Page 25 of Sunset Cove
“I woulddiefor some coffee right now,” Ken said, clapping his hands together. “Join us, Chip.”
He shrugged. “Works for me.”
The restaurant was nearly empty, and they took a table next to one of the largest “souls” in the room. Dan took Claire and Chip’s orders before finding himself under interrogation with Ken.
“What sort of creamer options do you have?”
Dan tapped his pen on his notepad. “Well, we carry half-and-half, whole milk, skim – ”
Ken waved a hand. “I mean whatelse?”
“We also have almond milk and soy milk.”
“Hm.” Ken drummed his fingers on his chin. “Thank you. Is it organic?”
Dan looked up. “I think so?”
“That’s interesting.” Ken stared at him. “I’ll take my coffee with a dab of skim and a pack of Splenda. JustoneSplenda, mind you.”
Dan nodded. “Coming right up.”
Ken waited until Dan left before speaking again. “You know, a lot of the luxury customers are going to expect their favorite creamer option to be readily available. Something to think about.”
“What are we missing?” Chip asked, tilting his head. “Vanilla ice cream?”
“Oh, that’d be so good,” Claire said with a smile.
Ken ignored her. “There aremany more options,but that was a suitable list. For now. If we’re going to try to get this hotel up to a four-star level, there is no detail too small.”
Chip leaned forward. “Hang on. What is this about becoming a four-star hotel?”
“It’s one of Ken’s ideas,” Claire said brightly. “He says it’s a way to set us apart from other hotels and resorts on the island.”
“Exactly, Claire.” Ken winked at her. “But it’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication. Not that we’re afraid of that, are we?”
Chip sat back and smiled. “What kind of hard work?”
“Where to start?” Ken let out a sigh. “We need to hire bellhops and offer full-service luggage handling. Then we should have valet parking, twenty-four hour room service, perhaps even a turndown service.”
“Interesting.” Chip crossed his arms. “What definition of four-star are you using? Who’s going to accredit us?”
“Hold on there, partner,” Ken said with a quick laugh. “We need to put all of these changes in place first, and then we can talk about accreditation.”
Chip said nothing. That was a test, and Ken had failed. Despite the wide use of the star system for hotels, there was no standard for what the stars meant.
Plus, there was no accrediting body. Hotels made up their own star ratings and used whatever they felt fit best. There were some general ideas of what a four-star hotel should have, of course, but it was essentially meaningless.
Even ignoring all of this, Ken’s thinking was way off. Guests didn’t pay attention to stars nowadays. They cared more about reviews and ratings other guests left online.
Chip knew all of this because he researched it extensively. For years, he had offered discounts and free meals to their guests for completing surveys. That information was invaluable as to how to improve stays and attract more guests.
It was clear to Chip that while Ken talked a big game, he was making everything up as he went along.
“That’s a lot to think about,” Claire said. “Right now we have a staff of twelve people, and –”
Ken cut her off. “Now Claire, I’ve told you again and again. You’re either committed to this process or you’re not. You need to put the right energy into this world, and then you’ll get the right energy back.”
She stared at him and nodded. “Right. Okay.”
