10 Things Hotels Should STOP Doing Right Now

Hotels are places to unwind, relax and take a breather, often far from home. I spend a lot of time in hotels and like every visitor have my own special moments and fair share of horror stories. I tend to avoid going nuclear on Twitter or TripAdvisor but I am amazed at the number of leading hotels who get hospitality so very wrong.

For those in hospitality investing in digital and brave new world ideas consider the simple actions below that would make most guests over the moon with their stay.

1. STOP charging for Wi-Fi. It’s like water these days and it makes your brand look stingy. If necessary hide the cost in your night fee and market Wi-Fi as ‘free’.
2. STOP tiered Wi-Fi for purchase. Again annoying and discriminatory to say the least. The internet isn’t just for the rich. A family with Disney needs is as much a user of high powered Wi-Fi as the business executive using Cisco WebEx.
3. STOP charging exorbitant fees for late check out. Be realistic, most guests have other places to be.
4. STOP serving poor, lukewarm breakfast. Buy some heating stands that keep your food hot. STOP serving sausages that are made of cardboard. Yes you’ve saved $10,000 in sausages but lost $60,000 in returning customer stays.
5. STOP overcharging for food in your dimly lit restaurant. Unless you’re Michelin starred be careful not to out price your guests.
6. STOP celebrating the Brooklyn Bridge when your hotel overlooks the River Jordan. Celebrate the space you’re in. It’s often why guests are there. Ditch the Ikea photo of NYC covering the bedhead and replace it with something local.
7. STOP facilitating online bookings where you ask for a customer’s life story only to ask them to repeat it on paper when they arrive at check in. Customers have already given you pre-approved payment, their phone number and address.
8. STOP sending staff to check out your mini-bar during check-out. Yes. This happens a lot and not just to me. You confirm nothing was taken from the mini-bar only to see a member of staff scurry up the stairs to check you’re not a liar. That memory stays with a guest. Believe me.
9. STOP putting your laundry costs ahead of a guests good night sleep. I’m currently in a hotel where the duvet covers only 3/4 of the bed. I think it’s made of paper or starch. Thankfully Scandinavian airlines has me booked in business class tomorrow so I can catch up on sleep then.
10. STOP automating everything. Even on business I like to meet a person. Speaking to a robot is fun for a while until you feel lonely. STOP digitising everything in the room. There’s nothing wrong with a light switch that doesn’t need an iPhone 7 to operate. There’s nothing wrong with a blind you pull versus one operated via your iPad connected TV. Yes it all looks cool until you need the toilet in the middle of the night.

Look out next week for the top 10 things hotels should start doing. The 10 things that will make guests come back again and again.

Sleep well…zzzz