(Good) hospitality, which can be characterized in a nutshell as ‘efficiency and just the right degree of interaction’, isn’t just for hotels – it’s everyone’s business.
Customers have greater access to services and products and lower tolerance for shoddy service and obsolete technology. They’re outspoken about their experiences, and have a variety of outlets to voice their opinions after the fact. If you’re a reader of reviews, you’ll know that good hospitality makes all the difference. People rate service on expectations, value for money and hospitality. Three and a half stars is better than three. Four stars and you’ll expect something to be good. Five, excellent. It makes a company stand out from its competitors and it keeps customers coming back.
A recent article on The Telegraph highlighted that for hotels in Britain, standards have certainly risen and a more professional attitude pervades across the board. Branding, groups and chains are becoming the norm and with that comes difficulty in finding hotel service that is not merely efficient, but also characterful, genuine and warm. But it’s not impossible. My 12 favorite hotels certainly have my loyalty because of their depth, rhythm and authenticity.
