With the publication of “Small gestures in hospitality” we want to provide hospitality entrepreneurs with hospitable gestures that are usable without having to make large investments. An example that we once encountered is, an “Easter Specialty” that appeared in our hotel room during the Greek Easter period, with a little card at which the manager explained its’ symbolism. This felt like a personal gesture and it’s always interesting to get an understanding of local holidays.

1. Small gestures in hospitality
Publication: September 2013
This is a free publication of
Van Spronsen & Partners horeca - advies

2. Preface
Let us introduce ourselves..
Van Spronsen & Partners horeca-advies
Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consulting is part
of the Van Spronsen & Partners group. This group
consists of three more independent companies;
hospitality
payroll
administration,
hospitality
administration and hospitality training. Our slogan is
“think different, act different” and we are active in the
hospitality and leisure market for 26 years. Our
approach is to put our client and his/her goals first.
With the publication of “Small gestures in
hospitality” we want to provide hospitality
entrepreneurs with hospitable gestures that are
usable without having to make large investments.
An example that we once encountered is, an
“Easter Specialty” that appeared in our hotel room
during the Greek Easter period, with a little card at
which the manager explained its’ symbolism. This
felt like a personal gesture and it’s always
interesting to get an understanding of local
holidays.
Within our hospitality consulting we mainly focus on
performing feasibility studies, company audits,
efficiency improvements, development of hospitality
concepts, giving management support and creating
marketing and communications plans.
A while ago I read an article about a hotel manager that invited his guests for a
tour through the city once a week. This way he showed them the city in a
personal, off the beaten path kind of way. Nice gesture and a good response to
the rapidly expanding market of private room rentals. This market seems to be
expanding mostly because guests prefer the personal contact, maybe you could
grab this opportunity to make a connection between your guests and local
hotspots. Which is especially important with the rising trend of Food Sherpas in
big cities.
Besides these activities we publish new industry studies
monthly, where we reveal more depth information about
the different sectors within the hospitality industry in the
Netherlands. Check www.spronsen.com for previously
published studies.
As you are used to by now, this edition also features examples of fellow
entrepreneurs that you can use as inspiration. Personally I enjoy surprising
hospitality the most, that’s where you really get to feel the spirit of the
establishment. If you believe your hospitable gesture is inspiring and you would
like to share, please let us know. We would love to post it to our website
horecatrends.com and spread the news via our social media channels.
For more information on our other companies check;
www.salaris-spronsen.nl, www.rollemapartners.nl and
www.training-spronsen.nl
Marjolein van Spronsen
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3. Food
Alcohol free beverage and food pairing
Restaurant 'In de keuken van Floris' in Rotterdam, The Netherlands,
provides a great example. They treat their guests, because of their 7
year anniversary, with a free wine pairing during their nine-course
dinner. For those who do not drink alcohol, they serve a freshly
squeezed juices arrangement.
Non-alcohol beverages / food pairing? Why not? With Father's Day
my daughter of 14 years got a glass of non-alcoholic wine served at
restaurant Merlet (Schoorl, The Netherlands). A nice gesture from
the restaurant, to give another taste sensation for those who don't
drink alcohol. Those guests who do not drink alcohol, often drink
water during dinner. Because you don’t want to spoil the taste of the
dish. Meanwhile we can see a growth in the market of non-alcoholic
beer in The Netherlands and we see lunch & sandwich shops that
offer non-alcoholic wine at lunch. With this information in mind, there
is certainly a great opportunity for gourmet restaurant to upsell and
offer non-alcoholic beverages pairing. Especially for the designated
driver of the culinary party, it’s a nice gesture.
Food Sherpas
There are more and more Food Sherpas in touristic areas. Food Sherpas are
local people who receive tourists and show them the city. Unlike tourist agencies,
the Food Sherpas lead you to local restaurants where you normally wouldn't
come as a tourist. They take you on a local culinary discovery tour and not only
tell you where to go, but also what to order in restaurants. For example Food
Sherpas can be found in Paris, where they guide tourist to the not so touristy
Paris.
Hotels could set up an agreement with local people to guide the hotel guests
through the most local hotspots. This as reaction to the deployment of an AirBnB
host, because the success of this concept is that tourists can stay at and meet
local people. And again it’s a great gesture to your guests.
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4. Food
Original
Restaurant San Pau, owned by 3 star chef Carme
Ruscalleda, in Sant Pol de Mar, Spainm serves the
“cookies with the coffee” in a small set of trains. Nice
symbolism since the restaurant overlooks the
Mediterranean sea with the disruption of a train
passing by regularly. There is no noise pollution
whatsoever but you get to see a train every now and
then. By making it come back at the table the
restaurant makes this into part of the experience
instead of an annoying characteristic of the location,
people can’t wait to come back for the train now!
Napkins
In fine dining restaurant the waiting staff often refolds
the napkins when guests leaves the table, which is a
hospitable gesture. At Le 7, Bistrot Chic of Anne
Sophie Pic they have chosen a more practical and
creative approach, here you can hang your napkin on
a small hook attached to the table.
Family fun all in one
We published an article about the ‘Pizza-burger’ by ‘Boston Pizza’ on
our website Horecatrends.com. We did mention this burger on
horecatrends in April (kind of a April the 1st joke) but the burger is
launched on the menu in September. Children at the Boston Pizza
receive a mini pizza box by entering the restaurant, containing
coloring pages, games and crayons. Nice small gesture, that can be
taken home of course.
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5. Surprise Surprise!
Towel folding
In our last publication “Royal hospitable gestures” we
showed how towels folded in different shapes, an old
craft, is appreciated by the young and old. The Airport
Hotel Rotterdam took the examples of Ratilanna
Riverside Spa Resort in Chiang Mai as inspiration. They
have started to fold their towels in different shapes and
got a lot of positive responses from their guests, we
especially liked their dog!
Fifty Shades of Grey goodie
Hotel Mainport in Rotterdam is putting in a lot of effort to
separate themselves from competition, they even
specialized their mini-bar assortment. That’s why they are
now offering the Fifty Shades of Grey goodie bag.
Another personal touch in the room is the travel diary
where you can document your travel experiences.
Vouchers
Upon arrival at the Dylan Hotel in Amsterdam every
guest receives a homemade welcome drink. This varies
from an interpretation of ice tea to refreshing lemonades.
During “turn down”-service every guest receives a cooled
bottle of water and a personal mix of nuts or chocolate.
Guests that stay longer, get to enjoy the “long stay
program” where they are surprised with a new small
surprise everyday. Think of a voucher for an ice-cream or
tickets for one of the museums of Amsterdam.
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6. Extra service
Hotel allows guests to shop 24-7
The Mark Hotel in New York recently agreed to an exclusive partnership with fashion store
Bergdorf Goodman that will allow its guests to shop at their store at any time. The hotel
guests will have 24/7 access to the fashion store with a personal shopper. A hospitable
gesture, that’s for sure!
Spa Happy Hour
The Spa at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston has introduced a Spa Happy Hour. Guests and
locals can get USD 30 off at a 60 or 90 minutes massage, facial or body treatment from
Monday through Thursday from 12:00 to 6:30 pm. They can also choose a special Happy
Hour menu that includes free Spa cocktails and snacks. The promotion continues until
December 31, 2013. A new kind of happy hour other than your typical happy hour at a bar.
Hotel offers self cooking boxes
Boutique hotel Affinia Hotels has started a partnership with US online grocer 'FreshDirect' to
offer their guests an extra service. The rooms at the Affinia Hotels are equipped with a
kitchen, separate dining area that allows guests to cook in their hotel room. Therefore the
hotel offers meal packages by FreshDirect, such as the Healthy kit or the Business kit. The
boxes are filled with food like fruits, vegetables, biscuits, dairy products and chips. Guests can
order these boxed when they make the reservation for the hotel room or during their stay.
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7. The Manhattan Hotel Rotterdam
The Manhattan Hotel in Rotterdam offers its guests small hospitable gestures before they come
to the hotel. The Twittering concierge Lesley Klavert informs the guests through Social Media
and they have a personal pickup service from the train station.
Twittering concierge
The Manhattan hotel in Rotterdam is going along with tweeting habits of their clientele. The
hotel is the first hotel in The Netherlands with a tweeting concierge, Lesley Klavert keeps hotel
guests posted on touristic attractions, restaurants, nightlife and events every day between 8
AM – 8 PM. Via twitter account @conciergeRTM hotel guests can also pose their questions,
this way the hotel can be in touch with their guests even before arrival.
Personal pickup service from the train station
Doorman Donald welcomes the hotel guests at Rotterdam Central Station with a smile, he
takes their luggage and accompanies them to the hotel. The most famous person Donald has
picked up so far is Jean Paul Gaultier when he arrived from Paris by Thalys to open his
exhibition in ‘the Kunsthal’.
VIP treatments in style
The Manhattan Hotel Rotterdam is involved in many events like Rotterdam Unlimited, City
Racing Rotterdam and the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. To ensure that all services
are in style, the hotels’ VIP treatments become theme focused. For example during the ABN
AMRO World Tennis Tournament they served yellow/green macaroons.
Personalized bath amenities for VIP guests
The VIP guests of The Manhattan Hotel Rotterdam
are pampered extra with personalized beauty
products of the hotel shop ‘Bibou Organic Products
and Treatments’. The products of Bibou are made in
their own laboratory and are made with passion,
animal-free tested and produced. For special
occasions the bottles are personalized with names
and pictures, to surprise the hotels’ guests.
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8. Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna
The Palais Hansen Kempinski in Vienna offers its guests the opportunity to rent
special “Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna Bikes”. These city bikes were especially
made by the hotel for their guests. The bikes are rented to the guests for free. This
way the hotel offers their guests the perfect way to discover Vienna, healthy and
sustainable.
Furthermore they have their own iPad entertainment system. In every room an iPad is
provided with no additional costs. Guests can use the iPad to order room service,
discover the hotel virtually, operate the lightning or the television. Obviously it can also
be used to surf the internet. The lobby also boasts two iPads for external guests and
the two restaurants use iPads to present their wine lists.
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9. Hotel Des Indes & The Pulitzer hotel
The hospitable gestures a company provides have to match the image
of the hotel. Hotel Des Indes, an original city palace, has welcomed
many royals, aristocrats and celebrities since it’s opening as hotel in
1881. They use a symbol from the past to show their sense of
hospitality. Every room is furnished with an authentic pineapple
chandeliers to provide all guests with a warm welcome.
This is based on the fact that in the 1800’s it was custom to put a
pineapple on tables as a token of hospitality. The Spaniards discovered
that the pineapple symbolizes friendship and hospitality because
pineapples where normally found at the entrance of villages. Also linen,
napkins and carpets were illustrated with pineapples to show the
hospitality of the host of hostess. Hotel Des Indes beautifully reinstated
that symbol in their hotel.
From the Pulitzer hotel we received as a “small hospitable gestures” a
description of their Pulitzers Bar. A gesture that is super easy to
incorporate in your company. Just be awarded the best in town.
They divided their bar in three separate spaces, the Blue Bar where
guests can chat at the bar, the Johnny Walker Black Label Lounge for
a good glass of whiskey and the Red Room for a nice view on the
beautiful Keizersgracht.
Ultimate hospitality, the Pulitzers Bar was recently declared “best five
star hotelbar of Amsterdam 2013” by the newspaper “Parool”. The
Pulitzers Bar is run daily by three passionate barmen; Wajeeh, Nils
and Turgay.
In hospitality it’s vital that your staff carries out your vision. Because in
the hospitality is a combination of beautiful space, quality products
and the personal contact and service.
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10. Social media as sales element
Instagram hotel
After the Twitter hotel in Majorca, the first
Instagramhotel has now been opened in
Australia. Hotel 1888 has 90 rooms decorated
with photos taken by guests and is fully
dedicated to Instagram. When you have more
than 10.000 followers on Instagram you get a
free
stay
at
the
hotel
and
the
guest/photographer of the Instagramphoto (of
the hotel) of the month also receives a free
additional stay. The hotel has a special room
where you can take photos of yourself and
guests are guided through the environment by
an Instagram map.
Smart use of Social Media
These days we see more and more hotels that
use social media in a smart way. The Four
Seasons for example uses Pinterest to get in
touch with their guests before arrival, they bring
their travels to life with Pin.Pack.Go, a new
travel planner on Pinterest. Via Pinterest the
guest can create a Pin.Pack.Go board and
show which Four Seasons hotel they will visit.
You can start following the specific hotel on
Pinterest and they will follow you back, from
that point on that Four Seasons hotel can start
recommending you touristic attractions,
restaurants and shops via pins. Basically the
hotel plans your ideal travel route from
beginning to end via Pinterest. Because of your
Pinterest profile they know your interests and
can personalize all information. An interesting
and renewing way of informing guests before
arrival and it definitely creates more fun
anticipation!
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11. References
www.eloundavillas.com
www.airporthotelrotterdam.nl
Check our inspiration on www.horecatrends.com
www.bibou.nl
www.desindes.nl
www.dylanamsterdam.com
www.kempinski.com/vienna
www.mainporthotel.com
www.manhattanhotelrotterdam.com
www.merlet.nl
www.pic-valance.fr
www.pulitzeramsterdam.com
www.ruscalleda.com
www.coolrooms.nl
www.horecatrends.com:
Alcohol free beverage and food pairing
Food Sherpas
Family fun all in one
A burger wrapped in a pizza
Hotel allows guests to shop 24-7
Instagramhotel
Pin Pack Go travel planner
Spa Happy Hour Four Seasons
Hotel offers self cooking boxes
Twitter concierge
Towel art
Trendpresentations for entrepeneurs and students
On a regular basis we supply trend and inspiration sessions about the
(inter)national developments within the hospitality, marketing, leisure, retail
and experience economy. We have experience in giving presentations for
different audiences, from students to board of directors.
Would you like to apply trends in your own company? We can look at your
current communication channels, provide an inspiration session, together we
determine what is attainable and we will help you with the execution! For more
information, send an email to armandsol@spronsen.com.