We all have our stories, many are hand-me-downs; or traditional within our societies. When it comes to the Hospitality Industry ? that is Hotels and Restaurants ? everyone has their own. Many have heard of Alain Ducasse, who at one time had several four-star restaurants in France; now of course he has become a conglomerate with locations throughout the world. When they opened in New York a friend of mine became the Ma?tre d'h'tel, while trying to elevate this particular Ducasse to a four-star rating they investigated many ?special? amenities. Thousands weekly on flowers, several uniforms versions were tried, and an experiment was undertaking giving guests their choice of 5 or 6 different pens at the end of the meal to complete their credit card approvals. While they implemented many of the tried possibilities, the pen idea was an ?extra service? flop. Many of the guests, after spending several hundred dollars on dinner, thought it might be a wonderful idea to keep the Cross or Montblac pens laid before them. Much of the profit made on the dinner quickly disappeared with the $150 pen; this became a classic example of offering too much service and making less money.



Most hotel managers try to elevate their service with the hope it will influence the outside world's perception of quality. Pressed, starched, and unique uniforms for the staff; premium toiletries in the baths, thick bathrobes, and free breakfast service are common amenities. However, recent studies, and also most consultants, have concluded that these add-ons, while welcome, are also oft times expected in a quality establishment, and therefore, can have only negative impact on quality if not handled correctly. For example, a shampoo that dries out the scalp, and causes dandruff, may affect the guest's overall impression of a hotel. The same is true for a stained robe, or a sloppy uniform. Conversely, if an establishment provides these types of amenities perfectly, few guests will laud you for your efforts.

Both the consultants Silverman & Gover, and Cadotte & Turgeon, have separately categorized the types of services that will affect a guest's perception of the hotels service into respectively three and four ?cues?.

- Necessary ? Those a guest will consider necessary for functionality. If these are not present, guests will instantly downgrade the perception of a hotel. No dearth of additional amenities will overcome the failure of a necessary cue. Examples of this are linens on the beds, towels in the bathrooms and a viable restaurant in the hotel.

- Desirable ? Services guests would like to see but not necessarily demand. Beautiful lobbies or grounds, indoor pools, 24-hour room service, etc. These are the items that, if present, will not improve your guests perceptions because they might never consider using, for instance the pool; but if they do, and have an unpleasant experience will definitely negatively impact their ratings.

- Passive ? These are taken for granted by your guests. For example, you accept credit cards, have hot water, or heat/cool your rooms so they are comfortable. These are unnoticed by your guests, and therefore add no pluses to your service perception; but if any of these lose functionality, your quality perception will drastically decline.

- Neutral ? These will evoke neither praise nor complaints. They also encompass items outside your control. Weather, waits for elevators, a loud guest in the bar; all are noticed by your guests but normally not attributed negatively/positively to their experience at the hotel. Of course, they can create complaints if the staff does not handle situations properly. For example, serving a guest in the bar liquor after an especially loud dissertation.

Spending a hotel's dollars to improve service is usually a sound business decision. Common sense should usually prevail in these decisions. Most hotels spend too little on educating the staff then they should. Meet your guest's expectations, as best as one can anticipate them, using a spending plan that directly influences the bottom line. Most hotel consultants concur you can overcome almost any malady with proactive, swift action by your staff.