Up Front: Take ownership of your guests' vacations

"The breakfast at the hotel is lousy." Those were the words that created a flurry of distress around the dinner table at the rehearsal dinner for a wedding I attended last month."What do you mean it’s lousy? That's the reason I booked the place," said one woman across from me, who hadn’t yet checked in. They were all staying at an economy lodging venue that was close to where the wedding would take place the next day. It was one of the few places to stay in a rather remote mountain destination.

Half of my dinner companions had checked in, the others hadn't had a chance to yet, having driven ten to 12 hours from all over the country just to get there.

"It's just skimpy," said the one guest who had arrived the day before. "Wasn't much to it."

The rest of the conversation didn’t go well. Some claimed they’d book the name brand chain hotel because it advertised a free continental breakfast. Some had gotten a discount because they’d paid in full prior to arrival and were frustrated they couldn’t now make a change.

"Are the rooms at least clean?" someone asked one guy who’d checked in. He rolled his eyes. "We had some spider webs and we had to kill some flies but otherwise, it's OK," he said.

The disappointment that rolled around the table was palpable. Several had really taken the chance to make this wedding into a mini vacation and to hear the establishment they’d selected to stay in was below par was pretty devastating.

I've written quite a bit about luxury hotel companies over the years, and one thing that comes up frequently is that hotels are often the sites for celebrations–large and small–and that it's the responsibility of the hotel to ensure that the event they've been entrusted with goes well.

That could include a large wedding or a simple, low-key family reunion dinner. Good luxury hotel managers know that they are vital players in these treasured experiences. The hotel can make or break an important memory.

In my book, the same goes for properties that are in the economy or midscale range. It costs very little to provide a decent continental breakfast and even less to wave the spider webs out of the room. Failing to step up your game for guests who are traveling from afar to be a part of an important weekend is shameful and if you don’t feel the same way, you shouldn’t be in the lodging business.

By the way, places to stay in remote areas can no longer take for granted that they're the only game in town. For the trip I'm talking about here, I wasn't staying at the troubling motor inn. I had found an alternative means of lodging by renting a huge mountaintop home with my extended family members. We'd found it online through a lodge rental service. There were eight of us and we all had an incredible amount of space to ourselves. The kitchen, where we were able to cook our own wonderful family meals, was huge and brand new and there were three fireplaces and five bathrooms throughout the house, as well as a wraparound porch with unbelievable views of the Shenandoah Valley. The house was available because the builder had intended to sell it, but when the recession kicked in, he put it in a rental pool that includes about 25 other wonderful homes that are also available in the area.

The best part? When we divided up the cost, my share was the same as what my friends staying at the motel were paying. I didn't get free breakfast but I still consider that a bargain.