We think... • February 2015
Hotels are beginning to embrace the freebie culture
Forget a sad bowl of cold, hard fruit, says travel writer and editor, Mark Jones. Hotels are raising their game when it comes to the complimentary goodies you can find when you check in
The hotel room used to be a fantastic little profit centre. Think about your in-room experience not so long ago – the last century, say. You’d get inside and need a glass of water. Mini bar: charge. You’d phone home and check in with the office. Hotel telephone: extortionate charge. You’d watch a movie: charge. Order coffee and biscuits: charge.
Skip to today. You’ve got your own phone for calls and your own tablet for movies and news. There is an espresso machine in the corner and complimentary macaroons from the chef. Your internet access is free and there is mineral water by the bed.
It gets better. The most you used to receive from guest relations was a cellophane-wrapped basket of cold, hard fruit. Now you might find all sorts of complimentary goodies on your coffee table. In recent hotel stays I’ve had bottles of olive oil, wine and preserves, soft toys, gourmet cookies, copious canapés and (from the Marriott in Mayfair) a watch you wear in bed supposedly designed “to help wearers fall asleep faster and wake-up feeling more refreshed”.
It can still be a battle of wills to avoid all those sneaky little extras. But – excuse the industry jargon – the game has shifted from short-term upselling to long-term value. It’s known as the ‘random acts of kindness’ theory in marketing circles. A small and financially inconsequential gift humanises these hospitality leviathans and makes you, their customer, just a little bit more loyal.
Who doesn't appreciate a random act of kindness?
We all have a small stuffed giraffe to thank for the current flood of freebies. In 2012 a small and distraught boy discovered he had left Joshie, his toy giraffe, at a Ritz-Carlton in Florida. Not only did the hotel return it with various branded goodies, they also took photographs of its week-long ‘vacation’ – by the pool, in the spa, generally living the life of Reilly.
Google it, and the words ‘best customer service story ever’ will come up. The hotel certainly gained lifetime customers in Joshie’s extended family. It has gone down in the company’s folklore as an example of what can be done with a little creativity – and without a man holding a clipboard doing a cost-benefit analysis in the background (though funnily enough they don’t quite put it in that way).
Joshie was a very individual gesture. And that – known in the industry as ‘personalisation’ – is the next big challenge for hotels. They talk about it all the time; but except at the very super-premium, high net worth end, they pull it off very seldom. I review London hotels sometimes. Getting out of my taxi after a 10-minute ride from my central London office I’m invariably asked, ‘How was your journey?’ Answer: short.