by Roberta Velyn

Created on: January 08, 2009

The quality of a hotel experience is highly dependent upon the skills and enthusiasm of the staff, but there's only so much that maintenance people, cleaning crews and front desk staff can do to orchestrate a pleasant stay. Guest comfort also hinges upon thoughtful facility planning, quality construction and careful selection of room appointments.

From concept through design, construction, finishing, and fitting of the building to on-going staff training, decisions must be made in favor of enhancing the guest experience, rather than near-sightedly holding the line on costs. In the long run, a well-built, energy-efficient, attractive, comfortable hotel with excellent service will attract guests so that occupancy rates will be high and prices can be increased each year.

Retrofitting is often more expensive than new construction, so energy-efficient features should be designed into the building from the outset. Capital cost is higher, but operating costs decline over the years instead of climbing. In the same vein, quality construction leads to minimal maintenance being required as the building ages. The purchase of well-built furnishings and high-quality draperies and linens means that those items will last many years before replacement becomes necessary. All of these are factors in being able to hold the line on room cost, which is crucial to maintaining clientele.

In order to provide superb customer service, staff must be well-trained. On-the-job training is often not sufficient. Employees, in order to do the best job possible, must understand and buy into the corporate philosophy if they are to see beyond just their own jobs. They must realize that client satisfaction depends upon co-operation among staff in all departments and co-ordination of their efforts to create a well-oiled machine where, even when things go wrong, guests experience no discomfort or inconvenience. Courses developed by the hospitality industry are designed to prepare employees for on-the-job training. Hotel owners or managers who hire untrained people are likely to experience high staff turnover and less-than-excellent customer service.

Hotel staff are not generally well-paid. It is this reality rather than the difficulty of the work or the stress encountered on the job that causes trained employees to leave in favor of a more convenient locale or a job with better tips. If employees are provided with comprehensive training and on-going support and receive regular pay increases in line with

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