I stayed at an Intercontinental this weekend. It was a nice hotel, but the stay highlighted why high end hotels drive business travelers crazy. If corporate spending doesn’t increase in the next few months, many of these hotels are going to fail. Why? I think it is because hotels have not realized the fundamental changes in the economy and what customers expect from their service providers. This can all be described in one word that I will share at the end of the post.
The 10 things that I hate, as experienced in the first 60 minutes of my stay:
1. Paying for Wi-Fi
When I was in Las Vegas a few months ago, I stayed at a hotel that billed itself as the top hotel near my conference. Though a little shabby, it was better then most hotels I have stayed in while traveling. However, they wanted to charge me $15.95 a day for Internet access and they didn’t even have a kiosk so that I could print my boarding pass for free. My friend at the conference stayed at the Super 8 for ¼ of what I spent, got free wi-fi, pastries, and coffee around the clock. I had to pay for all of that. Wouldn’t you think that if you were spending more on a nicer hotel, you would expect the hotel to respect their guests and provide at least free Internet?
2. $5 Bottles of Water
Why would anyone in their right mind spend $5 for a 12 oz bottle of water? I drink the equivalent of 8 bottles of water a day, and if I got it from the hotel, I would be spending $40 a day. A few months ago, I stayed at a business orientated hotel that provided a liter of water a day for free. Do you think that stuck out in my mind as a place that I might want to come back to?
3. Paying for Coffee
I can be a terror in the morning until I get my morning coffee fix. If you delay that by making me walk to the lobby to pay $5 for a single cup of coffee two hours after I normally wake up, then I might not be happy during check out time. How much loyalty can you build with the addicts if you just put out some pump thermoses of decent coffee throughout the day?
4. Stupidly High Prices for Breakfast
Do you really think that I am dumb enough to pay $8.00 for a bowl of oatmeal? I don’t care if it is served with apple-cherry compote. As personal spending and per diem levels fall, so will your breakfast revenues. This means that your customers will be going to the closest Dunkin Donuts and grabbing a cheap large coffee, a donut, and a large bottle of water. That is a much better way to spend $8 then shell out my company’s money on an $8 bowl of watered down horse feed.
5. Snobby Service
I hate having to point out that hotel employees need to trim their nose hair as they turn up their nose when asked about where to find free water, wi-fi, and coffee. I am sorry that you have to deal with horrible people, but don’t take it out on me. I speak on excellence in customer service and guess what…it is not hard to treat all customers with respect. That is all I ask for. Yes, I am younger than the average high end traveler. No, I do not make a million dollars a year…yet. However, I like staying at good hotels, so if your service sucks then I am never coming back and I am going to tell people not to stay there.
6. Cramped Fitness Centers
I practice Tai Chi, so I need a large space to warm ups and form practice. I am sure many Yoga practitioners are with me here as well. I want to know what the designers of hotels were thinking when they created and stocked their fitness rooms? Only once in the past few years have I found a hotel that had the space needed to do form practice. So the fitness room takes up space, I get it. Just provide a quiet space and some mats on the floor. Your customers that practice Yoga and Tai Chi will thank you with repeat business.
7. Complicated Appliances
Did you know that low end hotels put cheap coffee pots and free coffee in their rooms? Why do some high end hotels feel it necessary to provide machines that require a 10 step process to get a single cup of coffee that tastes the same as the coffee from low end hotels? Not only are these machines difficult to use, but they are prone to breaking when people that have not gotten their first cup of coffee yet try to use them.
8. Impossible to Use Lighting Controls
Yes, the lighting and switches look cool but why the hell do the lights not go off when I press all of the buttons? What happened to putting a switch on the wall that actually turns the light on or off?
9. Beautiful but function-less design
I started this post sitting at a wonderful looking Scandinavian style desk. It is beautiful, but I have no place to put folders, books, a 5$ coffee, and $5 bottle of water because the desk it too small. I am a big fan of nice aesthetics, but please give me room to get some work done. Is that too much to ask?
10. Not enough power
Many people carry a laptop, personal phone, camera charger, battery charger, projector and more when they travel. If you are a geek like me, you have a lot of gear. Since I have not yet invested in a snazzy portable power-strip, I cannot find enough plugs to plug in everything I need to have ready for my meeting. How hard would it be to make a power strip available for me to plug in my gear? Also, why are all of the outlets hidden in recessed pockets of desks and table-sides where half my AC adapters don’t fit? Did the designers try staying in one of their rooms before they opened them to the public?
So What is the Word You Were Talking About?
By now you are wondering,”What is the point of this rant?” It is to share one word that if you take it to heart, you will your customers happy. The word is VALUE. As per diem and personal spending drop, it is important now more than ever to provide as much value in return for your customer’s money. If you provide your customers with an over the top value proposition, they will come back, bring their friends, and bring their meetings. If you nickel and dime your customers to death with internet fees, service charges, and not providing coffee and donuts – they will not come back and they will not bring their meetings.
I know what many businesses say, “If we give them too much then we won’t make any money.”
Do you know why you are not making money…it is not because you are not charging enough for a cup of coffee? It is because your revenue model and processes suck. Charging $5 for a bottle of water is not going to save the ship. Developing processes to reduce cost while producing more value to the customer will make your revenues grow with your value proposition. What is so hard about that?
Let me know where you are seeing companies that don’t understand this concept or those who are going above and beyond for their customers while still making money
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I hate places like that. Sure, you get a super comfy bed with big fluffy pillows and a down comforter, but I’d rather sleep on a futon mattress on the floor if it means I get free WIFI.
I worked for a major hotel chain that shall remain nameless, and the $10/day wifi was everyone’s biggest pet peeve. Yeah, it was an easy sell to the corporate guys hosting fancy conferences, but to, oh, everyone else, it was a supreme pain in the rear.
We did have a great breakfast buffet, though!
HA! Spoken like a true geek.
This is where my girlfriend and I disagree. When she travels, she wants the amenities of the high-end hotels. Give me a $40 Super 8 with free wi-fi and coffee and I am happy.