The accommodation sector has become a multifaceted industry providing a vast number of development options including limited service, boutique, focus service, lifestyle hotels and full service hotels with large convention facilities. It is also a time where an abundance of brands and scales exist in any given marketplace. Over the last decades, a market of "trendsetters" emerged, searching for new and unique accommodation experiences. The industry quickly responded to this need with a new concept that allows for differentiation from more familiar hotel concepts, thus the boutique hotel emerged. Boutique hotels can be described as intimate (typically 100 rooms or less), luxurious, stylish and distinctive hotel environments. Attention to detail, architecture and design, art and location are also important factors in being a boutique hotel.
The recent holiday season brought disclosure of new, recently completed research studies concerning the impact of a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep impact us in variety of negative ways. Drowsiness at work, while driving or performing other important tasks is found to be a direct result from poor sleep habits or lack of sleep. Humans can experience memory loss, headaches, heightened stress, irritability, short temperedness and poor judgement. Long term, lack of sleep has been tied to weight gain/loss, risk of Type 2 diabetes, mental illness and heart trouble.
Sleep is fundamental to the accommodation industry. First and foremost we are providing a place for sleep to overnight guests. The importance of a good bed and pillow are frequently discussed in hospitality journals or at industry events and trade shows. Some hotel brands go to great lengths to promote their efforts to provide guests the ultimate in sleep comfort through such items as “Trademark” beds developed for these brands, such as Westin Hotels’ Heavenly Bed, Carlson Hotels’ Sleep Number bed and Wyndham’s Be Well Bed.
The provision of a good night’s sleep has to incorporate more than the bed and the pillow. In fact it must be prevailing consideration from the conceptual/design phase of an accommodation property right through to the operational activities of management and associates. The design of guest room floors, spacing, positioning of furnishings/fixtures and soundproofing all have an impact on the sleep experience. When renovating, consideration needs to be given to such noise related issues as replacement of old/noisy HVAC units or door hydraulics. When buying new flat screen televisions, the level of soundproofing between guest rooms should impact the decision as to whether to wall mount the units or purchase other case goods that the televisions will be placed on.
There are many factors to incorporate into operations that relate to the provision of a good night’s sleep for our guests, including the following suggestions:
Front Office:
Ensure that all front office employees know how to set wakeup calls and put guest room telephones on Do Not Disturb mode. Do your front office checklists include ensuring that wake up calls are completed on time and Do Not Disturb is cancelled upon request?
Pay attention to your guest room mix when blocking rooms and/or assigning them to arriving guests. Examples include trying to avoid locating individual corporate and leisure travelers in close proximity to groups such as sports teams, school or social groups. Another example is trying to avoid booking travelers in rooms that are close to noise sources (i.e. ice machines, elevators, roads/highways, hotel restaurant/lounge, adjacent businesses) when the hotel is not busy. In markets where there are work crews operating diesel trucks or other large vehicles that must be warmed before departing. A corporate or leisure traveler can be disturbed if their room is near a large rig that someone has turned on at 6:00am on a winter morning.
Housekeeping:
Ensure that room attendants are checking alarm clocks/clock radios while cleaning rooms and ensure that they aren’t left with the alarm on or the volume set to a high decibel level. Room attendants should also check to ensure that drapes close properly as they moderate light and noise. Room attendants should also ensure that toilets are flushing properly with no run on and that there are no dripping faucets in the rooms.
Engineering:
Engineering employees should ensure that a proper system is in place whereby any noise related issues brought forth by guests or colleagues (particularly in housekeeping and front office) are identified and dealt with in an expedient manner. Engineering staff need to pay attention to such noise related maintenance issues as the aforementioned hydraulics on doors, including those in public areas and guest room doors. Staff need to check to ensure windows open/close easily in guest rooms.
Of course not all sources of interfering noise come from within the hotel. Urban properties, particularly those near major roadways or properties located within the downtown core of major cities, are susceptible to disruptions that typically cannot be avoided or prevented by hotel employees. Operators need to ensure that their supervisory associates are trained in dealing with problems and make good decisions both on ways to minimize noise disruption (i.e. stepping outside the door of a hotel and asking a group of late night revelers to move along) as well as dealing with guests who bring complaints to the hotel’s attention. A guest’s complaint about noise coming from off the property should not necessarily end with a discount on room rate or provision of a complementary room night.
Taking steps to provide a good nights sleep, including those factors that go beyond the choice of bed and pillow, will help make for a good experience for guests and help generate repeat visitation and positive reviews that are heard or read by other travelers.
David Ferguson, Senior Consultant
PKF Consulting Inc., Vancouver
