I love to travel. I also realize that the process of traveling doesn’t always go smoothly. One of the trips I took last year was a not-so-smooth experience. It just so happened our vacation coincided with the Lufthansa strike. This created long delays, the necessity to rebook our flights and complications in customs. Suffice it to say, the situation took its toll. We were exhausted.
We finally landed in London, finding ourselves at the Novotel London Heathrow Airport Hotel. I must admit, I didn’t have high expectations after the exhausting journey I’d just taken. But, the Novotel Heathrow Hotel turned out to be an oasis of rejuvenation in the midst of a seemingly endless, arduous journey. I couldn’t have been more impressed.
We were served a delightful dinner—with exquisite food and genuinely warm, courteous service. Breakfast the next morning reflected the same high-end-caliber quality. The beds, the sheets and towels felt luxurious, and the perfectly heated pool was exactly what I needed to soothe my frazzled nerves.
In a previous post, I talked about creating experiences for guests, which focus on emotional connections between vacations and the quality of life. By the time I reached the Novotel Heathrow, I needed emotional nurturing more than anything else, and this is exactly what I received. It was not my ultimate destination, and I might have passed it off as just another airport hotel. But under the circumstances, this hotel made it an experience to remember—and even write about.
How can you be an oasis in your guests’, customers’ and clients’ lives? How can you create memories out of the most basic of transactions and experiences? What are some simple steps you can take to create an experience of luxury for your customers?