Innovative Guest Experience Ideas
 

My son works as a Guest Experience Manager for a 5 star, luxury brand international business hotel. He is currently based in Thailand and has been asked to be on an "innovation team" for his company. He has been specifically tasked with looking for innovative, original, FRESH ideas to enhance the all important guest experience during each person's stay. Does anyone have any ideas? is there anything missing? From the lobby experience through your entire stay.

I'd love to pass any ideas on to him from this seasoned traveler group! Thanks!

I'm very anti-social at times. One of those times is when I've just travelled a long way.

So please, please, please, stop insisting on making check-in an 'experience' for everyone. I want my arrival at a hotel to be an exercise in getting my into my room and left alone in an absolute minimum of time. You already have all my details - or at least have had the opportunity to capture them. You've probably already selected what room I'm getting. You've certainly got my credit card details.

Fundamentally, I want a quiet, relaxing room, and I want to get there as soon as possible. I don't want a welcome drink, chit-chat, forms, unrequested mini-tours of the facilities, an escort to my room or a 10-minute lightswitch and television masterclass. I want a key and the lift, and to be left alone until I request otherwise.

I know others want full-on fawning service, or feel slighted if they're not personally welcomed. I know the marketing people love getting front desk staff to lecture customers who had the temerity not to book on the hotel's website. I don't.

+1 for the option for business travelers (and others who are tired) to check-in and get to the room in minimum time. It should be: No queue, show ID, get already prepared room key package, 10 seconds.

Any "welcome" should be separated from check-in. Why not have "come to our bar for a free drink and discussion of services/facilities" for those who want it?

Other services should then be clearly described in a book/brochure in the room, in a super clear way: What is available, opening hours, prices, where to find it, what to take with you (if necessary), etc. Test the brochure with some people who don't know anything about your hotel or country culture and fix any omissions. We your visitors will thank you.

So many hotels get this information wrong, not providing enough information (opening hours? which floor?) and practicalities of the services and facilities. Probably missing out of a lot of additional revenue and customer satisfaction.

I think there is a chance now to streamline the experience, think "out of the box" and not just do the same medium quality things everybody else is doing.

Bonus suggestion: Keep the pool open until late, so (business) travellers can have swim after coming back from dinner. A closed facility is no facility.

A hotel I recently stayed at in Philadelphia stationed a knowledgeable person in the main level as you would exit from the elevators . This person did not approach or bother people but was there in case you had questions or concerns. We used her services to find out the name of the front desk person who checked us in the night before as he was really good.

Yes. Express check-in kiosk. Scan credit card in machine, machine displays room # and spits out room key.

Similar process for checkout.

Any other simple requests for information can be fulfilled by machine.

Indeed. Hilton goes one further at some properties. You can check in online and get a digital key on your phone. No need to interact with anyone. I use it where available.

Some SPG properties have this as well, but you use your phone as the key (I've had it at several Aloft properties). So you don't even need to stop in the lobby, the app will alert you when you've been assigned a room and you're all set. I stay at the Aloft in CLE quite a bit and I can't recall the last time I've even so much as spoken to an employee... which is nice. If I need something, they're there for me.

In June I ended up needed to stay near AMS for a quick night unexpectedly, ended up at the citizenM which is strictly kiosk-only... it was a great hotel for what I needed, and I spent an hour or two at the bar observing guests checking in. I think lacking any form of standard check-in desk/being too "tech-forward" is a bit counterproductive. They end up having two employees constantly hovering around the kiosks to assist guests, and I observed several older folks checking in that got visibly frustrated with the system, and the employee was clearly trained to "teach them" how to use it instead of just doing it... Personally, I think that's a mistake, some people find tech like this intimidating/frustrating to use and prefer traditional check-in service.

So, I agree, embracing technology and offering a kiosk for check-in is great, but don't over-do it. Offer guests a choice to check in at a kiosk (or on their phones) or the "old-fashioned" way at a traditional desk.

Another suggestion from something I saw at the IC in Chicago, text for service/assistance from the hotel. I use it quite a bit to request non-urgent things, letting them know when I leave, and special requests. Nothing like ordering a night-cap on your way back to the hotel from a business dinner and having it waiting for you in your room when you arrive... or better yet, a bottle of wine and a couple glasses (and turn-down service) if you're traveling with a date/SO (that made me look smooth as glass :cool:).

i remember that citizenM and i think putting multiple computers with chairs sorta sends the message that its encouraged to use. kinda like the grocery lanes that give many people fits.

rather i think there should be 1 or 2 kiosk to complement the standard desk.

Printing over Wi-Fi, make it painless and don't gouge for it.

A hotel I frequent (in Thailand) has offered a small number of guests a complimentary excursion during days that there is a large group (usually Indian wedding) that may make a lot of noise, etc.
So.... the concept of offering a small (not more than 6) private group tour with an escort from the hotel could be a very attractive "innovative" idea. Obviously this would be for only "certain" customers.

24 hour gyms and other amenities. Nothing worse than booking a hotel with gyms and pools and they are closed for the hours that are actually spent in the hotel.

That's a fantastic idea.

Pretty much 0% chance of this being taken seriously in a 5* hotel in Thailand.

...though I do agree with the tone of this. I suppose it comes down to true hotel professionalism.

Maybe have your son spend some time at the Oriental (unfortunately the Wachtveitl era is over but it's still pretty fantastic at what it does well.).

"Hotel professionalism" will mean different things to different segments of the profession. Like most industries, one size never fits all. To some, it means fawning acknowledgement of frequent guests and expressive and expansive demonstrations of service, to others it means quiet efficiency where the best guest experience is virtually never interacting with the hotel staff unless there is a special request. That's because some guests like to see and hear about all the wonderful things they're getting (kind of like getting dinner prepared table-side) -- the process is part of what impresses them - whereas others want to enjoy a great end product and don't really care about where it came from - the end product is the only thing they're impressed by.