by Russell | Feb 24, 2012 | Alphabetical Guide to the Hospitality Galaxy
“A” seems like a great place to start our tour through the Hospitality Galaxy, don’t you think? What comes to mind when we consider the letter “A” in this context? ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act. Acoustics. Audio. However for this, the first of my blogs to cover the CWL Alphabetical Guide to the Hospitality Galaxy, I prefer to associate the letter with the most important “A”. Arrival. Arrival and departure are the two most important components in a guest’s “life-cycle”. Consider this scenario: you’ve spent considerable time and effort online researching a restaurant, resort or city hotel. Somewhere you have not visited before. Or, you’re planning a vacation to a hotel in a land you have only seen on TV. Maybe you’re returning to a restaurant, night-club, Bed and Breakfast or even your favorite city hotel. In your mind you have created this vision of either the new or the familiar. At the same time you have numerous silent questions. Questions that will only be answered upon Arrival. Questions like: Will the hotel car meet me at the airport? Will there be valet parking? What will the view from the lobby lounge be like – will it be appropriate to meet my guests there? Will the facilities complement the local culture? Will the restaurant have my favorite table available – the one I requested? Will the check-in process go smoothly? Will the guestroom I requested be ready? Will my luggage arrive in my guestroom promptly? Will the B & B owners have in-depth knowledge of the surrounding area? And so on and so forth…. What sort of experience...
by Russell | Jun 22, 2011 | Excellence
Who is the first to meet your guests? Who creates that all important “first impression” and has the most impact on them? The staff! The people who show their dedication, care, passion and attention to detail and go the extra mile to produce excellence – not only when they interact with other staff members of all levels, but also with their guests. At a great hotel the staff welcomes you, they embrace you. They make you feel that you are a valued guest and that they want to do everything they possible can do to make you feel comfortable and “at home”. The environment they work in goes a very long way to helping them achieve that goal! For example, a hotel’s common denominator, a guest room or “key”. Like meeting a person for the first time, it does not take long to make a decision as to whether or not you like that person. The same can be applied to entering a guest room. The guests will decide very quickly if they like the space, the layout, the lighting, artwork, color scheme and bathroom. This “first impression” requires the combination of proper space planning and careful selection of color and materials of all the elements that make up a guest room. The same attention to detail must be given to operating supplies and accessories. For example the bed and bedding – what makes up a great bed? Some hotel operators like Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts actually brand and sell new beds because guests have been so impressed with the beds in their hotels. It goes further than...
