I talked in previous articles about hotels guest rooms, food and beverages outlets and how they should gear up for better serving the new generations of travelers. So what else in hotels needs re-inventing?

Should a hotel be just a place to sleep or should it be a place to experience the culture of the host country?

Historically of course, hotels started as places for wary travelers to sleep and have something to eat. Today however hotels and resorts have evolved to become destinations in their own right.

In addition to lodging, food and beverage, todays’ hotels offer  Spas in their different forms and shapes, cooking classes, shops, kids clubs and fitness centres.

Is it enough or should hotels offer more recreation, entertainment and a place to experience the culture of the host country?

There are hotels that are built to service a particular entertainment industry such as  Disney parks, casinos, water parks. These are not the norm but rather the exception since they exist to service those who are traveling to visit that attraction.

The rest of us however, travel great distances and spend a lot of money to experience different cultures and civilizations. We spend many hours in our hotels. We already discussed in previous articles how guest rooms and F&B outlets should evolve I believe catering to guest entertainment should evolve as well.

What are the things that visitors to any country would like to experience but are not usually available in the usual tourists’ sites?

-Meeting local people; sometimes you can visit a country for days and never have a real encounter with the locals (except for  people we come across dealing with our travel arrangements and the like.)

-Dinner with  a local family; what a different perspective this simple thing can bring to a trip. Every time I was fortunate enough to experience that it’s becomes a memory that I always cherish.

-Understanding local customs by attending a local wedding or a local celebration, why not!

How about you? Let us know ‘what should your hotel provide you?’