A long time ago, when I was still a teenager, I learned to play a number of different musical instruments. At the time, one of my teachers told me about a technique used by many artists who wanted to improve: to find a role model or a mentor and allow themselves to be inspired.
The idea was as follows: rather than moving forward blindly, it is always better to find someone, somewhere whose performance you highly respect and to attempt to adopt their techniques to reproduce them and thereby achieve the same standards as that person.
Back then, the idea seemed strange to me. Nevertheless, it has revealed itself to be particularly effective. Several years later, I discovered that the business world also used this method. One of the points that many successful business people have in common is that they had chosen a mentor on whom they could rely to make good decisions and to take the correct approach.
I therefore decided to analyze the hotels that would be best suited to become role models, and I hope that these results will be useful to you.
Enjoy reading!
The top 10
The first step was to select “the ten best hotels in the world.” I therefore reviewed TripAdvisor’s worldwide Travelers’ Choice results.
This list was then cross-referenced against the ratings awarded on Booking.com, and the positive results were clearly confirmed.
The properties on the list are listed below:
| Hotel | Country | Stars | Booking.com rating | |
| 1. | Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur | India | 5 | 9.7 |
| 2. | Shinta Mani Resort | Cambodia | 4 | 9.5 |
| 3. | Bellevue Syrene | Italy | 5 | 9.5 |
| 4. | Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa | Vietnam | 4 | 9.6 |
| 5. | Achtis Hotel | Greece | 4 | 9.8 |
| 6. | Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons | United Kingdom | 5 | – |
| 7. | Mirihi Island Resort | Maldives | 5 | 9.7 |
| 8. | Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Aruba | Caribbean | 4 | 9.6 |
| 9. | Hôtel Ritta Höppner | Brazil | 4 | 9.6 |
|
10. |
Gili Lankanfushi Maldives | Maldives | 5 | 9.5 |
What makes guests rank them so highly?
After listing the properties, I gathered the 20 latest comments that were shown on Booking.com. I then used an analytical tool to process the information to capture the most frequently used, positive key words for each hotel.
This allowed me to extract the qualities of each properties that guests rated most highly, thereby identifying the properties’ major strengths, which in turn propelled them to the top of the rankings. Here they are:
| Hotel | N°1 | N°2 | N°3 | N°4 | N°5 |
| Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur | Service | Staff | Courteous | Attention | Beautiful |
| Shinta Mani Resort | Staff | Location | Friendly | Rooms | Helpful |
| Bellevue Syrene | Location | Service | Place | Quiet | Views |
| Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa | Location | Service | Breakfast | Staff | Helpful |
| Achtis Hotel | Staff | Place | Breakfast | Family | Rooms |
| Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons | Staff | Gardens | Help | Detail | Sumptuous |
| Mirihi Island Resort | Friendly | Staff | Water | Dinner | Team |
| Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Aruba | Service | Beach | Location | Breakfast | Staff |
| Hotel Ritta Höppner | Location | Place | Staff | Restaurant | Friendly |
| Gili Lankanfushi Maldives | Villa | Experience | Place | Staff | Resort |
Then, by calculating the number of times that they appeared in online reviewers’ positive comments, I arrived at the following results :
Location : 26%
Staff : 48%
Hotel : 26%
Location, location, location!
Conrad Hilton’s famous phrase, “Location, location, location!” was the mantra followed by the hotel industry for years – but is it still the case today?
The answer is an equivocal “yes and no!” Huh? Not really clear, is it?
Location is, and will always remain one of the most important factors in attracting new guests. As with the way your hotel looks, its geographic location will help you to ensure a constant flow of reservations.
It is a fact that web users look for hotels first and foremost based on their location, and only then do they check out its photos, and prices, before finally looking at reviews.
Nevertheless, despite the standard sequence that guests follow when booking, the real key to long-term success is not found in its geographic location. When your guests check out of your hotel, 48% of their best memories come from the quality of your staff and your guest service. These, therefore, are the two main factors in ensuring guest loyalty and achieving a significant increase in word-of-mouth promotion for your hotel.
Conclusion
If you are planning to invest, take these results into consideration and commit to factors that will allow you to achieve long-term success.
Reduce your expenditure on furnishings and building works, and increase your expenditure on staff training and customer service tools.
This highly lucrative strategy is sure to result in happier guests, increasing average room rates, a more loyal customer base and a regular level of new bookings through word-of-mouth.
