Delivering the Service Experience - Chapter 5 ; The Guestroom Experience
Technique 67
Use Solid White Bed Linens;
All bed linens and bed coverings, including the foot scarf and pillow shams, should be solid white. A solid white bed subconsciously signals cleanliness and spaciousness.
Technique 68
Place a Follow-Up Call;
After the guest checks in, the front desk clerk (or another desired employee) should call the guestroom to see if everything meets the guest’s expectations. This person should give the guest their name and instruct them to call them if anything is desired.
Technique 69
Have Different Color Towels Available;
Have different color towel sets available upon request for groups of friends staying together who do not want to get their towels mixed up. These colored towel sets can also be available upon request if someone in a traveling family has a cold and wants to minimize the risk of spreading germs to other mem- bers of the family.
Technique 70
Encourage Guests to Take Hangers Home;
Rather than affixing clothes hangers to the clothing rod so that guests cannot depart with them, take the oppo- site strategy and invite guests to keep a hanger. Ask a local art studio or vendor to creatively decorate the hangers to include the name/logo of the hotel and the name/logo of the art studio. Such decorated hangers placed in the guest’s residence closet at home are good brand reinforcement for both the hotel and studio.
Technique 71
Display Towel Animals;
When refreshing a room, if a housekeeper detects that a family with a child is occupying the room then s/he should fold one of the guestroom towels into an animal formation. Straightforward instructions for basic animal designs can be found on YouTube.
Technique 72
Have a Celebrity Make Your Wake-Up Calls;
As a surprise tactic, ask a well-known celebrity or come- dian to prerecord the wake-up call message that is used in the hotel.
Technique 73
Have Surprise Amenity Bags Available;
Do guests ask or “take” your amenities such as sham- poo, lotion, or soap? If so, take what can be a negative and turn it into a positive. Have some amenity bags made of the basic amenities in a small mesh type bag. When a guest asks for some, present them with this and see if they would like it. What a nice surprise “gift” it will be and since you would be giving them the product anyway, for a few cents more, it exceeds their expectations.
Technique 74
Send Surprises to Rooms;
Every front desk agent should be empowered to pick two guestrooms per shift to target with a surprise amenity. The surprise amenity should be an item indigenous to the local area such as a slice of key lime pie in Key West.
Technique 75
Recognize Special Events;
If a guest mentions a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or other celebratory event either at check-in or at the time of reservation, surprise him/her with a bottle of champagne or something special with a notecard with your information. The guest will remember this forever.
Technique 76
Offer Photo Opportunities for Guests;
Place a note in the room stating that the guest(s) can stop by the front desk at any time and an agent will take a photo of the guest(s) in the lobby and the photo will be placed on the holiday card that the guest(s) receives from the hotel. In addition, a past photo of the guest can be placed in a frame on the nightstand before the guest arrives. If these photos can be uploaded into the property management system then they can be used to help the front desk agents memorize the names of the regulars.
Technique 77
Have Occupation Costumes Available;
If a telephone reservation is being made for a family with a young child, then the agent can ask the parent making the reservation if the child would like an occupation costume in the guestroom upon arrival. The agent can list the costumes that the hotel has and let the parent indicate the most suitable one (e.g., doctor, veterinarian, firefighter, etc.).
Technique 78
Surprise Toddlers with Bath Toys;
If accommodations are being used by a family with a tod- dler, housekeeping can place an unopened package of bath toys in the room.
Technique 79
Pose Stuffed Animals in Fun Positions;
When servicing a room with children and there are stuffed animals or something similar, the housekeeper should make it look fun by putting the animals in clear view of the bed in a way that will be enjoyable for the child to see when s/he returns to the room.
Technique 80
Encourage Postcard Usage;
Place a postcard with a picture of the hotel on the gues- troom desk. The postcard should be stamped with prepaid postage.
Technique 81
Surprise Guests with Personalized Candy;
Every week strategically select 10–20 incoming guests from the centralized reservation system and order candy wrappers personalized with their names. Place the personal- ized candy in their rooms during their stay. Alternatively, at a bare minimum, have candy on hand with customized wrap- pers displaying the hotel name/logo.
Technique 82
Replace Old Coffeemakers;
If in-room coffeemakers with glass carafes are still being used, they should be replaced with coffeemakers that drip directly into the drinking cup.
Technique 83
Review In-Room Information for Accuracy;
At least once per quarter, hotel management or staff should check that the information in the in-room hotel information book is up-to-date and accurate.
Technique 84
Check Telephone Labeling for Accuracy;
At least twice per year, the buttons on the telephones in the guestrooms should be checked for labeling accuracy.
Technique 85
Offer to Name a Room After a Frequent Guest;
If a guest stays at your property more than 50 nights per year, then offer to name a guestroom in honor of him/her. A small plaque can be displayed in the room or corridor.
Create: Apr 7, 2020 Edit: Aug 13, 2020 Hotel Management
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