A real hotel guest experience (story telling) at a 5* International chain hotel.
A guest checked out at the front counter. He was greeted politely, and his room number was asked. The receptionist was busy working on the computer to process the check-out of the guest. The guest is thirsty, and needs to get to the airport quickly. He asks if he can have a glass water. The staff perplexed (admittedly) – returned a slightly bleak facial expression but picked up the phone and called the restaurant outlet (just across the lobby) and ask the waiter if he would come over with a glass of water (the guest is British but the receptionist communicated with his fellow colleague in the local language). The waiter told the receptionist that he is busy – the receptionist insisted – can you not help me – it will take less than 1 min. The waiter regretted saying that he was so busy. The guest looks at the receptionist suspiciously because it seems that the phone call for a small glass of water took a long time. While the guest was completing the formalities, he looked up to apologize and asked for a moment. (At that moment, the receptionist seemed to blush a little) The glass of water should be with him in a moment. The staff calls the concierge again (since they saw that the concierge was not busy) and asks if they could go get a drink of water for their guest. The Concierge said ….sorry I cannot leave the counter if there is a guest that need luggage assistance and nobody will take care of him. The receptionist put the phone down and slowly looked avoiding direct eye contact and uttering ….sorry ….one moment please. The guest asked if there was a problem. – Receptionist no they are just getting it and he picked the phone again to – this time – call the room service office. The room service staff told him to leave his desk immediately and confirmed that I can post the water into the guest room. The receptionist became very embarrassed. He desperately looked upwards, and (luckily) he saw another concierge (not that one he had called just a minute ago), who is well-known for his friendliness. He promised to get water for his guest over the phone. That Concierge got immediately to work and called the waiter in the restaurant who brushed him off saying …….and who will pay for the water citing that he is responsible for the stock and day closing. The Concierge then hung up the phone and called room service, who responded in a similar manner. Luckily, the Concierge has a lot of experience and is very smart. He just skipped this discussion and told the guest to bring a glass of wand water to the front counter and I would give him a new water bottle as a substitute (after ten minutes). After a half-minute, the guest was able to quench his thirst and leave the hotel. The concierge went up to the guest floor, retrieved a bottle from one of the room attendants trolleys and took it to room service.
Morale
Culture can be a very strong glue for a community (it can sometimes be extremely positive or negative).
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- Even if you spend USD 100 per night or USD 2,000, water is still more valuable.
- This hotel has a culture that is geared towards profit maximization.
- The employees at this hotel are notoriously untrustworthy.
- One smart employee can sometimes save an entire hotel’s reputation (that could be good or bad depending on whether the employee breaks the cycle of profit maximization or saves the lives of guests). [before death by dehydration])
This incident, when viewed in retrospect spoke volumes about hotel dynamics. It highlighted a vital lesson about hospitality culture — one that can swing between extremes of efficiency and mistrust. It is clear that while the hotel’s focus on maximizing profits is important, sometimes the most basic needs of people, such as a glass water, take precedence.
This experience brought home a key point: the comfort and satisfaction of a guest is more important than any price tag. Ironically, only one intelligent employee is needed to navigate treacherous waters, saving the day. It shows that true hospitality does not thrive in large gestures alone, but in small, meaningful acts of kindness.
