It's Not Always About The Bed - Or Is It?

In the past few years hotel beds have been all the buzz - even before rainforest shower heads and curved shower rods.  They defined brands, were highly touted and marketed and yes even have impact on total room decor.  Whether it’s the deluxe comforter (stuffed with 18 inches of goose down that might actually suffocate a guest) or the luxury bed spread (featured on http://www.closeouts.com/; deeply discounted and in last year's colors).  Oh my and don't forget the bed scarf.  Bed scarf!!  What the heck, since when did a bed, much less a hotel bed, need a scarf?  And then that raises the question what to do with the scarf when you sleep?  I've actually used the darn thing for warmth when the room was sub-zero with no other possible setting.  Then all this bed talk naturally leads us to the pillows – oh wait....this is all so complex – I think pillows may actually require their own blog in the future.

Back to my original question, when it comes to the customer is it really about the bed?  Well you don't know unless you ask.

Wait - ask the customer what's important???  Now that is a novel concept isn't it?  I can't tell you how many times I've said in DBR* "What's important to the customer?" and the sales manager has no idea.  Why - because they haven't asked the questions to find out.  The manager will respond something like “they didn’t say" or "I wanted to check the space first".  I could go on and on with excuses for not asking - but you get the point.

Bottom line 'ya gotta ask' or maybe just listen for clues (listening...oops that brings us to a whole new subject that will indeed require a separate blog) when asking other questions.  Like "where will your attendees be coming from"?  Answer - "most are international and will arrive very late after long flights.....hint here - the bed WILL BE IMPORTANT.  And it didn't even take rocket science to figure that out.  So once you know this will lead you to good ole F & B. No not Food and Beverage, but Features and Benefits.  Yep!

This brings us to Features and Benefits.  I once had a sales manager ask me "is a bed a Feature or a Benefit"?  Good grief you are thinking what an elementary question.  But it's a difficult one if you don't know the answer.  So back to the question....is a bed a Feature or a Benefit?  Well in the words of a former boyfriend, Rick, "YES"!  (This was his usual smart@#! answer to any question with 2 possible answers.)  So, is it F or B?

Let's gather more info from per my good friend - Merriam Webster.

Feature - fea·ture
Pronunciation: \ˈfē-chər\
Function: noun
Definition: a prominent part or characteristic.
Use in a sentence - Our beautiful, fully comforted and scarfed beds are a prominent feature of our nicely appointed and decored guest rooms.  (In other words 'we have a bed like most every other hotel in the universe').

Benefit - ben·e·fit
Pronunciation: \ˈbe-nə-ˌfit\
Function: noun
Definition - a: something that promotes well-being; advantage b: useful aid; help
Use in a sentence - Our beautifully comforted and scarfed beds will be a big benefit to your international travelers after late arrival.  (In other words 'you need to book your group with me because we have the BEST DAMN BEDS in the universe').

Ok got it?  Ask the questions so then you can offer the important features and true benefits to the customer. What will this get you, you ask?  A lot of business and most importantly the answer to:

It's Not AboutThe Bed.....or Is It?

Sweet dreams! Wake me when it's booked.

(*Daily business review - a daily meeting where all potential business is discussed.)