April 14, 2015 · Team HG
A hotel room is a space where you sleep when you travel. Whether this is for business or pleasure doesn't really matter much. The guest pays for the luxury they want to experience during their stay. Nevertheless, there are small gestures that allow you to pamper the guest a little extra. We have collected 10 examples of small suggestions to ‘spice up your hotel room’.
Hotel amenities
We are all familiar with the standard of soaps, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, shower caps, toothbrush sets, and shaving kits by now. Many of these amenities disappear into suitcases and become a lasting reminder of your hotel in the bathrooms of your previous guests. So by all means, keep giving away the standard amenities. Yet, I am sometimes surprised. At a number of hotels, I have received mini packs of makeup remover wipes. Hoteliers, this is greatly appreciated by women!
Bath menu and sunscreen
At the Andaz hotel In San Diego, they even have a tray at the reception desk with sachets of facial sunscreen with a high SPF! What service. At the Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach (Los Angeles), there are cheerful texts on the hotel amenities. Texts that make you happy when you walk into the bathroom in the morning.
More and more hotels are serving a form of bath menu: you can purchase an extensive bath treatment from premium brands. This can be a form of upselling are, we recently wrote about this on horecatrends.com.
Next to the Bible, magazines, or another book next to the bed
At the LUXURY Sunset Boulevard hotel In Los Angeles, next to the Getty Museum, a small book with uplifting and cheerful texts and drawings lies on your nightstand next to a Bible. You’ll finish it in no time, and the book is also available for purchase downstairs in the shop, along with other fun books from this series! In the realm of magazines, too, you see more and more luxury hotels placing a selection in the room. And if you’re going to do it, do it right. Like with Hotel Schloss Bensberg in Bergisch Gladbach, where they laid down different magazines every day!
Children in the hotel room
It always amazes me that there is so little attention to detail when it comes to children. Even in hotel rooms, children are rarely surprised, even though it is such an easy win: happy child, happy parents. At the Shutters on the Beach Hotel In Santa Monica, there is a small box in the bookcase containing a yo-yo and three juggling balls. For the little ones, they also have a little whale for the bath! But even older children like these toys, in my experience! Why not put an emphasis on traditional Dutch toys? A beach ball in a seaside hotel or another traditional Dutch toy like those little buckets (with strings through them) that you can walk on? A doll in traditional costume for the toddler, and so on.
Adults also like to play…
At Shutters on the Beach, they know that adults like to play too; high up in the bathroom, they offer a number of guilty pleasures behind lock and key. More hotels are capitalizing on this, sometimes in collaboration with well-known brands such as Christine le Duc.
Offer yoga in your hotel room
At the LUXE Sunset Boulevard hotel, a yoga mat is ready for use in your hotel room. It features a business card with ‘Decompress with my yogaworks’, including a code for a month of online yoga classes or a complimentary yoga class at a nearby location. Perhaps something to consider collaborating with a local yoga teacher? Or, if the hotel does not have a gym, partnering with a nearby gym?
Use the minibar in your charm offensive
At a number of luxury hotels, the minibar is increasingly often free. Given the prices you often pay for a room, it certainly pays off. It is charming to offer at least something for free; even bottles of water on the nightstand are appreciated by your guests. The Andaz hotel in San Diego offered a number of drinks and snacks for free every day. Simply placed on top of the minibar with a friendly note attached.
Do not disturb sign
It Marriott hotel At Dana Point in California, there is a peculiar ‘do not disturb’ sign: Gone Surfin! Adapting to local conditions ;-). The Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach (Los Angeles) has a small ‘do not disturb’ sign that you stick in the keyhole. If a maid then tries to get in.....
Local touch in your hotel room
It is old-fashioned, but certainly still common in more luxurious hotels: a box of stationery and/or postcards. Yet, you see more and more people sending exactly these kinds of postcards from their holiday destinations. The Surf & Sand Resort also includes a local element in the box: a handful of small seashells from the beach. What is a local touch at your location? And of course, you can also place a shell or a sprig of heather on the pillow!
Responding to special circumstances for your guests…
Nothing is easier than a guest indicating that they are coming to celebrate their birthday, wedding anniversary, or other party at your hotel. It is a golden opportunity to score. And yet, many hoteliers miss this! A small cake with a congratulatory message works wonders and is often shared on social media. It doesn't really matter what you do, as long as you do something.
Author: Marjolein van Spronsen
Source: spronsen.com
