“It’s the little things”
I travel a lot for my role as glamping consultant and owner of the largest company in the canvas lodge market place and so I stay in a lot of different accommodation options.
When possible I choose glamping sites, but when this isn’t possible I choose Air BnB or small, often family run, quirky hotel.
Almost without exception, they all provide the best service they can and I am rarely disappointed. However, across the entire range from the yurt for £50 through to the upmarket hotel suite, there are often just the tiniest but really irritating little problems that could so easily be fixed. These are not worth complaining about, nor leaving a negative review, but by addressing these issues the site could turn a gold experience into a platinum experience with little or no additional expenditure or effort.
Lighting
· When I finally get to bed I want to be able to read and then switch off the light without having to get out of bed. And if I am with my wife then I need that light to be discreet enough and angled down so I don’t keep her awake. Rather than decorative table lamps, a flexible angled reading light would be so much more useful. £10 at Ikea, so it wont break the bank !
· Its dark at night, yes I know that’s obvious but I’m not sure site owners always think about it. I am old, but I also have young kids and both groups need access to the facilities at various stages of the night. Why not add a small night light plugged in so I can find the toilet without stubbing my toe.
Storage
· Glamping units are often short of storage space, not always, but often. To counter the problem of get away from it all holiday bags being left on the floor why not include roll out draws beneath the bed, at least one for each person staying.
· Wet clothes are the bain of any outdoors experience. They steam as they dry and cause a slightly unpleasant smell that can ruin your evening in front of the fire. A hook rack outside on the veranda where its easy for your guests to hang their wet anoraks, wet suits and damp t-shirts.
· And while you are at it, why not place a wooden box for wet shoes and boots just outside, reduces your cleaning at the end of their stay and makes your guests experience so much better
Tea making
· It may be a very British thing but when I get anywhere the first thing I want is a nice cuppa, brown, builders, tasty and not insipid. The tea bags in the room are often from a huge box or bag of 2000 catering tea bags. These are where the dust left after proper tea is bagged end up. You need at least two to make anything like a decent cup. And the milk…. There is often a fridge, so why not include a small carton of milk rather than those stupid sachets that spurt everywhere when you open them and taste nothing like milk.
Welcome
· I recently stayed at Rick Steins (it was on offer) and when I got in the room there was a hand written post card. Not just a few words but a full on paragraph. I assumed it was very cleverly generated by a computer, but the next morning I was going to breakfast when I saw a young lady writing them all by hand at the reception desk. This is a lovely touch, but to be honest I wasn’t sure what to think. On the one hand I was very impressed with the effort but on the other I was slightly bemused at its true value to me as a guest.
· Wi-Fi – why not make your Wi-Fi easy to access, no sign in forms, no difficult names, no difficult passwords? It is a given that it must work well everywhere not just in the reception area and bar but in the accommodation as well.
