HotelChatter

Favorite Amenity

Many years ago, I was staying at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto and they had the BEST amenity I have ever seen in a hotel room and have never seen since.....a Pant Press.
With the humidity in Toronto pants loose their seam so easilly.  Having this in the room was a blessing!  I liked it so much, I purchased one and have had it ever since and use it almost daily.

Favorite Amenity

I think, especially if you're staying in Nashville, that a fun, simple room amenity would be an:

ACOUSTIC GUITAR

That would be so much fun!  It seems to make sense, and would be very original and entertaining for guests!

Nashville = Music and Food

If I ever went down to Nashville, I would only go for the music and food it offers.  

Music:
-Guitar with easy-versions of famous songs.
-Guitar Hero / Rockband
-Message on your Welcome TV Screen from a Country Singer

Food:
-In-Room-Dining of famous ribs from Nashville
-In-Room Samplings of famous Nashville cuisines
-In-Room Fondue Set (even with smores)
-Whiskey Samples (i.e. Jack Daniels)
-Ribs and Jack Daniels Sampler

Favorite Amenity

Being a parent I would have to go with an amenity that allowed me to have a babysitter complete with a fun dinner for kids, game night, a fun craft project cookies and milk and an awesome bedtime story maybe acted out with puppets.  My kids would love it! - all at the touch of a button.  

The Hotel Preston dream amenity

If you are in your hotel room and had some downtime. I think a Nintendo Wii system will be ideal and a cool amenity to have.

New Idea

I think that the one thing that hotels are missing are cell phone chargers. Everyone always forgets their cell phone chargers at home when they go on vacation. Having generic cell phone chargers for customers to use would be ideal!

Dream Hotel Amenity

When you go to a hotel, be it for vacation or business, you want a good place to leave all your troubles behind and just be able to relax. A great way to make a stay that much better would be to offer a small complementary message.

Amenity

It would be cool if the Hotel Preston had a music library that featured all of Nashville's best sounds.
The library's centerpiece would be 'Nashville Skyline'--the greatest Dylan album of all time.  

Dream Amenity

Nintendo Wii with Rock Band, the ultimate.

Good Headphones

I know you already offer a fully-loaded iPod (I used one at the Lucia in Portland), but I travel with my own and tiny earbuds.

A set of good, form-fitting headphones would be awesome to have available for those of us who just won't fly with something that big.

Dream Amenity

A DVR would be my dream amenity!  OK, I'll admit it, I have a little TV addiction. You can't blame a girl for being hooked on Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, or :::blush::: American Idol. However, when I'm on vacation I don't want to interrupt exploring a new city by rushing back to my room to catch my favorite show.  How great would it be to have a DVR in your hotel room to record your favorite television shows?!   Nothing would be better than collapsing after a full day of running around the city with your favorite TV show on.

Keep it local

Well, I think the Hotel Preston really needs something to keep the spark of Nashville alive.  And let's face facts- who are the biggest customers? Families and business folk.  

So- to keep it local and retain some guests, I think you should provide a low dollar gift card to your restaurant.  With a $5 gift card, guests will be encouraged to dine-in!  And the hotel Preston will boost revenue too!

good times with good music!!

i would love to have a record player with the following records available at my request: fleetwood mac, mgmt, bob segar, elton john, the rolling stones, and hank williams.

No more aching feet

Since the Preston doesn't have a spa, a nice foot massager would be reasonably affordable to the hotel and a unique amenity.

At Hotel Preston just ask and "Presto"

When in Rome, er, Nashville do as the Nashvillians (or is it Nashvillites?)do: enjoy Country Western music. At your fanstasy request you can enjoy your own General Membership for the day to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. And if your trip's too short to visit there,  simply request the current CD or MP3 release from your favorite CW musical artist.

Capture Your Memories at the Preston

A unique amenity would be to provide complimentary mini-HD camcorders or digital cameras to guests who can then upload their Nashville experience to disc or to a video/photo sharing site.

Originality - I am not aware of any hotel that is loaning guests digital cameras to capture their stay in Nashville.

Practicality - Devices cost about $200 and i'd imagine the total operation would cost less than $10k to fully deploy, market, and maintain.

Perceived Guest Satisfaction - Even those guests who don't use the service would still perceive this as a cutting edge and innovative tool to enhance the experience.

Hotel Preston dream amenity

My hotel dream amenity is soooo not sexy but oh so practical!  I'd love if you could provide BedVoyage bamboo travel sheets!  Both my husband and daughter suffer from allergies and bamboo sheets are one of the few things that keep the asthma and allergies at bay when we're traveling.  Even the cleanest hotels can have dust mites which can make traveling such a pain, the sheets really help.  For them it means no more waking up with puffy eyes and stuffy heads.  For me, it means no more cranky family ;)

Dream Amenity

A Pancake Pantry breakfast in bed would be a miracle (I've never set foot in Nashville without going here before I leave).

Tickets or tour to the Ryman and/or RCA Studio B.

Gift card to best record store in town - Grimey's.

Forgot to add...

Poster of your choice or customized for you from Hatch Show Print. Cool shop.

iHome

A good vacation spent in the Music City
Could never be complete without a little ditty

Basics are nice: soap, towels, and a comb
But a real amenity would be an iHome!

Enough with the noise, go mute the T.V.
Listen to sounds of the Grand Ole Opry!

Boring radio not to lead to dismay
`Cuz you bring your iPod, you're the DJ!

So offer your guests the gift of serenity
And make the iHome your newest amentity!

Who wants practical...

When i go to a hotel my dream amenity would be something so impractical that I would never have it but would always it...

New Ammenity Idea would be black lights (club style)... with disco ball (and if you feel right a fogger)

Retro Game Night

Sometimes staying at hotels for an extended time with family can get restless on weeknights. Just knowing that we could spend some quality time together playing Taboo or Pictionary instead of watching TV like we always do together would be comforting. You could include a deck of cards, poker chips, puzzles, riddle book,etc. You could make your own Nashville/Hotel Preston version of Trivia Pursuit or Taboo. Nashville-themed board games like monopoly would be awesome, too.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000ETRD9I/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=165793011&s=toys -and-games

Free Wi-fi

Sounds simple, right? Free Wi-fi. Yet we can all conjure up a million reasons why these three little syllables make our faces light up like kids who just heard the jingle of an ice cream truck. Must I say more?

Movie Theatre Snack Menu

I love watching Still-in-theatres movies with my sweetie from a comfy hotel bed. It'd be nice to be able to have complimentary Movie Theatre Snacks with the purchase of one of those movies. Freshly popped Pop-corn, chocolate candies, twizzlers, gummy bears... Mmmmm.

Favorite Amenity = In Room: On Call: Masseur

After a stressful business day, or a day as a tourist walking around, it would be great to be able to pick up the phone and just order up a thirty minute neck massage or a thirty minute foot massage without having to "go" to the spa.

Famn Damily package

How about this:  a package that has an early check-in, an art or craft project in room (or Raffi cd or something similar or something for people with babies), evening snack of PB&J with milk, a 1 1/2 hour of babysitting for dinner in the restaurant or cocktails.  Also, for the room provide a screen/room divider ;)

New Idea ??

One thing hotels don't have any shortage of is cell phone chargers. Guests leave them all over the place all the time. I know our hotel has literally two buckets of unclaimed cell phone chargers in our lost and found.

The 24- hr rule

A basic concept: Whatever time you check in, you get 24 (or 21 or so) hours for each night stayed.  Getting into town early? Check in as soon as you arrive.  Getting into town late? No need to rush to check out before you get your day started. In times of decreased occupancy, a perk that would cost hotels little and help guests greatly.

Make it memorable with Jazz

I have no use for trinkets or other novelties. I think what you should offer is something that would improve the customer experience.  Fancy soap or a key chain seem like a waste, but live music in the lobby to greet the guests might just do the trick.  Perhaps if country feels a little over done, you could have a Jazz trio, as Jazz also enjoys a long history in the city.

Take care of your virtual pet

Home away from Home....people still have a need to take care of someone/something.  In Japan it's proven to be a huge hit....take care of your robot dog; or take care of a fish in your room.  The fish in a bowl is a very soothing, pleasant and elegant feature that truly makes the hotel room more personable and "alive".  
The robot dog is an excellent feature for either kids or adults...in Japan it's mostly adults that take care of them.
One can name the dog; give the guest instructions etc. etc.

mmmm chocolate

Free wi-fi...meh.

ipod dock...zzz.

massage...yawn.

I want a big ol' chocolate fountain in my room. You know like the one you see during dessert at a wedding. Throw in some fresh strawberries, and a complimentary glass of wine as well.

Okay maybe just free wi-fi will do for now.

My amenity of choice is just that:

CHOICE. Provide a menu of similarly-valued items and let me select a few, based on my needs for that stay. Menu options: wireless Internet; breakfast; maid service; restaurant discount/coupon; mid-day espresso; beer/wine for later check-ins; massage device; local attractions certificate; CDs/DVDs; fresh flowers; etc. My decision may differ based on why I'm staying, when I arrive or when I'm leaving. Consider offering preferred guests a third (or greater) choice. Up the ante to drive business during slow periods. Side benefit: better understanding of what guests want--individually and collectively. (Hotel Preston already has tropical fish, right?)

Authentic Gift Basket

Upon Arrival, present guests with an impressive gift basket full of local and artisinal foods, crafts, memorabilia, music, etc. Basically, a gift basket that contains products that embody the essence of Nashville, something for guests to discover and take home. Another nice thing would be a newsletter or little magazine to go with it outlining all the weekly events, along with coupons to local food and entertainment establishments

Hotel Amenity

The best way to get a good night's sleep is by using a feather pillow. I hate those sky high foam pillows that break your neck. So that's my desire, a feather pillow.

And all the women in America say AMEN

There is no more necessary amenity than in-room hair straighteners.  I can't tell you how many times sleepless nights I've spent pre-vacation worrying that I might leave my hair straightners at home and be subject to the giant frizz ball that plagued me through high school.

An ionic hair straightner sitting next to the hair dryer in my guest room would mean less worry and extra room for shoes in my carry-on.

Local recommendations

How about a book of the hotel staff's and local celebrities' favorite restaurants and music venues in town?  (With short blurbs about what makes each so great.)

It would be inexpensive to compile, would make guests feel welcome/in-the-know, and, if kept up-to-date, it would point visitors toward the best the city has to offer (and not just the establishments that paid to be featured in local magazines, etc.).  

I'd love something like that when I'm on vacation--there's only so much research you can do ahead of each trip!

SNUGGIE

My dream amenity in a hotel would be a Snuggie - the blanket with sleeves.  In my normal life I would feel a little weird owning a Snuggie and having it in my apartment, but when I travel I like to let myself go a little bit!

Think about it, you could even put the hotel's logo on the Snuggie or do it in luxury fabrics - that would be so awesome!  Guests could watch TV and their arms wouldn't even get cold!

Packing Service

I always find myself calling the frontdesk on departure day requesting a late checkout. Why? Because I want to sleep or stay longer... but mostly because I haven't had time to finish packing!

My dream amenity: for someone to come and pack up my stuff! I can handle unpacking, but repacking is daunting.

Of course, there's the concern that a stranger is handling your "stuff" or that they may not know where to correctly place the items...

But who cares? I'm sure someone else would do a better job than me. I can be a bit messy in my haste.

Dream Hotel Amenity

Okay, I'm gonna be dead honest here.  Hotels are sexy and I travel alone a lot.  Very rarely does it happen, but sometimes I meet someone....and one things leads to another and....I would like to be able to order a little adult "fun kit", things that would be necessary and practical (read:safe sex items) and things that would be fun to use (scented massage oil?) and maybe something even a bit humorous, because when those moments happen, it would be nice to feel more comfortable about it.  Why should I run to the drugstore!?  LOL.