Rooms for improvement in the hotel business
There are more than 200,000 hotels in the world - and too many of those are failing to give business travellers what they want.
That global hotel tally comes from the most recent estimates of online booking agencies, but what about the failure rate? That's a call based on my own experience and tales shared by many business travellers and frequent flyers.
Surely it's not that hard to treat the business traveller right. We're not divas waving a pretentious list of must-haves.
Once a hotel has covered the basics of a convenient location, cleanliness and a high standard of service, here are some business travel boxes they need to tick.
How can so many hotels get this first basic requirement of business travellers so wrong? We're not staying at your hotel to party or ''chillax'' for the weekend; we're there to work. That means we need a couple of things, starting with a desk - something a number of hotels are dropping in their attempts to give the rooms a more casual vibe.
As a journalist, I probably spend more time pounding the keyboard than the average business traveller but I don't believe any of us consider a sofa, lounge chair or bed to be the ideal laptop workspace.
And with a proper desk comes a proper chair, with adjustable height and good lumbar support.
One of the worst offenders I've seen is Singapore's Marina Bay Sands, which uses hard-backed fixed-height chairs with stiff, fixed arms that are more appropriate to a dining room. The final pieces of the working space puzzle: adjustable task lighting and a few spare power points within easy reach.
For my money, in-room internet shouldn't cost a red cent at any business hotel.
However, it doesn't need to be a business-grade connection. As long as it's quick enough for zippy web browsing and flinging everyday emails back and forth.
If I want substantially faster speeds for accessing a remote network, streaming media or downloading and uploading super-sized files, then I'm prepared to pay a reasonable premium for that - say $20 per day.
And the internet should be available everywhere in the hotel, not just in the room.
I'm a big fan of executive or club floors that feature a guest lounge. On many business trips, this becomes a de facto office outside of the room.
It provides a relaxed atmosphere where you can work solo, meet with clients, catch up on emails and wind down after the day.
Most lounges serve a light complimentary breakfast, which beats having to battle the masses at the hotel's main breakfast buffet. Add a variety of snacks throughout the day and evening, including cocktails, and a good club lounge gets me back every time.
There's always an X-factor, and it's largely driven by personal preferences. Some business travellers value a first-rate gym or selected fitness gear in their room.
Others appreciate hotels that are a little different from the pack - especially smaller hotels with a fresh feel and contemporary ''urban'' design. Some hotels are - shock, horror - getting truly innovative in gearing up for the business traveller.
One standout example is the full 24-hour room stay being rolled out across hotels in the Starwood family such as Sheraton, Westin, W and Le Meridien. Starwood is aiming to abolish set check-in and check-out times for top-tier members of the Starwood Preferred Guest scheme, giving them the ability to check in and check out at any hour with a full 24 hours' stay between. It will be a boon for travellers who often find flight schedules don't match a hotel's fixed arrival and departure times.
What do you look for in a hotel when you travel on business, and which favourite hotels keep you coming back?
Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2012
