If you want to attract more guests, you need to provide rooms with a ‘wow’ factor along with the basic amenities. Eloise Gibson uncovers some surprise must-haves that will no doubt ‘wow’ our overseas and domestic visitors and make them want to come back.
Hoteliers and moteliers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Rugby World Cup visitors this year, with many taking the opportunity to review facilities and get rooms looking spic and span. Hospitality experts say the major benefits stand to be gained not during the Cup itself but in coming years – if visitors want to come back.
With an estimated 600 new hotel rooms added in Auckland alone, the pressure will be on to keep those extra rooms full after overseas rugby fans leave. The Crowne Plaza Auckland completed new room fit-outs last year, well ahead of the Cup season. Hotel council executive officer Rachael Shadbolt says other hotels have timed refurbishments to finish just before events kick-off.
For those thinking of giving their rooms a makeover, experts say that in-room wireless, a variety of pillows and a spot of environmental awareness will be appreciated by international guests. Guests’ demands for in-room amenities are changing – with hair straighteners and bottled water now taking a place on some wish lists.
Before getting too carried away, Hospitality Association head Bruce Robertson is warning businesses not to over-invest in the expectation of making huge profits. “It is important to make a good impression… but the (Cup) period is relatively limited,” he says. “Make sure the investment is justified on the basis of your business and long-term strategies.”
Robertson says the World Cup is a good opportunity to make sure maintenance is up-to-scratch, or bring planned upgrades forward. And he says the charm offensive by hoteliers should be aimed at impressing ordinary business travellers and domestic guests as much as international visitors, since business and local guests may be more likely to return.
Erwin Losekoot, a lecturer in hotel management at AUT, says hotel amenities can be divided into two categories. The first, which he calls “hygiene factors,” are the basic amenities that are absolutely essential to get right. These include making sure the room is available, clean, and that everything is in working order.
On top of that are added ‘wow’ factors – amenities that go beyond what guests expect. When it comes to the World Cup, Losekoot says ‘wow’ factors could include arranging babysitting, transport to and from games and thinking of alternative activities for family members who are not interested in rugby.
He suggests having as much information available about tourist attractions as possible about, and keeping a store of different dictionaries on hand to deal with queries from non-English speaking customers.
Losekoot says some establishments might want to offer flexible office hours to enable groups to return late after evening events. He suggests arranging a gathering area for rugby-goers so that guests don’t bring the party back to their rooms and disturb other guests.
Some smaller, boutique premises might want to opt out of rugby altogether. Losekoot says that pitching your premises as a quiet haven for business travellers, or people who feel intimidated by Cup-fuelled exuberance, could help attract returning visitors.
For those who want to use the opportunity to add new amenities, fast, in-room wireless internet is a good place to start. All experts spoken to by Hospitality magazine for this article agreed that wireless internet – once an optional extra – is now considered a basic amenity by hotel guests.
What is more, Losekoot says fast internet presents a huge marketing opportunity for New Zealand. “People can go out and see the sights, go out for dinner, go to the viaduct, and then go straight on Skype and tell their family all about it,” he says. Having access to reliable internet gives people a chance to post immediate favourable reviews on websites such as Trip Advisor, which allows people to rate their hotels and motels. Losekoot says positive reviews on websites such as Trip Advisor are often considered more reliable by fellow travellers than media articles. “It would be a shocking waste (of an opportunity) if we didn’t have as much internet access as possible,” he concludes.
When it comes to offering kitchen facilities, Losekoot believes New Zealand hotels and motels already have an advantage. “(In-room) kitchen facilities are quite rare, especially in Europe,” he says. “So that is a huge bonus (for New Zealand.).”
Clare Jay, programme leader in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Wellington Institute of Technology, has been researching what she calls “amenity creep” – the process whereby hotels add more and more complimentary features to rooms. She says hotels have reacted to intense competition by lifting the level of basic amenities provided – a trend that has proved more difficult to maintain since the 2008 recession.
In a survey of guests at Wellington’s three, four and five star hotels, Jay asked what features they would like provided in a room, and what could be removed without being missed. Initial respondents to the as-yet incomplete survey project listed bottled water, make-up remover pads, shaving foam and razors, a torch for emergencies, and even hair straighteners, as items they would like to be able to use at no extra cost.
Some guests said that they would be happy to pay extra for use of items such as high speed internet, bathrobes and slippers, breakfasts and mini-bar snacks. Other amenities added little to guests’ experiences. Jay gives the example of a 300-room hotel providing biscuits in every room. “That is a lot of money tied up in biscuits, and a lot of guests did not really care about them,” she said. When it came to free toiletries, guests said they were more likely to use free soap and body wash than hotel-supplied shampoo and conditioner. Many preferred to use their own hair products.
Jay says providing freebies such as soap and body wash presents a good marketing opportunity. “(Guests) carry your name around (with the soap) and it sits in their bathroom, and their guests see it,” she says. She suggests using New Zealand-made, natural products as a branding exercise where possible. “Another important issue (guests commented on) was the ‘greenness’ and sustainability issue – there is a lot of wastage around half used bottles or soaps,” says Jay. “International guests may be very pleased to see that their hotel is actively participating in a ‘green’ or environment programme.”
Crowne Plaza Auckland General Manager Robert Coates agrees that guests have become more sustainability-minded in recent years. He says guests are keener now to take advantage of ways to recycle waste and reduce washing of linens and towels. He has also noticed guests looking for healthier options on in-room menus, and flexibility when it comes to ingredients in food. Pillows were another creature comfort where guests had increasingly specific requirements. “People are looking for a lot of different options – down, thick, hard, soft,” says Coates. But in-room telephones, while still standard, were getting less and less use. “People all carry their own mobiles,” he says.
Coates says the Crowne Plaza refurbishments (completed in 2009) were aimed at regular business travellers and other holiday-makers as much as Cup guests. “It is a fairly major project and so it has got to have a reasonable shelf life,” he said. Rooms were given new beds, bed spreads, curtains, artworks, soft furnishings and even new joinery in some areas.
Yet even the best-looking room can be let down by poor staff. Losekoot says guests at international sporting events in South Africa or Beijing might have expected accommodation standards to be “a bit ropey”. But New Zealand will not be afforded the same leniency. “People come to New Zealand with high expectations, expecting that it is going to be good,” he says. “You need to know you have the right people at least three months out from the event.” That gives new staff a chance to get to know premises and the surrounding area (if they are not locals). With many places expecting to be fully booked, he says “it can be tempting to just grab any warm body off the street”. But if you have too few good people it puts more pressure on your good staff. “They (staff) are going to get fed up, and people will notice that,” he says.
The pressure will be on hotel managers, who will need procedures in place for dealing with drunk and boisterous patrons and other potential problems. “Things are going to go wrong,” says Losekoot.
But when things get difficult, Losekoot believes New Zealand’s welcoming, “no worries” approach to hospitality will be a major asset. “That is something people notice about New Zealand,” he says. “If people get a sense of Kiwis being a bit different, that is what will bring them back.”