How this hotel managed to upsell a birthday cake.

Last week, it was my boyfriend’s birthday. With the currentCOVID measures in the Netherlands, there was no room for extensive celebrationswith friends or family, so we decided to escape the daily grind and go away forthe weekend.

It might be my overly pessimistic nature, but I find bookinghotels to be quite the drag, let alone in COVID times. Currently, there are numerousadditional factors you have to keep in mind, as well as the usual requirements foryour stay. For me, besides having breakfast included, there was also thenecessity to include dinner. I wanted to ensure if these options were still onoffer and aligned with the current COVID regulations.

I understand that with the ongoing changes to theseregulations, it is challenging to keep a consistent messaging on your digitalplatforms, but for customers it can be highly confusing and disappointing tocome across services that no longer exist or see heavily promoted deals whichare no longer available.  

After browsing through the options, some great, othersdisappointing, I made my choice. We were going to stay a weekend at the Highlanderhotel in Amsterdam. My search journey started on Booking.com, where I saw theDine & Stay offer for the hotel. I decided to double check their Instagramaccount, and came across the same deal. To triple check, I decided to verify iton their website, where I also stumbled across a cheaper booking option.Awesome and I was able to support them directly, a win for all.

The check-in process (fully online and available in minutes)was a delight. Besides communicating clearly and transparently what theadjusted process was in COVID times, I was offered an array of add-ons topersonalise my stay. As I am easily influenced, of course I ended up booking adiscounted parking ticket and added the “birthday package” to my stay. And I’m glad I did.

Even though these small efforts costed me extra money, theprocess that enabled me to effortlessly book this experience was worth it. Thechocolate cake that was waiting on arrival, also helped.

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P.s. I see they’ve recently added a private cinema packageto their options. It seems I need to go back!

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By Barbara.