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The ever fickle customer is continuing to cause agita for hoteliers trying to uncover the right formula for pleasing guests through amenities and service offerings. Always a challenge, hoteliers are looking at emerging trends that take the hotel experience into sometimes unchartered territories as brands attempt to satisfy the increasingly savvy traveler.
Now that the bed wars have essentially ended in a draw, there are other areas in which brands are battling for the heart and soul of the guests. These categories include health and wellness, technological offerings and bathroom amenities. But learning the difference between what guests really need and what they say they need can be a vexing endeavor.
During the opening day of the Buyer Interactive Trade Alliance & Conference (BITAC) Purchasing and Design East event, sponsored by Hotel Interactive, an educational session and discussion honed in on dissecting this difficult dilemma.
According to Fred Lawlor, VP Procurement with Fairmont Raffles International Hotels, the typical guest is indeed becoming much savvier. And at Fairmont, the company is seeking to differentiate itself through its food offerings. “People are more keenly interested in health and wellness. They are more refined and educated, so we are offering fresh organic ingredients that are locally sourced when feasible,” said Lawlor. By sourcing fresher food locally, the company is also touching on another of its strategies, going green.
At Walt Disney World, Program Manager, Facility Asset Management Joe Motley said there is constant struggle in exceeding expectations of both its leisure and business traveler guests. They can have competing interests, making it more challenging to determine what a room needs to please both groups. “We have a strong brand but we are in a tough position,” said Motley, who confessed the company did not have an in-room amenity program until recently. However, internet and electronic connectivity scores at the top of the list for his guests.
“The guest continues to express and want new products,” said Jay Schwartz, VP of Procurement with Blackstone’s LXR Luxury Resorts. “We are listening to the guest and responding to their needs.”
Red Lion’s VP Operations, Tom Maier said they key to exceeding a savvy guest’s expectations is knowing what your guest expects. Easier said than done, but Maier said the company worked with an external public relations to help them with the task. “We were really able to understand our positioning and determine our [core] customer. This aided in our ability to craft the customer continuum,” said Maier.
The company is also moving toward incorporating additional sensory cues throughout the property experience. They’re playing with the sites, smells and sounds of the property. For example, putting nutmeg and sage scents in the breakfast area, and setting the tone for the stay with music played outside the hotel.
Consultant Peter Schor said the bathroom is one arena where guests are demanding more. “Hotels must deliver the bathroom experience,” said Schor. “Guests have high expectations and want more then they have at home.”
He also said bathroom amenities should be for sale, noting that men are susceptible to a soft sell approach if the products are in the room. "They’ll try them," said Shor, "and will buy them".
At LXR, Schwartz said the company is launching its own line of bathroom amenities, but determining the bottle size has been challenging. Men and women use different amounts of shampoo for example depending on hair length. He noted the more restrictive approach to bringing liquids and gels on a flight as a carry on item as an increase in demand for his hotels’ bathroom amenities.
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