Last week I wrote a post entitled “Hospitality Happens At The Margins.” The post was based in part on a Bloomberg interview with a Starwood VP, who was emphasizing the importance of basically “customizing” stays, because apparently 2% of their guests generate 30% of their profits. I explained that a large portion of my perception of travel brands isn’t shaped by the 90% of the time that stuff goes as planned, but rather the few times that an employee goes out of their way to make me smile.
I gave the example of the hotel I frequent more than any other — the Grand Hyatt Tampa — and how they surprised me last week with a welcome amenity consisting of Diet Coke with lime and nuts. I’ve always chosen points as the amenity at this property so certainly wasn’t expecting that. Not only was it a great gesture as such, but the attention to detail is what really put a smile on my face — the limes, the fact that it was Diet Coke rather than Diet Pepsi (which is the Hyatt brand standard), and the nuts. Those are three of my favorite things!
Now here’s something that actually made my jaw drop.
I’ve spent the past four nights at the Walt Disney World Dolphin in Orlando, and they had a decent breakfast.
The downside to the breakfast was that it was character themed, which made me want to cry, frankly.
The highlight of the breakfast buffet, though, was the “top it yourself” yogurt parfait bar. They had yogurt, and then you could add as much granola and berries to the yogurt as you wanted, to basically make your own parfait.
Literally this morning at breakfast I mentioned to a friend how much I love yogurt parfaits. I don’t think I’ve ever publicly professed that before, for what it’s worth.
Fast forward to this afternoon, when I checked into the Grand Hyatt Tampa, and a few minutes after I get to my room, I receive the below amenity.
Creepy awesome, coincidence, or creepy awesome coincidence? 😀
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