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Validating the value of luxury services in a hotel setting
I have a hobby...
We're a consultancy firm wholly focused on the guest experience. To us it's a way of life - a passion. When we're not working directly on client projects, we continue to learn by observing people (and things) to see how they truly fit within a smartly choreographed experience for guests. It's not to say that every word, placement or intent should be staged, but rather come together in a way to drive home a message - to the conscious and subconscious mind. Sometimes it's just hiring people with right emotional intelligence that can adapt to a situation or perceived need.
Often times you may find me in a hotel lounge, or restaurant, in the late afternoon or weekend mornings. Sure, I enjoy the nice cocktail and elevated gastronomy however my purpose is mainly to sit back and watch the theatrics emerge. It's my hobby. I have front row seats to the opening and closing acts as well as the all important crescendos that drive home the most impactful moments of an experience.
Too often, people associate luxury with tangible goods, a form of conspicuous luxury. Luxury service on the other hand is harder to categorize; it's intangible in so many ways. All of us can dream up a lengthy list of what we deem to be a luxury service. This may include a hotel turndown to premium spa packages. I would argue however that true luxury service goes beyond the expected; it has to move the guest in a way that he or she deems was all theirs. In academia, we call this psychological ownership. Whereas the luxury good is an owned item, we too can create that sense of ownership through experiences depending on their level of personalization. And that brings me to my own experience of luxury service to illustrate this point...
On a late Friday afternoon, I ventured into one of London's 5 Star hotels. This particular hotel is rated 5 star by the AA group as well as Forbes Travel Guide, arguably the leader in verifying luxury through its rigorous objective criteria. I hadn't had the pleasure of visiting this particular hotel nor did I choose to refamiliarize myself through online research and the like. I do it in this way to prevent any assumptions about the luxury they provide; it can cloud the mind. I enjoy experiencing every first encounter as a blank canvas. You should try it too.
I happened to have arrived at 3:30PM and left by 5:00PM. Within this space a multitude of things happened - to me. Upon entering the hotel, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many staff in the entrance hall. I had thought that a delegation was arriving that required a specific level attention, but as it turned out, the staff were there to welcome all guests. I asked one of them about their bar, restaurant and lounge facilities to which I was presented an overview and then led to the nearest lounge. Within 3 seconds I was seated and made to feel extremely welcome. Seeing that I was alone, my server offered more of his time to converse with me.
When visiting establishments on my own, I spend more time engaging staff about their role and even query them about their career journey if appropriate. It's something I have done my whole life as I am genuinely interested in people. My server asked about my purpose for visiting the hotel to which I responded "to try out the cocktail bars". I said that it was my first visit to the hotel and that I enjoy learning about hotels. Within a space of 5 minutes, he encouraged me to follow him out of the lounge (with glass in hand) to meet with the bar facilities manager. What followed was a thorough presentation that delved into the history and uniqueness of each of their lounges. The staff picked up on my interest and fulfilled it beyond my expectation. This was a moment that I owned - it was personal; it was luxury.
After having fulfilled my desire to experience the first cocktail bar, I proceeded to the other where I was enthusiastically received and encouraged to sit at the bar. It was a great choice since I'll often seek out a seat at a bar; that way I can engage with the staff members. I met 2 bartenders, 3 servers and one sommelier all in a space of perhaps 45 minutes. I learned about them and they learned about me. It was mutual. Noticing my interest in wine, the bartender introduced me to the sommelier for a more in-depth discussion that took place in their cellar. Upon returning to my rightful place at the bar to continue conversing with the bartender and the other guest beside me, the sommelier sneakingly approached from my right to top up my glass of wine (at no additional cost). I graciously finished the glass of wine, paid my collective bill and returned to the office. I left the hotel having felt that I made a number friends and was serviced in a way that took me to the moon - all for only 70 quid including a handsome tip.
What's the moral of the story here? It's that you don't have to spend heaps of money on luxury goods or services to realise luxury for yourself. It's all about value and how far hotel staff can take it. Perhaps my experience wouldn't have been a luxury experience to someone else - but that is precisely the point. Mine was personal and on-point, providing various crescendos during my stay. I owned those experiences. They were made for me.