It is perhaps no surprise that it was, in Asia, that we most recently found a boutique hotel taking hospitality to new levels of generosity. The power of branding 'experience' in this global tier of hotels is old news. Westin brands its bed. W brands its vibe. Examples abound. But in our constant tracking of luxury consumption trends, we were amazed to discover a tiny boutique hotel in northern Thailand, dubbed the D2, offering a truly unique category of experience to its guests: the daily gift.
Upon arrival in our room, we found a gift box containing two lively sweetened rice cake treats. At first, we interpreted this merely as a welcome gift, something even the Wyndham hotel chain has glommed onto...mainly to make up for its otherwise mediocre experience. Instead, we found that, every day when we returned to the room, a new gift had been placed in the transparent box. And not just food either. Our hotel swag included:
- Herbal ayurvedic massage compresses
- Thai biscuits
- Thai rice cake cookies
- Thai candy
- Incense sticks
The notion of welcoming the hotel guest back to their room each night with a gift struck us as a brilliant extension of the boutique hotel experience, because it gets interpreted as a gift, not as something 'paid for' by the room rate. And, as we know from gift theory class, the gift obligates some form of reciprocration...i.e. spending elsewhere in the hotel.
But the main effect was to take the brand experience to a whole new level with the notion that the guest is welcomed again each day...
Hehe this is definately going to make a great gift!The new hotel swag are amazing.
Sounds great; I'll be sure to use them to book next trip!!
Posted by: Armidale Motel | Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 05:10 AM