A fellow blogger and journalist has been having a good old moan about Scandinavian hotels that don't understand the needs of business travellers. Few hotels, she says, have tea and coffee making facilities or even ironing boards.
Kristine Lowe writes: So what do you get up in the wee hours to get out a few stories before the day starts and there's no way to feed your caffeine addiction. How do you wake yourself up enough to be productive - without having to run around town at 5am to find a place with coffee, electricity and wi-fi?
There's nothing worse than hotels skimping on little bits and pieces that are actually vital for guests. Which chains do you think are best or worst for business travellers?
Comments (5)
The problem is that Scandinavian's have their 8a.m.-4:30 p.m. work days. The whole entrepreneur thing of working for yourself on the side, or Gods forbid, being self-employed is not a very Scandinavian thing to do. That is so weird in Scandinavia.
Posted by Lene Johansen | September 18, 2008 3:06 PM
Posted on September 18, 2008 15:06
My partner recently had to travel to Amsterdam on business where his company headquarters are. He was suprised to find out that the Victoria Plaza where he was staying did not provide free wifi, it was £20.00 for an evening and was not even available in his executive room. We had looked at the hotels website and it was marketed as being quite upmarket, yet failed to provide a basic business service.
Posted by Sophie | September 23, 2008 10:04 AM
Posted on September 23, 2008 10:04
Hi Lene, that doesn't sound too bad to me. Our working hours seem to get longer and longer now that we're contactable any time through laptops, Blackberries etc. Maybe they have a better work/life balance!
Posted by Chloe | September 24, 2008 5:28 PM
Posted on September 24, 2008 17:28
Chloe: when I worked in London I used to think Norwegians were incredibly spoilt in this respect, impossible to get hold of them in the office after 2pm in the summer, 3pm rest of the year (UK time, Norway's on CET time). Overall Norwegians do have a better work/life balance but there are pros and cons. I miss my London-lifestyle, but then I don't have kids. As a journalist you rarely have a 9-5 job in any part of the world though, and that thing about being available 24/7 is not confined to the UK.
Sophie: in general I find that upmarket hotels are the worst in this respect - there wifi and/or broadband is always an expensive extra, whereas many budget hotels 'get it' and provide free wifi throughout
Posted by Kristine | October 4, 2008 12:24 PM
Posted on October 4, 2008 12:24
Well first of all, I'm quite surprised about the experiences mentioned in the original text. I could agree if this was a hotel in the Swedish countryside but not in Stockholm. I've worked with or for more than 50 different hotels in and around Stockholm and 99% of these would have a hospitality tray in the rooms and if the Iron/Ironing board would be in the room it would be delivered within a few minutes if asked for.
Secondly, I think it is a good point about some (most?) peoples working hours in Scandinavia. Some research has shown that on average the productivity here is equal or superior to most other western european countries.
A friend of mine moved to London many years ago and after a few months of employment his boss called him into his office. He was told that it was unacceptable to arrive at 8am and leave at 5pm. He was told that he was working less than his colleagues. My friend challenged his boss to measure productivity output for a month and compare his work with the rest of the individuals. As you might have guessed, he produced more AND better quality work.
So it's not the hours you put in, it's what you do with them :)
Having said that, I totally emphasize with the author being self employed myself knowing that time is always scarce.
Posted by Nick | October 9, 2008 7:55 AM
Posted on October 9, 2008 07:55