With a cash-crunch following the economic downturn, luxury hotels around the country are aggressively trying to out-do one another to win over customers and increase occupancy rates.
On a global scale, this also holds true with many tourism-dependant economies promoting themselves as the best destinations to visit.
But what is that ‘extra’ you can offer to your customers to keep them from wandering over to the competition asking for their brochures. Hotelier India finds out what you could give your customers to make them stay.
1. Complimentary breakfasts
On the top of the list were hot complimentary breakfasts. Every person had a requirement for breakfast in their top three expectations. Some even asked for complimentary breakfasts to be “served in bed.” In most hotels, complimentary breakfasts are only served in the restaurant and are charged for, if served in rooms.
2. Free in-room wireless internet
Most hotels charge for wireless internet in rooms. Most guests felt that this was not in keeping with luxury standards, and with the internet having seeped into every person’s life in some form, such a provision had become a “basic.”
3. Refrigerators with complimentary snacks
Instead of the mundane complimentary fruit basket and welcome drinks that many hotels serve on arrival, many customers prefer a few snacks and alcoholic beverages, which are usually part of the exhorbitant mini-bar. A main reason cited for this was that most guests check-in to the hotel after an air journey where they’re fed reasonably well, so a drink is easier on the nerves and the stomach.
4. Room with a view
A luxury traveler has a keen eye for detail and a view is an important aesthetic, which many won’t compromise on. Every person asked, said that a good view from their room had a tremendous impact on their “decision to go back” to that hotel again.
5. Unobtrusive staff
A big minus point in many luxury hotels are the overbearing staff and service. Many said that “over-service was a big turn-off” for them and that they preferred hotels where they could get their privacy without having to “lock themselves up” in their rooms.
