Big Blend Radio
Hospitality Insider with Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels
It's all about attention to detail and exemplary customer service on this special Hospitality Insider episode of Big Blend Radio's 4th Saturday “Palm Springs Sunshine Stays” Show. Hear about the unique guest experiences provided by the boutique hotels that are part of Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels.
FEATURED GUESTS:
* Robert Hunt - General Manager of Alcazar Palm Springs. Visit: https://alcazarpalmsprings.com/
* Karima Zaki - Vice President of Operations of Town and Desert Hospitality. Visit: https://townanddesert.com
* Adam Ramirez, owner of Luxe Hospitality Consulting LLC. Visit: www.luxehospitalityrevpar.com
Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels, a consortium of independently-owned boutique hotels in the desert resort community of Palm Springs, in Southern California. View the hotels and sign up the the monthly Boutiquely Palm Springs newsletter here: https://www.palmspringspreferredsmallhotels.com/
Follow this Big Blend Radio Podcast here: https://palm-springs-sunshine-stays.podbean.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Duration:
- 55m
- Broadcast on:
- 22 Jun 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
Welcome to Big Blend Radio's fourth Saturday Sunshine Station with the Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels. It's a consortium of independently owned boutique hotels in the beautiful desert resort community of Palm Springs in Southern California. Welcome everybody. You know every fourth Saturday we get to air our Sunshine Station with the Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels which is an awesome consortium of independently owned boutique hotels in the desert resort community of beautiful Palm Springs in Southern California. It may be sizzling out there but let me tell you summer is still a place, this is a place to go. You've got pools, you've got palm trees, you've got early morning and evening hikes, you've got all kinds of art and architecture to experience. It is just a wonderful destination year round and I encourage you to go to the website authenticpomsprings.com so you can see these boutique hotels. Today we're going to go kind of behind the scenes of the boutique hotel scene you see how that rhymes and we're going to find out what goes into making your stay truly exceptional. We're going to be talking about exemplary service and attention to detail. And so again everyone authenticpomsprings.com if you go to that site when we talk about these different hotels each with their own architectural style. Some are really small, some have more rooms than others, pools, some have restaurants, some don't. The history is also really fascinating about these hotels. The decor architecture you name it their services. It's just really unique so I encourage you to check out that site so you can see the hotels we're talking about on the show. We have three special guests joining us. We've got Robert Hunt here is the general manager for Alcazar Palm Springs and he's been on our show before and every time he comes on here I think we're going to talk about bacon at some point but welcome Robert how are you? I am great thank you and you can come anytime for bacon fight at Cheeky. Cheeky so this is you know so Cheeky's are just like literally steps away from Alcazar right. This is one of the most popular restaurants I believe yes for breakfast and lunch it definitely is. So how many rooms does Alcazar have? Alcazar has 34 rooms and the interesting part is it has 10 different room types in those 34 which is quite unusual because it just varies the properties from 1927 and the room size and so when they did the renovation they pretty much kept the old shapes and the sizes of the room so that's why the room types expanded you know some have fireplaces some have private soaking tubs, private patios so there's a real variety for anybody when they come to visit Alcazar. Wow and so Alcazar opened in 2011 and weren't you part of Alcazar's creation and opening? Yes just right when it started and they started doing most of the work was done beforehand but then I took over when they did open previous to us it was called the preparatory end for many years. Oh actually I think I've heard that maybe it's from you are on the show before but you know before we bring our other guests on having these different kinds of hotel rooms right um does that help in regards to the guest experience so that you can match the right room to the guest's needs once and even as they say on on the actual website for the Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels you can actually book a hotel by your actual personal vibe what kind of vibe are you there for a girl's getaway a guy's getaway are you there for a wedding are you there to relax and and or are you working you know we talked about that last time you were on the show are we working remotely and then going out and and clubbing at night whatever he were doing um does that help? Yeah that one of our last show was kind of post covid when you know how we kept business going with people working here actually but what all of the above that you mentioned is what we have we do book weddings you have to buy out the hotel I look at it like a portfolio I keep telling the owners that you know I don't want to be locked into a specific group young old day straight whatever and this way it's a diversity by having the different type of rooms and and we push for them to come and call us I'm not big on you know they book on the website a lot of people don't want the interaction but because of the number of available room types we do want to fit it to them if someone's not going to use like a great spa room with a soaking tub in it then what's the sense of putting them there you know maybe they prefer a fireplace maybe they prefer a patio so yeah we do make the experience and then we even have guests that for years now I've been here 12 and a half years to actually pick the room and we do put in there do not move you know because that guest wants that room and they sometimes come once a month for the same room. Oh wow so that's becomes their their spot you know I love talking about this because that's the thing I think in travelers now you know and it really is regardless on on generation right or age group travelers want an authentic stay I believe and that's what we're seeing as we travel the country are you experiencing that too? Yes definitely definitely oh okay my goal is to get returned guests because that's what enduring this type of season the summer comes you still can continue your business you know and keep it operating or healthy you know helping now that's a good point definitely everyone you can go to alcazar palm springs.com and look at the hotel directly and you know when you go to authentic palm springs.com the beauty of this website and this amazing hotel group of boutique hotels is that when you see the hotel on there you can look at everything you want to look at I know in the summer there's all kinds of good deals too but when you go on there you can direct it links you right to the hotels booking reservation the hotel website so you're booking directly with the hotel versus what we call an OTA which is you know those big places that you book and choose from you know you know what I'm talking about and you think you may be getting a good deal but when you go to change your hotel room or maybe even add a guest or two that decided to go with you oh we're going to have more to the party it becomes a bit of a hassle so I wanted to just click it before I bring our other guests on Robert that is I would say at the beginning step of the actual booking the hotel if you go through those you know those OTA's which sometimes yes it's very convenient it's a great way for people to find out about you but being able to work with a guest and finding that room through the website and even on a phone call I know some people who just I always want to make a phone call isn't that one of those first steps in customer service yes and it's the way to introduce who we are what we have to offer and you made a very good point with the OTA's the fact is they don't know what they're getting when they saw a picture and they thought oh I thought I was getting that room with the big lion you know the dragon red poster in it or something and that's not the case that at least we can do that with them when they call directly and a lot of people are in the assumption that they are getting a discount when they go on to one of the other OTA's they're not from us we actually send out rack rates they call it which is the full rate so there's no discount besides the us paying 18 percent so what we do is with our returning guests we offer a 10 percent all the time anytime of the year if they're returning guests and book directly with us they receive a 10 percent discount I like that I like that well let's bring our other guests on we have Karima Zaki joining us Zaki she is the vice president of operations of town and desert hospitality so their hotels include the Mahala the orbit in the hideaway in desert hills she'll tell us more about that but you can go to their website townanddesert.com so welcome Karima how are you I am fabulous thank you how are you are doing great it's good to have you on this show because I heard that you went from law school to the hotel business and talk about the devil in the details you've got it girl yeah actually I made the left turn before law school I got a job in a hotel was already accepted to law school and headed there and said no I think I like this better and I've never looked back I've enjoyed every every element of my journey oh that is super cool to hear and you know so you know what we're talking about all this personalized details like you know the hotel rooms and matching the guests to the rooms um talk talk to us a little bit about town and desert hospitality are you helping open the hotels run manage the hotels train how does that all work so my role really is to to run the hotel division of our company we have other venues including one here in Palm Springs that does not have a hotel attached to it as of now called the Sonoran but I come from the I come from a very background of chain and independent large hotels and by large I say anywhere from 300 to 2000 room hotels that I've run and this the beauty of our hotel group is this small intimate spaces where people feel like they are not one of many but they are a unique guest in a unique space to have a unique experience and so that shift has is just fabulous and frankly I think that people are more and more looking to have these experiences that are truly distinctive from cookie cutter and because we don't have an oversight that says you know this is what you have to use and this is what you have to buy and this is what you have to you know engage in we're able to to to zig and zag really quickly and so when we see that when we hear from our guests and we see that there are things out there that are interesting and innovative and and you know things that we really are are expected today if you're going to demonstrate that you have your finger on the pulse and really really want to deliver exceptional service we can respond to that very quickly and especially when when you're talking about our group of hotels three of them are on in the historic tennis district they are created by the same architect Herbert Burns who was very very well known in the mid-century modern movement of recreating how we looked at architecture and interior design and those three hotels are historic sites and and people who know what mid-century modern architecture and design is walk in and are just enamored and those people who don't walk in and are introduced for the first time and very often become fans of the development of that kind of architecture and it's really you know mid-century modern is such a defined time in our American history because we made such a significant change in how we looked at how we build our homes and how we design them and there's not been such a significant change since you know it was so dramatic and and such a departure from the norm that these these beautiful buildings that we restore with love and care are really enjoyed by people who are aficionados and people who've never who knew nothing about it and come in and say oh wow this is a real this is a real departure. And Tala which is on in the design district in the uptown design district is funky and fun and and has all of the modern appointments but still has a sense of of whimsy and and and real creativity and so and and they're all 14 rooms or less so so Mahala has 14 rooms desert hills has 14 rooms desert hills is undergoing a massive renovation and will recreate itself as modern air at the end of this year and then orbit in and the hideaway and they're distinct but they're beloved and you know like Robert said the idea is that we have guests that come back over and over again and they make us these stop in Palm Springs it is the purpose why they come summertime included we have a tremendous amount of European guests that come over the summer that love the warm and love the evenings and I just enamored by what we offer in the summertime and so it's really it's a magical place to do business it's a magical way to do business and I think the important thing is to constantly be conscious of the fact that our guests are doing business differently and how do we accommodate that change you know if they don't want to hang on the phone anymore as much as we'd like to engage in that way we have to give them alternative ways to communicate you know if they're not comfortable with one mode or another then we have to figure out what the comfort level is so that we can make sure that we stay in touch and as you said a couple of our hotels don't have front desk and I was chatting with some of our guests over the last year and I said well would you like to have a front desk here where and they they were adamantly opposed they like it exactly how they love the fact that they can come and check in anytime they like and they have access and that there's privacy and you know that it the space is their own and so you know it accommodates what people want these days and our ear below to the ground to make sure we continue to innovate yeah everyone's different I mean it's like some people want someone at the desk on the phone and some people want that you know checking in just leave me alone I want to go to my room you know that remote site and I know that some of the surveys that the Palm Springs preferred small hotel group has done you know it's it's a low number but it's growing because I think it is generational and it is it's getting to about quality of time and I think that's something that we're seeing in travelers is they want the authentic experience but time is about life not necessarily always about money it's about life too yeah and the important thing too is that just because we don't have a front desk doesn't mean that we don't have a responsive team that is available consistently to respond to anything you want if you know if you're looking for a special restaurant that you want to take your your significant other two we respond to you in moments and give you recommendations it's just that you're not walking up to a physical desk where you you know request that information but we respond to guests anytime all the time and that's a very important factor is that we're not taking anything away we're just doing it differently yeah I've I've been in hotels and bed and breakfast where you're communicating with being keeper or the concierge by text they just text you like this is this is what I want you have like a personal number you know it's kind of like wow you know which is kind of cool because you could be out submerged like hey do you know this you know or I'm lost you know because I don't care how much GPS you give me I will find that road that people don't go down and I will go there and I will not find my way home unless someone knows where I am you know I can have someone to call or text so I think you know that's part of it it's it's also working together I want to bring our next guest Adam Ramirez on their show he is from Lux Hospitality Consulting Lux Hospitality revhar.com is his website and my gosh you are born and raised in Palm Springs Adam I am a native I sure am right on right on so wow so your hospitality in you know getting into that world was it kind of at your fingertips being in Palm Springs you know you've got all the music and the arts and I think you know the restaurants the shows and these amazing hotels it's kind of been part of the the backbone of history of Palm Springs really so was that kind of like a just oh yeah I'm just going to step right into there how did that happen for you absolutely I you know I started my journey in 2014 while I was still in high school doing a summer job at the Andreas Hotel and Spa downtown and that's really where I discovered you know my unique talent for crafting unforgettable guest experiences we would welcome every guest the glass of champagne and provide property personalized property tours infused with warmth and charm the pool fed indoors was just immense so we would offer cold ochebori towels and frozen champagne grapes and I think just that level of personalization and highly experiential service really drew me in to the hospitality space and from that moment on I really knew that this is what I wanted to do and Palm Springs has so many beautiful options in terms of boutique hotels it's really created it's really created a space where anyone can come here and find what they're looking for if they want something funky and cool that they want something hip and modern if they want something old and classic whatever you're looking for there are so many independent hotels in the area that you can find that home for you and I have a special place in my heart for independent hotels because we we know the owners face to face and we know the people behind the hat um oftentimes and and they're truly creating a version of their home and their space within their properties to offer to the market hmm and so how much of it when you think about Palm Springs and all these boutique hotels like these boutique hotels that do you think makes the boutiques are like like a 70 80 percent part of the destination you know what I mean like people go to places like they go to Yellowstone to see the national park right and then if they go to one of those historic national park lodges that's part of that that's a huge that's like historic like that's an epic thing to do because if you're staying in history of that national park so when you're staying in a boutique hotel don't you think that's really part of this integrity of what and who Palm Springs is as a city and a destination is is actually the lodging it's a it's a major portion of the identity of the Palm Springs area and for instance like some of Karima's hotels you know three other properties are Herbert Burns masterpieces you know and they're they're quite literally architectural masterpieces that have been featured in publications time and time again um and they they root themselves in the community and just like the alphas are these properties are an emulation of what the Palm Springs community is like and what that offering looks like you know I think it's what Karima said earlier about not having a front desk at one of the properties you know the front desk and oftentimes create a barrier between you versus me on this side I mean you're on that side and when you break those down and you start to interact with your guests in a more personalized way it changes the game and every property does that in different ways but I mean that by comment back up because oftentimes you'll find experiences like that here in the Palm Springs area these boutique hotels it is very much a personalized hands-on high touch point experience and and Karima is absolutely right you don't feel like one of many you feel like you belong in that space and oftentimes within these independent boutique hotels the people that work within these resorts are providing experiences and and touching these guests in such a way that want to make them come back time and time again and continue to give them the business. Well also you know what there's some you're kind of right about that front desk and I know that that's going to stay around for a long time but um there is something about going to a front desk after a long drive or a really turbulent flight you get there and there's no one at the front desk it's annoying I'm sorry I don't mean to get into pet peeves but there is something about maybe like here you know text me when you get here or anything like that you want to you you it should be open and you should like already feel at home once you get to your logic destination. You should feel free to walk around. That home component is major. When I helped to open the Sand Hotel and Spa in India well but it's also a boutique independent hotel we were designing the check-in experience to be such that you were coming into our home. We wanted you to come into our space and again interact with our agents on a personal level so we could tell you more about the destination and the property and the history of that property. That's cool and now listen all I want is cookies somewhere like come on we need the jar of cookies somewhere to make it feel at home so now you know where what happens to me but I want to go back over to you Robert over at the Alcazar tell us a little bit about the check-in experience you know we were talking about you know connecting but um you know with with your guests coming in this is kind of an interesting thing about how people want to do things and what does that experience like how how far does it go in regards to customer service at Alcazar. Well you know I've been listening to everything of the pros and cons and the non-check-in and stuff and I've always been amazed with our location of how there's so many people that they just taught the whole time they want to know what everything would trail and so they check in. It also gives us the opportunity to you know besides the welcoming experience of talking about the property and you know we do copy pastures express so we sell alcohol like it's all in an area and if they didn't know that it was explained that to them um you know we literally take the map and we circle the Wi-Fi code and say here's your room and we have a property map for them to navigate even though it's a small property but they like that you know and there'll still be times they'll call down 10 minutes later oh what's the Wi-Fi code when you just told them and show it in the highlight so there's a different type of traveler and I agree you know I look at it more of the experience like that of a non-front desk check-in in a larger hotel that's just my take you know I'm traveling and going to a city I fly I want to just get into the room I don't need to know the details but when the actual the amenities and details are right here you can walk down the path did you have breakfast that did you have lunch you can go right over to cheekies you know that type of interaction is what we look at and we work on and and it's the majority of the gas there's very few that just say oh okay okay they have questions and then they see that we have other restaurants in the area outside of what's on the property they asked about that oh you're in ocean side or you're in you know that type of thing so there's pros and cons on both of them but I think to me I'm old-school and I think it's part of the experience like going to a bed and breakfast or you know an intimate home I think what's interesting is it's we are in a like a season of change that's gonna last a few years it's a long season or the generational changes travel changes things you know we've gone through covid and who knows if anything wonky happens around the corner so I think we're all a little bit more prepared for that kind of thing too hotels and travelers and it's this it's communication is everything and I think a huge part of it is listening and you know when we were talking with Kim Munkers from the Palm Springs preferred small hotels a few minutes ago and she was talking about that they do surveys through their website you know they do a boutique they do a wonderful newsletter that everyone should get boutiquely Palm Springs you can get it on their website if you go to authentic Palm Springs dot com keeps you up to date on events and all kinds of good things and great articles of what to experience in Palm Springs but they do surveys so that information goes back to the hotel years and hotel years are doing this with their guests so Robert how much of it is listening and not just showing what people can do like a city someone comes in you don't start telling them oh no you can do this hike you can do this when they're not interested in hiking just when you go have cocktails yeah you're 100% right on that I agree with you you feel a lot as soon as they approach you can see if they're tired oh would you like a drink would you need something you would you like some water and you know you do that's part of being a front desk person a general manager anyone that interacts with guests in the hospitality is to sight them out like sometimes you can see them angry and my goal is to turn them around and make them happy you know in a very short short period of time yeah how you what is that um you know when someone comes in I mean getting to a destination can be harrowing um we've run we've inset for friends before a few times and and it it was an experience once this whole group came in and it was like a it was a just a group thing and the one gentleman did not get there and he had a two hour two to three hour drive maximum but it took him like eight hours after he was a doctor being in surgery and this is a reunion group right being in surgery all day and then being late because of this other extra surgery then going through some major row construction drama on the road that detoured him for hours and he only got there at midnight I could not go to sleep because all I could think of someone has to be there for him his friends were there they were all drinking many cocktails and I was picking those glasses up like you wouldn't believe but it was um someone had to still make sure that this gentleman even though his wife had come with other people they'd checked into their rooms I just had this like I want to make sure this guest got there so Robert is it am I para I'm not a good insetter I think but this is am I paranoid or is that do you guys kind of feel that too like what does that guess go through because you know by the time he sets foot in he is not happy no one's going to be happy after that day oh you're right you know out here we'll have the four hours from LA when they planned on two hours I got here and again you you feel them out you psych them out you know are you hungry did you have dinner yet um would you like you know we give bottle the wine out all the time you know whatever it would take for that coming to see you yeah no what we do we do but it is actually to you know what find out what that what will make it better better or even now our logo is like you know you've arrived and then now well you're here now you know and go from there so each person you psych them out yeah exactly now Karima when you look at the hotels that you're representing Mahalo orbit in the hideaway desert hills um can you tell us what it's like in regards to getting the message out because it's like when you design these hotels run these hotels um you've got to attract the customer that is going to be a good fit for the hotel right isn't that the other part of good hospitality is not like just come one and all you know what I mean if if you don't suit that kind of person yeah you're absolutely right um luckily um the majority of our hotels have a base of what we call legacy guests who have been with us for a long time and before they leave they make the reservations for the next time and so our bigger challenge is not changing anything for those guests because they have a level of expectation that that is very set but I will tell you to what Robert's saying and I totally agree I think that the experience um has touch points and those touch points have to be met and exceeded um and the way that that we've crafted the delivery of that to our guests is that we get in touch very very early as soon as the reservation is made um and we get in touch in a variety of ways and we let people know every which way that they communicate with us um and they get um in two of our hotels do have a front desk mahala and and the orbit in and there the front desk is very important um but so we we we communicate with our guests consistently uh we communicate with them the day before they arrive we communicate with them the morning they arrive we communicate with them if they if they've already arrived if we see that they haven't arrived yet then we're checking on them in the late afternoon early evening if they tell us they're gonna come late we tell them let us know if you need anything we can be at the property in no time um so I don't I think it's just a different a different uh delivery system that seems to to work just as well for the hotels that have that option and you know as opposed to the two hotels um that have front desk that are that that have the same experience you know like at Alcazar you know you expect to go to a front desk and get answers and you responded to or even just chitchat but you know the difference I think in what when we're talking about Palm Springs and these small boutique hotels is that if I'm going to a business hotel and in a city somewhere I don't even need to go to the front desk anymore I've checked in before I get there I find my room I drop my stuff off and I move about the meetings the expectation here is to enjoy the property um to enjoy all aspects of the property and in some cases like Roberts where you have great venues like Berba and and and Chiquis um you know you you you want to enjoy those and that's you make time for those because what you bought is the entire experience and so you have to make sure that the entire experience is rounded out um and we've paid attention to to little things like you know restaurant recommendations are a constant request and sure will tell you and absolutely will give you a printed document but we now also have a link that are just our specialized restaurant recommendations and in your room you have a QR code that you can shoot and it'll give you the recommendations that we have for the hotels so not only can you go to the front desk and get that but you can get it four other ways along the way and that I think that's today's expectation because I find and you said generational a couple of times but you know I you know I've I'm past the 55 get discounts age and yet I find I'm technologically very savvy yeah you know and and if you think about it Apple and and and Microsoft and all those were invented in our life that those are we were the test cases the younger generation has just picked up on it but they certainly weren't the innovators the innovators are now in their 70s yeah yeah and they're there and they're doing that my that my generational compadres are you know technologically challenged at all and they expect to have a delivery of a text or a delivery of an email the same way that someone in their 20s and 30s does man I have I have clients and friends in their other way to the 90s and I'll tell you what you try to take their phone away from them they'll hit you exactly right my mom's 95 and she can run around with an iPad like nobody's business I know it's pretty cool I mean but that you're really right and that's why I say there is this changeover that you know you know just like I feel like sometimes the rest of the world didn't see it but hoteliers have to you know the industry has to because you're you're in your in hospitality you're making your guests feel welcome and how do how do we move things on I think people don't want to have to sit there and sign a bunch of forms when you get in I mean when you remember you said sit there do you have a dog no yes you know do you have to you all of that stuff you can do it a click of a button now well in a registration card had to be printed and then you have to sign the registration card and then your credit card had to be run it then it's like here's here's my mortgage too you know by the time that our guest gets to our door it's a it's a done deal we've taken payment we've verified credit card we've verified ideal in all this stuff is done yeah and and and I but I think the generational difference is the is the voice and the language that you use and how you communicate with your guests right tell right away when someone's a little older and a bit more formal and when somebody is joking a little bit and wants to be a bit you know more casual and and to respond that way in our communication email text phone or whatever it's important that we recognize who's on the other side we match that expectation so I'm not going to say to somebody who I think is 60 and say hey dude oh well wait a minute the dude thing came from that era come on now I say I say dude all the time I don't know it's it's a bad habit but it's really true if you pick up you can tell by people's emails and you're right you can pick up oh this is the correspondence that needs to happen I want to go to Adam on that tell us a little bit of what you think about communication because I think we've really got into communication seems to be the hardcore year well I think just even before covid you know the industry was very much going towards a very technological based standpoint and hotels across the platform and covid 19 really just poured fuel on that fire and and caused us all to really get creative with how we're going to continue to to run our operations and that meant going to a self-checking model and that meant learning how to effectively communicate those self-checking processes at least while we were going to the covid 19 situation and and not let that sense passed I think a lot of us have have taken a lot of those things we learned during the pandemic and have continued to introduce them and implement them into our properties and to enhance the guest experience where like in famous properties for instance where she's mentioned the QR codes in all of the rooms you know a lot of a lot of properties have moved away from in-room paper compendiums even even that information of what's in your room can be on that QR code now and using ways like texting these links to these guests are wonderful ways to communicate with your guests and I think having as many options as possible so that you cater to each of the individual guests needs and expectations whether it be email, phone, text you're you're providing your guests so many opportunities to interact with you which not only enhances the guest experience but also provides the property and an additional opportunity to capture that guest and and allow them and to ensure they have all the right information necessary to come and check into the property and I agree with pretty much in that you know it can be very easy if and when you decide to do a self-check in to arrive and not have to worry about any of the paperwork because I think that happens at that point is it allows it allows that front desk agent it allows those staff members to then immediately get to work on personalizing that experience and in taking away the needs to do the paperwork etc. at the front desk and immediately start having conversations about the beautiful property and where they should dine and what things they should do and see in Palm Springs and all the Palm Springs has to offer and give them that bottle of wine just go and give it yeah you know but but that's the thing I think you know these experiences you know I know that a lot of when you talk about boutique hotels they are like the welcome center you know it's it's even visitor centers are changing up visitor centers are the actual buildings are going away lately you know across the country when we're seeing more kiosks and personalized itineraries on websites and things like that so I think that is happening a lot and then you can have those conversations and also there's I'm seeing also a growth in even it's so weird even with COVID right that meeting spaces spaces within properties where other guests can mingle with guests and that means that there's space for the you know the actual staff of the hotel to be around and be you know it's not cramped but there's space to have these conversations so it's either quick and easy text messaging you know online kind of here's your guide go for it we'll be there for your questions or actual conversations are you seeing that Adam too like even it's just it's kind of these these it's really interesting I mean you can go to a hotel and you go in and your TV says hey welcome Lisa enjoy the champagne it's on the house it's sitting at the table over here to the right and you're like oh and there's like a lava cake I'm just saying I think we leverage those if we leverage you know this technology now we're able to to enhance the guest experience but also from an owner standpoint we're also able to provide ancillary income to these hotel owners which is all very important and and something you mentioned just shortly ago and I think that Palm Springs hotels do very well is all of our hotels are very much ambassadors for our destination and I think you know groups like Wizard greater Palm Springs and shops and and the TV board you know we all collaborate so often because we are all in search of a common goal and that is to enhance our destination our experience for our guests and so these properties do a wonderful job of being ambassadors to the to the destination you know I comment with you mentioned with the people the visitor centers and things I was in a meeting and they actually the numbers have exceeded and and ever in the history of the two visitor centers in Palm Springs was one of the entrance as you come in the old Philips 66 gas station and the one downtown in the old library and it was a made they're amazed the number of visitors in their traffic in through is broke records issue so far Wow so it just depends on the place you know but that's by by listening right and knowing who's there what you can do because some places are taking it away and I go what you know because I'm like people still sometimes want to map there's there's some there's something also about moving into this technology where you know I mentioned oh you know welcome on your TV screen and it's your name on it that's personalized right and so it's still very nice and then there's also like a handwritten welcome with you know flowers if it's a you know a special package whereas actual handwriting which is if if that was the case I would be fired but it is kind of a it's I think as we streamline the processes right for guests as those get streamlined and easier through technology it actually gives you the the bigger amount of time to really focus on the experience I think that's where you're going to Adam right is you know let it be this other seamless entity that everybody knows how to fill out a form and do and on phones and you know and there's going to be you know there's a there's going to always be a percentage that want to do something different but that's where you get to use your customer service skills but as we use technology that opens the store up to be able to really go okay now here's the personalized stuff that I get to spend time on so I think that would yeah I think that's the perfect example of that the twist bomb springs you know when it was a property that I used to manage and that was a completely self-driving property and it went that direction during the pandemic it had never changed that model but because we weren't checking people at the front desk the entire focus shifted to how do we enhance the guest experience and and just as you mentioned we would have a handwritten card in every single room welcoming the guest that was played do we replace on the fellow and we would take a hot wax stamp seal and we would we would wax stamp the initial of the guest last name that was checking it out because we just have all that much more time to to do those personalized such points for the guests yeah wow and there's also combination of resources now when we reopen modern air we're going to have a fabulous lounge called pillow talk because Doris Day used to hang out at that hotel a lot and as you may remember that was one of her famous movies but our our our bartender who's going to be you know attending to meets is going to facilitate the check-in process because it these days is just a matter of making sure that the person has the right room over the right dates and so now we are able to offer the same services in a different differently crafted way and I think that's you know those are the kind of things that you need to keep looking at constantly and I think that's business 101 right you just have to make absolutely sure that as things change that you're perceiving what you need to hold on to and what you can what you can redirect and have the experience be the same but it can be delivered differently hmm exactly this is cool so in closing Robert anything that you wanted to add into the conversation before I asked you a fun question no I think we covered a lot of the three of us together have a a real like say overview of what goes on with their multiple hotels and stuff and I recently have met both of them this past year and it's been it's been very refreshing it feels like a whole new energy yeah all hotels involvement which we didn't have it was the same people over and over to be frank including myself of 12 years so I'm very welcoming to have new ideas and new thoughts from everyone what's it like to be 12 years old Robert I'd like to go back to that but I would like to champagne all I know is by and by the time I'm done listening to all three of you I would like to come you know and be pampered I want I want champagne and chocolate and flowers and you know but you know it just yeah it just kind of well because you by this conversation it just kind of also for you know the travelers listening in it let's them think about what do you really want you know when you travel which is a very important thing one thing I've seen too we just did a show on this is that travelers have also over packed things into their schedule not knowing too much about where they're going and like and this is another role of boutique hotels and you know concierge and staff being able to say hey you know well driving across town you're not going to make it to the show if you go to that restaurant at the same time you know what I mean you can't go from a to b and make both happen and if you do that by the time everyone's done they're they're burned out so I think the beauty of boutique hotels and this is really important travelers don't get as much burnout if they're staying in a boutique boutique hotel because it's automatically your time kind of calm down as a traveler go in you're automatically even more in a more relaxed stance um it's just different you know what I mean there's just something about quality of time and I think that's an important thing for people to think especially if you're traveling and working remotely it's very easy to get out of balance but a boutique hotel reminds you you're here to also enjoy and have pleasure and that's what I think Palm Springs the boutique hotels are about is enjoy yourself you know do what what the sky's a limit according to budget right but to me I just feel like I want to I want to run up a really big hotel tab right now I don't know why but you guys maybe want to just go like can we order caviar can we do this you know but I think it is about pleasure and when you go on vacation whether you're working or not uh in between times it is about enjoying those moments and um really enjoying them so it gives listeners you know to the show and just this idea of like can I ask for this you know can I call that hotel and ask yeah and it's a great the fact that there's so many of them boutique hotels and there is a choice of something for everyone and that's why when you go on the first small hotel site you get to see like what what architecture they are want what type of vibe do I want and we actually have put in where you can choose that vibe you know to find out what properties have that oh and I think that's a big advantage for someone that is searching out into Palm Springs that they're they're not big involved into going to a Hilton or a high or something of that nature you know they have the choice exactly exactly so my fun question is and everyone again that website you know we'll just keep drilling it out there authentic Palm Springs dot com and also if you go on social media you can look at Palm Springs stay uh for that on social media I love following them on twitter facebook instagram you see hotels every day new hotels and new things to do so it's dangerously fun you should do it um so the fun question is all right you guys are going to go away for a three night stay or a two night three day stay in Palm Springs okay I don't care if it's two nights three nights well how every long you want it um you're you know all expenses paid you guys work hard in the hospitality and I think people need to realize that to hospitality staff everybody involved in any kind of hospitality um they're like nurses you know they work hours um the attention to detail is insane um you know god bless you all because you work really hard and um you know really go all out to cater to everyone that comes into the property and also guess just even you know I know hotel years that end up asking answering questions in a restaurant you know for people so um if you're going to stay in a hotel any hotel in Palm Springs whether you're not or not where are you going to go and and don't choose your own hotel this here's some new hotels right um where are you going to stay and what is that ultimate like experience that you want as a Palm Springs experience ultimate like and and I'm not you know somebody's paying for this so and they have this big open wallet so I want to know how extravagant can we get in Palm Springs is what I want to know so I want to start with you Adam Kabbat tell us where are you going to stay and what is your big experience well if money was not a cost I think I would stay at the Steve Herman bungalows uh looked at the Lori's own resort that is an independent property by a very uh renowned uh designer Steve Herman and uh that property is very modern very tasteful what they do very well at that property is they provide highly experiential service and high touch points and in every shape or facet of the property when you sit up by the pool oftentimes they'll have attendance walking by ready to wipe down your sunglasses or to take out a can of heavy on mist and spray you down to keep you cool while you're sitting out there by the pool uh or to bring by those orchibori towels and champagne bridge lori dumb does all those high touch point items and at one point I'm not sure if they still do at one point they used to take personalized uh copper plates and they would stamp your name into that copper plate and put it on the inside of your door of your hotel room so that that became your room where you were there wow wow so that's where you're going now is there anything in particular that you want while you're there I want to say mother mumbos they're very expensive and very nice okay any kind of specific food nearby that you're gonna want uh mr. lions is right down the street it's an excellent option it's owned by i believe the f-10 group um and mr. life is an excellent restaurant i'm highly recommend it all right yeah so everyone Adam Ramirez and you can go to lex hospital uh excuse me lex hospitality revpar.com for that all the links i'm talking about everyone are in the episode notes and the show notes for whether you're watching this or listening to this on youtube facebook spotify apple all of that just look in the show notes and you'll be able to get the links directly so i'm going to go to ukareema and everyone go to town and desert.com for her website where are you going what's your experience let's just say what's your vibe yeah so i i like a bit more simplicity um and i kind of like being left alone a little bit when i'm trying to get some quiet time in my head um there's a lovely hotel right down the street from our three hotels called karaqia um and it has a bit of a moroccan kind of vibe into it um and you sense that you can ask for anything but it's okay if you don't you know you know you know there's not there's not a sense that um of people hovering about you that are just waiting to to um to be of service um and though i i you know when i want something or when when i'm looking for something i'd like to be able to to ask for it but i like the quietude of it and the and the serenity um and the fact that it's a quiet hotel and you know it's not you're not meant to be able to take out your bluetooth speaker and jam it up and you know listen to your tunes well everybody else doesn't want to um so karaqia i think for me would be the the one you know down the street i i think it was brilliantly put together is it close to restaurants yeah for you it's yeah downtown palm springs no can you get food delivered to your doors if you want to just have your chilled out moment like you're saying kind of calm and our hotel's you certainly can't oh good plug you go go i like that well done so robert everyone all cuz our palm springs.com what's your palm springs vibe mine would be los serena billas um i i there was an old property that was abandoned for years and they did a beautiful job and and i enjoy the restaurant and uh my big goal is i travel alone usually and is like spa massage services those type of services and that and then my second would be i'm going to add a second is abelan i've always wanted to stay in one of their villas they have i've stayed in the main hotel before when it was the baius roy but they have a section with a separate cool that's literally little houses little vintage little houses and and they do have a wonderful spa so that would be my two option uh and then your food do you get good food near there yeah i'm actually um los serena billas they have a small restaurant with a little second floor i'm doing a plug for them um with a bar and a fire pit fireplace up there and it's a nice little property which is literally blocked from the main speed of downtown and that's what makes it nice also well i love this all three of you have given such um attention to detail in this conversation you must be in the hospitality industry and you've given so many different vibes and experiences for uh guests going to palm springs so thank you all for joining us again everyone authentic palm springs dot com we hear every fourth saturday at 12 p.m pacific time thank you all for joining us and for keeping it sunny thank you thank you thank you thank you for listening to big blend radios palm springs sunshine stage show you can catch new episodes at noon pacific time every fourth saturday at big blend radio dot com plan your vacation go to authentic palm springs Please visit www.beadaholique.com to purchase beading supplies and to get design ideas!