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Hotel Check-In Desks Check Out

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 6, 2006

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Hotel check-in desks are following the buffalo nickel and Sunday doubleheader into the dustbin of history.

In an effort to appear more customer-friendly -- especially to the rising base of young Generation X and Generation Y travelers -- hotels are trying to give the often-tedious check-in process a more personal touch.

The result is properties with check-in "stations," often individual pods staffed by an agent with a computer, plus expanded job descriptions that allow employees to provide not only check-in services but such concierge-type duties as restaurant recommendations.

By removing long desks that some guests considered imposing, hotels are not only saving space but saving face -- or at least putting on a friendlier one that they had previously.

Already, there are more pods and more concierge-type services at many Hyatts. Westin, an upscale property that switched to pods, even has a 5-and-10 rule that encourages employees to spend at least five minutes with guests and walk 10 steps with them -- perhaps pointing them in the direction of an elevator.

InterContinental's Indigo brand, designed for the boutique market, has staffers greet guests, provide directions, or find waiting spaces in hotel lobbies. Like the Holiday Inn, which has initiated the change at more than a half-dozen properties, the check-in desk is semicircular -- as opposed to the rectangular models guests considered to be barriers.

Embassy Suites tries to have one pod per 50 rooms and has increased lobby space (often up to 40%) by removing the old-style front desk. Wyndham will do the same thing late next year.

Coming soon are an open-air desk from Marriott, which plans to introduce it in New York by 2008, and employees trained to read guest body language -- and do whatever it takes to make them feel more relaxed and comfortable.

Underlying the industry-wide change is a desire to sell more food and drink -- possibly by expanding lobby bars and cajoling guests into lingering in lobbies longer.

Switching to pods doesn't always speed the check-in process but often makes it more personal and more inviting, according to both hotel executives and guests. Both agree that happy guests often become repeat guests.

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