Tina Tang |
Thursday, 9 October 2008 9:51 AM |
Hotels – we all love them but somehow because the promise is so high, often we are left feeling just a little disappointed.
What are the small moments that bring the experience down? Expectations are in direct proportion to the room rate. A bargain room in Tokyo only needs a comfortable futon and the wonderful Japanese cleanliness to deliver happiness, but a pricey room in Europe will disappoint if it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles including soft bathrobes and a room with a view.
So following a quick survey with well travelled colleagues over a couple of nice chilled wines (on the travel account no less) and drawing on my own mixed experiences, here’s a list of what seems to hit the mark with corporate travellers in hotels.
Firstly, a quirky/smart/grand building, something that makes an impact when you first happen upon it. Whether it is a stylish boutique hotel or a famous pile, a good statement lifts the heart even before you walk in the door.
But then, nothing is worse than waiting… no matter how lovely the lobby. After a long trip or a long day, most of us want to be attended to and want to be seen immediately. A slow check-in or check-out is unnecessary in these days of electronic surveillance. Surely we could just swipe our credit cards walking in the door and all would be sweet.
Sparkling clean should go without saying, but a friend once pulled back the curtains on a US$750 per night New York hotel to find a half eaten sandwich sitting on the windowsill. Housekeeping was so slow to respond that she could only conclude they were no longer hungry!
Being able to open a window or at least control the air is important. Centrally controlled climates with only an off/on switch can be disconcerting when travelling, making for a pretty uncomfortable nights’ sleep. It must be more energy efficient, not to mention satisfying, for the guests to allow them to fully manage their own room temperature.
Bathrooms; I personally don’t need an over-elaborate bathroom and would prefer the space allocated to the sleeping or sitting area, but a decent hairdryer and soaps that don’t smell like paint stripper are the minimum.
Have you ever wondered what happens to all those left over half-used soaps and shampoos? With the current green agenda, I’m sure it won’t be long now before we see recyled soaps; or perhaps that is taking the green initiative too far?
Also, whilst I don’t need to have a party in the shower, there is nothing worse than standing in there with walls that are too close, a vaguely mildewy shower curtain flapping against your legs and a low pressure dribble passing as an energy efficient showerhead.
And, whilst it is good to be kind to the environment by not using too many towels, spare ones (large and fluffy of course) shouldn’t be too far away.
For business travel, the mini-bar and room service becomes important. We’ve all eaten a Mars Bar and a bag of cashews for dinner at the end of a long day when we can’t be bothered waiting for room service, but wouldn’t it be great to have more options.
I must say I have always found it amusing that some hotels manage to charge extortionate rates for the basic mini bar items including water, even where the tap water is undrinkable!
I’ve often wondered if hotels could improve their bottom lines by reducing the margins on the mini bar items and getting higher turnover; perhaps though, they bank on the mini bars being totally emptied (and I’ve heard even in some cases souvenired) simply because it is on the corporate account.
Finally, what happens when you leave? The more you travel, the more you leave behind. A hotel that can reunite you with your clothes, electronic gadgets, jewellery and notebooks as quickly as possible will always get my repeat business.
That’s a pretty small list of wants, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find should it?
But around the world I have had few hotel experiences that tick all those boxes. In Singapore and Hong Kong there are some fine examples, but the relaxed holiday mode when I have visited those cities makes everything more enjoyable.
Las Vegas hotels are in a category of their own but one favourite that meets most of the basics and has more is the Hard Rock Hotel. Relatively small, the music theme keeps any old rocker smiling – and I think that covers most of us!
The lifts are called “love in the elevator”, fire exits are branded “stairway to heaven” and the do not disturb signs say “I hear you knocking but you can’t come in”.
A different crowd frequents the Hard Rock Hotel bars too. One of my friends drank vodka gimlets there with Richard Branson during a “what happens on tour stays on tour” kind of night.
Tina Tang is general manager of commercial developments at Investa Property Group.
Tina Tang |
Thursday, 9 October 2008 9:51 AM |
