When I travel, I tend to seek out the more unique mid to high end boutique hotels and resorts, rather than the chains, moreso because I want the element of surprise rather than something that looks the same everywhere.
I remember when I was on trip to Russia with my university program many years ago and how many of the students were seeking out anything that resembled the Starbucks equivalent of way back when (I’m not sure we had an equivalent at the time) or a McDonalds, which certainly had begun to infiltrate Europe, even the East.
At that time however, it was still very gray and for the most part your only options were local restaurants, many of which were in the main hotels and food was most definitely not their strength. This seeking out something that was familiar to home came up again and again throughout our trip and years later I look back on that moment in time when I was 18 years old as one of the first memories of an experience I’d have for the rest of my time on the road.
It’s always been astonishing to me how often people look for something that connects them to home, makes them feel like home or resembles home in some way shape or form when they travel. I have always looked for the opposite – the more unusual and exotic the better. Bring it on. (okay, except for eating live monkey brains in China – not my cup of tea regardless of how exotic it was).
I still seek out the “boutique” wherever possible but sometimes when you’re on the road, and there’s work to be done, something known and reliable is more appealing since you can put all the stresses and worries out of your mind about whether the hotel will have X or Y or Z, one of those letters in my case is always wifi in the rooms. Reliable wifi with a healthy signal.
On my most recent trip to Colorado, I stayed in two condos in Keystone and Beaver Creek, one boutique 5 star hotel in Vail, and in Denver, I stayed at the Sheraton at the front end and the Westin on the back end, right before I was due to head home. I have friends who are serious Starwood supporters and only stay at one of their properties when they travel.
These are the travelers who are all about points – they save coupons, are aware of their status at any given time and do whatever they can to get the status and thereafter maintain it. This has frankly always seemed like too much work. Despite how much I travel, the reason I don’t have the ultimate status on any given airline is that comfort, convenience and cost of the ticket always matters more to me than points.
Sure, I may favor American over Delta and Virgin Atlantic and Air France over Lufthansa and wherever I can, I’ll try to use them if I can AND it’s a more direct flight and around the same price. Recently, I could have flown an airline that partnered with one of the airlines I regularly fly yet the flight was $250 more and had 3 stops rather than going with Qatar Airlines, who partners with no one who I regularly fly with or likely ever will, who had one stop. You get my point.
Traveling is exhausting and anything you can do to simplify your life and make it easier along the way is a win in my book. And customer service matters more than anything else at the end of the day. Its not the first time I have written about the value of customer service – see my Las Vegas experience/write-up which hammers the point.
I recently flew Frontier who I generally like btw even though I don’t fly them often, and when I asked for the rest of the can of apple juice after 2 gulps from the tiny plastic cup they pour for you (I was so dehydrated I could barely swallow), she wouldn’t give it to me. Really?
I was dumbfounded and when I pressed her on it, she made me feel even more guilty by diving into a response that felt like policy and procedure only she didn’t realize I had already stopped listening. I was thirsty, dehydrated, tired and spent and she wanted to recite all the reasons why she couldn’t give me the rest of the can of juice. It’s a customer deal breaker if you get that attitude more than one or two times. It was three times of that attitude from Continental before I decided to never fly them again and I haven’t in well over ten years.
I had an interesting customer service experience at the Sheraton in Denver. We were lucky to get a spacious room with tons of windows and a great view overlooking the city. 
I usually don’t forget things when I travel although I do always seem to misplace my hairbrush again and again and….again. This time, I not only forgot my brush but I didn’t bring any shampoo.
This obviously isn’t an issue when you’re staying at a Sheraton or any hotel for that matter, but I knew I was going to be in condos for at least a week of the trip and when I realized I was empty, it was close to midnight and I was about to depart on a van at 7 am for the mountains the very next morning. In other words, no time for a Walgreens run.
And so, I called the front desk and asked for shampoo. “How many?” he asked. “Hmmm, how about 10, would that be okay? Errr, it’s for a project, don’t ask.” “Sure ma’am, no problem,” came the response and in less than five minutes, someone knocked on my door with a plastic bag of about a dozen shampoos and conditioners. Feeling guilty at this point, I say, “I probably won’t need all of these, so will leave behind what I don’t use.”
I left 5 behind on the desk when I left in the morning and took the rest, of which I used only 2 since both condos had shampoo. What did I do with the other 3? Two were left in the first condo and the third one was left in the last condo. Another “less smart” option would have been to go into why asking for ten was inappropriate, how its not their policy, why they can’t, how they can’t, etc. and yet that wasn’t what the guy who answered the phone at the Sheraton did that night.
What resulted was a thrilled customer who is writing about the experience and two other travelers or hotel staff in another location who are going to see the Sheraton brand (free marketing is it not?) in another location that they normally wouldn’t have seen. It’s amazing that people in the service industry don’t understand the trickle down effect of providing really great customer service. The payback is ten fold even if it so calls is out of your normal rule book.
A manager who doesn’t get this would argue that ten bottles of shampoo is wasteful and what if every customer asked for ten bottles of shampoo and they said yes….they’d start losing money. Really? Do you honestly think every customer is going to ask for ten bottles of shampoo? It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like that and I’ve been traveling for three decades. Zappos once delivered a pizza to a customer as a way to provide great customer service and you don’t need to know the Zappos brand well to know that they’re not in the pizza delivery business. It was to serve a point which they do exceedingly well again and again.
I had an equally positive experience at The Westin, also located in downtown Denver, towards the end of my trip. 
I had a corner room, which also had a fabulous view of not just the city and the mountains in the background, but the stunning watch tower that glowed in soothing blues just outside my window at night.
It started with the bellman Michael who brought my luggage upstairs, proceeding to try and be helpful about anything and everything Denver…proactively btw, not because I was fishing. He referenced restaurants, streets that would be great to walk down after noting that I was also a photographer, and logistical information that would be useful for any visitor to the city.
The feeling I had was that Michael did this because he genuinely cared about providing great service to customers, not because he was hoping for a hefty tip at the end of the 5 minute encounter.
The more interesting thing that closed the loop for me was that it was also Michael who brought my luggage down for me when I checked out AND proceeded to have my bags weighed for me while I had a meeting with someone at the inside coffee shop, allowing me to spend more time doing what I wanted and needed to do before I left Denver. I also had an opportunity to meet with Susan, their PR manager, who couldn’t have been more warm and welcoming. Also a person who truly understands great customer service, she followed up with me after I left, sending me useful information on Denver art and music events since I mentioned that I had a passion for both.
This kind of service folks, creates a lasting memory that reaches far beyond the property or venue itself. It’s about building relationships at the end of the day — always has, always will be — and those who truly understand the value of this, will see their customers not just returning for more of that experience, but they’ll be singing your praises everywhere they go….and the world is a big big place.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
