Over the last 27 years since I started my first business, I’ve stayed in hundreds of hotels.
The most hotel stays in one year were over 2002/2003 when I spent over 300 nights in hotel rooms. (I know!!! That’s nuts.)
At the time, my partner PJ and I had an events business in three counties with 45 staff… and I was always “on the road” coordinating programs in major cities in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
We stayed in hotels, night after night, for weeks and months at a time.
After a while, all hotels feel a bit same/same, regardless of the city.
There’s nothing to “write home about” or remark about.
But, now and then, a hotel does a few little things well that have them stand out.
I don’t travel nearly as often these days, and when I do, it’s often for leisure, so I love having a great hotel experience.
Last week I was at the Fairmont Chateau in Whistler, Canada.
It’s a beautiful hotel located at the base of stunning Blackcomb mountain.
The staff are super-attentive and accommodating. Every question I had was received with kindness and real service. They even managed to find a valuable item I absent-mindedly left in the back of a car.
The hotel is gorgeous with quality finishes, loads of space, great stores, spacious rooms and various places to eat and drink.
And, the hotel rooms are generous in size and well appointed. Quality. Quality.
But, I think two little things make this hotel worth dedicating a blog post to.
The Bathrooms
The bathrooms have a couple of cute features that are ‘remarkable’… by which I mean; they’re worth remarking about.
- The showers are fitted with this ‘thing’ that lets you attach an espresso-pod-like pod (but much bigger) filled with essential oils with names like Sleep, Detox and Party. I think they call them aromatherapy steamers. The shower water is infused with oils to create a yummy shower experience. I used this feature almost daily.
- The bath products — shampoo, conditioner, body wash… are personalised! (See pic – we are checked in under PJ’s name. See it on the labels?) This small touch takes coordination – getting the client’s name RIGHT, ensuring the correct labels end up on the right bottles, in the right rooms.
Neither of these touches is earth-shattering. Or complex.
But both stand out enough for me to notice, photograph, and share.
They are enough for me to remark. Here. Publicly.
Do you do anything in your business that has customers raving about you?
If not, what COULD you do? Again, like the examples above, it doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. But it does need to help you stand out.
Suzi
PS Don’t even get me started on the complimentary hand-made block of dark fruit and nut chocolate gifted to us. De-LICIOUS!
