New hotel coming but we need to know what you guys value most

[New Hotel]

Well, the funding is in place and a few locations have been checked out but we're still going through our options and we'd like to get some input from you guys, as you are our target market. We need your bums on our seats (well, beds actually) so instead of doing a Henry Ford and telling you what you were going to get, we thought we would actually listen to the people who will vote with their wallets because if we cannot attract them or even worse, cannot retain them as patrons, then we shouldn't be doing this.

 

I'd love to give you the Marriott for Bt1000 a day but we all know that is not possible. So what is possible ? Well, in terms of what you want inside the rooms, pretty much anything. In terms of what you'd like in the general areas, then unless we were to go outside Pattaya, the costs of buying the land needed would mean the ideas of swimming pools and gardens are out and we're looking at a city hotel or if you prefer, guest house, pension or apartments. That means a more convenient location but a more compact business.

 

The angle we want to come at this from is not asking you to choose between this facility or that amenity but to get a feeling of what you would feel happy paying for and what would turn you off if it was included and you thought that the price was a little too high because we provided amenities which you weren't happy to pay for. It is like trying to fix the feeling of thinking about whether to stay in a 5* hotel but realising that even if you stretch to the rate, you are really paying for all kinds of things which you will never use

 

For the fellow Europeans on here, we've no desire to go down the Ryanair route and say ok, it is Bt200 for the room, the bed will be another Bt100, sheets Bt50 each, floor tiles are Bt10 each and the toilet is Bt50 a go etc. etc. However, we realise that in the modern world and in particular in these economic times, everyone is trimming their cloth and we are lucky that we can adapt our business model to the new world as we see it, where value for money is the order of the day.

 

We're going to come back later and put together the findings from this and other market research and hopefully try and get the right product at the right price. So instead of listing items which you could say yes or no to, we thought we'd start with an open forum where you can suggest anything you'd like and equally, tell us about things which you feel are just not worth paying for and not to bother including. Everyone has their own special wants and desires and here is the chance to see if we can incorporate some of them in our new business.

 

Just to start you off, we've a list of items which we think we'd like to see. Please add yours, scratch some off if you wish. Be honest.

 

General

Low noise remote control air conditioning

Built in furniture including more than ample storage

Large size electronic safety box

Large LCD TV (likely 42")

Complimentary DVD and integrated stereo system

All rooms will be no smoking though guests will be able to smoke on all balconies

 

Bathroom

Walk in separate shower. Not a cubicle but purpose built behind a wall with ample dimensions

Jacuzzi bath with seating area (may not be in all rooms)

Enclosed WC

High quality Egyptian cotton towels including oversized bath towels

Complimentary quality toiletries and decent toilet tissue !

Quality dressing gowns

 

Bedding

High quality hotel standard king size bed and mattress

High thread count soft feel bed linen

Potential of duvet (washed per schedule and per guest) as opposed to regular blankets

 

Services

Bed linen changed daily

Towels changed daily

Room service

Free wireless and hard wired broadband internet 24/7

Minimum Sophon cable or equivalent, potential UBC (working on prices for that)

Potential of complimentary in house laundry for guests (X pieces per day etc.)

Discounts on bar spend

Loyalty scheme for repeat guests

 

Now you may be asking what all this is likely to cost ? Well, we would rather have a popular business than high prices. We are looking at below Bt1000 a night before discounts for advance bookings and repeat guests.

 

So over to you and please give us your feedback. What we hope to do is to see what people value and what they do not. Put very simply, we'd love to eventually know just how much you value something so tell us what you value and then we'll come back and try and work out just how much of a value you would put on that. Perhaps you'd pay Bt50 a day extra for a jacuzzi but not Bt100 a day extra for example.

 

Many thanks

[Fondles]

Sounds good, but does Pattaya really need more accomodation at this point in time.

[Stinky]

I would think that it would be a good idea to make sure that you maids will shag the guests upon request, and ask no more than 500 baht per squirt.

[LordFlash]

Big showers

Double glazed windows/balcony doors to reduce noise

Secure (I mean bolted to the floor!) safe

No joiner fee

All guest details logged

Good security (Not letting girls come to your room on their own etc)

Mini bar

Wifi in room (Free would be great)

 

If you can keep it under a grand then you'll do well but remember there's a lot of competetion and some the places on LK Metro offer a lot of this at around 500 -600 a night.

 

Cheers and good luck

LF

[bastax33]

Blackout curtains over the windows, since most of us stay up all night and sleep during the day

[Sailfast]

Affordable one bedroom suite/apartment type rooms, ala Residence Garden.

TVs in the bedroom and living area.

A nice touch is to have a sheet encasing the blanket on the bed.

The option to remove mini bar items, or even better, a cabinet above the fridge with a lock to put the items (prohibiting girls from raiding the expensive wine coolers)

Affordable mini bar items would be nice. Some hotels I know keep the price around the same as 7/11

Large in room safe, big enough for most laptops.

Jaccuzzi tubs would be great, in some rooms.

Black out curtains are a must.

Maybe a few big rooms with a bar, small stage w/ pole, ala Vault Hotel

Big beds.

Small patio w/ sliders and a tabe/chairs in every room.

Ipod ready el-cheapo boom box/stereo

Wifi is great, but always seems dodgy in Thailand. How about ethernet cables in each room instead of the dreaded wifi? Maybe a simple PC in some of the permium rooms.

DVD player(s)

Fast and affordable room service.

Early afternoon maid service that waits for you to leave before knocking to clean the room. I can't stand being woken up by the maids at 11am.

Take out menus for late night food, or better yet, late night room service

Guest ID's checked and held till departure, with the friendly call from the front desk to see that you havn't been shagged to death.

Affordable airport transportation available.

Located between Beach road and Second road would be great. Makes for a short walk for a baht bus to go in either direction.

On beach road would be even better. I like to pretend I'm at a nice beach.

Last, but not least, vegetarian options on the menu

 

Some of these things have been mentioned already, I'm just voicing my agreement.

My two favorite hotels are the Residence Garden (but I'm tiring of the location) and The Vault (but no restaurant, pool, grounds, etc.)

 

Yes, I'm asking a lot... :))

Edited October 14, 2009 by Sailfast

[Kev]

Quite happy with the suggestions provided including the bolt to the floor safe, but what is the location you are looking at?

 

That is a major factor when I choose a hotel besides price.

[AZZZEY68]

Soi Bukow are is always a good location imo.

[Stinky]

3 free condoms provided each evening before turning down my bed for me. Some complimentry lube would be great also.

[nutosf]

TVs and/or DVD players with USB port.

[Stinky]

Whirl pools would be a nice addition.

[maahuanao]

Swimming Pool.

[Bazle]

The building must be constructed in a way to minimise noise - not be another PBR.

[LBJ]

Did I miss it? I didn't see anything about the size of the rooms or proposed location of the hotel.

 

1000 baht or less is great if the room is decent size and you don't have to spend a bunch on taxi fare around Pattaya.

[Myrrh]

So over to you and please give us your feedback. What we hope to do is to see what people value and what they do not. Put very simply, we'd love to eventually know just how much you value something so tell us what you value and then we'll come back and try and work out just how much of a value you would put on that.

To be honest I don't care too much about the hotel room.

 

I want to spend as little on the hotel room as possible so that I can spend any savings on the girls and the girls would rather that I gave them good money and they are not too concerned about what sort of room I am staying in.

 

What is important is that the hotel is not too far from where I pick up the girls as I don't want a half an hour trek back to the room when I am feeling horny.

[BigDUSA]

I'd be willing to pay extra for UBC. Double glazed windows for noise control and insulate the walls for additional noise control. Black out curtains. Large in room safe big enough to take my laptop.

[sick buffalo]

Good on you guys to work on a bottom up approach.

 

As I see it, there are three clear points on which you are wanting to distinguish from other places that have accomodation and a bar...

 

1. No place I know in your budget range gives a x pieces of laundry free deal. Great one!

2. Discounts at the bar is a fab idea too. Nobody I know does it.

3. Loyalty discounts was an item I had suggested even when Secrets opened. They thought it wasn't required with the low(in their opinion) prices that they offered to everybody.

 

These are great differentiators!

 

You could look at these ideas...

 

1. Allow credit card usage without a service charge. Many hotels charge a service charge. I don't keep an eye on the tab if I can pay by card. I spend more in FLB and Mistys because of this. Secrets irritates me with a service charge for card usage irrespective of the transacted amount...

2. Let guests bring in more than one girl,boy or anything inbetween without an extra charge

3. An inroom safe is a must for me.

4. Walking distance (say less than 7-8 minutes) from either Walking Street, Soi LK Metro, Soi 7/8 or Soi 6. I don't want to hop in to a bhat bus or motobike taxi everytime I want to visit any of these locations...

5. Charge a very reasonable fee for a spare set of clean towels (40B or less is what I'm prepared to pay for 2 towels) Better still make it free...

 

The bathroom fixtures, quality of tiles etc make no difference to me. I am not staying in a budget hotel in Pattaya because the tiles and bathroom fittings are good. Also things like complimentary breakfast don't matter to me in Patts. The charge for that gets built into the tariff anyway...

 

Good luck with your project!

Edited October 14, 2009 by sick buffalo

[sick buffalo]

And yes missed this one... It has been mentioned above...do not charge too much a premium on the items in the fridge. I prefer to get my own stuff from a 7/11 if the difference is high... Some budget hotels just don't understand this...

[sick buffalo]

A thought on the loyalty discount...

 

Make it a multi level discount.

 

Say the first slab kicks in after 10 roomnights, the second higher discount should be applicable say after 50 room nights and a still higher after a parton has stayed at the hotel for 100 nights or whatever...

 

And one thing I dont need are the bloody gowns... I prefer to be naked in the room..

 

And yes you may have quality tissues..the girls still like their hygiene sprays...don't do away with them like some headless managements have done... (I know water conservation and all that...)

Edited October 14, 2009 by sick buffalo

[LeoTex]

The 'placement' of the AC unit in he room is important to me. At a couple of the hotels I stay at, the unit is facing the bed and the air blow right on the bed. The unit needs to be placed in the room were the direct air isn't blowing on you all night.

 

All the other good ideas that you mentioned and the other postings are good and would make it a nice place to stay. I think for me, location would be one of the main factors in making my decission as where to stay.

 

 

LeoTex

[ThaiLearner]

A fan as well as aircon .

 

Not having to put your key in a slot every time you enter the room just to switch the power on.

[js007]

-Excellent security.

-In-room Wi-Fi

-Good location

-Breakfast available

[Esco]

Sounds good, but does Pattaya really need more accomodation at this point in time.

 

Of course have you not seen the signs in front of all hotels and guesthouse saying 'FULL'??

[Anfield]

parking for tg`s motor bike.

[Big_Brian]

A lift for us fat blokes - many of us won't even consider a hotel without one.

Big, tall, soft, beds.

DON'T enclose the WCs, it gets too hot in there.

A settee (couch), NOT vinyl though - too sticky.

Non-slippery floor tiles.