Can A Hotel be a Companion to a Guest?

By William H Harriss.? 8/30/2023.? [email protected]

#hotelmanagers#hotelgroups#cruiseships#resorts#hotelgroupdirector

Can a guest be a companion to a hotel, and can a hotel be a companion to a guest?

According to the American Dictionary, a companion is someone or something you spend a lot of time with or travel with or a friend who lives with you.

However, a companion can mean many things in many different contexts and situations.

The word companion ultimately comes from the Latin com- ("with") and panis ("bread, food"). The ingestible aspect of this word is reminiscent of symposium, which may be traced to the Greek word sympinein, meaning "to drink together." But just as you may be a companion to someone without eating, you may also attend a symposium without drinking.

So, can you be a hotel companion without two people sleeping together? A hotel is a building or organization you can be within, and sleep therein but not physically be in bed with that building or organization. So, you are undoubtedly something beyond metaphorical companions, and I as the author am now almost completely lost. So let us stop there and discover why I began to think about companionship between hotel and guest. When I talk of hotels, I also include resorts and cruise ships.?

I find companion an interesting word because it has many meanings and applications. For example, it can mean two items like two vases or two people, a person you spend a lot of time with often because you are friends. or travelling together. Or someone who spends a lot of time with you or lives with you.

I wondered if you could describe someone as a companion who supports and prefers a particular hotel, chain, or group? Because they live with you, you keep them safe and look out for them. Provide them with a comfortable bed in a secure and safe environment.

Can a robot, a dog, or another pet or person be a companion? Sure, they can, and in most cases, they are companions. You can have paid or unpaid companions, so it is for sure the hotel and guest can be companions. Should hotels regard guests as companions? I suppose if you regard guests as friends of your hotel, why not regard them as companions? If you want clients to return or be repeat business, consider them companions. They are certainly someone who spends a lot of time with you and occasionally live with you, eat with you, and have fun with you.

The companion's protection and well-being are of ultra-importance in every application of the word. So indeed, the companion expects to be pampered and protected. They should get the best comfort and protection, even if unaware of potential dangers or health risks their companion keeps them safe. If a place of lodging or boarding is aware of actual, or even possible, safety or health risks to the companion, should the companion not expect you to provide a duty of care to them?

The protection and duty of care are one of the most fundamental rights and expectations of every travelling and leisure guest. Is that not one of the most basic obligations under a hotel's 'duty of care' and expectations under compliance rules and regulations?

So, the industry must ask how they can make their guests feel like companions.

I suppose the hotel industry has sort of got the idea already, and that is why they created Hotel Points and Reward Programs. Shortly, I will explain why that is not going far enough to capture the minds and bodies of their prospective repeat guests.

All frequent travelers know about rewards programs offered by hotels. Because there are so many perks for those who stay at hotels, it’s important to understand the programs and how they work. There are some good deals hiding there that can truly enhance a vacation!

There are several hotel chains that participate in rewards programs, encompassing thousands of hotels worldwide. Rewards programs are mainly used to encourage people to stay with a certain chain, and the guests can have amazing perks such as free food and drinks, cheaper rooms, and no blackout dates for booking rooms.

With there being so many different reward programs, travelers must be sure to pick the one which works best with what they want from their experience. With thousands of hotels being included in these rewards, there are plenty of options for even the busiest traveler. These programs usually work off a points system. It’s different for each hotel chain, but they certainly add up over time.

These rewards programs run off a points system, which differs slightly for each hotel chain. The points will add up so that travelers can earn different rewards and redeem them on what they want. A certain amount per dollar adds up to points. Some examples of how much travelers can earn include:

20 points per dollar (Radisson)

10-15 points per dollar (Best Western)

10 points per dollar (Wyndham)

10 points per dollar (Marriott)

5 points per dollar (Hyatt)

There is a wide variety of bonus points to be earned based on different stays, with events known as award nights that some of these chains do. These award nights will give more points to visitors who stay on those nights. For example, Hyatt will do awards nights with the ability to earn points ranging from 5,000 to 40,000, depending on the hotel. Travelers also should keep an eye on those points because some hotel chains will have points that expire.

But what if there was an amazing system that attracted customers and would ensure they not only become companions to the hotel group but would never consider staying with another group ever again??

There is such a system, and no group has ever done it; I doubt they have ever thought of it. But I have, and I will give that information to a group that I decide will be best to run with it.

Some time ago, I contacted many of my LinkedIn contacts about my new system and made a publication to all the hotel groups I have membership to, whereafter I experienced absolute silence.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/become-confirmed-leading-hotel-cruise-ship-brands-harriss-fbii/?trackingId=wc%2FHBxGhT92Yyl2i9jsRCQ%3D%3D

Well, I tried to interest the lodging industry in my new system, but no one replied, no one applied, and no one showed any interest at all, so it was put back in the cupboard. I forgot that some of today’s leadership fails to be open-minded, or logical. They cannot accept new findings or ideas, pieces of evidence, and explanations. They are simply unwilling to reassess information. Failing to be open to all reasonable possibilities, or even consider advice.

Only fools do not listen to new ideas or advice from others, and review the advice, then view it from the lens of their own circumstances and preferences, then make a decision that is appropriate to them and their company. You may take on board the ideas, advice, and suggestions for your network wholly; you may take only some elements and adapt the advice to suit your unique issue, or you may discard them completely and choose another route. But not to consider them at all is the height of commercial ignorance.

Seeking and giving advice are central to effective leadership and decision-making. Yet managers seldom view them as practical skills to learn and improve. Receiving guidance is often seen as the passive consumption of wisdom. Advising is typically treated as a matter of “good judgment”—you either have it, or you don’t —rather than a competency to be mastered.

When the exchange is done well, people on both sides of the table benefit. Those who are truly open to guidance (and not just looking for validation) develop better solutions to problems than they would have on their own. They add nuance and texture to their thinking—and, research shows, they can overcome cognitive biases, self-serving rationales, and other flaws in their logic. Those who give advice effectively wield soft influence—they shape important decisions while empowering others to act. As engaged listeners, they can also learn a lot from the problems that people bring them.

Even the Bible comments on advice: - Proverbs 15: Fools follow their own directions and think they are right, but wise people listen intently to advice.?

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

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