QUALITY IN TOURISM
and there? Well they didn’t offer, although
Everyone must remember the enormous
These brands have the advantage of size
interestingly they now say they did, and the town houses around London’s Earls Court, and scale, so early adoption can carve their
hotel was fully-booked. which housed a multitude of 2 and 3 star tired niche in the market and support customers to
properties, an embarrassment for the industry overlook shortcomings in other areas. It’s not
room, which occurred to me as pointless, and and to our visitors. Some bright sparks have the cheapest route to success though and
I remain astounded that at least one of their been developing them into short lets studios, they’ll need to make the right choices.
staff members had left it that way in the first with business travellers and leisure guests in place? They also invited me down to the desk mind; a hotel but not fully serviced; one where which enables the power, marketing, scale
but again, the hotel is fully booked? Plus I the facilities are brand new and clean. Unlike and economy of the big brand, with the
ruled out moving hotels, because I was tired, other homestay providers, they are still mixed personal, customer-service led offering of
I couldn’t be bothered to repack, I was really market but not mixed with residents in blocks, the small. It’s clear that communication,
cross – a mistake I won’t ever make again. where there is still a minimum stay to avoid the buy-in and care are disconnected and are
impact on local communities. A brilliant concept! often at the root of brands failing to achieve
They did offer to send someone to my
In hindsight, I probably should have
requested an alternative room - it would
The hotel in Newcastle I first wrote about,
Possibly, a new kind of model will emerge,
their aspirations. So what about something
have been a test to see if this defensive has taken another route, it has been sold different? A new framework which creates a
money grabbing style permeated throughout. to Brittania, where I suspect it will make up broad stroke corporate image and permits
However, the hotel was apparently full part of a very tired portfolio, and where the scale, but which functions more like a craft
and what hope did I have? Now, the head strategy is to dilute customer service to or independent business, with ‘tenanted’
office team is saying I “didn’t give them the benefit only the P&L. A bit like my second operators. A model we are familiar with, with
opportunity to make it right” and are declining example, where I am hoping some real change pub landlords, and which could offer the
to compensate. I shouldn’t be surprised by a can be delivered, if the right people take the opportunity to marry corporate appeal with
property where the team deliberately leave a right steps. small brand ideals and customer service to
room in service when it is clearly unhygienic
and frankly disgusting.
It leaves me thinking; what place do these
hotels have in the market in the future? I can
match. An interesting concept.
This is not something that can be
stay for less money in a homestay or B&B and established overnight, nor do my musings
attitude towards inadequate provision I can stay in places with a better customer even scratch the surface of the issue, but it
of services, when the hotel pays so little service led offer. is one that will clearly need to be addressed.
I shouldn’t be surprised by the flippant
Are they set to continue then? Or are What remains to be seen is how fast the
they ask guests to consume. Yes, this is a the online booking engines and the declining demise will happen; I fear it is innovate or
property that will be financially successful service levels enough to push them under? As cease to exist for many of these places,
because of location full stop. So we can a former operator, and now with the privileged and I for one am looking forward to these
withdraw all aspects of customer service? The position overseeing the inspection of innovations. It’s also worth a mention that a
problem is they belong in a brand that is trying hundreds of properties each year, I see three revolution has started, with the likes of AirBnB
to change this reputation. major options for these corporate behemoths: supporting a squeeze from the bottom, and
attention to product both physical and what
To innovate and find a way to improve review sites supporting a squeeze from the
product has missed so much investment translation between the Head Office vision top, so hopefully it’s only a matter of time
it should be knocked down and rebuilt, and the on-the-ground delivery. If brands can before we start to see the shift.
and the team need to be replaced so succeed in actually delivering on the promises this imbedded anti-hospitality culture their brand makes, then there is very definitely scrapping the so called ‘common standards’
can be knocked on the head. I have seen a place in the market for them. If they don’t, and focussing instead on the customer
innovative approaches to investment so I well I can see a very different landscape in service led offering, an emphasis which
know it is possible, but sadly the best ones five, ten and fifteen years! many other brands are also seeking to
The reality in both cases is that the
are mainly from property developers and
not colleagues within our industry.
February 2019
To morph into something new and be the
early adopters of technology and innovation.
We’re also lending our support, by
establish. Watch this space… and if you need
our help, give me a shout.
www.hotelowner.co.uk
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