Customer Service Skills

Why “Destination Experience” Changed the Way I Look at Hotels

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anthony themed hotel

According to Census Bureau data published in September 2004, there were 49,983 Hotels, Motels, Inns and B&B’s in the United States. I work in one of them.

What makes people choose one hotel over another? Many are basically the same. Some are so alike that it seems that they were pre-fabricated and assembled to fit in the plot of land purchased for its construction. They have been designed by large companies who put their “Brand” on all the hotels assuring that they have the same food, the same room design and the same basic amenities. So why should your customer choose your hotel over the one a block away? What can you give them that your competitor does not have already?

Many years ago (He died before I was born…) there was a man by the name of William Castle. He had nothing to do with the hotel industry, he made movies. Castle was famous for this, but what he is truly remembered for is for how he marketed them. He knew his movies were not big budget blockbusters, so to bring in the people that would pay to sit in those chairs and watch movies like “The Tingler” and “House on Haunted Hill” he created an experience that they would never forget. For one film, a certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy was handed out to every customer. On another, he had an ambulance stationed outside the theater, just in case someone had a heart attack during the movie. In my favorite, he installed electric buzzers in the theater seats and scared people in to thinking “The Tingler” had escaped in to the theater.

You are probably thinking why am I bringing up some obscure movie whacko who did these things when my point is hotel experiences? Well, I think that is the point. You have to be different to attract people in today’s world. We have come to a point in world history where all businesses are franchises or want to be one. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing. I am happy with the fact that I can travel to the farthest reaches of the planet and stay at a hotel that is clean, safe and at a reasonable price. But the reason that I am in Cucamonga is so I can experience Cucamonga! I do not want to walk in my room and feel like I am in a hotel in Massachusetts where I reside. Castle knew this and made people experience things the others weren’t offering them. Why else would people flock to see a movie advertised as being filmed in “Percepto”!

In the past year I had the opportunity to work with a hotel where I was what was called an “Experience Specialist”. This hotel had a theme, tailored to the hotel and the area it was located. I was tasked with creating a lasting impression in our guests to make sure that they understood that we were not like the other hotels in our area. To create experiences that they would remember and cause them to think of us next time they travel to our city. Why? Because “Why” is the basic question that all hotels must ask themselves. Because that is the question your guests will ask themselves when they have to choose between your hotel and the one 10 minutes away by the same brand. “Why”, is the key to success in a world where I can travel halfway round the planet and walk in to a McDonald’s knowing that it is going to look, feel and taste the same way it does 10 minutes from my home.

And that’s not what I am in Cucamonga to experience…

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