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 their increased productivity, they will reward that investment with loyalty. It takes contented staff who feel like part of a team to provide superior customer service.
When a guest encounters a problem, maintenance staff must be available to deal with it. When guests arrive, their room must be ready, either immediately or within a specified time. If this means hiring extra staff for three hours a day, that's what must be done. When a potential guest telephones to reserve a room, that call must be taken promptly, even if it means that the call is transferred to the manager while other guests are lined up at the front desk, checking out. Management must ensure that sufficient staff are available at all times to meed the needs of both current and potential clients.
Hotel guests play their part, too, in ensuring that quality is maintained. If, as a guest in a hotel, you encounter something that needs attention, place a call from your room to the maintenance department or to housekeeping, or in a smaller facility, to the manager. If it's a repair that's needed, tell the chambermaid about it so that she can check later to see that the issue had been addressed. If there's been no corrective action during your stay, leave a note in the room describing the issue and tell the front-desk clerk about it. Putting your concern on paper means that someone else has only to hand it to the appropriate person, rather than writing down all the details second-hand. If your concern has been addressed during your stay, leave a thank you note indicating your pleasure at having the issue corrected, and at check-out, advise the clerk of your appreciation. Everyone needs a pat on the back from time to time, and you may never get to speak directly to the person who looked after the problem, but your message will get through.
If you aren't greeted appropriately by front desk staff, politely let them know how you'd prefer to be addressed, but also speak with the manager so that (s)he knows to address the issue with other staff. If your room isn't cleaned to your satisfaction, speak to the cleaning staff, but also place a call to the housekeeping office so that the head housekeeper knows there's a problem.
If the bed covers are stiff and full of static electricity, let the manager know that. Bed coverings should be selected, not just for housekeeping convenience, but with client comfort in mind. If the lighting in the room is too dim for you to read a newspaper, leave a note to that effect. The decorator was likely never in the room at night, and unless you say something, no one will think to replace the amber shades on the lamps with white ones that will let more light through, or to replace the decorative desk lamps with something more practical. If all the pillows in the room are too flat or too fat for your liking, ask for another. Hotels should have a variety of pillows available, and there should be a spare in the room that's different from those on the bed so that guests can make themselves comfortable.
A night in a hotel should be a convenience or a luxury, not an irritation. Clients, staff, management and owners all have a part to play in ensuring that every guest has a pleasant stay.