Anthony Melchiorri, hotel fixer and host of Travel Channel’s Hotel Impossible, loves dishing out advice. From sharing best practices to tackling operational issues, he’s here to answer your questions.
Why are there so many limited-service hotels being built now?
Business travelers work as hard or harder than most people. All too often, their office is in a taxi, an airport terminal, or a seat in coach. Corporate travel is tough; hotel experiences shouldn’t be. Is a complimentary bottle of water too much to ask at check-in? And shouldn’t getting on Wi-Fi be easy and free?
Take the Algonquin Hotel in New York City, where Dorothy Parker and fellow Round Table members (most of them writers) worked in the lobby in the 1920s. While I was GM there, an executive said, “We’re going to charge for Internet in the lobby,” and I responded, “No way.” That would have been like charging Dorothy Parker for a pen.
At four-star hotels, either management has been afraid to tell the bosses they want to provide complimentary amenities or they’re convinced charging $3 for a bottle of water at check-in will build another hotel.
The reason the development pipeline for new hotels is consistently led by branded, limited-service construction is they offer free breakfast, bottled water, and Internet. Business travelers don’t like being nickel and dimed for essentials, so they’re booking at limited-service hotels (and some full-service hotels) that get it.
The guests don’t bring their home on the road; we make the road their home.
Got a question? Send it to AskAnthony@lodgingmagazine.com or leave a reply below.
You might be interested in helping me. as the new owner of the world famous Historic Brookdale Lodge which has been shut down for the last 2 yrs . I will be starting the remold process the first of Jan. 1st 2015 . Please call me ( 831) 588-6609 . Thanks”
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