta Bicka, Founder of Give Five Give Life Foundation.
Continue the conversationpartnerships@givefivegivelifefoundation.org
Recovery Beyond Medicine is a hospitality development programme.
For travellers and families: explore the Recovery Programme.