While comfort and customer service are crucial factors in a hotel room’s quality, many guests are also looking for amenities in the form of appliances. Unfortunately, hotel appliances can quickly become outdated due to how rapidly the technology industry grows and evolves. If you want to provide your guests with all the comforts of home during their stay, you’ll likely need to include modern appliances and services. Use this complete list of ten appliances every modern hotel room needs as a checklist for upgrading your hospitality services.
Television Set
When guests think of hotel room appliances, televisions are some of the first things they consider. With TV models becoming more and more advanced every year, most guests will also expect to see modern televisions in their hotel rooms. Consider upgrading your hotel televisions to smart TVs to provide your guests with the same experience they might be used to at home.
Streaming Services/Devices
Smart TVs provide video streaming through a variety of apps and services that your customers may already subscribe to. Be sure to offer access to apps and popular streaming services like these so that your customers can log in to watch their favorite shows. Many modern devices like smartphones and tablets also offer streaming to local devices, so make sure your hotel’s televisions support streaming and screen mirroring to offer easy connectivity for your customers.
Wi-Fi/Internet Access
Whether a hotel offers free Wi-Fi and high-speed internet access can make or break a booking deal for many guests. Offering free high-speed internet and Wi-Fi connections can be a huge draw to your hotel for potential guests. Even if you can’t afford to offer free hotel Wi-Fi to your customers, you can still offer it at a price upgrade. Because many guests work out of their hotel rooms during business trips or even on vacations, providing access to the internet is crucial. Even for non-work purposes, many customers simply don’t want to go without a Wi-Fi connection for the duration of their stay.
Front-Desk Communications
Your hotel guests should be able to reach your customer service team whenever necessary. This is why it’s so important to have an in-room phone or dedicated front desk number that customers can call from their personal phones. What’s even better is offering texting integration with your hotel’s front desk, valet management, and other services. Guests love the convenience of these services only being a text away, and the messaging format can also help your management stay organized and save time.
Mini Refrigerator and Freezer
When booking a stay for longer periods, such as a full week or long weekend, guests may want to buy snacks or groceries for their rooms. Having an in-room refrigerator is an amazing convenience that guests are sure to appreciate. For larger rooms and suites, you could even consider including a full stand-up refrigerator and freezer combination unit. Freezers are also convenient for storing ice, especially if your hotel doesn’t have an ice machine on every floor.
A Personal Microwave
Another amenity that many customers look for in a modern hotel room is a personal microwave. Having an in-room microwave offers guests much more convenience and comfort than using a communal microwave in a common room or shared kitchen. Shared microwaves can often lead to long wait times and lines outside your kitchen space, resulting in more guest complaints. You can save your guests and customer service team many headaches by providing personal microwave units in each of your rooms instead.
Other Kitchen Appliances
The more amenities you can offer your hotel guests, the better. If your room’s kitchenettes have the space to spare, consider stocking them with appliances such as coffee makers, toasters, drink coolers, and more. While these appliances aren’t quite as necessary as some of the others on this list, they will also provide the comforts of home to your guests. For example, your coffee- or tea-loving guests will be thrilled to see a coffee maker or hot water kettle included in their room for their stay.
Updated Thermostats
Give your customers control over their individual room climates by providing in-unit heating and cooling systems. Installing PTAC (packaged terminal air conditioning) units is a perfect way to give your guests control over their room temperatures. Some modern heating and cooling systems even allow your guests to connect to smart technology to control the thermostat with the simple press of a button.
Laundry Services
While many hotels don’t offer in-room washers and dryers, some offer laundry services on-site. If you want to provide an extra amenity for your guests, try offering laundry or dry-cleaning services. You can either open a laundry room for guest use or collect laundry for your staff to clean and return to your customers. For customers who book long stays, offering laundry services can be a big draw, as it ensures they don’t have to pack extra clothes.
Modern Lighting
Lighting is a key aspect for guests staying in and working out of hotel rooms. It’s hard for your guests to get any work done if they can’t see their materials clearly due to lighting issues. To avoid complaints about poor lighting, be sure to update your lighting fixtures regularly. Swap out old, incandescent light bulbs with new, brighter LED ones. Additionally, consider scattering lighting installations or lamps throughout the room. Certain lighting fixtures won’t be able to adequately illuminate the room if you only place them in the corners.
You could also consider investing in lighting sensors that detect when a guest enters or exits a room and times the lighting accordingly. Combining motion lights like these with LED solutions can also help save your hotel money on energy bills.
If you’re looking for ways to attract more customers to visit your hotel, remember these ten appliances your guests want to see in a modern hotel room. By providing features such as updated technology, additional services, and more amenities, you’ll naturally check the boxes that hotel guests are looking for. By providing more amenities, it’s also more likely that your guests will enjoy their stays and become repeat customers of your location or chain.
If you’re curious about where you can find the hotel appliances on the list above, visit Transworld Services today. We can help you find the perfect models for your hotel’s rooms or staff services.
