OPINION

Why a vote for a brand is a vote for its people…

Front office staff can make or break a hotel’s reputation so why cut back on humans to roll in AI, robots, and odd hi-tech? Some hotels have even wheeled in a Tyrannosaurus Rex to greet guests. And does anyone know where QWERTY is?

by Vijay Verghese

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Humans make the brand. At every contact point is an individual helping rachet up — or destroy — a brand. We're not sure about dinosaurs at reception but in Japan it remains much the rage.

POLLS are a tricky business. Likes are subjective. And first past the post may not always be the winning ticket. We’ve run our poll since 2005 when we started with a Best and Worst Airlines format. It proved a big hit, especially the field for Worst Airlines. And the exercise garnered some sizzling letters. “I pressed the button for a stewardess and what sounded like a fire alarm went off,” wrote one. This was over Russia. Needless to add, people stopped asking for a stewardess and focused on survival. Airlines have improved vastly and hardware nowadays is largely indistinguishable no matter who you fly.

Beds and mattresses have become such an art that many hotels sell their branded wares, at a price, for those with a ‘princess-and-the-pea’ syndrome. Choose from The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Park Hyatt or the well-recognised Westin Heavenly Bed. Sheraton has its Sweet Sleeper bed and even the humble Holiday Inn will sell you its secret bedding through an IHG website.

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Travelling through Asia visiting hotels new, worn, and decrepit I have slept on every imaginable surface, my favourite being the sloping marvel that sends you rolling off the bed — simply because one side has been more frequently slept in than the other. This can prove handy for business travellers on the go. Another is the improvised ‘hammock’ that secures guests in the central depression. Who needs to visit the toilet at 2am anyway?

{door service at arrival is something many travellers observe to gauge the quality of a hotel. It’s liking sizing up a man by his socks...

Clearly what sets products apart is the human touch, service, smiles and the extra mile. An airline’s fate rests in the hands of three to four cabin crew and frontline staff, not the avionics and entertainment system, though decent hardware is expected. A hotel brand begins to bloom — or is crippled — at check-in, at breakfast, or during some late night emergency getting housekeeping to wrestle your iPad to turn off the lights.

Hardware problems will cause considerable gnashing of teeth but quality software — well trained, pleasant, humans (remember them?) — can get the most tired establishment out of a jam. It seems moronic to state the obvious, but human interaction matters, be it with the general manager, the bell boy, the butler, the egg-station chef, or the gardener. These are the experiences that count. People look forward to returning to a cosy bolthole to be remembered and served by an ‘old friend’.

I am still not sure what to make of Japan’s ingenious Henn na Hotels where guests are greeted at reception by a dapper Tyrannosaurus Rex who talks them through check-in.

When my favourite doorman left the hotel I often stayed at in Bangkok, I was dismayed to lose my go-to guy for everything from local advice, and translation, to an airport taxi. Door service at arrival is something many travellers observe to gauge the quality of a hotel. It’s liking sizing up a man by his socks. Did the person smile, was there a welcome, or just barely concealed disinterest? I am still amazed at the number of fine addresses I walk into to find no one at the door or the doormen in a bored huddle chatting oblivious of comings and goings. I have never encountered a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a Triceratops in a hotel lobby. But then I don’t always carry my specs.

In Vietnam I once overpaid my driver coming in from the airport. It’s all those zeroes. Ding-dong gone. I must have looked crestfallen as I entered the place, having realised my colossal mistake. A lady rushed over to ask if everything was alright. Alas the dong had flown. I shrugged and explained. “No problem sir,” she said cheerily, “Let me see what I can do.” One call and fifteen minutes later the money was back in my hands. My taxi driver who had been summoned by his agency waved at me through the glass front door and sped off, quite delighted at this chance at chivalry. It was incredible. Both his willingness to return the money and the audacity of the receptionist to actually chase it down.

Heaven forbid AI taking over the travel business, replacing warm grins with bland metallic instruction: “You wish to vent? To pick your swearword, click 1 for English. Then select ‘upset’ or ‘somewhat upset’. Or press record and speak clearly into the microphone in an American accent.”

“Sorry, we do not understand, ‘bollocks’… do you require a bullock transport to your CEOs of Asia  conference?”

As Smart Travel Asia crosses 23 years we are grateful to readers who come in to vote each year presenting surprise verdicts and unique products. How else would we stumble upon delightful places like family homes Soori Penang and Dolkhar Ladakh, The Calile Brisbane, Rêve Ho Chi Minh City, Twinpalms Tented Camp Phuket, Dinso Resort & Villas Phuket, Mia Saigon, Anima Saigon, The Postcard Galle,  or Bisma Eight Ubud? Congratulations to all our 2026 winners pintsized to premium.

We also thank regulars like ;LKJ and ASDFG who have been voting for years. Sadly their votes have been held in abeyance till we can clarify what destination QWERTY refers to.