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Running a quality hotel means more than determining the appropriate rental rate. Learning how to create a welcoming hotel environment is also critical to success.

Paying attention to the little things can pay off in big ways. You’ll show your guests you care from the moment they walk through your doors. Here’s how to do it.

How to Create a Welcoming Hotel Environment in 8 Steps

If you're hoping to make your hotel stand out, try these tips specifically designed to make customers feel welcome:

1. Greet Every Guest

When people walk through your doors, they should be greeted quickly and warmly by your staff. Ideally, that verbal greeting should be accompanied by a smile.

For example, in a study of customer satisfaction in hotels, many people said they appreciated hotels staffed with people who would greet them with a smile. Studies like this prove that people really do appreciate kind words from hotel workers.

2. Keep Shared Spaces Clean

An offensive smell is far from welcoming. Dirt and dust can be off-putting too. Creating a welcoming environment means ensuring that shared spaces (such as lobbies and bathrooms) are sparkling clean and free of odors.

3. Protect Private Spaces

Hotel customers are paying for privacy inside their rooms. Create a welcoming environment by protecting that privacy.

For example, some hotels ask customers if they’d like a daily room cleaning. When given the choice, only 32% of customers recommended a cleaning visit every day. The rest appreciated having the room to themselves all day.

Look for ways to respect your customers and their need to be alone. While you want to be present when needed, avoid smothering guests with too-frequent inquiries.

4. Provide Plenty of Amenities

A few key amenities can help guests feel like you care about them. In studies of consumer behavior, amenities people often expect include free internet access, complimentary bottled water, and an onsite fitness center. You could add to this list with welcoming amenities like warm cookies, personalized notes, or in-room noise-canceling machines.

5. Keep the Lights Low

Spaces flooded with bright light can feel clinical. Using too-bright lights in your hotel could make the space seem cold or even a little hostile. Changing out the lighting could make your customers feel more welcome.

Home decorators often recommend using tabletop lighting instead of overhead lamps. Warm light like this can create a peaceful environment, even at night. That type of lighting could also encourage your customers to linger in the lobby and perhaps strike up conversations with other guests.

6. Try Soothing Music

Playing quiet, soft music in shared spaces could increase feelings of comfort and welcome. If you’re not playing music in the lobby right now, your customers could be forced to listen to things like ringing phones, typing, or private conversations. Music could give them something else to listen to, and it might make the space more enjoyable.

You could also offer music options inside your guest rooms. For example, you could provide access to radios or speakers that could connect to phones. These small devices could allow your guests to make their private spaces more relaxing.

7. Invest in Plants

In a study of millennials, 63% of vacationers said they’d like to see more plants inside their hotel rooms. These same guests might like to see plants in shared spaces like lobbies and restaurants.

Plants can help to purify the air, and some provide a pleasant scent. Plants also soften hard edges and reduce echoes. Sprinkling plants throughout your hotel could make the space feel much more welcoming. Just remember that you’ll need to care for the plants too. Dying plants won’t provide the appropriate message.

8. Provide Exceptional Linens

Luxurious hotel linens make sleeping in a hotel a wonderful experience. You may know that all of your bedding should be clean, but you should also pay attention to how the fabrics feel. How does the bedding feel on your skin? Have you provided bedding that’s appropriate for your climate?

Why Does a Welcoming Environment Matter?

We’ve outlined how to create a welcoming hotel environment. However, all of these steps will take work. Here’s why it matters.

In a study of more than 8,000 Google travel reviews, service played a large role in customer satisfaction scores. Our tips about greeting customers and cleaning spaces fit neatly into this category. All of the other tips we provided can help you stand out from the competition and grab a larger part of the travel market.

Help With Your Linens

Running a hotel takes time, effort, and energy. If you’re stretched too thin, you’re more likely to let the little things slip. Alsco Uniforms can help.

We have over 135 years as a linen cleaning and rental service, and we’ve served thousands of hotels during that time. Our services ensure you have plenty of clean sheets, bedding, towels, and kitchen towels on hand at all times.

You don’t have to worry about laundering or stocking your linens; we handle the entire process for you, from start to finish, so you can focus on other aspects of maintaining a welcoming hotel environment. Contact us to find out how we can help.