Creating a ?home? for holiday guests
Throughout Trump Hotel Collection, Trump Attachés have fielded holiday guest requests from shopping for gifts to dispatching private chefs to guests’ suites to cooking a full holiday feast. Here are a few other ideas — designed to engage all the senses — to consider for your own guests this season:
Deck the halls: Decorate guest rooms with poinsettias, sprigs of holly, LED candles, a fresh garland or even a tree with all the trimmings, if space allows. Fresh evergreens are especially nice, as their scent will add to the holiday ambience. And for couples, mistletoe hanging from the bedroom doorway is a whimsical (and slightly cheeky) touch. A take-home ornament makes a thoughtful gift for the last night of turndown.
Shop, wrap and ship: Invite guests to turn over their holiday shopping and shipping to you. Offer professional-level wrapping of their gifts and place them under their in-room tree.
Holiday treats: Have fresh-baked treats waiting in the guestroom as a welcome amenity or at turn-down. Think cookies with cinnamon, ginger and other fragrant holiday spices, or squares of fresh gingerbread. Even better, if there’s an in-room kitchen, bake them right there so that the smell of fresh-baked cookies permeates the room when guests arrive. A few other treats to consider: cocoa mix with marshmallows and peppermint sticks on the side, or holiday punch in the refrigerator with the appropriate spirits and instructions for spiking.
Holiday tunes: Whether on CDs or a pre-set iPod, have a selection of the latest holiday music (and a few “evergreens” like Bing Crosby) waiting in the guest’s room. This year’s top picks: Michael Bublé’s “Christmas,” “A Very She and Him Christmas,” Justin Bieber’s “Under the Mistletoe” and Mariah Carey’s “Merry Christmas II You.”
Extra attention for little ones: Treat family travelers to special touches like a beautifully illustrated copy of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” on the nightstand for the perfect holiday bedtime story. Have stockings — personalized with each child’s name — hanging prominently to greet them on arrival, or placed on their pillows.
Fun for families: Encourage family time with a daily in-room activity. If there’s a kitchen, leave cookie dough in the refrigerator with a small rolling pin, holiday cookie cutters and instructions for baking (you might even consider including child-sized aprons, mitts and chef’s hats). If there’s no kitchen, kids can decorate a plate of sugar cookies or a gingerbread house with candies and frosting. Another day, leave a stack of square paper and safety scissors with instructions for making paper snowflakes.
On a personal note, this is a very special December for me as we prepare for our first holiday as a family of three. I wish you all the best of the season and look forward to sharing more thoughts via this blog in 2012. Cheers!