First and foremost goal of any hotel, hospitality is the difference between the people staying at a hotel being guests and being customers.
The phrase “hospitality industry” refers to hotels, motels, restaurants, entertainment, and a dozen other businesses within the travel and tourism field. Yet one of the primary complaints against 21st century hotels is that they aren’t hospitable. How can hotels improve their customer service and be seen as more hospitable? How can hotels insure that they have guests rather than customers?
- Listen. People will forgive a multitude of sins so long as their complaints are listened to and someone at least tries to amend the situation.
- Cleanliness. Check any TripAdvisor account of a motel or hotel. Dirt is the first thing that’s complained about, before rudeness, before lack of amenities, before broken fixtures. People expect their temporary lodgings to have clean sheets and towels, no insects, and carpets that have been vacuumed recently.
- Courtesy. There’s a reason your mother told you to use your “company manners” when you had guests or when you were a guest in someone else’s home. It doesn’t cost a penny to be polite, yet it generates millions of dollars in return business.
- Amenities. All a hotel room needs is a comfortable bed, a clean bathroom, and a place for travelers to put their clothes. However, given a choice of options, most travelers prefer hotels that have telephones with free local calls, Internet access, a working television set, a pool, a fitness center, a business center, a coffeemaker, a microwave, a mini-refrigerator, etc.
- Food. The epitome of hospitality is the traditional English bed-and-breakfast, which provides a comfortable room for the night and a free breakfast the next morning. Not every hotel can afford to provide a free breakfast. Not every hotel has a restaurant on the premises. Every hotel, however, should be able to recommend nearby eateries for various budgets.