Have you ever been stuck waiting outside your hotel room while it was given the daily once over?
It turns out that for some guests housekeeping can feel like more of an intrusion than a service.

On average it costs a hotel $22 a day to deliver housekeeping services for each room. That figure probably doesn’t account for recruitment of staff and the use of extra towels and linen.

I recently stayed at a Marriott hotel where they were trialling a scheme which offered guests the choice to opt out of housekeeping during their stay in exchange for either restaurant credit or loyalty points. Hardly rocket science, but somehow it felt good to be offered the option and to feel like the hotel had considered my wants and needs as an individual.

Someone had taken time to consider the guest’s worldview and asked the question—
“What if some guests value privacy more than a freshly made bed?”

Allowing customers to define what value is for them in this situation makes good business sense and yet hotels have been using a similar cookie cutter, guest services formula forever.

Asking ‘what if’ feels risky because it means you might have to acknowledge that what you’ve worked hard to put in place might not be the best solution. But if we don’t have the courage to question our assumptions we’re choosing to stagnate by default.

Image by James Yu.