Providing additional services at the hotel. Additional hotel services you should know about. What do you have the right to demand from hotels depending on the star rating?

There are many free amenities in hotel rooms just waiting for adventurous travelers to take advantage of them.

Since many of these items are not included in the rooms, guests often don't even realize they are available, and available for free!

Business Insider journalists spoke with representatives hotel chains Hilton Worldwide and Starwood Hotels and Resorts have teamed up to put together a list of free hotel extras you should know about so you can take advantage of them on your next trip.

(Photo: Justin in SD via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA)

It turns out that you can get a lot of things for free at the hotel - from renting a GoPro camera to curling irons delivered directly to your room:

Better pillows
Car rental
Yoga mats
E-books
Ziploc bags
Night lights
Entertainment for children
GoPro rental
Board games
Sports accessories
Special offers

Additional services in hotels in more detail

Phone chargers and adapters

If you forgot your charger at home or simply don't have a suitable adapter, go to the front desk - they have spares.

Hotels offering free charging include Kimpton, Hyatt and Sheraton Puerto Rico, which recently introduced chargers for the most different models phones.

Better pillows

Some hotels offer a "menu" of pillows that allow guests to choose a pillow of their choice based on firmness, shape and sleeping habits.

Some pillows help reduce snoring, while others are ideal for those peaceful mornings when you want to snuggle up in bed. The Conrad hotel chain allows guests to choose the right pillow or even reserve their favorite pillows through the mobile concierge app. Acqualina Resort & Spa also offers this service free of charge.

For those ladies who forgot to put curling or straightening irons in their suitcase, some hotels are ready to help out. In hotels of the Hyatt, Kimpton and W Paris-Opéra chains, a similar service is included in the list of free services upon request.

Car rental

Free rental of a high-quality car. Thompson Chicago has a deal with Lexus that allows guests to test drive vehicles such as the LS 460 executive sedan, the luxury 8-passenger crossover or the IS 350 convertible for four hours.

Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa offers 3 Porsche models: 911 Convertible, Panamera Hybrid and Cayenne GTS, which can be used for up to 4 hours a day after pre-booking with a hotel employee.

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel has access to a chauffeured Rolls-Royce Phantom on a first-come, first-served basis from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The driver will take you anywhere within a 5 km radius.

Yoga mats

For those who like to exercise and when traveling, hotels have prepared yoga mats that you can rent for free and use in your room.

Hyatt hotels and Affinia hotels in New York and Washington and W Retreat & Spa on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, are just a few of the hotels that offer free mats.

A sewing kit is a lifesaver in cases where a hole appears on your clothing or a button suddenly comes off. Fortunately, many hotels will always have such a set if someone suddenly needs it.

Here are some hotels that provide sewing kits as gifts to guests: W South Beach, W Retreat & Spa on Vieques Island (Puerto Rico), Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, Casa Marina.

E-books

Trump Soho, Revere Hotel Boston Common, and The James New York are just a few of the many hotels where you can relax by the pool with your e-reader rental in the summer.

Toothpaste and mouthwash

Basic personal hygiene items such as mouthwash or toothpaste are often provided at hotels. Conrad Hotels, Waldorf Astoria, Best Western and many others offer them as company gifts.

Guests also often find shaving cream and dental floss in their rooms.

Perhaps your nail polish chipped off during your trip, or you didn't have time to remove it before leaving. In any case, nail polish remover wipes will help solve the problem - and for free.

If necessary, they are provided at Affinia hotels, Omni hotels and Wyndham hotels.

Ziploc bags

Ziploc plastic bags are good for packing before departure. Some companies, including Oil Nut Bay and Kimpton, offer them at no extra cost.

Night lights

For those traveling with children or who want to make their room brighter, some hotels, such as the Kimpton and Aqualina Resort & Spa, may offer a night light.

Entertainment for children

Instead of packing all of your child's toys on the road, try asking for new ones when you check into your hotel. Many hotel chains offer baby treats, from crayons and geographic scratch maps (which you can use to mark the places you've been) to bath toys.

AlSol Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Waikoloa Village, and Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort will keep your kids entertained. And besides, it's completely free.

GoPro rental

When additional outlets are needed, the best solution is an extension cord. Don't take too much with you, just ask at the front desk the next time you're at the hotel. Some hotels definitely have them.

The Hilton West Palm Beach and Kimpton hotels are just a few.

Board games

Whether for children or adults, most hotels have prepared board games for their guests. If someone suddenly wants to play, the game will be brought directly to the room by employees of the Dorchester Collection and Corinthia Hotel. Or you can take part in a board game competition - for example, at the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort.

Sports accessories

In addition to yoga mats, there are many other sports equipment that you can rent. For example, Westin hotels have an agreement with New Balance, a sportswear manufacturer, that the hotel chain can sell their brand of shoes and clothing to guests for as little as $5. Just indicate the size of your clothes and shoes, and the order will be delivered to your room.

Hyatt hotels offer free dumbbells to their guests, and Hilton Garden Inn- your Stay Fit Kit as a gift - it includes elastic bands for Pilates, a yoga mat, wrist straps, large elastic balls (fitballs), 1.5 kg dumbbells, expanders.

Special offers

Some hotels organize special events and even organize courses. So when checking into a hotel, be sure to ask the hotel staff about the opportunities you can take advantage of during your stay.

A few examples of such offers: free Spanish courses at the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort, glowing bocce balls and other outdoor play equipment at the Hilton West Palm Beach.

Based on materials from Business Insider.

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9.2. Hotel services

Accommodation services are a product of the activities of hotels or any other enterprise intended for accommodation. The state standard GOST R 51185-98 "Tourist services. Accommodation facilities. General requirements" defines hotel services. Accommodation services are the activities of the contractor in accommodating tourists and providing hotel, special (medical, health, sanatorium, sports, tourist, etc.) services.

The main feature of the hotel product is that the client does not have ownership of the product he uses. The characteristic features of the service are identified that determine the specifics of accommodation services.

A service is a process that occurs over time. The specificity of hotels is that problems related to production must be resolved quickly. In today's environment, customers demand fast service.

Services provided in hotels are divided into basic and additional. They can be free or paid.

Basic services include accommodation and food. Registration of those staying at the hotel and those leaving it must be done around the clock. In catering, communications and consumer services organizations (located in a hotel), persons staying in the hotel are served out of turn.

The following types of services can be provided to guests at no additional charge:

Calling an ambulance;
- use of a first aid kit;
- delivery to the correspondence number upon receipt;
- wake-up at a certain time;
- provision of boiling water, needles, threads, one set of dishes and cutlery.

In addition to mandatory and free services, hotels provide a whole range of various additional services that are paid additionally. The list and quality of paid additional services must meet the requirements of the category assigned to the hotel. Medium and large tourist complexes (tourist hotels, full-service hotels, etc.) with an average and high level of comfort are characterized by the presence of a huge list of additional services:

Catering services (bar, restaurant, cafe, buffet, beer bar);
- shops (souvenir, grocery), vending machines;
- entertainment infrastructure (disco, casino, night club, slot machine hall, billiard room);
- excursion services, guide-translator services;
- organizing the sale of tickets to theaters, circuses, concerts, etc.;
- child care, provision of tutors and nannies who speak the child’s native language;
- caring for animals that travel with their owners;
- transport services (booking tickets for all types of transport, ordering vehicles at the request of guests, calling a taxi, car rental);
- purchase and delivery of flowers;
- sale of souvenirs, postcards and other printed materials;
- consumer services (shoe repair and cleaning; repair and ironing of clothes; dry cleaning and laundry services; storage of things and valuables; unloading, loading and delivery of luggage to the room; rental of cultural and household items - televisions, dishes, sports equipment, etc.; repair of watches, household appliances, radio equipment; hairdressing salon, manicure and massage services and other household services);
- services of beauty salons and hairdressing salons;
- sauna, bathhouse, swimming pools, gym;
- rent of meeting rooms, conference halls;
- business center services;
- currency exchange;
- other services.

A system of measures that ensure a high level of comfort and satisfy the various household and economic needs of guests is called service in the hotel industry. The service must be built not only on the principle of demand (what the guest wants), but also on the principle of supply (the hotel offers new services that it can provide, and the guest chooses). But you cannot force services. The consumer has the right to refuse to pay for services not provided for in the contract. It is also prohibited to condition the performance of some services on the mandatory provision of other services.

The list of services depends on the hotel category. Not all hotels have the opportunity to organize personal services for guests and provide them with a full range of services. However, everywhere they should strive to ensure that the range of services fully meets the needs of guests.

Businesses providing services must be located in an accessible location (most often on the ground floor). There should be information in the lobby, on the floors, in the rooms about how and where to get services, and the opening hours should be convenient for guests.

When providing services, not only their quantity is important, but also their quality. Therefore, in many hotels, upon departure, residents are asked to fill out short questionnaires, which are submitted to the reception service, and then they are studied by the advertising and marketing service.

Services provided by hotel enterprises are divided into basic and additional. The main services of the hotel include accommodation services.

Additional services are services provided by a hotel enterprise to the consumer for an additional fee, with the exception of free additional services. Additional types of services are divided into additional free services and additional paid services. The “Rules for the provision of hotel services” regulate the list of additional services that the hotel enterprise is obliged to provide to the consumer without additional payment. This list includes the following services:

- Call an ambulance.
- Use of a first aid kit.
- Providing boiled water, needles, threads, one set of dishes and cutlery in the room at the guest’s request.
- Delivery to the correspondence number upon receipt. Guest mail may include regular or registered mail, packages and parcels, telegrams, telexes, faxes, courier mail, and personal notes left for guests. The classification system for hotels and other accommodation facilities provides for postal and tariff services for guests in all hotels, regardless of their category, including the delivery of correspondence. For guests staying in all 4 and 5 star hotels, the dispatch and delivery of registered mail is provided; and for guests staying in a 5-star hotel there is also telefax delivery. All correspondence received in the name of guests is stamped. The stamp indicates the time and date of receipt. Mail is usually placed in a special box at the reception desk. The guest must be immediately informed of the receipt of correspondence addressed to him. If correspondence was received before the guest’s arrival, a note about this must be made in the room reservation log and handed over immediately upon arrival. Unclaimed mail is stamped again and returned to the sender. Guests can also receive registered letters, express parcels or other postal items, upon receipt of which a signature is required. This signature is left by the administrator on duty with a simultaneous entry in the shift log, and then ask the guest to sign upon receipt. Mail arriving after a guest's departure must be sent to the guest's permanent address. During the stay of guests, speed is essential for fax transmission, safety for registered mail, integrity for parcels; Each type of mail requires its own standard procedures.
- Wake up the guest at a certain time. Very often, guests need a morning wake-up call. When a client receives a wake-up request, the administrator must fill out a “Wake-Up” service form. The administrator on duty is responsible for providing this service. A big advantage for a hotel is to be equipped with an automatic wake-up system, since even for a small hotel, waking up with the help of a telephone operator can be a problem, since most guests ask to be woken up at the same time - 7 o'clock.

Many hotels also provide the following services at no additional charge.

- Preparation and delivery of tea and coffee to your room (not including the cost of tea, coffee, sugar).
- The provision of a baby cot in the room is carried out by the housekeeping service.
- Call a taxi from the city taxi service. When a taxi order is received from the city service, the hotel administrator who accepted the order must fill out the “Order a Taxi” service form. The administrator on duty is responsible for the performance of this service.
- Toe cap hand luggage at the guest's request. Meeting and greeting arriving guests, unloading, loading and delivering luggage to the room are the first responsibilities of hotel employees. When leaving the hotel, luggage delivery from the room to the car is also organized. These services are free, however, as a rule, they are paid for with tips - the hotel organizes a queue of bellboys in order to receive the same tips.
- Providing information on booking tickets to theaters and entertainment halls and other information. Such information is provided to the guest by the reception service or information desks located in the hotel lobby. Each hotel room, as a rule, has a folder containing information about the possibility of obtaining these services. To make it easier for their consumers to navigate, some hotels publish and provide information guides to guests. Such directories usually include simplified maps of the city, telephone numbers for taxis, airports, train stations, banks, churches, various shops, schedules of the most important, recurring events and other information. A computer information terminal is installed in the lobby of some hotels for this purpose. This ensures that guests are less likely to distract staff from their main work and save their time.

For an additional fee, hotels provide different kinds services. These are household, transport, sports, business services, tourist and excursion, entertainment and other types of services.

Let's look at the main ones.

Domestic services:

1. Laundry services (washing, dry cleaning, ironing, clothing repair). If a guest wants to hand over clothes for washing or cleaning, he must put them in a bag and hang a special sign on the door handle of the room or tell the floor attendant about this. Orders for clothing repairs are processed in a similar way. Laundry and cleaning order forms are available in each room. There are also instructions on how to hand over your clothes for washing. Items handed over from 8.00 to 12.00. must be ready on the same day from 17.00 to 20.00 hours. Laundry operating hours: washing and ironing open seven days a week, dry cleaning all days except Saturday, Sunday and holidays. An iron and ironing board can be rented upon request.
2. Urgent repairs and shoe cleaning. Many hotels have shoe repair shops. Shoe cleaning machines are installed in the lobbies of upscale hotels.
3. Storage of personal belongings of residents:

Luggage storage. When accepting items, the employee responsible for this area of work records the guest's name, room number, number of pieces of luggage, luggage storage period and issues a corresponding luggage token. As a rule, storage of hand luggage of no more than two pieces is provided free of charge, storage of items large dimensions is made for a fee according to the tariff.

Deposit cells (safes). This is one of the ways to store valuables. They are located in the reception area. The principle of operation of the deposit safe is that there are two keys, one of which is kept by the administrator, the other is given to the guest. It is possible to open the locker only if both keys are available, that is, in the presence of the guest and the hotel employee. When using a safe deposit box, you must comply with a number of formalities and maintain appropriate documentation.

Individual electronic safes located in the guest room, in a place convenient for the guest. In some hotels the cost of use is included in the room price, but in most hotels it is additional paid services. hotel tourist service trend

Household services also include rental of cultural and household items (dishes, towels, sports equipment and others), as well as minor repairs of watches, electric shavers, radio, film, and photographic equipment; photographic works.

Transport services. Transport services are one of the important types of services in modern hotel complexes. These include: booking tickets, ordering a taxi, renting a car.

1. Booking tickets for various types of transport. Currently, ticket booking is carried out using the latest information technologies. Some global computer networks have achieved great success in this. American companies are the main supplier of software for European systems. Thus, the System One company provides programs for the Amadeus system.

Currently, the largest hotel companies, travel agencies and computer system manufacturers are striving to create a super-global unified computer reservation system. Airfare accounts for the bulk of bookings. Booking tickets for various types of transport is carried out with the help of travel companies, usually located in the hotel lobby, or the travel company has direct contact with companies providing ticket booking services.

2. Car rental. The provision of this service is subject to certain requirements. The tourist must be at least 21 years old and not exceed 70 years old. The rental service employee is presented with a passport and driver's license (Russian or international). By the time the contract is concluded, the certificate must be valid for at least two years. In some countries, customer service is provided only if there is availability. credit card. The rental price depends on the class of the car. Before signing a car rental agreement, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself in detail with what is included in the rental price. Typically, rental fees include: unlimited mileage of the car; delivery of a car to a tourist within the city; repair or replacement of a vehicle in the event of a technical malfunction (except for damaged tires, windshield or engine); full insurance in case of a traffic accident not due to the driver’s fault (if at the time of the traffic accident the driver was intoxicated, insurance is not paid); insurance covering damage caused to the car in a traffic accident due to the fault of the client; insurance for passengers (except the driver) against accidents; taxes. For an additional fee, you can purchase the right to drive a car with a second driver.
3. Taxi ordering. The hotel provides the guest with the opportunity to order a taxi in two ways: using the services of the city taxi service or providing the hotel's own taxis.

When ordering a taxi from the city service, the hotel administrator who accepted the order issues a card containing the following information: hotel name, room number, car number, time, destination. The card is issued by the administrator who works on the ground floor of the hotel. The completed card is given to the driver, since the guest may be a foreigner. Payment for the taxi is made by the guest himself to the taxi driver - depending on the route of the trip.

If the hotel has its own taxi service, the guest’s order is transferred by the administrator directly to the service. At the same time, a card is also issued and given to the driver. The hotel’s own taxi service is organized if the hotel has its own parking lot and garage Vehicle. All cars have a hotel logo (name, emblem), taxi service telephone number, and so on. As a rule, each hotel provides parking services, since many clients travel by own cars.

Business services. Business center services:

- use of satellite long-distance, international telephone and fax communications;
- copying, laminating, stitching;
- providing the guest with a computer for use or installing a computer in the room (at the guest’s request), performing work on the computer;
- provision of translation work (written translation, simultaneous interpreter services);
- provision of secretary and stenographer services;
- editing;
- rental of video and audio equipment;
- ability to work on the Internet;
- rental of special premises for conferences, meetings, negotiations, presentations with simultaneous translation systems, including equipment for teleconferences. The business center is open 24 hours a day or on weekdays from 7.30 to 23.00, on weekends and holidays- from 9.00 to 200.

Service bureau services include:

- order train tickets, reservation of seats and confirmation of reservation for flights;
- organization of excursions and tours, booking tickets and organizing visits to theaters, concert halls, museums, exhibitions, stadiums;
- provision of information and reference material and other services.
- Service bureau operating hours: around the clock or on weekdays - from 7.30 to 23.00, on weekends and holidays - from 9.00 to 200.

Sports and recreation services:

- Sports and fitness center services. The sports and fitness center is a range of services, including the use of indoor and outdoor swimming pools, visiting solariums, swimming pools with hydromassage, jacuzzi, saunas (Turkish, Finnish), gyms, as well as massage, aerobics, water aerobics, etc. Visitors to the wellness center are provided with bathrobes, slippers, towels, and personal hygiene products. A mandatory requirement is the presence of experienced specialists (trainers, medical workers) with appropriate qualifications.
- Beauty salon services (hairdressing, cosmetology, manicure and massage rooms). If desired, the guest can be served in the room; in this case, these services have an extra charge.

Tourist and excursion services. Almost every modern hotel has an excursion and tourism bureau and a translation agency. They provide translation services, conducting excursions around the city or region, selling tour packages to various regions country or abroad.

Communication services. Telephone city, long-distance and international communications must be carried out around the clock. Sometimes telephones installed in rooms are equipped with a signal indicator light, this is a conventional sign that there is a message addressed to the guest at the reception service. These conventions must be known to hotel residents.

You can also highlight trade services provided by various retail outlets located on the hotel premises.

High-class hotels are required to provide special services to such categories of consumers as disabled people, blind people, people with disabilities, old people, children. Guests using a wheelchair must be able to access all areas of the hotel. For every 50-100 regular rooms, there is one room specially adapted for a disabled person in a wheelchair: the wheelchair can enter the bathroom, which also has an internal telephone in case the disabled person needs help from staff.

Some expensive hotels provide the guest with the services of a personal servant who looks after the guest’s wardrobe.

Thus, the services provided at the hotel can be divided into several levels:

- the main hotel product (rooms and minimum requirements for them);
- related hotel product: services or goods necessary for the consumer to use the main product (telephones, laundry/dry cleaning services, transportation, etc.);
- an additional hotel product that gives the main product additional benefit and helps to distinguish this product from the offerings of competitors (for example, a beauty salon, a cinema and concert hall, a tour desk, etc.).

The composition of additional services in the tourist and hotel complex is not limited to the above list of additional services. Modern hotels strive to expand the range of additional services offered as much as possible.

Thus, today we can identify the following main trends in the development of modern hotel industry:

1. Extending the scope of interests of the hotel business to products and services previously provided by enterprises in other industries (for example, catering, leisure, entertainment, exhibition activities). Development of such segments of the hospitality industry as the entertainment industry, including the gambling business, theme parks, congress activities have transformed previously unattractive resort and tourist areas into fashionable tourist destinations.
2. The growing democratization of the hotel industry, which greatly contributes to increasing the availability of hotel services for the mass consumer. If previously the differences between hotels of different classes were significant, now the bar for the “lowest standard” has been significantly raised: even fairly cheap hotels provide high-quality service and a minimum set of amenities.
3. Strengthening the specialization of the hotel business makes it possible to more clearly target certain consumer segments, taking into account various characteristics. Thus, taking into account the price level, three segments were clearly defined - low (budget), medium (economical) and high (luxury). In addition, segmentation is carried out by purpose of travel, by age, by type of work activity of consumers and by other characteristics.
4. Widespread introduction of new means of communication and information technologies. All this ultimately contributes to solving the problems of loading hotel enterprises.

Large hotels offer their potential guests to take tours of hotels without leaving home. Thus, website visitors can get acquainted with the interiors of hotels, menus of restaurants and bars, and receive a variety of background information.

Thus, the main trends listed above in the modern development of the hotel industry are ultimately aimed at solving the main problems:

- search for your own competitive advantages;
- creating a stable clientele through the ability to find your consumer;
- searching and creating new ways of development, constantly updating our own policies, taking into account the dynamically developing market of hotel and tourism services.

The hotel business is a separate sphere that provides for the provision of intangible services to guests. The hotel business is inextricably linked with the region tourist recreation in the country, business tourism. Optimal, well-established functioning of a modern hotel is impossible without increasing the number of services provided, since development will certainly entail increased costs and the need to improve the quality of service. The main product of hotels

The direct purpose of each hotel is to accommodate clients in decent, well-appointed rooms. This is the hotel's main product. In order to create a service, it is necessary for the client to interact with the hotel staff. The service is intangible, since it is needed to meet the needs of guests for accommodation for a strictly defined period. That is, the time interval for check-in, as well as the completion of the location in the hotel room, is documented. That is why every hotel should be ready to present blank hotel receipts to the client. Checks are made using cash registers available at the hotel. This is the best proof of accommodation on a business trip.

The profitability of the hotel business is directly affected by seasonality. The quality of guest service may change. However, hotel management is advised to ensure consistency of quality, as dissatisfied guests will happily spread negative impressions to friends, colleagues and relatives. Regardless of the season, the number of guests staying here during a business trip does not change. Hotel staff are required to record the time interval of the client's stay in the room. In order to subsequently calculate travel allowances after the end of a business trip, a person will need reporting documents for travel allowances. While living in another place during a professional trip, a person thinks about where to buy travel allowances. In Moscow there are proposals for the sale of checks.

Receipts for hotel services are a reliable, official document that is issued upon request by any hotel. Travel reporting documents are required in every company whose field of activity is directly related to business trips. There are many similar organizations, so specialized companies have appeared where you can. Hotel checks with confirmation in Moscow are offered by various organizations; it is important to choose a trusted and responsible one.

Types of hotel services

Hotel services are classified into basic and additional. The main ones are the provision of cozy rooms of several categories, differing in different levels of amenities. They can be equipped different types household appliances. The cost of living depends on the convenience criterion. Additional hotel services are of interest to guests. When concluding an agreement, the entire range of services provided by the hotel to the guest is prescribed. It is mandatory for a person to receive residence checks. People going on a business trip for the first time may not know what document is used to document travel expenses? A receipt is the main evidence of payment for hotel services. Payment can be made in different ways - daily, hourly according to an agreement with the hotel staff.

Business travel is on the list of job responsibilities of many people. What documents are required for the duration of the trip? It is best to advise the company's management on this issue.