For years and years, I've heard from industry experts how hotels should resist turning into commodities rather than experiences.
But I'm wondering at this point just how many hoteliers are willing to put their money where their mouths are?
It seems like since the onset of the pandemic, there's been a stark bifurcation across the industry but the split has been far from even. On one side you have the ultra luxury players. Emboldened by a period of success while others struggled, they've been able to lean into growing the highest of high-end offerings for extremely affluent travelers who can support that. On the other side, you have a sea of hoteliers looking to cut any and every cost out of the business model, who have abandoned long-held expectations of amenities as foundational to the industry as daily housekeeping.
Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be some sort of traditionalist or someone who believes that just because things have been one way for a long time that they should remain that way forever. But if you're going to propose the kinds of large-scale operational changes many hoteliers wanted to become the post-pandemic norm — such as no more daily housekeeping and new fee streams for things that were once baked into rates for travelers — you do by necessity have to do something simultaneously to elevate the experience for guests.
Which brings us back to my initial question in this blog: What exactly happened to the concept of surprise and delight within the hotel industry? Maybe I'm not looking close enough, but I just don't see it anywhere.
Let me tell a quick story to illustrate my point: My son doesn't travel nearly as much as I do, but I still try to give him the chance to stay in a hotel at least a couple of times each year. Most of the time, those stays are at more basic, select-service properties while we visit family or something similar. But during a recent vacation he got to stay at a luxury urban hotel.
At least from the perspective of a six year old, the side-of-the-highway hotel we stay in when we visit my parents in Western Pennsylvania offered a far superior experience because the rooms were bigger.
Is that really all hotels have to offer if even a soon-to-be first grader realizes all we're getting when we pay is a box with a bed in it?
There has to be more that hotels and hoteliers can do at basically every level. At the same time, there's a flight to more midscale extended stay properties because — at least in part — the operating model is so much more hands off.
Now, I'm always the person to enjoy a streamlined hotel experience. I don't necessarily need or want daily housekeeping. I always prefer to bypass the front desk and use my phone as my room key, assuming that option is actually functional. But even I will say there needs to be a greater degree of human touch in my stays.
For all of the talk I hear across the industry about personalization, I'm not seeing it on property at least 90% of the time, and that should truly be the top benefit of any sort of loyalty. So please, hoteliers, lean in more to making each stay for each guest at least 5% more unique. It will pay dividends in the end.
Let me know what you think on Twitter, LinkedIn or via email.
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