By Anne Lawson
With freedom of choice our guests truly have the rule of thumb when selecting accommodation. So it is essential for accommodation providers to stay on top of your guests expectations so that you can ensure that your product can and will meet their needs.
With five years of preparation up our sleeves and only nine months to go, is the accommodation sector ready to take on the hoards of international visitors due to descend upon our shores in 2011? The world’s third largest sporting event, Rugby World Cup 2011 is set to attract up to 85,000 international visitors to NZ.
In the lead up to the event many hotels throughout the country have brought forward scheduled refurbishments in some way to raise the standards and meet international guest expectations, but will this be enough to ‘wow’ them and keep them coming back?
I recently did a short survey of hotels across the country and found that the three most common principles of expectations of any traveller are cleanliness, friendly and helpful service and high speed internet access.
A clean and well maintained room is the fundamental expectation of any guest and is still the top driver of recommendations and repeat business, however our guests are no longer content with this alone; they also have high expectations of friendly and helpful service including good local area knowledge and the many comforts of home.
When it comes to service there is really no excuse for delivering anything but the best. Service expectations can far outweigh any product issue and you will find that guests will be more willing to forgive if they receive excellent service from hotel staff. The opposite can occur where guests could have the most luxurious room in town, but if they experience poor service from the hotel staff, that property just earned themselves poor ratings on Trip Advisor.
Delivering great service is not an expensive exercise. Creating an outstanding hotel from a service standpoint only takes an investment of time and training. Of course you have to keep up your product, but you have to have the resources to make that happen.
The internet has become increasingly important in our business world as well as in our personal lives; it has become an absolute must-have for the modern day traveller. Therefore high speed wireless internet access has also become an expectation.
Breakfast can be the defining moment of how guests rate your hotel, as this is generally the last service your guest will utilise before leaving, and it’s becoming an increasing expectation to offer a variety of continental, hot and healthier breakfast options. So if you offer breakfast – do it well.
As the focus on health grows, the traveller hotels are also seeing fitness facilities become more important and expected. The demand for non smoking rooms and smoke-free properties is also a growing expectation as our guests are looking for healthier surroundings. This of course all ties in with the global expectation of social and environmental responsibility.
The needs of business and leisure travellers are forever changing and evolving, so it is important that hoteliers recognise this. Creating the ‘wow’ factor involves a lot of time, thought and of course money helps greatly. This is your one chance to create an everlasting impression on your guests that keeps them coming back for more.
A ‘wow factor’ is in the eye of the beholder but usually overly exceeds your guests expectations: king size beds with luxurious linen, lavish fixtures and fittings, a polished marble bathroom with an oversized bathtub, luxurious and eco-friendly amenities, well-stocked mini bars and delicious cuisine for example. High definition flat screen TVs with surround sound, DVD players, iPod docking stations, digital TV or Sky guest select and on demand movies are highly desirable to today’s traveller. Whilst these items are not the driving factor for guests to book they most certainly add to the ‘wow’ factor.
If you don’t have the money or resources (particularly mid-scale properties), I am pleased to report after spending many hours on Trip Advisor reading hotel ratings from across the globe to find that other ‘wow’ factors needn’t cost the earth. Items such as complimentary chocolates or bubbles, eco-friendly bathroom amenities, welcome notes, fluffy bathrobes and a complimentary arrival drink, rated highly as the ‘wow’ factor for many travellers.
Anne Lawson is the general manager of the Quality inn West end in Auckland.