I got a sensory jolt when I arrived at the QT Hotel on the Gold Coast last week, to speak at the Problogger Conference. The concierge greeted me wearing bright pink shorts and a matching smile, offering home made lemonade from the stand in the foyer. The receptionists wore one piece turquoise jumpsuits, with red piping and bright red belts (try carrying an extra kilo on your hips in one of those!).

Did I mention the cockatoo lamps in the bedroom, and the beach ready thongs (not what you’re thinking if you’re not Australian) hanging on pegs in net bags on the bedroom wall?
Everything was designed to say, “you have arrived on the Gold Coast, it’s okay to chill out, let their hair down and feel the sand between your toes.”

What QT have cleverly done, is to turn up the volume on how they want their guests to feel.

And that got me thinking….why do hotel staff wear black waistcoats anyway? And why do most hotels make us feel like we’re just passing through, when what we really want is to belong?

Are you turning up the volume on how your customers want to feel?

Image by Luke Chan.