Undeniably, technological advancements today have significantly impacted people, even in their choice of accommodation for a leisure trip. The growth of social media has enabled customers to share their experiences and feelings online, influencing the purchasing decisions and service choices of other customers. According to a survey by the hotel booking website TripAdvisor:

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- 80% of customers searching for hotels to stay at state that reviews from previous guests help them feel more confident in their booking decisions.

- 77% of frequent guests consult reviews from previous guests before booking a hotel.

- 50% of diners frequently consult reviews from previous patrons of a specific restaurant before deciding to choose that restaurant. - 87% of customers agree that prompt and professional responses to negative guest feedback from hotel management teams increase customer affinity for that hotel.

- 70% of guests stated that the management team's firm and sincere attitude in correcting errors after negative reviews made them want to book with the hotel. Guests not only want to use services, but also want to feel welcomed, heard, and have their needs met. When these same guests return to the hotel, their primary and most crucial need for their emotional experience during that stay is to be recognised and warmly welcomed back. Before being won over by the refined conduct of the staff, guests are concerned with and evaluate the expected hotel standards primarily through basic accommodation conditions, including:

1. Scent

The sense of smell is the quickest to perceive and longest to retain positive or negative human experiences related to scent. Upon entering the hotel lobby, waiting for the lift to their floor, walking down the corridor, and stepping into their room, the lingering fragrance creates important impressions that guests use to evaluate the hotel's quality and decide whether to stay. Investing in creating a signature hotel scent requires not only psychological research but also an understanding of the culture of the hotel's guests.

2. Sound

Appropriate sound levels contribute to a hotel's elegant, luxurious, and sophisticated atmosphere. To minimise passive noise from guests and the surrounding environment, hotels should proactively introduce their signature sounds into guests' consciousness. Select instrumental or vocal music to play through the hotel's speaker system. Melodious sounds emanating from every common area create a unique ambiance and leave a deep impression in guests' subconscious. This can bring surprising and delightful emotional experiences. Familiar sounds that may seem mundane to hotel staff can evoke special emotions in guests, helping them recall melodies from their youth or seemingly forgotten memories.

3. Services Provided

Today, strong internet or Wi-Fi has become an essential need, on par with eating and sleeping, for hotel guests, especially in business hotels. Even guests staying at resorts or hotels in tourist areas need internet for entertainment and to communicate with friends and family. Therefore, Wi-Fi must be fully available and function well. Even when travelling, today's guests have a strong and immediate need to update photos and share their holiday experiences on social media. A stable and strong internet connection positively and directly impacts their stay experience and reflects the quality of customer service. Guests may switch hotels or even never return to a hotel with an unreliable and weak Wi-Fi system. Hotels should provide free Wi-Fi service to guests upon check-in, installing a signal emitter in each room linked to the room number to avoid interruptions. Guests in any room can simply access that room's Wi-Fi signal for immediate use.

4. Sleep

A hotel bed must satisfy the diverse preferences of all guests, from old to young. Therefore, the number of coils in each mattress and certain bed-making techniques will differentiate hotels in the competition to provide guests with quality sleep. The number of mattress coils typically ranges from 300 to 800. However, 5-star hotel chains often use mattresses with 800 to 1000 coils to ensure the necessary firmness, while also being able to soften them to guests' desired levels through specific bed-making techniques. The mattress's softness and comfort level must suit the preferences of the majority of guests, and a mattress protector (pad) should also be used to prevent liquids from seeping into the mattress. Besides mattress quality, the fabric quality of bed sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers is crucial for guests' sleep quality. Hotels typically use fabrics with T200, T250, or T300 thread counts. While T200 and T250, which contain nylon, are less prone to wrinkling and quite durable, they do not provide the same comfort for guests. T300 fabric offers comfort to all guests but wrinkles easily due to its 100% cotton composition. Crowne Plaza hotels use T200 fabric, Four Seasons hotels use Egyptian T300 fabric, Hilton hotels use T250, Hyatt hotels use T250, and Marriott hotels (including Renaissance) use T300, among others.

5. Bathroom

21st-century guests prefer larger bathrooms with separate, ceiling-mounted walk-in showers. Most guests are concerned with the water pressure from the showerhead and the water temperature when evaluating hotel service quality. Immersing oneself in strong water pressure at a preferred temperature from a fixed shower, as if washing away fatigue, is a top desire for guests returning to their rooms after a journey or a tiring day. Bathtubs are no longer an essential need, except for Japanese guests and couples seeking romantic moments. However, guests still demand high-quality building materials, lighting, colours, and sounds, making the investment cost for bathrooms higher than for bedrooms. No matter how society develops, how machines replace human labour, or how human psychology unexpectedly changes, customers will always be touched and moved by genuine human care. They will always long for and desire to be looked after by human hands, especially in accommodation and F&B services. We hope that hotel staff will always work with caring hands and warm hearts to bring joy to guests who entrust their emotions to us, so that every hotel they visit truly feels like a cherished second home. SOURCE: Hoteljob.vn