Budget Hotel (Great) Expectations

Photo by Ana Espino on Unsplash

If you've booked a place at a really convenient location for under S$40 a night, you'll just be glad for a clean room, fresh sheets and decent water pressure in the shower, right? The price point doesn't exactly signal to a luxury experience.

Or maybe you're secretly worried it's a scam because this seems too good to be true. What is the business model and how do they even survive on those margins?

However modest our expectations might be, I was definitely surprised by what happened next...

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"Hi, good afternoon! I'm checking in. Here's my passport and my booking email address is..."

"Welcome back!" Immediately, I looked up and stopped doom-scrolling. The reception staff smiled as they pushed a form towards me, accompanying pen placed conveniently on my left, clicked and ready for use. "How did you know I was left-handed?" (Wow, this level of attentiveness is borderline scary!)

That thought might have flashed across my face, because the receptionist quickly laughed and replied, "Miss, you using your phone with your left hand. Lucky guess Iah!"

"Would you like your room to be near the lift? More convenient since you have so many things! Are you here for the event again? Last year you had a booking at this time. And you come back late nearly every day, quite tiring leh."

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Arriving hungry and delayed, the unexpected warmth and friendliness really shifted something in me. The care and attentiveness defied all stereotypes of a budget hotel. Suddenly, it felt like this was my home for the next week! Truthfully, the rest of the stay was rather normal - a tiny shoebox room, an equally cramped toilet and no sensible places to hang anything.

However, that check-in conversation was so memorable. Enough that I overlooked the threadbare towels, lack of windows and coffee mugs with mysterious stains.

This reminded me of what psychologists call the peak-end rule - we judge an experience based on how we felt at the peak - the most emotionally charged or intense positive/negative moment, and at the end - the final moment of the experience. One thoughtful gesture can define how we remember the entire experience, long after this.

I wondered - we have so many conversations daily, but what are those experiences like? Do we move through these exchanges on auto-pilot, or find them filled with drudgery and obligation? Do you often catch yourself thinking - "this is totally a meeting that should have been an email?!" (And yes, some of these really should have been emails.)

Granted, we are not hospitality staff. And not every conversation needs to be optimised. But what if all these moments are missed opportunities for warmth and connection? What if we could flip the script and create delight for ourselves and the people around us?

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FOR MORE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS

As you prepare to talk to someone, ask yourself:

• What’s one small detail you’ve noticed about them that, if acknowledged and shared, could create a moment of warmth and genuine connection?

• As you end a conversation, is there something you could say, that leaves them feeling more supported, appreciated, or uplifted?

  
  

These are smol conversation practices that feel almost insignificant. Perhaps the other person might not even notice what just happened.

But this practice first changes where we place our focus, on to noticing what we appreciate about others, and then expressing gratitude for the positive impact of their actions, or presence in our lives. See how the people around you respond. Have faith in your ability to build trust with stakeholders or gradually shift entrenched relational dynamics and even culture, one conversation at a time. Because for any brand and in any organisation, it’s not just the positioning, systems or strategies that define us. It’s the tone of our most innocuous interactions and a consistent choice to show up with presence, empathy and care, that truly matters.

Sometimes, the most mundane conversations hold the greatest potential for magic. Try it! You'll see. I promise.