eTN added Aloft London Excel to THE LIST

The Aloft London Excel hotel is connected to the Excel Exhibition Center in London and was the venue for World Travel Market (WTM) earlier this month.

eTN Publisher Juergen T. Steinmetz stayed at the hotel a year ago and complained about his experience to Aloft and to Starwood, owner of the Aloft brand.

As a fan of good espresso, he is always on the hunt for having a good cup or at the least a great cup of regular coffee. Especially when one is staying at a hotel next to a big venue like the one for WTM, the chances of strolling around the neighborhood for an espresso is close to if not absolutely non-existent, so guests would have to rely on what is available at the hotel near the venue.

Steinmetz said: “I loved that the location of the hotel was next to Excel and to the DLR train station. I enjoyed jumping in the indoor- swimming pool and getting a workout in before the start of a busy day at World Travel Market, and the beds and rooms were modern and comfortable.

“The nightmare for me last year was the absence of a good cup of coffee. The espresso made by the push of a button on a machine was simply terrible.

Last year I confronted Hotel Manager Martijn Mulder and tried to explain how important a good cup of coffee is when staying at a hotel next to a busy convention center. The days are long, and that jolt of caffeine is a necessity for many.”

Steinmetz also made the same suggestion on the TripAdvisor web site, and he wrote to Starwood customer service.

This was the surprise when checking into the same hotel this month to attend WTM 2015.

Not only had the hotel acquired a top-notch espresso machine, a barista was also teaching hotel staff how to make a great cup of coffee. Guests were lined up to experience the perfect cup of cappuccino or espresso before leaving for business at the convention center.

When eTN publisher Steinmetz approached Martijn Mulder about the new coffee options, Mulder said: “At Aloft London Excel, our focus is to provide our guests with the best possible experience during their stay. A key element of this involves listening to guest feedback, which enables us to better understand their wants and needs and continue to grow and improve our service. In this case, a guest mentioned that he would have liked to have had a really great cup of coffee during his stay, so we took this challenge and installed a range of coffee facilities at ‘Re:fuel’ – our grab & go refreshment area – offering a variety of options for all of our guests to enjoy.”

Steinmetz informed Mulder that he was the actual guest who had made the suggestion, and as the publisher of eTurboNews, he was going to add Aloft London Excel hotel to THE LIST.

He explained that anyone can nominate a hotel, destination, attraction, airline, person, cruise, or restaurant based on a best moment or experience, and that THE LIST is not about rating how “luxurious” something is. It is more about how much something is appreciated or different.

Mulder responded, “We are very thankful and quite pleased to be added to eTN’s THE LIST. It is something we can be proud of, and it underlines that guests do value that we listen to their feedback and needs.”

For Steinmetz personally, Aloft’s response to his suggestion was a bright spot in his days at WTM this year – “I admit even more than once a day” – as he attended this busy annual event.