What is new in hotel innovation?

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Lee

2018. augusztus 15. 15:21

I was just wondering what is new in hotels with regards innovation!

For example, I do not provide teleohone in the rooms as nowadays guests can reach us on whatsapp, viber or facebook right away... They can message me or call me straight away for free. I asked guests about it and they are very pleased with my system.

I always look for other stuff that can improve my property innovation and try to be unique around my area as competion is going way too much so I have to stay on top of the game.

Please could you give some cool ideas so I can impliment it also to my property?

I was considering to put a pillow menu in the guest rooms so guests can choose what type of pillow they would like to have throughout thier stay.

Another possible idea that I was planning to do is offering packed lunch and dinner included with the room rates.

Thank you

Lee

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Thuild - Your world of creation (franchise)

2018. augusztus 16. 11:15
Dear Lee,

Why not offer 2 types of pillows directly in the room so they can choose between the two, like softer and harder pillows. That's how I do it and guests automatically pick the ones they choose. We do offer 4 pillows per bed.

Another thing that could work and is highly appreciated is to offer free minibar items. Just put it inclusive in the rate and it will be well appreciated.

Cheers,

Zsolt - www.thuild.com
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Lee

2018. augusztus 16. 11:53
Zsolt- What about mini bar items? What would you suggest? If I do that I have to put the room rate up

Thanks

Lee
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Leandri Klopper

2018. augusztus 16. 13:35
Hi there!

Thanks for this awesome post.

According to what I can tell on Booking.com, what's really picking up is In-Room entertainment. Like Netflix or an Xbox. I guess I'm not as fascinated by those ideas because when I go on holiday I don't want to sit in another location doing the same things I could be doing at home, you know?

It seems to be trending though. Hope to hear what the rest thinks!
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Thuild - Your world of creation (franchise)

2018. augusztus 17. 8:56
Lee - you can let them have water, chocolate, soft drinks or even a bottle of wine for long stay guests.

I also increase my rate when necessary and inclusive is better than extras.
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Thuild - Your world of creation (franchise)

2018. augusztus 17. 9:00
Leandri,

I would never offer an Xbox in a room. Maybe in the lounge, living room yeah. but here I only offer Netflix in the living room.

I personally don't watch TV and around 60% of my guests don't use it either.
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Leandri Klopper

2018. augusztus 17. 11:48
Hey Thuild - Your world of creation (franchise) ,

I agree with you! I wonder why it's trending at this moment?

Booking.com felt like they needed to put an emphasis on that by forcing us to Update our Amenities on the property tab. I mean our scores for our properties were not 100% until we went and looked at it. So they obviously put a lot of weight behind it. And for a big company like this, I think market research is very important.

Most of our South-African guests love the tv idea. The international guests tend to go out and explore.

Anyway, Have a great weekend.
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Lee

2018. augusztus 17. 13:26
I like the idea very much of the free mini bar items. Very basic but a very good idea...

Also the Xbox idea is also a great suggestion without any doubt. Thank you
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Palmforestpalolem

2018. augusztus 17. 14:03
Hi All,

I dont really know if this is a new thing but when I go to a hotel I love it if there is a direct USB charger port, instead of just your normal plug. USB direct charge is great because you don't need an international adaptor.

Also on the TV issue - a lot of business guest like to watch TV in the evening to unwind. Maybe thats why its so popular. Also, if people have kids, sometimes its easier to have netflix for kids on in the background :)

Also some hotels are providing smart phones with data sim cards in them so their guests can use Google/ Google maps when exploring without having to puchase a local sim. Might be good for a long term investment?
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Lee

2018. augusztus 17. 17:54
Hi Palm

USB charger port is a must nowadays since not everyone uses the same ports. I totally agree with you to have a USB port in each room. At least one port. I only have USB port in the reception area only but I will be introducing USB port in each room soon.

Most of my guests want TV in the room and I only give them the very basics as otherwise it cots way too much money to have full cable tv and compare it to my room rates is not really worth having full cable TV. I just need to get more familiar with this netflix as it sounds the cheapest and best option.

With regards the smart phone to each room, I think most of my guests (if not all) already have a smart phone so in my case there is no need for that.

regards

Lee's House
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fluff

2018. augusztus 19. 7:27
Definitely agree with USB charging ports. We have them next to all the seating areas in reception and the addition is penciled in for next years semi-refurb of the rooms.

I have noticed some hotels are now putting in "smart" TVs but I'm not convinced on that one, finding TVs with USB and HDMI ports sufficient.

We give a free welcome-pack of mini-bar items for guests to the better "Deluxe" rooms staying longer than several nights. This is very well received and has a roughly 40% rate of guests buying replenish from us.
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Lee

2018. augusztus 19. 7:58
This free mini tems pack sounds very trending and I am going to do it for sure. These are the items I am thinking to give away for free:

4 cans of soft drinks

4 bottles of water

bottle of wine

some crackers and cheese

Regards

Lee's House Sliema
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Joey

2018. augusztus 19. 18:27
Like Thuild I offer four pillows per double bed plus two smaller cushions. The cost is negligible but apart from comfort it makes the bed look more inviting. The only extra effort involved is washing the pillowcases - but since most of my guests are one night stays I use the 30 minute program on the washing machine after just one night of use. This wastes less energy and water.
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Joey

2018. augusztus 19. 18:31
Lee I like the idea of giving guests more than they expect but what you said costs at least Euro 10. (assuming it is a cheapish wine). Do you do it for all guests or for guests who stay for a certain length of time? One word of warning, if I may, be careful of freebies because even if it is free if a guest does not like it he will complain about it.
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fluff

2018. augusztus 19. 18:40
Price of wine depends on your country. Here, as you said, €10 Is needed for reasonable quality. In my previous country €3 was sufficient!
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Joey

2018. augusztus 19. 18:41

Szerkesztett
I have been offering ' on demand' TV and film service since the very beginning but I find that many guests do not know how to operate it. There is a limit to the amount of instructions I can leave in each room, especially for the many guests for whom English is difficult.
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Joey

2018. augusztus 19. 18:46
fluff You are right. A half decent local wine costs Euro 4.50 here. But he also offers 4 cans of Coke etc. I was just wondering if he only does it for guests who are on a long stay.
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fluff

2018. augusztus 19. 18:54
Yeah, I see you point but there's also Coca Cola and copy cola, big difference in price ;-)
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Joey

2018. augusztus 19. 19:28

Szerkesztett
What I do offer which has not been mentioned already is (1) ethernet connections. These give ultra fast and stable internet to some business people (e.g. photographers) who occasionally need them. My WiFi is also rated top notch. (2) Branded shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, sun blocks and creams. (3) It has already been mentioned but I also supply USB chargers and cables. (4) Water from my own underground spring (tested and certified) in reusable glass bottles.
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Joey

2018. augusztus 19. 19:39
Leandri Klopper - My in room TVs are small. Really small by today's standards. I think they are 20 inch flat screens. Since prices have dropped I was wondering whether it was worth it to buy 32 inch ones. But I can't bear the waste of good TVs - which will just have to be thrown away.
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Joey

2018. augusztus 19. 21:29
I'm starting to feel 'out of it' and old when I hear that guests now want to play games (Xbox) in their room. Let's not exaggerate, shall we? It will become a slippery slope if we start giving in to every new fad, just in case some guest likes it. It is already a chore to make sure that guests get the basic things right. Isn't it enough that I had to find a way to stop guests from changing the AC from cool to fan and then telling me it's not working?

There is a danger of ignoring basic things if we include too many extras. One hotel I stayed in several times has all the things I need - comfortable, easy parking, decent breakfast, good internet, clean, but the last time I stayed I found that they had added one little extra a sort of fancy shower mousse. But the shower sprayed water onto the floor. I spoke to the manager and just told him that as a temporary solution I could be given some extra towels to put on the floor. But he refused and I slipped in the puddles which formed. There was trouble for him.

I know this post is about innovation but some of the ideas I read in the forum like putting fresh flowers in each room must be very old customs but I feel that they really add that extra something.
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Bandara Hotels & Resorts

2018. augusztus 20. 3:17
@Lee As you already using facebook messenger, whatzapp etc. Have you heard of chatbot, this also can help a lot when you out of office.
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Leandri Klopper

2018. augusztus 20. 9:11
Hey all,

Joey , it gets worse. I did some research and turns out people can even rent a Tablet or a WII console at some resorts! The idea behind it is to entertain the kids while the parent relaxes. If I had kids and we went to a lodge or somewhere with lots of activities at the resort, I would get so angry if the kids asked me to fork out more money so they can stay in the unit and play TV games.

So I agree with you, too much is too much. I don't go on holiday often, but when I do I painstakingly look for the Best place to spend my money on. I'm the Resort-Traveler type. I will go and stay at a resort for a week and then I don't want to run out of things to do, nor do I want to have to leave the property to get anything (such as food or entertainement etc). As long as the property has everything I need, the extras don't really matter that much.
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Lee

2018. augusztus 20. 12:31
Joey- I will do it for all the guests. The cost for the free items is around €6.00 including a bottle of wine at €3.50.
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Lee

2018. augusztus 20. 12:33
Bandara Group- No I have not heard of chatbot yet and no guests asked me for it. The only other app I have that mostly asian people use is kakao...
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Joey

2018. augusztus 20. 21:31

Szerkesztett
Lee Mela. :-P Fhimtni? But if you have a one night stay do you spend that amount on them too? I haven't looked at your accommodation and I don't know what prices you charge but my prices go from Euro 50 (Low season) to Euro 100 (high season) a room and when I consider all the genius discounts and stuff Euro 6 would be unacceptable for a one night stay FOR ME as that could mean 6 less euros of some 40 Euros in my hands.

I have stayed in top notch 5 star hotels and let's just say that they knew I was not a regular guest (Running a b and b is not my only job) so they left me a fruit basket and a bottle of wine but then told me that it was a special compliment to me and not to mention it. And I am speaking of 5 star hotels 15 miles from where you are.
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Bandara Hotels & Resorts

2018. augusztus 21. 1:51
@Lee Chatbot is the automatic reply message, e.g. when someone type "location" on your messenger then system will automatic reply with hotel address or share location, depend on what you set as automatic reply.

On Facebook Messenger there is free Chatbot function to use. You can google how to use about it.
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Lee

2018. augusztus 21. 4:24
Joey- aha so you are in the same island as me :-)

What’s the name of your accomodation?
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Lee

2018. augusztus 21. 4:34
Joey- I don’t do one night stay anymore as it involves a lot more costs such as the cleaning besides too much stress. When I offer a one night, I put the price really high that I don’t even sell it.
You know here, a lot of competition and different prices so bookers prefer to pay less and stay elsewhere for one night stay.
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fluff

2018. augusztus 21. 7:52
@ Bandara

"Chatbot" is of interest but seems to be a generic term, what chatbots do you use?
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Lee

2018. augusztus 21. 14:40
Bandara- thank you for the information. I tried to get this Chatbot but no sucess. It seems a chat app but I am sure I have downloaded the worng one...