Hotels are facing stiffer competition due to online tools for consumers but also alternative services that are competing for market share, such as businesses that specialize in private lodging rental. To flourish in this new space, hotels must increase the customer perceived value, and an effective way of achieving that is looking outside the box for alternatives to typical hotel amenities.
1. Local Cuisine
An exceptional customer service example is free pastries delivered to the room in the morning from a local bakery. Fresh pastries provide a much better hotel guest experience than the breakfast spreads that some hotels opt for. The hotel doesn’t have to shoulder this expense alone either and can partner with local businesses that benefit from the marketing. This approach can go beyond morning pastries to reserved seating for guests at one of the most popular restaurants in town.
2. Admission to Local Events
You want your guests to tell others that it was a memorable experience, and a neat way to do that is to associate their stay with a cool happening. Perhaps a regional festival is underway, and you can provide your guests with free entry as well as a discount book for food and other services. Event availability will change with the calendar, which is why some hotels have an employee dedicated to staying abreast of local events and making that information available to guests.
3. Wine Tasting
Hotels can also host their events. Consider wine tasting on a Friday or Saturday night. This not only gives out-of-towners something to do but may encourage locals to book a room. There are a lot of opportunities to use wine as an amenity. For instance, you might give wine as a thank you gift at the end of an extended stay or as a gift to couples booking your hotel for Valentine’s Day. If you have regional vineyards available, then there are numerous cross-promotional opportunities. Picture a guest enjoying a nice bottle of wine one night and then visiting the vineyard it came from the next day.
4. Spa Time
Guests at your hotel are often there to relax or are there on business and would welcome the chance. Another exceptional customer service example is providing guests with a free hour at a local spa. Many hotels now have gyms on-site, but if yours doesn’t, then another opportunity to add to the hotel guest experience is to provide free membership to a nearby fitness center during their stay. In addition to spas and gyms, you might consider local salons, bathhouses, and so on.
5. Fun in the Sun
Your guests often will want to relax close to their room without being stuck inside. Some hotels provide fun in the sun with an on-site pool, but you can also foster a memorable experience by giving them access to a large local pool that has inside and outside areas, diving boards, and even slides. If you have an oceanfront or lake nearby, then you might focus on that instead. Even if a beach is free, you can provide amenities via buses, free parking, boxed lunches, and so forth.
6. In-Room Babysitting
Another clever service some hotels are providing to ensure that it was a memorable experience is to provide an hour or more of in-room babysitting. You can provide parents several hours each week stayed at the hotel, and it gives them a chance to enjoy themselves while knowing that their kids are safe. For older children, you can expand outside the room. Perhaps host a kid night each weekend where parents can drop their children off for several hours.
7. Sightseeing Tours
Tours don’t have to be limited to vineyards after providing wine as a thank you gift. You could make a deal with a local bus tour company to provide tours throughout the city, and you can lessen costs by making deals with local businesses that the tour can stop near. Tours are not only fun and create a positive memory for your guests but may even inspire them to stay a few extra days.
Final Thoughts
An amenity is an opportunity to create a memorable experience and enhances customer perceived value. Amenities can also play an important role in branding and marketing in general, and hotels should approach these benefits as an innovative way to reach out to potential customers.
Will alternative Amenities help Hotels stand out in a new competitive market?
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Credits
Sally Smith is a Marketing Executive. The area of her interest, including, but not limited to, digital marketing, blogging, business and cooking. She works with Orange Digital.
About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Marketing Coach. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram| Podcast
