If you’re a frequent traveler, this scenario might be all too familiar. It’s late. You stagger to the front desk of your hotel, bruised and battered by the horrors of modern travel, only to be welcomed with the words, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have a room for you.”

“What?” you cry. “But I have a confirmation … here! … It says my reservation is guaranteed!”

Silly you. Don’t you know that the credit card number you provide at time of reservation guarantees one thing only: that the hotel will charge you if you don’t show up?

As hotel occupancies climb, relocates are making a comeback. As a long-time hotelier, I have the dubious distinction of having performed scores of relocates in my career, and I know how inconvenient and frustrating it can be for travelers.

But you’re not as helpless as you might feel. While there’s no surefire way to avoid being relocated, there are ways to fight the odds – and, if your number is irrevocably up, to negotiate the most favorable terms.

What exactly is a relocate? Also known as walking or bumping, relocates occur when a hotel has more reservations than rooms. Like airlines, hotels overbook in order to maximize occupancy, banking on cancellations and no-shows, and sometimes we get caught with our pants down. Unlike airlines, however, we don’t announce overbookings to a holding lounge full of travelers or ask for volunteers. We handle relocates discreetly, swiftly dispatching you to another hotel while giving you little choice in the matter.

The early bird catches the room. Hotels typically assign rooms as guests arrive, so our options decrease as the day progresses. If we’re sold out and you arrive late, you’re vulnerable. But then you also might be upgraded, since suites are often the last to go. Not a gambler? Call the hotel in advance to say you’ll be arriving late and ask them to hold your room. And always do your homework; if a hotel is a chronic walker, you’ll read about it in online reviews.

You are what you pay. I didn’t tell you this, but the higher your rate, the more preferential your treatment. Reserve the presidential suite, and we won’t dare walk you. Book through an online travel company, which keeps up to 30% of your rate, and you’re vulnerable. Book through an opaque website, and you’re a walking target. It’s not that we don’t love you, we just love our more loyal and lucrative guests better.

Are you on the no-walk list? The truth is, sometimes we do have a room – just not for you. Depending on the hotel, certain guests never get walked, like loyalty club members, frequent guests, corporate clients, VIPs and tattooed bikers. If you don’t qualify, you can always try pleading your case; in cases of undue hardship rooms can miraculously materialize. You can also try arriving in a wedding dress or clutching a heart monitor. But if there’s no room, there’s no room.

Trade up, not down. The good news is the hotel will pay for your room that night, plus taxi fare and a long distance call. But here’s a dirty little secret: hotels prefer to relocate to a slightly inferior hotel, hoping you’ll come running back into our arms on your next visit. You have the right to insist on a comparable hotel. Hell, we’re paying, so why not ask for the Four Seasons? But if the city is full, you might well be cozying up with the farm animals at the Barnyard Inn.

You’ll never believe this, but … It’s hard to admit we had the gall to sell your room to someone else, so some employees invent little white lies like burst water pipes, electrical problems or guests who refused to check out. A truly unscrupulous hotel might try to foist the blame on you, claiming your reservation was mysteriously canceled or booked for this date five years ago. Always get an email confirmation at time of reservation, check it for accuracy, and bring it with you. If you mixed up the month and year, that’s your bad, not ours.

Now don’t get all huffy. Yes, relocating is evil, unforgiveable really, and hotels do it largely out of greed and incompetence. But it’s not a conspiracy, and we’re not singling you out for having cheap luggage or travel hair. Mostly it’s a numbers game. Chances are the long-suffering graveyard agent who relocates you had nothing to do with overbooking the hotel. So cut him some slack, be firm but pleasant, and resist the theatrics and hostage-takings. If you need to vent, save it for the general manager.

For relocate stories from OPUS, click here and here.

Do you have a relocate story? Share it here. 

I can see dignified concierges everywhere clutching their golden keys and gasping in indignation at the title of this post. But hear me out. 

Technology has placed a world of resources at the fingertips of travelers. Mobile applications allow us to walk out of our hotel, point our phone into the street, and find local restaurants and entertainment, peruse reviews, consult maps and make reservations. In a PhoCusWright survey last year, 67% of travelers reported having used a mobile device to find local services. Almost daily, hotels and travel companies are releasing mobile apps and mobile-compatible websites packed with information normally dispensed by the capable hotel concierge.

Where does that leave the concierge? Parking cars? Slinging drinks in the lounge?

Let’s hope not. As a traveler, I love having the services of a concierge. But I’ve noticed an alarming trend of late: the empty concierge desk. During the economic downturn, hotel managers were forced to find ways to cut costs, and many set their sights on the concierge. There he sat, primly at his desk, occupying prime lobby real estate and yet taking in no revenue. Compared to the back-breaking work of housekeeping and the frenetic work of the kitchen, the role of the concierge seemed a bit frivolous in such lean times. Out came the schedule, and concierge hours were slashed. In some hotels, a permanent “Off Duty” sign was placed on the desk.

Did service levels nosedive? Did guests post scathing reviews on TripAdvisor because they couldn’t get front row seats to Hairspray? Perhaps. But many travelers simply turned to our mobile phones. There we found a portable, pocket-sized concierge who never recommends restaurants we can’t afford or purses his lips when asked for directions to the nearest Taco Bell.

 Can a service that is so often unavailable be considered essential? I find that the more urgently I need a concierge, the higher the likelihood her desk will be empty. Concierges operate under mysterious hours, seeming to open and close at random, like shops in Spain at siesta time. They’re always out running errands for needier guests; at the post office mailing a left-behind artificial limb; conducting cultural tours of Chinatown; shopping for that perfect ascot to match a guest’s leopard-skin jumpsuit. If she is at her desk, she’s busy reorganizing round-the-world itineraries for a guest with a heavy foreign accent and his entourage of eighteen.

 This obliges us to go to the front desk for assistance. Here the simplest questions, such as “Where is the nearest drugstore?” and “What street are we on?” can be met with blank stares. That’s because hotels recruit front desk staff from distant suburbs and lock them up during breaks. Or so goes my theory. Have you ever asked an agent who looks like she’s spent all of her fourteen years in a convent about the local club scene? Or a bellman who looks like he moonlights at a biker bar where to go antiquing? It’s no wonder we turn to our phones.

In this era of death-match bargain-hunting, when travelers will book a hotel blind and forgo even the most basic of services if it means getting a deal, is a concierge with intimate knowledge of the finest restaurants in the city really that essential? Aren’t these travelers dining at Applebee’s? And yet some travelers are utterly dependent on the concierge; upon arriving at a hotel, they become incapable of performing even the simplest of tasks, like confirming a flight or placing a stamp on an envelope. These people aren’t likely to turn to their mobile phones for help.

Some hotels have replaced concierges with touch-screen kiosks. That might work at airports, but hotel employees are still relatively pleasant to travelers – we like dealing with them. At a time when online travel agencies and price wars have virtually commoditized hotels, concierge services are a way for a hotel to distinguish itself. More than any employee, the concierge can turn a ho-hum stay into an unforgettable experience. In the age of social media, that can have a direct impact on guest reviews and business.

Can a hotel that doesn’t offer concierge services call itself luxury – or even upscale? The Four Seasons’ Isadore Sharp describes the concierge as “a combination of personal secretary, aide-de-camp, tour guide, travel agent, social director, best friend and flat-out miracle worker.” No wonder concierges are never at their desk. They’re out building orphanages. As a front desk agent, I used to have to cover the concierge desk during breaks. My typical reaction to guest requests was, “You want me to do what??” I was always relieved when the concierge returned. “Of course, sir,” she would say, with astonishing composure, “I’d be delighted to organize your daughter’s wedding.”

Not everyone has a smart phone, nor is willing to use it. I love my iPhone, but the volume of information it dispenses can be overwhelming. Sometimes I simply want to be told where to go and pointed in that direction. And so far my iPhone hasn’t volunteered to call up the owner of a sold-out restaurant to secure a table, like my concierge in Barcelona did. As smart as our phones are, they simply can’t replace the personal contacts and insider knowledge of the seasoned concierge.

The concierge will stay modern and relevant by embracing newly available tools. Concierge software enables hotels to create mini-Yelp systems exclusively for clientele. Mobile apps and websites offer reviews and imagery to supplement the concierge’s advice. Some hotels, like Intercontinental, have begun to equip concierges with iPads to assist with directions, advice and reservations.

By harnessing modern technology to enhance personalized service, the concierge will continue to play an integral role in the upscale hotel experience. And that’s great news for travelers. Let’s hope we see them back at their desks soon – and not up in rooms making beds.

At OPUS, we have a unique approach to concierge services. Rather than have a dedicated concierge, we use local knowledge as a criterion for hiring, and train all guest services staff to provide concierge services, which enables us to provide these services 24/7. We also offer our one-of-a-kind Lifestyle Concierge in Vancouver and Montreal, with recommendations tailored to match each guest’s unique personality and tastes.

What do you think about the future of the hotel concierge? Post your comments here. For more perspectives, check out the debate in the comments section of my personal blog.

This weekend the sales teams of Opus Hotels in Montreal and Vancouver convened in Vancouver for the first national sales meeting, which I had the privilege of facilitating. It was a formidable group, ranging from grizzled veterans like Vancouver-based sales manager Phil Renaud and general manager Nicholas Gandossi to fresh-faced newbies like Montreal-based sales managers Marc Barmash and Yves Pouliot. Also present were John deC. Evans, Tom Johnston, and Katherine Evans from the ownership group.

Topics included the evolution of the Opus brand, from the opening of Opus Hotel Vancouver in 2002, then considered a risky and audacious undertaking, to the property being named one of the World’s Best 100 Hotels by readers of Condé Nast Traveler in 2005, and on to the opening of Opus Hotel Montreal in 2007. We also discussed the importance of our vibrant restaurant and lounge scene as a key differentiator to other hotels, of our vision of providing the best boutique experience, and of our corporate values of respect, empowerment and innovation.

During an over-caffeinated branding discussion, it was suggested that should aspire to be the Lady Gaga of hotels. Some hotels have magazine themes, others art themes, why not a music artist theme? But then the caffeine wore off and we decided that, as much as we admire the reigning queen of glam rock (who has been spotted at both Opus properties), a better analogy was presented by guest speaker Jake Wetzel.

Over lunch, Wetzel (pictured above with the sales team, back row centre), a two-time Olympic medalist in rowing (silver in 2004 and gold in 2008), talked about teamwork and the importance of collaboration and playing to strengths. “No one deserves to be the best,” he told us, “you earn it.” Huh? So much for my afternoon presentation. Jake’s account of his athletic triumphs left us feeling humbled and inspired, and contributed to a spirited final exercise in which groups were assigned the task of increasing revenues by 20% in three months. No sweat.  

That night, we got to let loose and enjoy the summer-like weather over a barbecue in owner John Evans’ Point Grey home. Afterward, the Vancouver group reinforced its city’s sedate reputation by retiring early, whereas the Montreal group reinforced its reputation for joie de vivre by hitting the town. Now that’s what I call playing to strengths.

People often corner me at social functions to tell me about a problem they’ve had in a hotel. It doesn’t matter if I’ve never worked for the hotel or the incident occurred seventeen years ago; apparently, it’s my duty to listen. Sometimes I get the impression they think I’m somehow to blame.

I don’t mind, though. Bad service stories are fascinating. But often, as I hear the teller describe how the entire hotel staff conspired to ruin her stay, I see a different side. I see employees trying to help, and I see guests getting in the way. And I can’t help but think that if travelers had a bit more insight into how hotels worked, they’d have more time to enjoy their trips. And I’d have more fun at cocktail parties.

To that end, I thought I’d share a few insider tips on what to do when things go wrong in a hotel.  

Should you complain? Probably. Hotels need to know if you’re dissatisfied; it gives us a chance to turn things around for you and to fix things for future guests. But if you set expectations the hotel can’t meet, such as a harbor view in a prairie hotel, resist the temptation to shift the blame. The best way to avoid unpleasant surprises is to check out online reviews before you book. They’ll give you the real story, warts and all.

Talk to someone who can fix the problem. Yes, it feels good to unload on friends, colleagues and random strangers, but repetition heightens feelings of victimization, and chances are they’re not listening anyway. If the issue is minor, speak to the front desk. If it’s significant, ask for the duty manager. If tears and family heirlooms are involved, contact the general manager. If there’s blood, call 911.

No more drama. Hotels will go to great lengths to appease guests, but it’s kind of hard if you’re throwing furniture or lunging at our throat. Ladies are discouraged from standing sullenly aside while their husband complains, uttering little huffs to convey feelings about their husband (wimp) and the manager (moron). Gentlemen, no need to inform us of your net worth, shoe size or number of Twitter followers. By virtue of being dissatisfied, you’re important enough.

The maid didn’t steal your tiara. Hotel managers receive frequent calls from frantic guests who have misplaced a valuable item and immediately blame the nearest employee. Invariably, the item turns up. When a guest accused one of my staff members of stealing her iPod, I ran a key report and viewed security camera footage, then called her back to ask if she had checked with the stream of visitors to her room late that night. I didn’t hear back. Store your valuables in the safe.

An eye for an eye. In today’s economy, hotels aren’t particularly enthusiastic about doling out freebies if we’re not at fault. If we messed up, however, the matter should be resolved to your satisfaction. If you feel you deserve compensation, be candid—otherwise you might get a fruit basket. But be reasonable. If you want a large cash payout, you’d better be missing a limb. If you invent or exaggerate a story to get free stuff, you might get it, but you’ll probably end up in hell.  

Complain up. If the issue arises after checkout, send an email to the manager, who can copy it to other departments and, theoretically at least, resolve the matter quickly. If you’re not satisfied, forward the message to hotel ownership or the management company; these individuals loathe complaints and will get to the bottom of things fast. You can also dispute erroneous charges with your credit card company.

Bad things happen, even at the best hotels. The true test lies in how staff members respond. If an issue is expertly handled, a little praise goes a long way. At times it may seem otherwise, but we’re in this business because we love to please. Enjoy your stay.

Click here for the perspective of a really cranky traveler. I hope this guy never corners me at a cocktail party.

Given the sheer volume and related security concerns, suppliers to the Games will face a number of logistical challenges. Hotels have the added stress of being a twenty-four-hour operation. That means long days and lots of overtime for staff, who may be reluctant to waste what little downtime they have battling traffic to get home and back again.

Typically, when employees work back-to-back shifts hotels put them up in a guestroom for the night to ensure they’re perky for guests in the morning. But with visitors now fighting over scraps of private homes, campgrounds and RV parks, that won’t be an option during the Olympics. Nor will crashing at a friend’s place. Spare rooms, sofas and inflatable mattresses will be taken by out-of-town friends and relatives. Or paying strangers. The demand for accommodation has brought new meaning to the term “Go for the gold!” Employees who do make it home might discover that their enterprising spouse has rented out their side of the bed to a small Norwegian family.

Over dinner recently, I asked Opus Hotel Vancouver General Manager Nicholas Gandossi about his plans. “I’m having a cot installed in my office,” he tells me with characteristic good-nature. “That way I can avoid the commute.”

Across the table, his wife Nicola, who works at another downtown hotel, shoots him a look. “And what about our two kids at home, honey?” she asks.

Nicholas scratches his chin. “Oh. Right. The kids.”

There’s no room for a cot in Opus Executive Chef Don Letendre’s office. “I’ll be sleeping in the storage room,” he tells me. “It won’t be the first time.” And his family? “They’ll be heading to Palm Springs. That way I can work around-the-clock guilt-free.”

At a hotel I worked for in Toronto, when we overbooked and the city was full we used to roll cots into our meeting rooms and house guests there, supplying free alcohol and snacks and positioning it as a slumber party. Guests were not amused, but it was better than sleeping in the street. During the Games, however, virtually every inch of meeting space has been pre-reserved for Olympic-related functions.

Employees may have to settle for catching a few winks leaning against a wall or spooning with a side of beef in the walk-in cooler. “My team will be bringing in sleeping bags and using the housekeeping office as our sleeping quarters,” Opus Executive Housekeeper Julieta Laliberty informs me. “That way we can be available 24/7.” But given the stockpiles hotels will require to service guests and cater events, employees may find themselves jockeying for space with cases of Okanagan wines, smoked salmon and maple syrup.

Despite the challenges, there’s no question that hotel staff in Vancouver and Whistler are pumped and ready for the Games. To ease the pressure, temporary employees have been recruited and reinforcements are being sent from sister properties. At Opus, where offsite catering commitments alone will require an additional 150 employees, a group of bilingual staff from Opus Montreal will fly in to help out. With all the excitement around, sleep might only be a distraction.

Along with the cot, Nicholas has had a 52-inch plasma-screen television installed in his office. “Purely for professional reasons,” he assures me, mumbling something about video-conferencing. Right. I’ll bet that whenever Canada makes the finals in a sporting event, employees will be crawling out of storage rooms, closets and room service carts, and it’ll be standing-room only in the GM’s office.

Stay tuned for the January launch of the 2010 Winter Olympics edition of Opus Vancouver’s Lifestyle Concierge.

When I last wrote a post about how to get a job in the hotel industry, the economy was booming and hotels were so desperate for staff they were stopping just short of dragging passersby off the street and slapping uniforms on them. These days, occupancy rates have tanked, room attendants are dozing on beds rather than making them, and it seems the only place to find job vacancies is in the obituaries.

Are job prospects that bleak? Absolutely not. Hotels are always in need of great people, but competition is fiercer than ever. Taking the time to understand the unique culture of the hotel industry will give you a leg up on other candidates. Here are a few insider tips to help prepare you for that elusive hotel interview.

Martyrs need only apply. What’s the quickest way to get an interview with a hotel? Highlight “love working graveyard shifts” on your cover letter. The quickest way to end an interview? Say you’re looking for something nine-to-five. Hotels are a 24-hour operation, and most entry-level positions involve shift work. Your best chance to get a foot in the door is to apply for a high-turnover position like room service attendant, busser, dishwasher, line cook or any graveyard position. Be specific, and be keen. Not like the young lady I interviewed who explained that graveyard shifts would give her time to work on her personal art projects.

Beware of the super-friendly people in suits. Your interviewer will smile and use your name frequently and will maintain eye contact for freakishly long periods of time. No, you’re not being recruited into a cult. These basic service standards are programmed into our being. Some of us really are that happy, others are gifted actors, others are heavily medicated. Don’t be lulled by that pleasant exterior; underneath is a hard-nosed interviewer who will assess your appearance, communication skills and attitude in three minutes flat. That’s as much time as you’ll have to impress our guests.

Perfection is something we strive for but never achieve. If your interviewer asks you to identify areas you’d like to improve, it’s a euphemism for weaknesses. This question strikes fear into the heart of candidates and can result in awkward silences and moronic replies. Relax, it’s okay not to be perfect. Provide an honest, thoughtful answer—unless you suffer from kleptomania or multiple personality disorder, which you might want to keep to yourself. A woman I interviewed confessed that her only weakness was perfectionism. I drew my own conclusion—lack of humility and self-delusion—and quickly wrapped up the interview.

Is something burning? Hotels are notoriously short on office space, so don’t be surprised if your interview is held in a bar, kitchen, ballroom or suite (though hopefully not in a bedroom). The activity around you—sound checks, shattering dishes, grease fires—will be distracting, but stay focused on your interviewer. If you’re in the restaurant and are offered a beverage, ask for water or coffee, not a margarita and the filet mignon. During a dinner interview for a high-ranking position, I watched a candidate knock back two martinis and a half-liter of wine. Now that was distracting.

Hotels are glamorous for guests, not employees. Some hotel managers prance around like wealthy aristocrats, but in reality most employees live shockingly modest lifestyles when not on an expense account. The only exception is doormen, whom own apartment complexes and small tropical islands. Should your interview take you into the back-of-house, the area not meant for the eyes of guests, brace yourself for a sharp contrast: general disarray, strange odors and employees who look like they’ve never seen the light of day. A career in hotels won’t make you wealthy, but it will make you rich in life experience.

Do you speak hotelese? Hotel employees are notorious for using jargon and acronyms to save time, sound smart and confuse guests into paying higher rates. If you don’t understand a word your interviewer is saying, don’t ask for an explanation—you’ll only be further confused. If you’re interviewing with the revenue manager, hire an interpreter. Do some advance research to understand the language of hotels and to determine whether you’re a good fit for the business. That way you’ll avoid the fate of the employee I hired who went for a break on his first day and never came back.

Interviewing with the general manager. If the GM is late, don’t fret. Given today’s tight labour budgets, he or she is probably making beds or baking breakfast muffins. He will wax poetic about how the hotel is a home-away-from-home for guests and employees are like a family, and will seem distracted and vaguely irritated. If you don’t get more than a few words in, don’t be disheartened. This guy has been dealing with people so long he’s got you figured out even before you open your mouth.

Managing post-interview anxiety disorder. You survived the interview, now what? More interviews. From two to five depending on the position and up to seventy-three for large chain hotels. Then silence. No, hoteliers don’t take glee in tormenting you. Every position is critical to our success, and the hiring process takes time. Don’t badger your interviewer with hourly calls or issue Twitter updates like “Just interviewed with uptight chick at ABC Hotel. Hope I got the job!” Send a handwritten thank-you note or email—no butterfly decals or smileys please—and continue with your search. It’s out of your hands now.

Yes, it’s a tough job market, but if you’re a good fit for the hotel business your resourcefulness and persistence will eventually pay off. Good luck.

For more tips on working in hotels click here.

Almost-perfect jobseekers are invited to check out Opus Hotel’s job board.

Travelers beware. A similar trend started about a decade ago, after word got out that boutique hotels were more profitable than other hotels. Suddenly hotels large and small were calling themselves boutique. But then a number of players tarnished the boutique reputation by emphasizing style over comfort and hiring mannequins for staff. When the big hotel chains got into the action, the boutique reputation suffered even further. Soon hotels couldn’t distance themselves quickly enough from the contemporary boutique moniker. A new buzzword was needed, and along came the next generation of boutique hotels: the lifestyle hotel.

What exactly is a lifestyle hotel? No one really knows. Essentially, a lifestyle hotel offers services and amenities that cater to a demographic with shared tastes, income levels, habits, attitudes and/or values. As a traveler, no longer are you obliged to leave your lifestyle preferences at home while on the road. If you can’t bear to put Muffy the teacup poodle in a kennel, you can bring her along, and your hotel might even offer special meals, a spa and Pilates classes for canines. Whether you’re a vegan environmentalist, a Crackberry-addicted techno-geek or a yoga-loving lesbian, there’s bound to be a lifestyle hotel for you. But don’t call it a theme hotel; themes are for amusement parks and kids. This is sophisticated stuff.

This time the chains are leading the charge. Starwood has Element and Aloft; Marriott has Edition; Hyatt has Andaz; Intercontinental has Indigo; the list goes on. In many ways lifestyle hotels are a great fit for the chains. Whereas boutique hotels tend to be high-priced, exclusive and urban, lifestyle hotels tend to be more reasonably priced, inclusive and accessible, located in secondary markets like small cities and suburbs.

The biggest challenge for the chains is fulfilling the promise of lifestyle hotels to keep current with traveler preferences. This can be exhausting—and expensive. Running a traditional hotel is far easier; you can maintain the same décor, employees and services for decades and pass them off as old-world charm. By nature the chains are slower to react because they have a lot of players to please. Let’s take a fictional chain, Guilty Pleasures Hotels & Resorts, for example, and say they’ve decided to roll out a signature scent. Hotel scents, a questionable trend in my mind—when I travel all I want to smell is lemon-scented disinfectant—are intended to round out the multi-sensory experience while subtly signaling to guests that they have arrived at their preferred hotel, they will never stay anywhere else, and they will spend lots of money.

Corporate office eventually settles on a scent that combines hints of jasmine, apple pie, whisky, opium and hundred-dollar bills. They dispatch samples to member properties and, of course, everyone hates it, particularly the manager of the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia property, where whisky is forbidden. He suggests oil as an alternative, which offends the manager of the chain’s eco resort in Montana. The debate goes on for months, until corporate office issues a decree that all hotels must use the scent or face expulsion. By then, however, travelers tastes have changed, and hotel scents have been found to be directly responsible for global warming.

When I joined Opus Hotel’s opening team in 2001, I came from a traditional hotel background and had no clue how to market a contemporary boutique hotel. Fortunately, by then a number of boutique hotels in other cities had gotten things terribly wrong, and I was able to learn from their mistakes. I wrote a manifesto for staff that specified the vocabulary we used to describe the hotel. Words like hip, sexy, cool and trendy were banned. If you use these words to describe yourself, you just aren’t.

Back then, all we had to work with were a few design boards, a chaotic construction site, and the ownership’s vision, which encompassed three key words: fresh, warm and sensual. From this we developed our mission statement and values and recruited a management team with classic luxury training who were entrepreneurial enough to adapt to a contemporary boutique environment. Today freshness, warmth and sensuality pervades every aspect of Opus, evoking not only the lifestyle preferences of our guests but the hotel’s soul.

Soul? Soul is an essential part of any hotel, and of lifestyle hotels in particular. It is everything abstract: personality, culture and spirit, that intangible feeling that prompts a guest to remark either “It just felt right” or “Something was missing.” Soul is often overlooked by hotel executives because we can’t see it, write it into an operating manual or charge a fee for it. Some hotels have all the right elements in place—beautiful design, quality amenities, competent service—but feel like the other definition of soul: the spirit of a dead person. Soul cannot be factory-produced or mass-marketed; more than anything it’s shaped by employees. By defining the hotel’s vision and values and using them to guide every decision, management develops the hotel’s culture and, over time, its soul evolves organically.

Will lifestyle hotels endure or be relegated to the garbage heap of overused and abused travel trends? Only time will tell. Regardless, given the stresses of our troubled economy and the headaches of modern travel, the timing couldn’t be better for a boom in hotels that contribute to travelers’ wellbeing by catering to lifestyle preferences.

Take the Lifestyle Concierge quiz and find out which of Opus Hotel’s five lifestyle-inspired décor schemes match your personality.

1. Everything learned in revenue management training has gone out the window. Hysteria rules the day as hotels drop rates, get indignant when competitors drop rates in response, and then panic and drop rates even further. All inventory is now treated as distressed inventory, erasing years of brand-equity-building and training travelers to look for the best deals on third-party websites. It will take years to recover from these rate wars, and the only winner is the traveler.

2. Travelers are becoming more demanding and less forgiving. Acutely aware of the hotel industry’s desperation to fill rooms, travelers are demanding even deeper discounts and more value add-ons while at the same time refusing to tolerate the cuts to services hotels have been forced to implement to stay afloat, posting nasty comments on TripAdvisor like “Save your money! This hotel has gone to hell!!”

3. Service levels are nose-diving. The labor shortage crisis of 2008, when hoteliers blamed poor service levels on lack of employee resources, has given way to the job shortage crisis of 2009, in which hoteliers now blame poor service levels on tight labor budgets. Managers have been forced to cover frontline shifts to save labor costs, thereby revealing they have no clue how their department operates, resulting in a deluge of missed wakeup calls, accounting errors and guests checked into occupied rooms.

4. Eco-friendly initiatives are being tossed into the recycling bin. Faced with the grim realization that going green costs money, hotels are instead opting for programs that guilt the guest into making the sacrifices, such as the now-ubiquitous optional towel and sheet replacement program. Having discovered that guests will tolerate plastic recycling bins and off-white tissue paper, hotels will begin to phase out those cute little bottles of shampoo, blackberry jam and Dijon mustard in favor of “eco-friendly” (cheap) bulk offerings.

5. Automation and do-it-yourself options are replacing costly employees. Hotel managers, faced with the horror of having to deal with guests themselves, are considering previously unthinkable initiatives like automated check-in kiosks. New labor-saving programs will include make-your-own-bed-and-breakfast packages, do-it-yourself luggage carts, and computers standing in for concierges. Meanwhile, all gratuitous positions created during the halcyon days like “tanning concierge”, “dream butler” and “pillow consultant” have been summarily retired.

6. The trend toward offering more healthful food choices in restaurants, room service and mini-bars is being reversed. Hotels have discovered that cheeseburgers, Coke and Kit Kats sell better and are more profitable.

7. Lifestyle hotels are popping everywhere though travelers still have no idea what they are. Customization will be taken a step further, with such options as the daily repainting of rooms to match the guest’s wardrobe, smart lighting that adjusts according to the guest’s mood, and hotels designed exclusively for germophobes, anarchists and narcissists. Meanwhile, lifestyle hotels continue to confuse guests with cutesy names for traditional positions like “comfort consultant” for housekeeper, “personal nutritionist” for waitress and “ambassador to happiness” for front desk agent.

8. Complimentary amenities are mysteriously vanishing. “Amenity Creep”, the one-upmanship game hotels played during prosperous times by adding superfluous items like lip balm, wrinkle cream and nose-hair trimmers, has given way to “Amenity Retreat”, in which all but essential items are being removed and guests will soon be charged for non-essential items like blankets, soap and hot water. Dog-friendly hotels are also being phased out as hotels realize that dogs are not hotel-friendly.

9. The boutique-hotel-as-nightclub trend will spread to traditional hotels like Ritz Carlton, Fairmont and Four Seasons. Lobbies will morph into late-night clubs, with Bach concertos replaced by techno grooves from in-house DJs. Traditional doormen in Beefeater-style uniforms will be supplanted by lobby hostesses in booty shorts, and the mantra “It’s my pleasure, sir” will surrender to “Hey, no problem, man.”

10. Standalone hotels will become a thing of the past. Mixed-use developments, in which hotels are housed in the same complex as condos, retail outlets and office space and condo owners shoulder the burden of costly hotel construction by paying for access to services they will never use, will expand to include hospitals, churches and crematoriums to ensure guests never check out.

There’s one major reason why I’ve come to this place every day for six years, the same reason it’s so hard to leave: the staff. Never before have I worked with such a talented team of dedicated professionals. It’s been a privilege to work with them every day. I’ve learned so much and, most importantly, I’ve had a blast along the way.

I’m proud to be leaving Opus while it leads the boutique hotel market in service, financial performance and reputation. Opus Vancouver is once again named on of the World’s Best 500 Hotels in the January 2008 issue of Travel + Leisure magazine. How has a little independent hotel achieved such success? Great location, style, and quality, yes, but more than anything it’s all about the people.

Of course, it it weren’t for our guests none of us would be here. They have been fiercely loyal, inspiring and totally cool. The media has also played a critical part in our success. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting writers from around the world, and they’ve told glowing stories about Opus in every medium. Finally, we couldn’t have come this far without the resources, support and expertise provided by hotel ownership. With Opus Montreal now open, this success is now being duplicated in one of the world’s most vibrant cities—en français et à la Montréalaise.

What becomes of me? I plan to take a few months off to write.
Murder at the Universe, my first novel in the Five-Star Mystery Series featuring hotel-manager-turned-house-detective Trevor Lambert, is now in its second printing. Murder at Hotel Cinema hits the shelves in June 2008. Now I’m on to #3. So I’ll be at home plotting my next murder over champagne and caviar. After that, who knows. I might pursue my lifelong ambition to fold towels at Linens N’ Things.

What becomes of the GM Blog? It will carry on in infamy in Katrina’s capable hands. Should you wish to keep tabs on me, I plan to start my own blog on my website. There, no longer constrained by the conventions of being a hotel manager, I’ll be able to speak even more candidly. If you thought hookers and drag queens were risqué, stay tuned.

My departure opens up opportunities for my colleagues, including Nicholas Gandossi, who becomes general manager of Opus Vancouver, Jacques Fortier, who becomes general manager of Opus Montreal, and Katrina Carroll-Foster, who is now Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Opus Hotels. It gives me great peace of mind to know that these highly capable individuals will be carrying the torch into the future.

To my colleagues, guests, clients, suppliers, media and friends in Vancouver, Montreal and around the world, thank you for the privilege and the pleasure. It’s been a fantastic party, but it’s now time for me to go home and write about it.

I will miss you. All the best in 2008 and beyond. Au revoir et a bientôt.

Daniel Craig

Photo courtesy of Out Traveler