Image by caribb via FlickrWe all pay a lot of attention to our homes and try to make them as comfortable as possible for our guests. However, we eventually end up falling a little bit short. I thought I would outline some of the simple ways in which you can ensure that your guests feel like they are staying in a luxury hotel instead of a private home:-

1. Remove Clutter: A reason why hotel rooms feel so nice is that they don’t have lots of knick-knacks and unnecessary things lying around. Ensure you have a store room which can be locked and used to keep all the unnecessary personal stuff. If you have two of any kinds of things (even pens in the pen stand), remove the duplicates and ensure that only things that are required by the guests and will be useful are present, and the rest of your things go into the store room.

2. Have daily cleaning: This is the next most important aspect where a hotel room differs from most residences. They are spotless and ultra clean. Ensure your maid and caretaker are trained to be able to clean thoroughly, make up the beds and do so on a daily basis so that the entire place is spotless and glowing. This is a good way to ensure that your property is not being misused and you can take corrective action quickly.

3. The Bedroom: Put in a mattress protector and ensure that it is washed on a regular basis so it is spotless. Bedsheets should ideally be white and without any prints. Same with pillows. Use 300 thread count sheets. To add color you can have a light blanket (fleece blanket) on top of the sheet and small show pillows on top of the white pillows. Ensure the beds are made before the guest checks in and that at no point of time the guest sees an unmade bed.

4. The Bathroom: Try and replace the shower curtain with a Glass wall. This will go a long way in segregating the wet and dry areas and in also adding some glamour to the bathroom. Putting in superior quality shower heads and a better quality of Flush Toilet will also go a long way. Avoid Flush toilets where the flush tank is suspended much higher than the seat or where there is a need to pull a chain. Provide Toilet paper and a hand jet for the toilet.

5. Conceal all wires: This is important. If you have a TV, music system, cable TV connection, etc. make efforts to conceal the wires so that they are not visible. To do so, you can either create a notch in the wall and embed the wires and then cover up with plaster of Paris and a new coat of paint or else use a false ceiling and paint over the wires after cutting them to the bare minimum size required, to ensure there are no coils lying around.

6. Uniform for staff: Have all staff who are present on the premises or who will be visiting, adhere to a uniform. This could be a wrap-around, laboratory-style coat for maids at the minimum, to a full-fledged uniform for your caretaker who wears the same every day whenever guests are visiting. Staff should definitely not be seen in a baniyan (vest) or be badly groomed i.e. unshaven or with unkempt hair etc. The same applies to yourself if you are residing within the property.

Lastly a good welcome gift like a bowl of fruits or a box of chocolates will also lend a feel of professionalism to your property.

I will shortly be writing another article on creating a Guest binder for your property. Any suggestions always welcome!!