10 Basic Things We Wish All Hotels Provide For Their Paying Guests

10 Basic Things We Wish All Hotels Provide For Their Paying Guests

When you check into a hotel, you’re not just throwing big bucks for the room - you’re paying for the overall hotel experience. You’re paying for the hotel’s brand name. You’re paying for the top of the line hospitality and service.

So it’s quite disappointing that some hotels, despite the expensive price tags, fail to deliver guests’ basic needs. Basic. Needs. Some hotels even rob us by skimping on their room amenities and service.

No matter how much hotels, inns, and vacation houses innovate, there are basic requirements that these properties have to meet to make experiences inviting and comforting to guests. Here are ten basic things we wish all hotels provide.

1. Clean and comfortable bed

Who wouldn’t love coming home to updated and well-designed beds with a fIne cotton duvet plus a freshly laundered white cover?

Serving guests with a clean, fragrant, and comfortable bed to rest on at the end of the day is a basic. Beds should be of good quality, neat, and well-maintained; not infested with bed bugs, filled with stains, dust, and other filth, and covered with outdated and irregularly replaced linens.

Pillows should also be comfortable, and in some cases, personalized. A lot of hotels offer a “pillow menu” so you can get the pillow of your desired firmness and material.

2. No corner-cutting room features

It would be a bummer if you pay a steep price for an overnight hotel accommodation only to fInd out that your room amenities had been scrimped on.

Think about a room with no dresser, drawer, and shelves, slippers and bathrobes, in-room safe, full-length mirror, and even bottles of water. It’s also disappointing to see rooms that have a cheap, noisy fridge, windows that can’t be opened, and have jungles of electrical cords. Every good-paying customer deserves to get their money’s worth.

3. Good ambiance

The scent of the property the moment you enter the hotel, as well as the scent of your hotel room sticks with you, either positively or negatively. Hotels, especially the old ones, should make sure there’ll be no stale odors from the bathrooms and carpets. They should also be careful with creating their “signature scent,” which can do more harm than good to sensitive guests.

Another factor is lighting. Not all guests love dim lighting, which is a common problem of hotels. Properties should offer sufficient lighting in the rooms, from bedside lamps to bathroom light fixtures.

4. Quick, top-notch service

Hotel service starts the very first moment you arrive. No hotel should make you wait for an hour for your luggage to arrive in your room. In fact, it should get into your room before you do.

Attentive phone answering is another must. While hotels generally has this “answer the call in three rings” standard, this isn’t observed all the time. And if they do, agents are just there to answer the phone, and you’ll be directed to another agent who has the information. Hotel properties should assign a qualified agent who’ll be responsIble for efficiently answering and addressing any inquiries or concerns, and refer the guest to the appropriate department if necessary.

5. Knowledgeable concierge

If you’re not familiar with the destination and you need leisure and dining suggestions and directions, asking the concierge is the best way to go. However, a badly informed concierge, who doesn’t seem to be exerting the “best effort”, and whose default recommendations are “traps” for tourists, can ruin your trip.

The concierge should be enthusiastic in knowing your tastes and doing extra research to give you the best experience.

6. Quality food

Complimentary breakfast shouldn’t taste like a “take it or leave it, it’s free” kind of food. It should be of high quality since it’s the most important meal of the day.

If the hotel doesn’t offer complimentary meals, it’s a big factor if they’re conveniently situated next to a nice and affordable all-day diner which caters to hotel guests.

7. Privacy

The “Do Not Disturb” sign is there for a reason. However, there are hoteliers and staff who cannot observe this basic rule by knocking on the door even when the sign is up.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the staff is less intrusive? Instead of banging on the door, it would be more polite if the hotel staff is calling your hotel room or slipping a note under your door.

8. Fast, Free, full-service room Wi-Fi

Today, internet connectivity is no longer a privilege but a necessity. Wi-Fi is one of the most essential amenities that influence a guest decision’s to book. That said, guests are disappointed at the suggestion that they have to pay outrageous fee for the service when even quaint coffee shops nearby are offering Wi-Fi for free.

9. Pet-friendly policies

Because humans aren’t the only ones who need a vacation. A hotel that is welcoming to our canine and feline pals, and other pets we may own is an ideal one. They know pets are family so they allow them with no fees and overly strict policies.

10. No hidden charges

Bad hotels, who claim they are ‘luxury hotels” charge for almost every amenity in the room, except for the bed sheets. Some hotels hide upcharges in a form of a “resort fee.”

Guests would love if all hotels include the snacks, water, Wi-Fi, and even the shoeshine in the hotel room rate. They also deserve transparency in terms of what they are getting for free and what they are actually paying for.

Author Bio: Mina Natividad is one of the writers for Holiday Inn Parramatta Accommodation, a modern hotel in Western Sydney known for their exceptional accommodation, service, and location, which appeals to travelers in Australia. She has always been passionate about giving in to her wanderlust and collecting mementos from different places.

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