6 Ways to Provide a “Home-Away-From-Home” Hotel Guest Experience

These room features help guests relax and feel more at home during their stay.

No matter how nice the room is, hotel guests are still keenly aware that they’re away from home during their stay. Fortunately, your hotel can add certain amenities and room features that make rooms feel as much like home as possible to guests.

When designing the optimal experience for guests, hoteliers should find a balance between providing new experiences outside, and a “home away from home” feel inside, according to “Hotels’ Digital Divide,” a report from Hospitality platform Alice and YouGov.

“Consumers seek lodging experiences that feature a level of comfort that’s similar to their home lives, from additional blankets in the room to the ability to select bedding and more,” says the report.

Here are six tips for making your rooms feel like a true “home away from home” for guests.

1. Homelike design features

“Some things cannot change, like the white sheets, which serve the very important purpose to highlight the hotel’s cleanliness to the guest. However, room design can be adjusted to become more familiar with what your guests are used to,” says Hotelier Academy, a hospitality industry resource.

“Wall frescoes, extra decorations within the room like a bouquet of flowers, or even guests’ pictures (it is totally possible with our current technology), and stylish furniture could do the trick. And, of course, do not be afraid to paint your hotel room walls and experiment with their design using various textures and materials like wood or stone.”

2. High-speed Wi-Fi

Nobody likes slow or spotty Wi-Fi. That’s why many people pay more each month to their home Wi-Fi provider to make sure their level of Wi-Fi is reliable and fast. Providing the same quality of Wi-Fi in guest rooms makes a great first impression that helps guests feel at home as soon as they open their laptop, tablet or other device.

More than half (59 percent) of those surveyed in the Alice report said that having access to fast Wi-Fi in their room helps them relax the way they do at home.

3. Smart TVs

Today’s home televisions are entertainment centers offering multiple streaming movies, TV and music channels. So, offering cable TV only in the room is just another reminder to guests that they’re away from home.

In-room entertainment is “first and foremost” in making your guest feel at home in your hotel, according to Hotelier Academy:

“Give your guests reasons to stay in the room…every room must feature a smart TV that supports video streaming applications like YouTube and Vimeo as well as TV series and movie streaming applications like Netflix, Prime Video, and Rakuten TV.”

Place or make available portable gym equipment such as dumbbells, resistance bands and exercise/yoga mats in the room to further enhance the entertainment features by allowing guests to work out privately while participating in online fitness classes.

4. Preferred snacks, coffee and teas

“By tapping into any available information about the guest, such as their preferred snacks, interests or reason for their visit, hotel staff can use this information to provide them with a stay that feels homier,” says the Alice report.

Offering guests the option of choosing preferred snacks, coffee and teas from a selection when booking can help them feel at home while working or kicking back in the room.

5. White noise machines

Around 20 percent of survey respondents said a white noise machine in the room would help them feel “more at home” during their stay, according to the Digital Hotels’ Divide report.

6. Option to select the room layout

Offer guests the option to view room layouts when booking so they can choose a room that feels homey. Nearly one-fifth (18 percent) of respondents in the Alice survey said that picking the room layout themselves would help them feel more at home while staying at a hotel.