Your wish is their command

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This was published 14 years ago

Your wish is their command

Happy pamper ... guests should make the most of the "rock star" treatment.

Happy pamper ... guests should make the most of the "rock star" treatment.Credit: iStock

When the competition heats up ... bring out the champagne and rubber ducks. Hotel guests have rarely had it so good, with venues tripping over themselves to offer personalised services and quirky little extras to stand out from the crowd. From bath toys to sex toys, gourmet snacks to fitness programs, travellers are getting a lot more than just a bed and bathroom. And while some of these services are money-making ventures in their own right, many are offered free as a way of creating a point of difference in the market.

A hotels consultant, Dean Dransfield, believes it has a lot to do with "the rock-star mentality of the average consumer these days".

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"Everyone likes to believe that they're special and that they deserve special treatment," says Dransfield, of Dransfield Hotels & Resorts.

"People have been pampered and treated so well ... the new 'ordinary' is 'unique'."

One of the best examples of hotels going above and beyond for guests is the Affinia group, which has properties in New York, Chicago and Washington DC. Guests can log on to a website ahead of their stay and select from a range of amenities, including acoustic guitars, golf putters, cup cakes and pillows ranging from buckwheat to magnetic therapy. There are also walking kits, including pedometers and pre-loaded iPods, and fitness kits featuring yoga mats and weights.

Another North American property, the Drake Hotel in Toronto, offers a different sort of room service: a "pleasure menu" of sex toys that can be ordered either in advance or called for during the stay. The menu makes for interesting reading but gives the hotel a point of difference.

The VIE Hotel in Bangkok, on the other hand, is banking on sleep being "the new sex", with the introduction of personal sleep consultants who provide advice on the best sleeping positions, relaxation activities, scents and sounds for a good night's sleep, along with tips for adapting to different time zones.

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In Australia, the Hilton Sydney offers a "bathmaster" service, whereby a staff member comes to the room and prepares a bath according to the guest's choices, while Fraser Suites Sydney has aligned itself with a fitness company to provide free fitness assessments to some guests. Quest Serviced Apartments offers its guests a "pantry shopping service", allowing them to pre-order their favourite cereal or dinner ingredients ready for their arrival.

Many of the services on offer are based on the idea that men need a bit of help in the romance department. The InterContinental Fiji, for example, slips male guests a "romantic options" card with suggestions for romantic gestures and experiences during a stay.

Other hotels are wooing families with services for children. The Athenaeum Hotel in London has a children's concierge service to cater for little people's whims, from ice-cream to a kite to fly in the park. The Bedruthan Steps Hotel in Cornwall offers a bedtime reading service, so parents can dine in peace downstairs.

Many hotels have rebadged the traditional concierge service to encourage guests to ask for anything that will improve their stay.

The W Hotel in Hong Kong has branded it the Whatever/Whenever service, while The Sarojin resort in Thailand employs a full-time "imagineer", who can organise anything from wedding proposals to adventure activities.

Dransfield warns that travellers shouldn't become too accustomed to the rock-star treatment, with many of these services likely to disappear again.

He believes some services will stick but others will come and go in a cyclical fashion: "At the moment the consumer is the winner but I think we'll get over it."

Ask and receive

Learning to ask for what you need is a valuable skill when staying in hotels.

Many travellers are uncomfortable about asking for special treatment but hotel staff can be remarkably adept at solving problems, from a forgotten toothbrush to a forgotten anniversary.

Hotel staff have been known to do anything from lending suits to wedding guests who have lost their luggage to sourcing items for dubious in-room activities. So if your problem is an uncomfortable pillow or a funny odour in the room, don't be afraid to ask.

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