The Most Important Hotel Amenity You Never See
Joe Cortez May 04, 2018
Getting the perfect hotel room isn’t based on size, floor, or lounge access. According to hotel executives, rooms are now judged on one qualification only: how much comfort and sleep you get on the road. Now, hoteliers want to do everything in their power to make your stay better – from anticipating needs to letting you set the temperature in your room.
One of the most important parts of keeping loyal guests has little to do with upgrades and shampoo bottles, but everything to do with something many travelers think little about: sleep. Conde Nast Traveler reports hotels are spending more time and attention on how to keep guests comfortable at night.
Since Westin introduced the “Heavenly Bed” in 1999, hotels have spent more research and development time on making guests more comfortable at night. It’s not as simple as having the most comfortable bed anymore – it’s about creating a whole rest experience in the room.
To that end, major companies are pulling out the stops when it comes to the guest experience. For example: The Benjamin in New York worked with a sleep doctor to engineer a better bed, while Hilton wants to allow you to pre-set your room temperature before check-in. At Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the company wants to anticipate the needs of the guest before they arrive.
But Westin, the originator of the “better sleep” trend, is still leading the way in bring comfort to the guest. The legacy Starwood brand (now part of Marriott) still features a “Sleep Well” room service menu. And the brand will soon launch a new room concept featuring fixtures inspired by nature. The small details include custom lighting, showers that simulate rain and oak furniture.
“We somehow switched mentalities from people bragging about how little sleep they got and that being a symbol of their success,” Brian Povinelli, senior vice president for the Westin brand, told Conde Nast Traveler. “And their stature to people championing the idea that to be your best self and as successful as possible, sleep is a core foundation of that.”
[Photo: Shutterstock]
The slamming of room doors all morning is worst for me. Even in nicer properties I am treated to such all morning. My prime work is in the evening so I wake up at 9:30am meaning I get the sound of most all guests leaving and clunking luggage plus housekeeping. Doors must be fire doors and must close but could someone invent a cheap dampened that will install on existing doors?
A big noise issue the closing of the hotel room door. I cruised on Seabourn and their room doors have the same locking features as hotel room doors but are much quieter.
If hotels want to focus on sleep, focus on things which interfere good sleep -- noise, loud HVAC, overly-humid rooms, high colour temperature lighting, etc. Travelers have complained about these for many years and it never seems to get addressed.