Adding Value

It seems like I’ve been on the road a lot over the past few years, which is odd when you consider that none of the jobs I’ve held recently involved travel – at least, not officially. But between teaching, consulting, personal travel, family obligations, and the cross-country odyssey my wife and I experienced in sending our daughter off to college, I’ve driven and flown well over 20,000 miles in the last six years, and stayed in enough hotels that I’m starting to have trouble keeping them straight, and in the process I’ve seen a huge range of efforts to add value to what would otherwise be a nicely-decorated prison cell (e.g. four walls, a roof, a bed and a toilet). Some of them work, some of them don’t, and some are so lame that they bear repeating…

First off, let’s start with the in-room amenities. Other than a bed, a desk, at least one lamp, a telephone, and a chair, what can you add to a hotel room that won’t defeat the purpose (e.g. require raising the room rate)? Well, most hotels offer a television set and cable TV these days. Some offer free premium channels (HBO or whatever), and some offer pay-per-view movies (adult and otherwise), but it seems that basic cable has become almost the baseline standard; if you check into a hotel that does not offer at least CNN, The Weather Channel and ESPN, you’d probably be disappointed. In-room video games might be a bonus if you are traveling with children of the right ages; Internet access using the TV as the monitor (which I’ve also seen) can be great for people who don’t like to lug their laptop with them on vacation.

Adding a data port to the telephone in the room does not take much effort, and is great for everyone who still has a dial-up modem in their laptop. A high-speed connection takes a bit more effort – but not that much more, especially since the hotel probably has one already; it’s just a matter of running cable to the rooms. Business travelers will prize a desk large enough to actually work at, and a good desk chair; families might also find it useful. An in-room coffee maker is useful for business travelers and anyone else who can’t function until they’ve had their first cup in the morning, but I’d rather have a fridge, myself. Even on vacation, I’m more likely to keep soft drinks in the fridge and make use of a microwave (if there is one) than any other features. Frankly, a mini-bar just isn’t the same; I’ve always had to move everything around to make room for my stuff. And I’m not sure the profits you can make from selling drinks and snacks at mini-bar prices are actually worth the cost of stocking one, the hassle of making sure your customers actually pay for what they use, and the problems that occur when the kids get into one…

Oddly enough, a second telephone in the bathroom is one of the most useful additions I’ve ever had – not that it comes up that often, but when you’re working (or traveling alone, for whatever reason) it’s nice to be able to get the phone easily. When you’re traveling with a companion, one of the more useful things is a second sink – one in the bathroom proper, and one outside it in the dressing area, so that both of you can get ready at the same time. Bathrobes don’t do much for me, and neither do complimentary beauty aids, but in both cases, I appreciate the effort.

Of course, all of this assumes that the room itself is clean, well maintained, and free of any other problems; if the window is stuck, the sheets are stained, or the room comes with free pets (of the multi-legged variety) it’s not going to matter what kinds of goodies you’ve got available…