- Fresh flowers, plants and succulents around public areas, guest rooms and bathrooms.
Its amazing how fresh cut flowers can add that little something special to areas in your home. It adds colour, texture and gives guest the idea that you thought about making them feel special upon arrival. You do not necessarily need to have expensive flowers, even a few daisies or wild flowers can have the same desired effect. Quick tip – adding bleach to the water will make the flowers last longer. House plants and greenery add a dash of life to all areas within your establishment.
2. Personalized guest basket
This can be placed in the bedroom for guests and can contain small items that will make a guest stay more comfortable. Examples of items that can be included are snacks such as biscuits, nuts, biltong, water, sweets, a small bottle of wine or even small local snacks. Small toiletry items such as cotton buds, a lint roller, cotton wool, toothpaste, hand sanitizer are thoughtful. If you know your guests will be travelling with children maybe print outs for colouring in with a few crayons will be a sweet touch.
3. A clean space
Gosh this one goes a LONG way, give me any space if its clean. Attention to detail is important, create a list for housekeeping or yourself to follow to ensure no areas are missed. Remember to wipe and dust areas you which may not be in your view such as the top of doors and cupboards, the top of ceiling fans etc. Ensure maintenance items are maintained such as faulty light bulbs, paint issues, ensure small issues are attended to and not left for a long time. Bathrooms especially need to be spotless, ensure grouting is clean, showers are free from mold and that the toilet is sparkling and smelling fresh.
4. Add information of the surrounding area and things to do
You can create a little booklet of sorts that can be reused which includes activities, restaurants, emergency contact information, your Wi-Fi username and password. Also include information about your establishment, breakfast times, breakfast menus, what to do in case of etc. Adding a personalized welcome card is so special and will take about 1 minute to write up before your guests arrive and it is also a cute memory guests can take home with them. Guest reviews and feedback is paramount to the success of your business, add a guest feedback book at reception for guests to add any comments upon checkout, ask them to be as honest as possible to improve your service delivery.
5. Artwork
Artwork does not need to cost hundreds and thousands of rands, free printables are available all over the internet and one can find really special nature shots, vintage postcards or pictures of the surrounding area to add some colour to a bare wall whether it is in the main bedroom, bathroom or public areas. Gallery walls are very trendy at the moment and add personality to a space. Do be pedantic about straight lines and spaces – a perfectly positioned frame is pleasing to the eye.
6. Lighting
Appealing lighting adds comfort and charm to all spaces and is definitely a mood enhancer. Play around with natural light, add fairy lights outside to illuminate an area and create that romantic memory for your guests. Bathrooms generally need bright lighting especially for those using the vanity areas or for the elderly needing to read which is the shampoo or the body wash. When replacing light switches, dimmers are recommended, that way the guest can decide which brightness they prefer.
7. Photography and websites
When potential guests are browsing the internet, the quality of the photographs will definitely be a draw card when they are selecting where to stay. Hiring a photographer is strongly recommended to ensure high quality photographs are uploaded on your website and social media. You will have these pictures forever, ask your local community Facebook group for local aspiring photographers who may not be charging an arm and a leg but do have the potential to give you quality photographs which will make potential guests click to see more. Furthermore, please do your very best to get a good web designer, again use your local Facebook community group to find web designers looking to create a portfolio and therefore may not charge too much. More importantly ensure your website is optimized for mobile phones which deliver an ideal and engaging experience to users who are visiting the site from their mobile device.
8. Tea/Coffee making facilities
Please do let your creative juices flow when setting up your tea/coffee making facilities. Nespresso machines are ideal however can be costly. Hotel coffee has a bad reputation and the new age traveller are more conscious of the taste and quality of teas and coffees. Pair up with your local roastery, add loose leave teas an an option, add a plunger with ground coffee as an option, the ideas are limitless.
I hope these tips were helpful, until next time!
Firsts101 