Travellers tales – or nightmares on the road

Hotel California by the Eagles includes amongst its many lines ‘you can check out anytime you like but you may never leave’ which provides the perfect point from which to launch this weeks posting all about hotels and travel. I have been fortunate enough to stay in many hotels, in many countries and for many different reasons.

Some have been dire (you know who you are) and some have been great but what is it that makes the difference? Surely having high quality shower gel makes the difference? Well no. Maybe its the free newspaper that is hung on your door at night? Again no. So it must be the staff? Yes to a point. Good staff will make a poor hotel better and poor staff will ruin a good hotel but that’s only half the story.

And while on the subject of ‘poor staff’ let me digress for a moment. I doubt many hotel owners go out of their way to recruit ‘poor staff.’ I doubt you’ll see a job advert seeking ‘staff with no idea and no desire to help wanted as a hotel receptionist.’ Poor staff are inevitably the result of poor recruitment practices and even more importantly a lack of suitable training. Poor staff is an excuse and any business leader who’s staff are accused of being poor should hang their head in shame. No really, hang your head in shame if your staff have ever been called poor. Or change your HR people. Do both. Now.

So good staff help but at  the end of the day I have summed up what makes a good hotel as ‘its one that just works’. Meaning what exactly? After giving it some thought there are three things a great hotel does well

1. they recognize that people want a simple check in process that moves you from street to room as soon as possible
2. there is an understanding that all the staff have a role to play in making the guest feel welcome even if only staying overnight. It is the cleaner who welcomes you to the hotel with a smile that makes as big an impact as the receptionist
3. a great hotel has all its facilities working and when there is a problem (as there inevitably will be) they try and sort the problem out. They let you know what they are going to do and then they do it; no fuss just competent problem solving.

Actually when you think about it these three could apply to any business. And yet so many places I stay can’t make these three simple things work.

I wonder why? What makes a good hotel experience for you? Or for that matter what makes any customer experience good?