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One of the hotel’s common amenities is cooking facilities, which enable guests to save money on dining out and prepare their own meals using utensils provided by the hotel. These utensils include pots, pans, dishes, and silverware.
Extended stay hotels often offer extra kitchen amenities like in-room coffee pots, espresso machines, microwaves, and complimentary creamer. Some even provide stoves and ovens for cooking meals similar to home. These hotels are designed with a house-like layout that includes separate areas for dining, sleeping, and living.
Typically, extended stay hotels provide a living area furnished with a couch, armchair, TV, and telephone. Some may also have a desk, chair, and internet access port. Guests often have the option to use complimentary wireless internet if they bring their own laptop or desktop computer. Moreover, many extended stay hotels feature onsite laundry facilities.
At the extended stay hotel, you have the convenience of washing and drying your clothes without needing to find a Laundromat or other laundry service. The machines at the hotel are likely coin-operated but still more affordable than other options. Additionally, this is especially convenient for late nights when you’re too tired to go elsewhere. In addition to this, as part of its amenities, your extended stay hotel may also provide housekeeping services.
At an extended stay hotel, a maid will visit your room daily to make the bed, change the linens, empty the trash, and attend to other tasks. However, if you value privacy, you can opt to have housekeeping skip your room. It’s important to inquire about the housekeeping schedule, as some hotels offer weekly instead of daily service. Extended stay hotels also provide various amenities, which differ depending on your travel destination and the specific establishment you select.
Some hotels offer a variety of amenities such as extended cable channels, newspaper delivery, continental breakfasts, and fitness facilities. It is advisable to ask for a list of amenities before selecting a hotel to ensure a pleasant stay. When hosting overnight guests, it is crucial to provide comfortable guest rooms, which include essential supplies and amenity packages.
Ensuring that your guests feel welcome in your home is important, whether you have a dedicated guest room or if your home office or craft room also serves as the guest room. One essential item for any guest room is a comfortable bed. If your guest bed happens to be a futon or fold-out sofa, it may be beneficial to offer a feather bed or foam topper to provide extra comfort and avoid any potential discomfort during their stay.
To ensure guest comfort, make sure each bed has both a soft and firm pillow per person. Additionally, provide light blankets and fold a heavy blanket at the foot of the bed in case guests feel cold. Include a chair in the guest room for relaxation purposes and easy putting on of socks and shoes. This can be achieved by using either a cleaned wicker chair from the deck or a spare chair from the basement, adding an extra soft pillow for enhanced comfort.
Your guestroom should have a night table equipped with a clock and telephone for their convenience during the night. Additionally, ensure there is ample clothes storage in the form of a cleared space in the closet, hooks on the wall or door, and/or a small dresser for unpacking.
If you want to make it easy for your guests to use their suitcases, consider providing a luggage rack or bench. In addition, make sure your guestroom is equipped with essential items for personal grooming, such as fresh wash cloths, towels, a mirror, and proper lighting. Don’t forget to include Kleenex, liquid soap, and a trash bin as well.
Finally, in order to provide some privacy for your guests, it is important to furnish the guest room with a small television and some appropriate reading materials. These guest essentials are meant to be left behind at the hotel after the guest checks out. However, this does not always happen. One issue that both guests and hotels often face is the problem of missing clothes hangers.
Many years ago, hotels decided to remove the traditional wooden hanger due to guests frequently taking them along in their luggage. In its place, they introduced a hanger with a knob-headed design that was less likely to be stolen. However, this alternative hanger has remained a source of annoyance for guests. Now, a new type of hanger has been introduced with a smaller hook. Although this compromise item cannot fit over a standard clothes rack, it is much simpler to use.
One of the author’s colleagues, a designer and frequent business traveler, has proposed a useful addition for hotel rooms: a secure hook placed opposite the clothes rack or closet. These hooks, positioned at around 6 feet 6 inches high, would serve as a convenient spot for hanging suit bags. The designer argues that retrieving a suit bag from inside the closet or from the bed is highly inconvenient. While a small number of hotels have acknowledged this need, they remain in the minority.
Regarding guest essentials, it’s worth noting that the hotel logo often turns these items into souvenirs, leading to their rapid disappearance. If it is deemed to be an efficient form of “advertising,” perhaps the cost of these items should be divided among other departments, particularly the marketing department. Table 4 provides a list of guest essentials.
GUEST EXPENDABLES Guest expendables, such as laundry bags and laundry slips, may be supplied by organizations other than the housekeeping department. These items are expected to be used or taken by the guest, but others are not necessarily used up or taken away when the guest leaves. Instead, they are replenished when the room is prepared for a new guest. The housekeeping department inventories and stores all expendable items.
Guest expendables can be found in Table 4.2. Additionally, guest loan items, which are not stored in the guestroom, are available upon request on a receipted loan basis. These items are typically kept in the main linen room (the housekeeping center of operations) and will be delivered to the guest along with a receipt form upon request.
Such receipts should include information on when the item can be picked up, to avoid implying that they are free to take. In conclusion, the financial success of any institution is not solely determined by a few strategic decisions. It often relies on numerous small decisions, such as choosing the appropriate soap for guestrooms, selecting the right size of floor machine, and using a bathroom cleaner that does not damage fixtures. The professional housekeeper must stay updated on technological advancements in housekeeping supplies and equipment, and make purchasing and usage decisions based on objective research rather than sales pitches from vendors.
