14 October 2008

Home is where the hotel is (or is it the other way round)

By Yeoh Siew Hoon

I think I have finally crossed the line in my mind that says a hotel has become my home and my home has become a hotel.

Today, I left the Four Seasons Hotel in Bangkok without checking out and paying my bill.

Yes, it was only in the hotel limousine that I realised I had forgotten to perform that most basic of requirement needed of a good guest.

It wasn't that I was trying to get out of paying my bill ââ¬' I am really not that type of person ââ¬' but I had genuinely forgotten.

Perhaps it was because I had felt so at home during my four-day stay at this elegant, timeless hotel or perhaps the staff were so efficient that I really didn't have to use a lot of my brain during my stay.

I had left my baggage with the concierge who had told me they would be in the car that would be waiting to take me to the airport, and so all I had to do was show them the ticket.

So off I went for breakfast in the courtyard, ate and chatted with a couple of friends, and generally felt so good about everything that I just walked out into the morning sunlight.

I realised I had forgotten to check out when I found my room key in the deep recesses of my bag.

I asked the driver if he could call the hotel. I spoke to a female staff at reception who told me not to worry and that she would send the bill to my email address.

Staying at the Four Seasons, which I knew as the Peninsula when it opened and then it became the Regent, reminded me of the, well, timelessnes of a classic, well-run hotel.

In a world of designer hotels where chairs do not look like anything you'd sit on and room furniture have edges that can leave bruises on your knees, and staff try a little too hard to be edgy and cool, it's nice to be in an environment that's gracious and charming, without effort.

That open lobby lounge where the piano tinkles amid the hushed quiet of conversation and tinkling of tea cups, that open courtyard where you have breakfast amid a green space, the Spice Market that has not changed in all the years but continues to serve classic Thai food with minimum pretensions, the room that is just big enough to give you space but not too big to overwhelm, and not too many modern gadgets where you have to take a crash course in engineering to figure out how to use them ââ¬~¦

But mostly, the staff. From doormen to reception to service staff to room service, all gracious without being ingratiating, all efficient without being bossy. One word, natural.

Dining with a friend one evening at the Spice Market, he asked the waitress, "What is your best dish?"

I said, "How can you ask that? Theyââ¬â¢ve got so many."

She laughed with us, and then pointed out two to three items, "depending on what you feel like, sir".

I had a similar experience in the lobby lounge.

Staff like these are worth their weight in gold.

And I wonder are they like this because they are paid in gold compared to their brethren in other hotels, or is it because of the hotel's longevity and thus the experience in bringing out the best in their staff, or is it strong systems and processes that support the best of the human service element?

We know for example that a five star hotel can deliver three star service but can a three star hotel deliver five star service?

What I am clear about though is, this was the best check-out experience Iââ¬â¢ve ever had in my life.

I must do this more often.

Catch Yeoh Siew Hoon every week at The Transit Cafe - www.thetransitcafe.com

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• Employees, Not Facilities, are Key
  
  

  Yeoh Siew Hoon has highlighted just how important employees are to any business. Where travel suppliers abuse staff, clients should expect no better. Ryanair is a prime example. I have stayed at 5-star properties where the staff functions could be performed by automatons their attitude was so cold and remote. It was at a 3-star property where I was trapped during a national holiday where I had my most appreciated moment - a member of staff invited me to her home to celebrate with her and her family. An occasion to remember! Give me a family run property any day for genuine appreciation of every guest.

  By Jon Hewson, Saturday, October 25, 2008