Returning from a two-week road trip, I took some time to reflect on my experiences at the seven hotels in four states I stayed at. They reflect a mix of full service, all suite, and select serve and as a Platinum Bonvoy member, they were all Marriott products. Now, please keep in mind that I am an old hotel guy who probably thinks we did everything better in my day and I am not sure you could say that I agree with the direction hotels are going in. This blog is written with the intent that it offers my view on the state of the hotel experience and hopefully it will be a platform to create discussions.
So let’s start with the positive aspects of the journey. With only one exception, the staff that I interacted with were all very friendly and outgoing when engaged in conversation with me – and if you know me then you know I like to engage with employees. These interactions were nice in that they were not scripted but more of them just being them – they were allowed to be their authentic self. They were welcoming and very much service oriented – loved seeing that. Also, all of the staff recognized my Platinum status and thanked me for my business. Two of the seven hotels were able to offer me an upgrade based on status, and all offered the appropriate welcome amenity options. A couple of the hotels were newly renovated or in the process of being renovated so it was nice to see that ownership groups are once again re-investing in their assets. There was one property where I had access to the Club Lounge, and it was done very well. Very nice food options and the attendant on duty was terrific.
Now, that was a short list of positives so rather than calling the rest of the blog “negatives”, I will use the term “observations that could use some attention”. Let’s start with the employees – as I mentioned above, they were all friendly and welcoming, but I wonder what ever happened to the use of uniforms. Is it a cost savings measure that hotels don’t use uniforms? Is it easier to attract employees if they don’t have to wear a uniform? It would be one thing if the employees at the front desk made enough money to buy nice clothes but let’s face it – that’s not the case. The wide range of attire was shocking – not sure you represent the brand when you allow a free for all when it comes to first impressions checking in.
I think the chicken and the egg discussion has come to be as it relates to the Food & Beverage discipline. I hear a lot of complaints about how hard it is to find F&B employees and I have to wonder if a part of that is due to the fact that there appears to be little or no effort to promote both in-room dining and the outlets. So, would the hotels make more F&B revenue if they promoted it? Or are they not promoting F&B because no one is buying it? On the positive side of this dilemma, in two full-service hotels I simply went down to the bar and had dinner. Service was great, food was very good and overall a great experience so why not promote it? Could we use incentives to get guests into the outlets? – Do they work? In-room promotion is nonexistent, and I found that the information on the TV was generally outdated, wrong or simply missing. I believe that if you make it easy for the guest to stay on site, make it fun, and do so with quality offerings, guest will spend their money with you. Thoughts?
I feel that the guestroom has lost its shine – the lack of in-room amenities is very noticeable and while the new designs are nice, the basics are missing. Without exception, the terry products in the bathrooms were the worst I have ever experienced – remember, this was in seven hotels in seven markets and not one of them had terry products that were in good condition. Three safes were not working and there appears to be no standard on the type of hangers or number of hangers in a room. I will not go on about the lack of a clock in the room (thanks aloft for having the retro clock still in the room).
I applaud the effort to renovate rooms but there is either a disconnect between the brand designers and the reality of the existing guestrooms. One room, which had just been renovated, was so poorly planned that the power in the sofa didn’t work because there was no where to plug the sofa into. In the same room, the left nightstand power outlets didn’t work because again, there was nowhere to plug it into. So what was designed to be a great in-room experience led to disappointment and a sore back as I was forced to move furniture around to see if I could get the room to be functional.
So, at the end of the day I continue to be concerned about our ability to make travel special and fun again. Were my basic needs met? Yes, but when you travel you want it to be fun, exciting and special. Gone are the days of robes, ample plush terry products and in-room dining on trays and silverware. Now, before you say “Brian, these weren’t luxury hotels – what do you expect?” These were mostly all full-service brands that regularly used to meet 4 star service and product standards.
So, how do we get the shine back on travel? The demand continues to be strong; the rates are also strong and match that against increased costs, labor shortages and trying to catch up from the pandemic and I’m not sure what the answer is but if it was easy everyone would be doing it. I did find it interesting that the hotels that were busy and had a “vibe” were also the hotels where there was a concentrated effort on promoting and “selling” features within the building. These were the same properties where the front desk agents were well trained, well versed about the property and they made the check-in process quick and personal. So, could the answer to making hotels shine again be as simple as ensuring the staff is well trained, focused on revenue creation and compensated appropriately? Something to think about. How would you rate your hotel’s training and revenue generation focus? The answer may surprise you.
Brian Proctor is the CEO and Founder of Leeds Hospitality Group, LLC and the Host of the Gratitude Centered podcast, Tuesday’s Thanks where he interviews Senior Corporate Leaders about their journey and provides them a platform to Thank those who have helped them along the way.
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