10 Innovative Hotel Amenities Ideas To Consider

Aside from excellent customer service and a great night’s sleep, what do guests look for when choosing a hotel? Including creative and thoughtful amenities is a great way to show your appreciation for your guests. They also serve as a great hotel marketing tool and give guests an extra incentive to return. 

Here are 10 innovative hotel amenities to make your hotel stand out, and encourage repeat visits from guests. 

1.Complimentary Toiletries

Most people expect some complimentary toiletries when staying at a hotel. Items like travel-size shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and soap are the most common. 

Diversify the type of toiletries that you offer for a memorable hotel experience. Some less common amenities that you might want to offer as an added bonus include:

• Toothpaste
• Makeup remover
• Shaving foam
• Sunscreen
• After Sun Lotion

If you care about being environmentally sustainable, consider ditching single-use plastic bottles for amenities, and opt for wall-mounted, or refillable dispensers instead. Not only are they better for the environment, but they’re a lot more affordable, too. This eco-friendly move could also attract more customers, since a 2021 survey has shown that 63% of people prefer to support businesses that care about the environment.

2.Sunscreen Dispensers

While these technically fall under the complimentary toiletries category, sunscreen dispensers deserve their own section as an innovative amenity to add to any hotel or resort. 

Legoland Windsor Resort has recently been receiving a lot of positive press for their convenient wall-mounted sunscreen dispensers, which are peppered around the theme park. Online, people have appealed to other theme parks and holiday destinations to consider introducing the same amenities. One person wrote, “This is the best idea I have ever seen [sic] and should be enforced across all outdoor children areas” [1].

Stay ahead of what will undoubtedly become a new trend by adding sunscreen dispensers to your poolside or family hotel. 

3.Adaptor Plugs or UBS Sockets

It’s much debated whether hotels are responsible for providing electrical travel adaptors for guests. They do pose some risk: inexpensive plugs may not be entirely safe since they must be able to translate different voltages. They can also be fire hazards, and they’re very likely to be stolen. Nonetheless, some guests may expect hotels to provide a solution that lets them use their non-UK appliances. 

Focus SB, premium hotel electrical accessories manufacturers, suggests UBC cable sockets. 

“A very simple and relatively inexpensive alternative that many hoteliers are now choosing to install is the one gang and two gang 13 amp socket with built-in USB charger. There is an increasing standardisation of operating and charging voltages for mobile phones, tablets and other personal electronic devices. These devices are usually supplied with charging leads featuring standard USB connectors. For the hotel operator, the cost benefits of installing or retrofitting USB charger sockets can be significant” [2].

4.Book Exchange

Many people go on holiday to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life and reconnect with the analog world. What better way to do this than through a real, paper book?  A book exchange is therefore a great way for a hotel to meet a customer need while promoting a sense of community and shared experience amongst its guests. 

InterContinental Hotels Group has shown that 85% of guests think a curated book collection adds to the value of the hotel experience. Also, 94% of guests say that a library or book swap service makes a hotel feel homely, warm and welcoming. Additionally, Ultimate Library Founder Philip Blackwell believes that a carefully developed library can have a direct impact on hotel revenue. 

Blackwell said, “We’ve been sent blogs where people have said, “I was checking out, then discovered the library and three hours later I was still there and stayed for lunch”. People dwell for longer. The other business case says that people who get it are so surprised and delighted, they talk about it and share it on social media, and that pushes your ratings up, and people read this stuff. So an intelligent collection of books adds a lustre to people’s perception. There is a payback, and actually, pound for pound, an investment in a good book collection can have a bigger impact on people’s perception of your brand and overall intelligence higher than any other thing you can invest in.” [3]

5.Co-working Spaces and Offices

Business travellers, event attendees, or planners may need to get some work done during their stay. As such, you can offer friendly and open co-working spaces for those who like to work in a “coffee shop” type atmosphere. You could go a step further and include a coffee bar in this room, or at least a manned coffee machine. Provide large desks with comfy chairs, ample electrical outlets, and hotel stationery to boost a productive atmosphere and the ultimate business guest experience.

6.Renting Facilities

Allow guests the opportunity to buy or rent amenities directly from your hotel for a fee. This could be a range of items depending on the type of hotel you run. If you operate a resort, you could rent kid-friendly items such as pool inflatables, flippers, or rollerblades. 

You could also sell things like suncream, pool sliders, and goggles. 

Consider the local attractions that your guests might visit. If there are hiking trails or outdoor activities, you could offer things such as windbreakers, hiking poles, or backpacks. 

You could also rent sporting equipment if your hotel has a tennis court, or if it matches your destination. You could offer on-site tennis or badminton equipment, or kayaks, bikes, and scooters for outdoorsy guests.

7.Lobby Charging Stations

The best lobbies/reception areas are those that cater to their guests, providing them not only with the services that they need but with the services they want. Guests will feel special if you give them extra amenities and ‘freebies’ that are beyond what is usually expected [4]. 

As we become more reliant on our devices, we expect facilities to accommodate us. Offer guests the use of charging stations that support multiple device types for guest convenience. Make sure there is somewhere for guests to sit and supervise their devices, or consider adding lockers with built-in chargers. 

8.Luxury Electrical Appliances

Depending on your budget, your brand image, and the type of guests you accommodate, your rooms should come equipped with suitable electrical appliances to meet expectations and demands.

Some things like a kettle and iron are expected as a standard. However, luxury hotels have the capacity to exceed expectations and provide premium equipment to guests. Market Street Hotel in Glasgow has been hailed for providing Dyson Hairdryers and GHD straighteners in all of their rooms. It’s a fantastic addition that has not gone unnoticed, since almost one-third (27%) of their TripAdvisor guest reviews have mentioned the innovative amenities, and have cited them as a reason to return to the boutique hotel [5]. 

You could also appeal to coffee lovers and include a coffee maker. These will stand out as thoughtful and clever add-ons alongside the typical assortment of herbal teas and artisan coffee sachets. 

9.In-room Cocktail Stations

Allow guests to get creative by offering in-room cocktail stations. These could include typical mini-bar spirits, along with sliced fruits, herbs, infusions, and soft drinks. Accompany with a cocktail recipe book, fancy glassware, shaker, and ice for a proper mixology experience. Hotel guests can rent this cocktail cart, or perhaps include it in bridal or honeymoon bundles as a fun surprise. 

10.Advanced Hotel Technology

From the front desk to the restaurant kitchen, get total control with Epos Now’s multi-award-winning Hotel POS system. The multifunctional point of sale (POS) platform delivers superior speed and savings for hotel managers.

• List available rooms online for fast, convenient booking.
• Accept digital payments and send electronic receipts, making transactions faster and more convenient.
• Take cash, card, and contactless payments quickly and securely.
• Configure room pricing for holidays, weekends, quarter, and more.
• Manage all aspects of your hotel from one location using cloud technology.
• See bookings, customer information, and staff details from any internet-ready device, or from our PCI-5 DSS-approved hardware.
• Reach more customers with a powerful booking website, or integrate your current booking system to your POS to import your current data.
• Encourage repeat stays with loyalty and reward schemes, incentives and marketing offers. 

Learn more about the Epos Now Hospitality Solution