There's a lot to be said about doing nothing.
My family has taken some trips in the post-pandemic recovery years, and each one involved us doing something or going places every day. As is the nature of a vacation, our time was limited, so we had to fit in as much as we could in whatever city or destination we were visiting.
All of these trips were a lot of fun. Everyone got to have new experiences, learn new things and try new foods. We brought home lots of pictures and plenty of souvenirs as well, of course.
But there is joy in going somewhere and doing nothing — or almost nothing from a relative sense.
As we live near Lake Erie, we decided to do a long weekend in a house along the shore. Not a lot around the house but shore line, marshes and a small park as its a bit more rural area. Aside from the mayflies that decided to arrive that weekend, a pretty idyllic spot.
And so we largely did nothing. I mean, we read, played board and card games, spent time on the beach and whatnot, but no major excursions, no tours, no get there before the thing closes. You know, nothing.
In talking with sources and attending industry conferences, we hear everyone talk about the guest experience. When I hear guest experience, I know that includes things like service, atmosphere and food and drinks, but I also think about what there is for guests to do at a hotel. I tend to forget there's also the opposite.
Guests can always do nothing at a hotel, but that nothing should be intentional. There's a big difference between reading a book by the pool and feeling so bored you end up just flipping through the channels 100 times to end up wondering how MTV survives just re-running Ridiculousness almost 24 hours a day.
Now, not every hotel is the type of hotel where guests have countless fun nothing options. It's much easier to do the good kind of nothing at a resort than it is at a select-service hotel aimed at weekday travelers staying just a night or two.
But difficult doesn't mean impossible. I'm certain I'm not the first person to think this way, and while I've not really explored this concept before and have no answers to give, I do plan to think more. About nothing.
You can reach me at bwroten@hotelnewsnow.com as well as on LinkedIn.
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