How LA Hotels Can Prepare for HITEC 2014

Revinate will be exhibiting in booth 1620 at  HITEC 2014 next week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Our team of six will be spending the week at three different hotels in the downtown area. To help them, and you, know what to expect from Los Angeles hotels, we dug into our sentiment analysis data on reviews of hotels in the LA area.

Many of the reviews touch on sentiments that are typical of the industry as a whole: general staff quality, location, room size, and the pool. But, it is interesting to note that many guests are concerned with transportation and parking.

LA is notorious for its difficult-to-navigate freeways, traffic, and parking. For an out-of-town guest, these can be a big source of anxiety. Another thing to consider: Transportation and parking situations are often a guest’s first on-property point of contact with a hotel. It is important to make a good impression.

Here are three ways Los Angeles hotels should consider carefully, to prepare for HITEC 2014 and provide the best guest experience possible.

1. Shuttle/Car Service

As previously noted, LA driving can be scary to a person not from there. Guests who review hotels in the area appreciate a complementary or low cost car service when available. Shuttle/car service not in the budget? Educate staff on several public transit or tour group options. You should also have a tried-and-true cab service on speed dial.

2. Parking Fees

Guest are delighted when parking is free. On the other hand, if parking is too expensive, reviewers often mention it as a negative aspect of the hotel.

One reviewer writes, “There’s free parking, which is a big bonus when many places charge USD 30 or more for hotel parking.” Another reviewer says that he doesn’t “like paying to park at the hotel on top of paying a high room price.”

This goes for budget properties, as well as luxury properties. Free or low cost parking really adds value to the experience for an out-of-town guest visiting LA.

3. Exceptional Valet Service

Once again, reviewers are delighted when valet services are complementary. Valet service in Los Angeles in particular can really make a difference in travel stress levels for an out-of-town guest. For example, one reviewer writes, “They have valet so no need to worry about finding parking which is very convenient in this area.”

If your budget requires that you charge for parking or valet, perhaps one way to offset the cost in your guests’ minds is to step up the quality of your valet service. Not every change has to be expensive. Sometimes the little things make a big difference. For example, on TripAdvisor, a reviewer notes that one hotel in particular had taken notes from Uber, and other car services that have found little ways to add value. “Valet parking attendants are very prompt and also offer bottles of water when you are going out for the day.”

Want to know what your guests are saying about you? Revinate offers a suite of products that make it easy for you to see trends in your feedback. Email info@revinate.com to schedule a free demo.