Perhaps there is no sector like the hotel industry that so often has to confront its way of approaching the business, and not only because of the ever-changing technological tools but because of a permanent evolution in user expectations. All this underpinned by a client with greater access to these technological tools and more information, which includes their rights as a user.Being part of this industry, we all see ourselves daily in the position of users of lodging services and restaurants. And most likely many of us have assumed a much more demanding position because we have knowledge about the service standards in different markets and about the rights that we all have as users of these services.
A couple of years ago a group of consumer rights activists in the U.S. advocated for the need for hotels to charge for guest hours of stay and not for the night. They also raised the need to end the legendary check-in and check-out hours. As expected, the recommendation met with opposition from the sector and died in the attempt.
At this point, when hotels are being forced into new ways of marketing, selling and loyalty, it would be worth asking themselves: are hotels meeting the expectations of users? Or are they simply being part of a business that for profit prevents them from getting out of a scheme? Out there they say that if you win the game, do not change the team but the danger is to win the game.
On a recent trip to Spain I was able to verify, once again, that the hotel sector in general is stuck in an old and protocol scheme. Very surely the hotel where I stayed, tourist class, I had no idea that I had 14 hours of uninterrupted travel and that when I left the airport and arrived at the hotel what I most longed for was a room and a bed to rest. Thanks to its schematic registration model I sat for three hours on a sofa and while falling into a slight sleep I thought about how absurd it seems that despite the constant evolution of the sector, many features such as services, categorization and ammenities remain in the last century.
