As a hotel owner, it’s essential to create spaces that guests will love, remember, and want to return to as soon as they can. Providing a top-quality experience for your guests is absolutely critical when you run a hotel, and there are a number of ways you can do so.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for years, there are always ways to improve the memorability of your hotel—check out our helpful tips about how you can create unforgettable spaces.
Hire the right people
The first step in making sure your hotel is memorable for your guests is by hiring the right people. No one likes staying at a hotel where the staff is unfriendly, unhelpful or rude.
Having a rigid hiring process and a good system of checks and balances to make sure that your customer service is top notch does more than almost anything else you can do to create a memorable hotel experience for your guests.
Hire hotel staff who are courteous and accommodating to guest requests. Make sure staff members are willing to go the extra mile to make sure your guests have an amazing time at your hotel.
Schedule regular performance reviews to make sure all of your workers are on the same page as you are.
Make sure the rooms are in great shape
Beyond simply cleaning the carpeting and changing the sheets, there’s a lot to put into room décor.
Everyone, it seems, has stayed in a hotel or motel that, for some reason, features dated, 1980s-style bedspreads and worn out, low-quality furniture. These might be memorable places to stay, but certainly not for the right reasons—after all, you don’t want guests talking about how old-fashioned your hotel looked!
Make sure that the furniture you use is in good condition, and doesn’t have chipped or peeling paint, and try to choose pieces that will age with the hotel and won’t look out of date after two years.
Keep room in your budget for regular updates and repairs/maintenance with the furniture that will keep the hotel looking great.
Choose neutral paint colors that won’t look dingy after a lot of turnover in guests, and install carpeting that is tested to last against a high volume of traffic.
Keep rooms very clean and replace linens and towels when they get worn.
Maintain a varied menu in your hotel’s restaurant
If your hotel has a restaurant on-site, it’s essential to switch up the menu regularly, particularly if your hotel offers long-term stays—guests won’t want to eat the same thing day after day, week after week.
You should also cater to dietary needs or specific restrictions that some guests may have, as doing so will make them remember things fondly and positively.
Having policies in place for dealing with allergies can also help make your guests’ stays more comfortable.
Offer great amenities and unique features
Everyone’s gone to a hotel with a pool—you need to think bigger than that if you want to truly captivate your guests.
Offer amenities including Jacuzzi tubs, spacious two-room suites that allow them to really kick back and stretch out while on their trip (or during their extended stay), and even on-site laundry for people who are taking extended vacations or who are staying a longer time at your hotel.
That amenity alone can be of great benefit to your guests, who will find the convenience very helpful.
As for unique features, consider offering special events at the hotel to draw in bigger crowds. Things like weekly dance nights, holiday performances, singles mixers and other attractions can help bring in more guests and make their stays memorable.
Make extended-stay options more home-like
If your hotel deals with extended-stay patrons who spend weeks or even months at a time in their rooms, making the experience a bit more home-like and comfortable can make a big difference.
Things like high-speed Internet, in-room kitchenettes, pet-friendly room options and a business center for them to get work done outside of their suites can be great add-ons for these guests.
There are many ways to create memorable spaces for your guests in your hotel—hire great staff, keep the place looking clean and up to date, offer great amenities and a varied menu in the hotel’s restaurant, accommodate longer stays, and host special events.
How do you create a memorable space in your hotel?
About the author
Tina Lockwood is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. Tina is a content writer for Barcelona Suites Hotel located in Albuquerque, NM and she has over seven years of experience in the hotel industry.
