What guests never notice (and what they never forget)

Independent hotels often don’t have the luxury of throwing money at every guest touchpoint. How do you decide which moments deserve disproportionate attention, and which ones are perfectly fine being simple? 

I think about investment less in terms of what’s most visible and more in terms of what has the greatest potential to create an emotional connection. Be disciplined about the things that don’t meaningfully change how a guest feels so you can be more generous with the things that do. 

Not everything needs to be a moment. I’d rather focus resources on the unexpected welcome, the first bite or sip offered on the house, or a small ritual that creates a lasting memory. Especially for an independent hotel, it’s not about outspending anyone. It’s about knowing where a little generosity can create an outsized emotional connection. 

F&B can be a hotel’s biggest opportunity and its biggest operational headache. If you were sitting down with an independent hotelier who says, “We need a great restaurant,” what questions would you ask before talking about the menu, chef or the design? 

My first question would actually be, ‘What does this restaurant need to do for the hotel?’ Does it need to drive breakfast capture from hotel guests? Bring locals into the building at night? Become a destination in its own right? Support events? Change how people perceive the property? 

Then I want to understand who we’re trying to serve, what already exists in the market, where the real opportunity is and how the restaurant needs to perform throughout the day. Only then should we start talking about what the restaurant actually is.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is starting with a cuisine, chef or aesthetic before defining the role the restaurant needs to play. A beautiful restaurant that locals don’t want to visit or an ambitious menu the operation can’t consistently execute isn't a successful concept. The creative idea and the business and operational realities have to be developed together from the beginning. 

What is something hoteliers routinely spend money on that guests barely notice, and something they tend to overlook that guests feel immediately? 

I’ve found hoteliers can overspend on design for design’s sake. Overly custom details, elaborate menus or beautiful furniture that looks incredible in a rendering but isn’t actually comfortable to sit in. Guests don’t know what something cost; they know how it made them feel. A good filter is, ‘Does this spend make the experience more memorable, comfortable or unique to us?’ If not, that money can probably work harder somewhere else. 

What’s often underestimated is lighting. You can have beautiful furniture, great food and an incredible bar, but if the room is over-lit at 8 p.m., the entire experience falls flat. Thoughtful color temperature, dimming and how the atmosphere transitions from morning to evening can completely transform a space. Guests may never say, ‘The lighting here is fantastic,’ but they’ll say, ‘I love being here.’ And that’s the point.

Authenticity can become a kind of hospitality cliché. How do you translate “local” into something that feels specific, surprising and meaningful on the menu? 

I think “local” becomes meaningful when you move beyond what a destination is known for and dig into the stories, traditions and rituals that people who live there actually connect with. For example, for a diner concept we’re developing at the Graduate Hotel in Tuscaloosa, we’ve gone beyond the expected Southern references and looked to the culture surrounding ’Bama football—from players and their hometown beloved foods to the rituals of game day by the town—as inspiration for the menu and design detailing. 

Not every reference needs to hit you over the head. The best ones feel like an insider nod while still creating a great experience for someone encountering it for the first time. That’s when “local” feels specific and authentic, rather than themed. 

Where can an independent hotel get the most impact from a relatively small investment? 

I’d focus on the small F&B moments that can leave a bigger impression. It doesn’t have to mean a completely new restaurant or a major investment. It could be as simple as a locally made granola, highlighting regional fruits and grains, handed to guests as they check out, a delicious last gesture from the hotel that extends the experience beyond the stay.

The same thinking can apply to the in-room offering. Rather than a generic minibar, curate a handful of interesting products that connect intentionally to the hotel, the brand, or the local makers. These details don’t have to cost a lot, but they have to feel considered. 

F&B gives hotels so many opportunities to create these small moments of generosity and discovery. When done well, they become the details guests remember, and often the ones they tell someone else about.