I get asked this question nearly every day – ‘what’s your favourite hotel?’

Worldwide? Impossible to answer.

I like to play a game called ‘Fantasy Hotel’, a bit like how I imagine ‘Fantasy Football’ to work.

Some days I’d take the view from The Devon Valley Hotel in Stellenbosch, South Africa, the pool from the Belmond La Residence d’Angkor in Cambodia, the bed from The Cliff House in Ardmore, Ireland, the service from The Four Seasons in Hong Kong and the coffee from The Gran Melia Hotel in Rome.

As you can see I have a lot of favourites, it just completely depends on my mood and this is where, too often, people come undone by making an emotional decision when choosing a venue for their meeting or event.

Is that stunning view going to help with delegate engagement? Is that inviting pool really going to matter if the agenda is so packed you’ve only got 30 minutes between the last session and the drinks reception? Are those luxurious bedrooms with well known, high end, posh toiletries imperative if this is only a half day meeting?

Service, of course that’s important and so is the coffee – I wonder if anyone has researched the relationship between the quality of the coffee and the success of a meeting or event? I digress…..

Sure, it’s important that you have an overall positive feeling about a place but let’s get practical for minute. What’s the WiFi like? Can everyone get online at the same time? Is the venue accessible for all delegates? Is the AV equipment up to the job and well maintained? Are the meeting room chairs comfortable? Does the event space have climate control?

Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, the coffee; is it drinkable?

TTFN,
CdB