Some thoughts on what great hotel service is according to RG

What is good hotel service?

Every time I stay at a hotel (which is fairly often), one of the things I reflect most about (and have a lot of opinions about) is service and what I believe the cornerstones of good service are. This is not any in-depth-cover-it-all kind of analysis on service. Just a simple reflection. Or you know what, this could be used as input for hotels out there that want to boost their service offer a notch or two with some simple actions.

To describe what good service is, is impossible. It is like defining what good food is and I am not going down that rabbit hole since we all have such different needs and expectations. Some want to be pampered from the minute they arrive and for some. service is when the staff of the hotel are more or less invisible. But regardless, I believe there are two fundamentals that I wish all people in service had down to a T:

You are there to give service to your customers, that is your job, not the opposite (which is something I tend to do too often according to my husband. In my defense I do it as a way to show in a passive aggressive way what should be done. I know, not very nice, productive or pedagogic).
The second thing is to take two seconds to figure out who you have in front of you, what their needs are and avoid to fall into some kind of “one-service-offer-fits-all” kind of rant.

Regardless what your needs are, I think that you know when you are receiving good service. It is when you can relax and let your hair down. When you feel that you are taken care of, that someone truly cares for your wellbeing.

So, if I could give 6 suggestions on some practical things to do if you want to increase the service offer at any hotel, here goes:

The first thing is how you set up your reception/lobby area. There are so many hotels where the people working at the front desk are sitting down behind some massive bench/desk, almost like they are hiding or asking to be protected from us guests, who are standing there like you used to do when going to the bank, back in the day when real banks still existed. Why not leave the desk, come out of your hiding and meet your guests? Some hotels have already understood this and what a difference it does to the first meeting.
There is a second thing, also related to the arrival and it is the welcome drink. I know that many hotels are challenged by shrinking profit margins but to offer the arriving guests something to drink doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. It could be some pimped up sparkling water, a coffee or if you want to aim even higher, a glass of bubbly. It is such a simple way to make us guests feel cared for and regardless of what your expectations on service are, we all need to hydrate.
When on the subject of drinks, and especially coffee, today it is not even an option anymore, it should be mandatory for all hotels to invest in a proper coffee machine. The days of drinking that black-ish, tea-like drink that has a vague taste of something adjacent to coffee are long gone. It is a human right to have a proper cappuccino in the morning (ok, I am exaggerating a little). I understand this could be difficult when running a large hotel with several hundreds of rooms, but boutique hotel owners, I am looking at you!
Service is so closely connected to expectations and this is of course difficult to manage or control, but one thing is how you influence it. A big no-no in my book is when you make your hotel look nicer than it is on socials. This has happened to me several times when photos have been edited into pure fantasies which can only result in one thing - disappointment. If there is a road in front of the hotel, don’t edit it out of your photos. If the view from the infinity pool is blocked by a neighboring house, show that. If not, you will be creating expectations that are impossible to live up to. And let’s face it, it is difficult as it is already. No need to make it even more difficult.
Dare to recommend places beyond what your hotel has to offer. Make sure to know your city, your region so you can recommend restaurants, bars, shops and beaches. If me as a visitor has a great stay on the location it will only reflect positively on the hotel. A good idea (that my husband is always wishing for) is a bespoke map of local, selected musts.
Finally, those small unexpected thing should never be underestimated. A handwritten welcome note in the room upon arrival, a complimentary free glass of wine in the afternoon, a local product you get to take home when you check out.

Below are five hotels that I believe really understand what they are doing and that live up to my expectation of what good service is.