I recently stayed in an older hotel and it really brought to light how much facilities have evolved:
I needed to move the nightstand to access an electrical outlet.
There was no refrigerator, coffeemaker or mini-bar.
The television was modest sized and did not provide access to premium channels.
The towels weren’t plush and the cosmetics weren’t designer brands.
It was a clean hotel and provided satisfactory accommodation for one night – something that would have been the standard just a few years ago. Now the landscape has changed as facilities continue one-upmanship of adding more and more amenities to attract travelers.
Assess your organization from the eyes of someone new. Are the basics that you provide still an industry standard or have you experienced entropy over time? Do you have a feature that sets your organization apart or have others caught up to your innovations? Do your customer-facing facilities or publications look tired?
It’s one thing to intentionally plan to be a two-star hotel and target that market, but another thing entirely to be a four-star hotel that has fallen behind. Take a moment and candidly assess how many stars your organization would earn today.
