The Art of Choosing a Hotel (Consultant’s edition)
[This post first appeared as a guest post on Consulting Network here]
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.
(Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken“)
Business travel arguably is an art of its own. Some love it, some hate it. As a consultant, you normally at least accept it as your way of life during the week. When it comes to choosing the hotel at your destination, given that you _have_ a choice (don’t underestimate how remote a client site can be…), it makes sense to choose not only by stars, price or name.
This is a selection of criteria that I use – your mileage may vary, but it will sure give you something to think about in any case. Wondered what the quote in the beginning is all about? You’ll see, no worries!
- Known chain or new & modern
Staying with hotels of big chains has the advantage that you can count on a certain standard for each hotel you get to. Some lower tiered brands are even standardizing their rooms to the fullest, which is not my cup of tea (anybody ever ended up in an ETAP hotel, you know what I talk about), but for the 3-5 star range, it is nice to know what you can expect.
When it comes to non-chain hotels, I try to get to places that are new & modern. Of course that goes for the first group, too, but here it is more important. The big chains push their standards to all their hotels, regardless of age, so they see a renovation every few years, all got internet access by now, etc. – don’t trust on that being the case for a smaller non-chain hotel. Especially in areas frequented by tourists, you might end up in a place that is a cash cow for its owner and a complete annoyance for you. - Free Wi-Fi rules (and affordable Wi-Fi is runner up)
Especially when on assignment abroad, free Wi-Fi in the hotel can save you a ton of money when staying in touch with friends, loved ones and family (Skype!) and add to the fun factor of the little spare time you have (private emails, surfing the web, streaming TV, etc.). I found new non-chain hotels to be the absolute kings in this regard, because they mostly build the hotel with decent Wi-Fi/cable internet in place and charge you a fair price when it is not free in the first place. Unfortunately, most chains have made deals with the devil (Telco providers) and charge you 8 USD and your firstborn child for an hour of internet access. Also, the only thing you can rely on when it comes to hotel Wi-Fi: The concierge has no clue why it doesn’t work, it is never as “high speed” as advertised, and better bring your own network cable if you don’t want to work with your nose touching the TV screen. - Avoid “twin bed” rooms
Who needs two separate beds when traveling alone? Never go for the “Twin bed” option if you can have a king/queen size for the same prize. When you put them next to each other the crack in the middle will either give you back pain or make sure that you only use one half, and in some hotels you cannot even move the two single beds together. Useless. - Don’t take a hotel that is too close to the client site / office
That really is a beginner’s mistake. Of course it is convenient to have only a short walk between the hotel and the office. If you don’t like fresh air and have no interest in getting to know the city you stay in at least a little bit, then this is the way to go for sure… seriously: if your hotel is too conveniently located, you are missing out on a lot of opportunity (thus the quote in the beginning!). Having at least a few minutes’ walk back and forth every day helps to clean out your head and have a bit of fresh air. Also consider your evening options: If the client site is in a commercial district, it will be quite dead in the evenings (few restaurants, no bars, no shops, and no nice cafés apart from the omnipresent Starbucks). Better chose a hotel in the middle of the city and have a little commute back and forth. - Look out for the opening hours of the fitness/spa area
It is a shame when you are looking forward to working out before breakfast or going for a swim in the evening and then have to realize that the gym opens at 9am and the pool closes at 7pm, you see… that said, if you have a good connection to the hotel staff, in many cases they will allow you to go to the gym area after hours, if you promise not to break your neck. With pools, that was a no-go whenever I asked.
I hope that helped you making a better choice when planning your next business trip.
What criteria do you follow when choosing a hotel? Let me know in the comments!
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3 comments
You missed the most important criteria for a consultant: what points can I collect on my card?
Joe, what can I say… spot on! Tell you what – I'll make Hotel Bonus Point programs a separate posting. Anything you want to see mentioned? What's your favourite program and why?
Joe beat me to it. After reading the post, my first comment was, "Hey wait a minute…". Aren't we all points whores Florian?
Not to criticise your post though – another great read as always.
FWIW, mine is Marriott, yours?
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