“The key is when a customer walks away, thinking ‘Wow, I love doing business with them, and I want to tell others about the experience.’” -Shep Hyken
“No Sir, this is the best tariff that we can offer at this point.” The manager at one of the 4-star hotels in the National Capital Region responded with affirmation. I wanted to extend my stay by one more day which wasn’t planned initially, but they were not ready to give me the same deal. The reasons cited were hotel policies, taxes, etc. I generally don’t negotiate; it is either a yes or no for me. My negotiation skills aren’t that great anyway (something I need to work upon), so I replied, “I will check out by 9am, please keep my bills ready.”
I had booked my stay for one day through one of those travel portals. I got a slightly cheaper deal. This was an unplanned and a last-minute arrangement, hence the rate was slightly higher in the first place. But the fact that I saved a few bucks made me feel good about the deal. “Smart work, boy,” I said to myself with a cheeky wink.
This was my first-time making reservation through a travel portal and for some reason I missed selecting the option “meals included”, which I realized when the front desk guy told me that only accommodation is included in my package. He kind of mocked me and said, “Sir, you could have selected the meals included option in the same package, sir.” The “smart work” compliment echoed in my head and I said, “yeah, right”.
To cut the short story even shorter, I spent 24 hours in a hotel where I spent almost the same amount on food and beverages. The figures were approximately 4200 for accommodation and around 3500 on FnB. All I was asking for, was, another day for the same price, same deal.
I am sure the person in charge did not take into account my food bills. He was just stuck with the policy and norms of the hotel. And for a meagre amount of 500 bucks. Words that ring in my head are flexibility, smart thinking and logical decision making. A brief look at my expenses in the last 24 hours and simple math would have earned him a fruitful day at work. A delighted customer and a profitable day at work. This is the ultimate goal for anyone in the Hospitality Industry. His boss would have been happy and he would have felt proud about what he did. Oh, and not to mention the housekeeping and room service staff, they could have earned a little tip for themselves, subject to the quality of service though. That’s killing three birds with one stone!
I don’t think it was about money, definitely not for me, and I am inclined to think that it wasn’t for them either. I had other options and I went ahead with them. Proved to be a blessing in disguise, I got a much better deal. And this time, I did not miss the “meals included” option. I did not repeat the same mistake.
