In the hospitality industry, guest experience is of the utmost importance. In order to keep this level of guest experience high and to ensure that guests return in the future, it’s important for hotel owners to refresh and update their properties regularly as an investment for your business.
The pandemic completely disrupted the hospitality industry and caused hoteliers and property owners to reassess their strategy. While the initial strategy might have been to hold on to as much capital and assets as possible, many decided to invest in upgrades and modifications that have proven more effective in the long run. Some properties that required complete renovations could make use of the reduction in trade during this time.
Before the pandemic, hotel renovations were largely focused on maintenance and keeping up to date with designs as a way of remaining competitive. Still, now there is so much more when it comes to hotel renovations, including cleanliness, in order to stay ahead of the trend. As well as this, the typical hotel room lifecycle was, on average, 10 years. This figure is even shorter in luxury, high end hotels.
The main goal of any hotel renovation is to enhance and elevate the guest experience. This not only increases the chance of the guest returning if they have a good experience, but also sees revenue increase. Hotel renovations improve customer loyalty, boost room occupancy rates and other overall hotel operations. With this in mind, let’s take a look at 3 ways in which a hotel renovation can elevate the guest experience.
Promote Health And Wellness
More than ever, people are invested in their personal health and well-being. By renovating your hotel to focus more on guests’ health and wellness, you can ensure that you not only have an almost constant stream of weekend and mid-week bookings, but are helping guests to relax and unwind. If a guest comes to your hotel and has a lovely, relaxing stay then they will always associate your hotel with that feeling. This means that, when the time comes for them to start considering another wellbeing break, you’re first to mind.
No matter your renovation budget, whether it’s a complete overhaul or small changes, you can feature some additions or changes to your hotel to make it more health and wellness focused. You could consider pairing with a local spa resort to offer discounted stays if a full renovation isn’t in the plan, or if you have the budget and space, consider adding an on-site spa facility, maybe you should offer natural skincare products for your guests to enjoy. If you’re a popular city-centre hotel with an abundance of guests visiting on business, contemplate renovating your hotel gym to one which is more premium.
In terms of small changes, things such as adding luxury toiletries to rooms, soft robes and more premium bedding and pillows can be all you need if you already have a modern and up to date hotel.
Make Your Hotel A Destination
A well thought-out, planned and executed hotel and hospitality fit out will not only improve your overall guest experience, but will also make your hotel a must-visit destination for future guests. Creating a destination hotel doesn’t need to be over the top and expensive, it could simply be a change of theme or decor, or using key aspects to make your hotel a must-visit location for your guests, whether they’re travelling a distance or are local guests simply wanting to see what it is you offer.
Mollies Motels, for example, is a small hotel chain that uses a destination approach. They have taken the much-loved and famed nostalgia associated with classic American motels, but given it a unique and luxury twist. With sleek and modern rooms, complete with high-end toiletries and grooming products, on-site American-themed diners serving amazing food and drinks and added perks such as electric vehicle charging and complimentary bike hire, being only available in select locations has made Mollies Motel a much-talked-about hotel chain, even with just 3 motels currently open.
Offer Flexible Spaces
The pandemic bought flexible working into the spotlight and it is now utilised by more people than ever before. As well as this, more people are looking for open spaces to hold community events or business meet ups. Whether people now work for themselves and need to work on the move, hold regular networking events or offer community activities, there are many reasons why guests may find themselves needing to work for part of the duration of their stay at your hotel.
If you are considering a hotel renovation, then be sure to take a look at and assess your current flexible space offerings. It may be that you currently have no space at all, so are working with a blank canvas or you may find that the space you currently hold isn’t fit for purpose any more or could benefit from a refresh. It’s important to keep in mind that hotels are no longer just seen as a place to stay, but they should now be able to cater for a wider range of needs and activities.
If you are looking to add flexible spaces within your hotel, there are some things you can do to ensure it is a success no matter what people require the space for. Ensure there is ample light, bright enough for networking events but which also has the ability to be dimmed for things such as yoga or meditation. Try to be creative with colour and steer away from white colours and tones – you want this to be an inspiring and creative space if needed. You may also wish to look at ways in which the room can be divided so as to split the space.
Conclusion
There are many things which factor into the guest experience at your hotel. If you’ve been getting consistent feedback from guests about certain things within your hotel which are affecting their guest experience, then now is the time to act and get these issues resolved. No matter the extent of your budget, there are always changes which can be made to your hotel to improve the guest experience and make your hotel a better place for guests to relax and enjoy their stay.
A hotel renovation can actually be one of the easiest ways in which you can massively improve the guest experience. The design, layout and interior decor of a hotel all factor into guest satisfaction and sometimes, even if just one small thing is out of sync with the rest of the hotel, this can impact your guest’s stay. If you are considering a hotel renovation, be sure to speak with a fit out company and designer first, so that you can get a good idea of the work at hand and work on the redesign with your guest’s feedback in mind.