There are plenty of ways hotels can improve guest experience, without a complete hotel refurbishment. Daniel Tabbush, author of hotelier guide 1500 Hotel Nights details the top 10 things that hoteliers can most easily do to improve guest experience. As we all know, that even in five-star hotels, there are invariably quirks and flaws, in design or service!
Sufficient lighting
It seems commonplace now to have ambient mood lighting in hotel rooms, or at the least, limited bright lighting for reading, or for kids to play and draw on the ground. A stand-up lamp with ample wattage is an easy solution.
Quiet air conditioning
A recalibration and servicing of outdated or high powered A/C units can help to limit an otherwise thunderous roar. Nobody wants to hear the sound of a Boeing 747 in their hotel room after they land!
Blackout curtains
An incessantly glaring moon light or neon light from outside signage is enough to drive anyone crazy trying sleep – or the morning sunrise after a long night out! Hotels need to apply proper curtains to create a positive sleeping environment.
Quality linens
Tattered, frayed towels are not what we want on holiday, nor bristly bed linens, nor a cotton-ball stuffed pillow. A reasonable investment in new quality linens can transform the guest experience.
Free WiFi
With routers or extenders, most hotels can allow WiFi in guest rooms, and should do so free of charge. The nickel-and-diming of hotel guests on Internet service, or pushing guests to free lobby WiFi, creates no goodwill.
Friendly minibar
Remove the mechanical monster minibars that automatically charge guests when simply touching, or lifting an item. Better yet, provide a friendly minibar, with a reasonably priced selection, or complimentary treats.
Streamline check-in
Create a more seamless check-in experience; one which is not a procedure, or chore, and where the front-desk person need not display his keyboard tapping dexterity to the nth degree before finally allowing entry.
Limit intrusive music
Ambient music in a hotel corridor can emphasis market placement or brand, but it can invade the hotel guest room from both under the door or through the ceiling. Any music by guest rooms should be shut off at night entirely, and turned to an exceptionally low volume at other times.
Limit laundry carnage
Provide returned laundry and dry cleaning in a way that is easy to access, without the interminable boxes, staples, pins and other cleaned laundry casing.
Unclutter the desk
A hotel directory or room service menu, or a city guide and a spa menu, can be helpful to hotel guests. But their placement should not be strewn all over the desk, where most all guests, and especially the business traveller, will want to place their computer, wallet, key card and spare change.
