Tuesday, August 13, 2024
I’ve been thinking about the new trend in adventure travel, or what we used to call staying in a hotel. Not that long ago, in the before times, it was usually a straightforward proposition and experience. Different classes of hotels, and sometimes individual properties themselves, would have their set of services and amenities that could almost always be safely relied upon .
It seems COVID changed all that; I hope not forever.
Travel during the pandemic, whether necessary for work or chosen voluntarily for personal trips, was understandably a roll of the dice. Most hotels located north of an invisible line that seemed to stretch across the U.S. at approximately the latitude of Kansas City had little to no service. Self-check-in became increasingly popular, which was usually preferable to standing in a long line for one exasperated and solitary desk clerk behind a plexiglass shield who had to explain all the standard hotel services that were not available at that time. Hotel restaurants were closed, cordoned off with yellow tape. Housekeeping services were nil. Coffee service was often a portable carafe placed in the lobby for self-serve. Our remote controls were encased in Ziplocs. We didn’t ride elevators with other guests. It worked, we roughed it, we got by.
We were all in it together. Uber Eats drivers were our new heroes. Our stock travel bags filled with backup necessities grew in size and scope to include snacks, shampoo, soap, and lotion, bottles of water, and a full complement of coffee and supplies, just in case. It was a bit like going camping, with a roof over your head.
But now, I feel like the hotel managers and the traveling public need to come back to the table and establish a revised minimum baseline of non-negotiables. Let me clarify.
Finding workers is very difficult; we the traveling public totally understand. And honestly, some of the services that were provided in the before times might have been a bit of overkill – that’s entirely fair. Truthfully, I don’t need my room cleaned each day. And I never truly needed turndown service. In fact, I rather prefer skipping a full service of the room during my stay for a variety of reasons. That’s totally cool, legitimate and understandable. AND ALSO …
We need to agree that standard room prep QC needs to come up a notch or two. It’s now an adventure when arriving at the room to see which amenities are actually located in the room, and which are not. Upon arrival, I find myself acting like a co-pilot performing an entire walk-around and 20-point inspection process before takeoff, or in this scenario, before turn-in.
For example, it’s entirely common to find coffee cups, but no coffee. Or vice versa. Shampoo and/or conditioner? Maybe. It could be there is one small bottle of one, but not the other. Or, a large bottle affixed inside the shower that is supposed to contain actual ingredients too often does not actually contain any ingredients. I can tell you from experience that after you’re already in the shower is a heck of a time to figure out there is no shampoo, or that the body wash bottle is empty.
But hey, I’m not precious. I can and have traveled with nearly all of these items as backup (all except a spare coffee cup, that’s a bridge too far). But my dear hotelier friends, can we please have some open dialogue regarding what I do and do not need to pack for my adventures while staying with you? Because TSA gives weird looks and often second and third inspections of my hotel preparedness survival kit. I mean, someone traveling in a business suit who appears to have packed for an Outward Bound excursion does seem a bit odd, right?
Here’s a few specific ideas of how we could annoy each other less. In order to do our best at meeting each other’s expectations, might you be able to keep your website updated as to which features are and are not being offered currently? I mean, I understand if your full-service hotel is unable to operate its restaurant, bar or room service as frequently as it used to; could we perhaps let our guests know in advance so that alternative eating arrangements could be made? Often those full services are why we booked at your location to begin with. Because we need them.
If frequently updating your website seems too cumbersome, you have my email address. Maybe you could drop me a line a day or two prior to check in with an overview of what I shouldn’t expect. That would be nice. Hey, you could even use that system to let me know ahead of time if your space is undergoing construction or renovation too. It’s OK, I’ll still stay with you. It’s just that slipping a note under my door overnight that the water will be off from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. doesn’t help me make alternative plans for, you know, water.
I want to be part of a solution, so I’ll use contactless check-in whenever it’s offered and help create more efficiency at your front desk.
If we agree that daily room cleaning is overkill, may I please have a menu of a la carte room refreshing items that can be fetched or delivered to the room without my marching half a mile to the front desk queue or waiting for three hours for someone to deliver them? Maybe a guest pantry on each floor, self-serve style could be an option. Room key to swipe me in, bar code scanner to account for what I take … together we can figure it out, I’m sure of it. Or, at least allow me to send a text message and request what I need and let me select a convenient time that I can stop by the front desk (or other designated spot) to pick up my parcel of what’s needed for the next day’s living.
Also, can we talk about the speed of the Wi-Fi in the rooms? Since I’m spending more time in my room, rather than in the empty lobby or at the coffee shop that’s now closed, can we bump up your streaming game a touch? And no, it shouldn’t cost an extra $20 per day, if we’re being honest with each other.
If we don’t agree to some of these revised standards, then we’re going to need to renegotiate your price. We’ve all noticed that the rates have not come down. Yet for many, the value proposition is a tad too close to, “Stay with us, you won’t need a tent!”. But that’s about as far as it goes.
And, as long as your second cousins the airlines aren’t doing so great with holding up their end of a bargain either, this would be an awesome time to reup your “we’re your oasis after a long and frustrating day(s) of travel” game. Especially since you’re going to charge me for the first night of my stay, irrespective of whether my airline managed to deliver me there or not.
There’s opportunity here. We’ve enjoyed a long relationship together. Let’s try to make it better for everyone involved.
Until Next Time,
Mary Schuster
Chief Knowledge Officer
October Research, LLC