Should hotel brands rewrite the script for welcoming guests?
Traditional check-in and check-out have disappeared in some hotels: Arrival and departure operations can now be carried out remotely thanks to technology, digital tablets and check-in and check-out terminals.
Guests no longer need to stand at the front desk counter at these hotels. Infact, the reception counter at the entrance, with staff stationed as statues is slowly but surely disappearing. I am told that when you get front desk check-ins out of the way, it gives hotel staff more time to interact with guests and discuss their preferences. How that plays out is another story.
For years, front desk check-in options have been the long established point of contact and there are still a large number of hotels that continue to rely on it when guests arrive.
First impressions play an important role in life – especially when making a connection. That’s as true for personal relationships as it is for businesses, which makes it twice as relevant for the hospitality industry. When you think about it, the best way to make that connection is with that great icebreaker - a smile. They say, “When you smile, the whole world smiles back at you”.
In the business of hospitality, welcoming guests should not be the simple implementation of a process leading to the provision of a room. Its aim is to make it a warm moment, where guests feel really welcome, or they can settle comfortably from their arrival. And that begins with a smile. A smile is like a warm complimentary bowl of fresh soup that prepares the guest to anticipate the main course eagerly. Being greeted by someone who genuinely cares about one’s well-being is a truly expressive welcome vibe, especially when aligned with body language that conveys the same feeling.
Time and again, I’ve come across frontline hotel staff that has made me feel kind of unwelcome with their behaviour, despite steadfastly following the standardised script for welcoming a guest, even in instances where efficient service was provided. This gamut of wayward behaviour includes greeting me with lips tightly closed, discourteously looking away or down while speaking, stopping abruptly midway when talking to me to speak to a colleague with nary an ‘excuse me’ or ‘sorry about that’, failing to use my name and gesturing in a robotic manner.
What particularly irks me is where hotel staffs go off the rails with a “no problem” response instead of “you’re welcome”- basically devaluing my expression of “thanks”, when said as an appreciation of a task that was carried out. The few times someone avoids saying ‘no problem’ …I would hear ‘no worries’ instead. It’s a question of ‘heads’ you win ‘tails’ I lose. To me, ‘no problem’ is a problem. ‘No problem’ is almost like a national slogan. It may have its place in casual conversation, but certainly not in hotels.
I recall the time my wife and I booked a room at an upscale resort hotel. We were checked in by the receptionist and sent to our room fairly quickly – only to discover that it had twin beds. When I called and informed the receptionist that we had reserved a room with a double bed, I received a ‘no problem’ reply in an upbeat tone. Made me wonder… what the heck? Here is a problem created by the hotel staff and when informed of the problem I’m told that there is ‘no problem’? There bloody well is a problem…at least to us as the hotel’s guests! But that’s another topic for another day and I should not deviate from the subject at hand.
During a stay at a resort hotel that boasted a sprawling garden, we found the perfect setting for a leisurely morning stroll. On our walk, we encountered several hotel employees who all greeted us “Hope you are having a great stay with us”. Soon we found the greeting repetitive and it no longer resonated well with us. It had the right words, but sounded like a machine that kept saying the same thing to every guest. That’s really the danger of making employees unwaveringly comply with brand standards that impose scripted messages. It loses that natural approach. It took a Gardener who came by to bring a breath of fresh air when he asked us “Have you seen our organic vegetables garden? May I show it to you?”
A hospitality business that values rigid conformity and compliance to rules over individual expression will likely stifle creative thinking.
Think about it.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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