Hotel - an extension of home?

There has been a lot of talk about how a hotel and its guest rooms are meant to make guests feel as though they never left home. This originates from a ‘school of thought’ that says “what guests have in their homes, from the large flat screen TV to the high-tech coffee machine to high speed internet, should be available upon arrival”.

Any hotel that provided these and more was considered attractive, because customers come to a hotel expecting to feel as though they are still at home - albeit having not to do any of those mundane household chores such as cleaning, preparing, washing, etc. In a nutshell; a hotel room should look like home and the hotel an escape from home.

Another school of thought, and one which I subscribe to, says the opposite. If for instance you book a camping holiday (this may not be the perfect example because camping they say is like marmite – some like it some don’t). Anyway, when camping you don’t have all the comforts of home. No TV, no Wi-Fi, the mobile doesn’t connect and not least of all, you cope with fickle weather. You may have to cook your own food over an open fire, go to bed when it gets dark and cold and sleep on a mat, that’s far less comfortable than the mattress on your bed at home.

The ‘takeaway’ from all this is that you coped with inclement weather and survived that. You not only learnt to respect fire but also to manage it. You slept differently, going to bed early and getting up earlier, and felt refreshed for it. There was less of a hurry and less of a timetable, so you got to explore the campsite surroundings. Above all, it was a memorable experience and a story to tell your children who will, one day tell it to your grandkids. If there are two words to describe all of this, it would be; ‘memorable experience’.

For me, staying at a hotel must evoke an experience that I cannot find staying at home. I simply cannot imagine going to a hotel expecting it to feel as though I’m still at home. Would you stay at a hotel next to your home? If at all, for me, staying in a hotel was, and still counts as an escape – a treat and a delivery of an experience that pleasantly disrupts the routine of my everyday life.

Any decent hotel must deliver the three basics of good hospitality – decent service, eatable food and a sound night’s sleep. That is a given. But what differentiates from the, ‘I cannot find that at home’ is the ‘away from home’ discovery. Take boutique hotels; why do they flourish? Because they offer an unique experience that consumers do not get - either at home or at your ‘run of the mill’ hotel.

Looking for experiences over material, I would trade a stay at a generic or impersonal stay with a tent at a campsite - if it connects me with something unique and memorable.

Ilzaf Keefahs – writes on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike.

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