Think of your favorite hotel for a moment. You may like it simply because it’s clean and in a convenient location. If you stay there year after year, the staff may know you by name, which always makes you feel special. Or maybe the chef makes the best apple cobbler in the world that you always look forward to.
Hotel brands make their mark
Some hotel brands make it their business to burn themselves into your memory:
Their beds
Some higher-end hotels have been known for their particularly comfortable beds for years. Unlike the mystery too-hard or too-soft mattress that you may get at a Days Inn or a La Quinta, some hotels have beds so popularly comfortable that the chains have chosen to sell their mattresses (new ones; not used LOL) for home use.
Their food
Many hotels or resorts that are well known for having a certain restaurant and/or chef will often print recipe books. The Ritz London, The NoMad Hotel and Walt Disney World Resort, among many others, are well known for their recipe books, so previous guests can try cooking their favorite dish.
Their scent
The sense of smell is the sense closest to memories. That’s why the smell of Chanel No. 5 may remind you of your grandmother, or cigar smoke may remind you of that time you were 5 and your dad took you to the pool parlor where he played every week.
Hotels know this, and many higher-end hotels have spent millions to establish a signature scent. These olfactory memories are more subliminal than anything. But if they have a candle and/or lotion in your hotel room with the scent, and then you buy a shower gel with the same scent, there’s a good chance you’ll remember that particular stay (or, hopefully, that hotel brand. You know…for the future).
And now…their music
With the likes of YouTube, iHeart, Amazon Music Unlimited, etc., is it any surprise that hotels are now uploading their signature Spotify playlists? It’s a newer concept, but it’s out there.
If you log on to Spotify, search for your hotel brand of choice and then click on “Playlists,” you should be able to find some. Four Seasons Resorts Hawaii has a playlist, as does METT Hotels & Resorts, Arlo Hotels (NY & Miami), Los Angeles’ The Garland, Jamaica’s Bluefields Bay Villas, Iceland’s Hotel Rangá and Miami’s The Betsy Hotel.
Not all hotels and resorts have embraced having their music available via playlists. Kimpton, on the other hand, has an entire channel devoted to the songs some of their hotels play.
As does Hard Rock Hotels:
So if the sights, smells, tastes and feels of your favorite hotel aren’t enough…now you can hear them, too. Over and over.
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