Key Features of the Best Business Hotels
Gary Chisholm, about.com, 1/16/2007
Not every hotel is built for business travelers. Some hotels are simply geared for leisure travelers, and place a higher focus on different features than those in a business hotel. Some important features of a great business hotel are as follows:
- Location: Hotels that are situated near an airport or located in a city's business district usually cater to business travelers. Airport hotels rarely offer much on scenery, but they make up for it with convenient location. This feature is why many recruiters typically schedule interviews in airport hotels. It is easier to fly in, meet several candidates, catch up on work in the business center, and fly back out.
- Internet Access: Most hotels offer some form of Internet access whether it's use of the business center's computer, high-speed access in the room, or wireless hotspots. However, the best business hotels focus on this feature upfront. For example, the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers actually incorporated a Yahoo Link Cafe in the hotel with five or six terminals for easy access. Personally, I also prefer hotels that offer complementary access.
- Quick, Customer Service: Hotel professionals are in the business of providing good customer service. Business hotels make the important distinction of offering good customer service quickly and efficiently. A guest's needs must be met quickly so that he or she can focus on the professional reasons they are there in the first place. At the Westminster Hotel in Morristown, New Jersey, I had a shirt that needed to be ironed in less than fifteen minutes so that I could reach an important meeting. The iron in the room was not working, and I was beside myself. One quick call to the front desk, and a hotel staffperson was at my door in five minutes with an iron. I made my meeting in no time.
- Easy Transportation: Business travelers need to be places on time and with minimal hassle. The best business hotels usually offer transportation shuttles to major business areas, or assist travelers with securing taxis or private cars.
- 110% Effort: The best business hotels allow travelers to focus on their jobs by sweating the small and big stuff. Four years ago, on a business trip to the W Hotel in Chicago, I lost my luggage and would have been without a suit for a big meeting the next day. The hotel staff went shopping for me and picked out an excellent outfit, dress shoes and belt in time for my meeting. In a separate trip to Washington, D.C., the concierge at The Jefferson Hotel offered to call Brooks Brothers and have them open early so I could purchase a suit in time for a meeting. The extra level of service in these two examples illustrates the above and beyond service that marks an excellent business hotel.
These five features are just a few traits of a great business hotel. If a hotel can hit all these points and provide you with a restful night's sleep, you should perform admirably on that next business trip.