On Hotels

I like to think of myself as a five star kind of person. All through life, I’ve always strived (and all too often failed financially) for the finer things in life.

But a recent experience made me question that whole philosophy.

I spent two nights in two different hotels – one a four star Hilton in a big city, the other a lowly Premier Inn, near a provincial airport.  I didn’t pay the bill – I didn’t even see it, but checking their respective websites it looks like the second was less than half the price of the first.

To say that the Premier Inn suited me so much better would be an understatement. The bedroom in the cheaper hotel was at least twice the size, the bed much more comfortable, I could lie down in the bath, the shower was much more powerful, there were enough sockets for all my gadgets, and there was air conditioning. Given that I spent a fair amount of time actually in the bedroom either working or sleeping, I had a massively better experience in the Premier Inn.

It’s interesting to analyse the differences – Premier Inn have put all their resource and effort into providing a great bedroom for their guests, whereas Hilton has focused on the areas outside of the actual room. The Hilton had a fabulous marble lobby area, plenty of staff to help me with my bags, two bars, a huge restaurant and a pool and gym.

None of which I used – and I suspect that applies to the majority of the business travellers who go there.

Premier Inn had a very unassuming reception area, only one member of staff, and a vending machine for drinks and snacks.

I’ll take the Premier Inn any day of the week. They have a new long term customer in me.

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