3 Standout Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Guests

(And Increase the Value of Your Bookings)

3 Standout Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Guests

By Samantha Hardcastle

Chocolates on the pillow at night, towels twisted into lovebirds, a surprise bottle of champagne... Do the same things that surprised and delighted guests a decade ago still have the same oomph today? The truth is, when something becomes expected, it is no longer a surprise and no longer delivers the same level of heightened delight.

As hospitality hosts, falling into autopilot mode with the little details can be easy. However, the magic of hospitality exists outside of the mechanical, everyday operations.

According to The Power of Moments, New York Times bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath, "Novelty and surprise stretches time. It makes a moment feel longer because we're more emotionally invested in it. Meanwhile when we see or engage with things that are commonplace, we really don't pay much attention."

Fascinating your guests not only gets you attention, it also brings you more money. This, according to #1 Global Brand Guru and Hall of Fame Speaker, Sally Hogshead in her internationally acclaimed book Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation. For example, Hogshead found that people will spend 3 times more money for an experience that they find intensely captivating and will pay upwards of 400% more to be fascinated. According to her study, only 40% of people found their lives fascinating, and most people will go to great expense for experiences that help them become more fascinating.

How can you start engaging your guests and really make the experience more remarkable? There are three major opportunities for surprise and delight that successful properties pay attention to.

1. Identify and Elevate Important Touchpoint with Your Guests

Touchpoints are what you might consider the thoughtful micro-moments and tangible sensory details of an experience. A cup of your signature tea blend upon arrival, for example. Everything a guest encounters during their stay could be considered a touchpoint. The best touchpoints are ones that break the mold and elicit a heightened emotional response.

The key to curating authentic touchpoints that surprise and delight guests is to ensure the touchpoint is reflective of your property's personality and your destination's culture. This is one way to switch things up and deviate from the norm. Do something that you're already doing but add some personality and local charm to it.

Put yourself in your guests' shoes and go through the entire guest experience — from start to finish. Where are there lulls or moments where things could use some excitement? For example, how can you welcome guests in a way that makes them feel like their vacation has begun? Maybe upon check-in you provide them with a ‘rulebook' that pokes fun at traditional hotel rules and encourages a playful attitude in your guests.

As for the chocolate on the pillow, maybe you'll realize that a sweet treat right before bed actually isn't what your guests desire. Instead, maybe your guests actually would love to be surprised in those few hours before dinner with something interesting. It doesn't always have to be food! Food is likely the least surprising offering in hospitality (even though it is often appreciated).

If your property is looking to embrace more of the well-being angle, maybe you surprise them with a custom essential oil blend on their nightstand to help them sleep that they can take home. Or if your property attracts more of a creative crowd, how about a little set of art supplies that they can journal with during their downtime on the trip?

2. Provide Spaces that Enhance Your Brand

How engaging are your gathering spaces? Do you have unexpected ways for your guests to connect and experience the local culture? For example, a lobby always has certain predictable elements — comfy chairs, reading material, art to look at... but what if you took it to the next level?

What would that look like? Align your spaces with your guests' passions & motivations for traveling. If they are nature lovers, could you create a hummingbird garden with dozens of feeders that attract this magnificent little creature? If they have a passion for antiquing, why not show off a fun collection of something like that and the stories behind them?

Recently seen on the new Netflix show, The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, this property in Bali takes advantage of an exceptional common space. Many of the furnishings are made from recycled materials. The Firefly Eco Lodge Bamboo Birdsnest focuses less on the sleeping spaces, only accessible from a bamboo ladder and certainly not for every guest, and more on the environment of sustainability they built throughout the other multi-use rooms on the property. Guests are allowed to embrace the outdoors as this property blends nature throughout, with an outdoor shower, open air dining room, and comfortable swing just off the pool, which calls to guests to lounge and relax.

Whatever your guests have an affinity for, make space for it at your property. Art/decor is just one way to engage your guests. How can you modify a space to engage more of the other senses – taste, touch, sound, smell?

Go around to each of the spaces in your property and ask yourself:

What value is my guest getting out of this?
What ISN'T delivering value in this space? Is the space lacking story? Does it feel nondescript and without purpose?
How could we make this space more __________? Fill in the blank with whatever it is you want your guests to feel/experience when they are with you. For some properties, the ultimate question will be, "How can we make this space more fascinating and fun?" For other properties, the question will be, "How can we make this space more of a connection hub, where people can really bond?" Or "How can we make this space more inspiring to those seeking to reconnect to their purpose?"

The questions you can ask yourself are endless, depending on your goals for your property. If you really want to have some fun with your brainstorming session, imagine what your property would be like if you turned it into an interactive museum. Museums are great at presenting a curated experience to their patrons, and the hospitality industry is beginning to mimic the way they engage visitors.

3. Arrange Your Experiences to Evoke Charm and Authenticity

Wine & cheese happy hour, s'mores around the campfire, special picnic packages, these have become standard offerings at many properties around the world. While of course these can be fun, they often lose their charm the 10th time around if they are done without thoughtfulness or creativity.

Creating experiences, workshops, and programming is a great way to engage guests, surprise them, AND increase the value of your bookings. You can begin to make your experiences more unique in a few different ways – my personal favorite is collaboration.

Who do you know in your destination that brings something unique to the table? Perhaps they are an entertainer, artist, craftsperson, maker, storyteller, what have you. Find ways to collaborate with them to create a remarkable experience for your guests! Act as a curator for your guests, and bring the local culture to them.

If you still want to offer some of the more expected experiences, then find ways to make them a bit unexpected. Really love the idea of offering a picnic package? Then find ways (again) to infuse it with more personality and passion. If you know your guests have an affinity for mystery novels and movies, why not turn it into a mystery picnic? You can incorporate clues into it and turn it into a real live mystery for them to solve. Or you could include some blindfolds and encourage them to eat without their sense of sight!

Airbnb experiences are a great place to look for inspiration. Talk about a unique picnic, on Airbnb you can partake in a vegetarian picnic with Pickles the pig, then hop on a bike (where the pig will ride in his attached stroller) and go to a local park where the pig will perform his favorite tricks including scent-training games.

Sound too outlandish for your guests? Perhaps, but there will always be people who want to picnic with a pig. Keep this in mind when you're creating your experiences and considering ways to make them unique and surprising. The more you know about your guests, their likes/dislikes, their values, their passions, the more you can truly delight them.

Summary

As a property manager it is your responsibility to look for inspiration everywhere around your area. Bring that sense of place to your guests to transport them to the narrative you have crafted. Thought and attention should go into each decision you make. The aromas provided at check, the music playing in the background in the lobby, and the decor on the walls should all receive the same care and attention.

1. Consider each phase of the traveler journey. Identify the different touch points and review with your team how you can take those to the next level. Brainstorm ways how you can surprise and delight your guests at check in, mid-stay and at check out. How can you have the experience you built transcend the walls of your building and have a lasting impression on your guests long after they are gone?

2. Every good story starts with a good setting. The same is true for your property. When people describe their favorite book, they picture in their minds where it took place often with a sense of nostalgia as if they were there. When it comes to your property, they were actually there. The first impression people will tell their friends and family are of the space and place you have created - make it great.

3. Does your property even provide experiences? Or is it just a place to sleep? If that's the case, consider ways to shake that mindset and look for ways to enrich the lives of your guests by transforming their vacation in meaningful ways.

If you're struggling to understand your guests and what they value, or know your guests well but are having a hard time turning that knowledge into creative stand-out ideas, there is hope.

One of the resources I've found to be helpful is the Spark 5-Star Success Pathway. This course is designed with hospitality hosts in mind that are ready to elevate their guest experience with more thoughtful touchpoints, spaces, and experiences. Or if you need more hands-on help, there are companies out there that can help you with your experience offerings, like The Storied Experience.

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