I can’t lie: WFH has lost its magic to me. Sure, I still like the fact that I don’t have to waste time in traffic and spend my gas and money on other things I really like, like food.
But in return, I sacrificed the company and camaraderie of my peers. I miss them, and so I didn’t hesitate to express my interest when my boss announced that he was opening his personal workplace to anyone else who wanted to join.
We had initially booked a 2 bedroom suite, however The Ritz-Carlton KL we kindly changed our room to the 3 bedroom suite and planned a dining itinerary during our stay.
Disclaimer: The hotel did not sponsor the accommodation as we wanted this to be our little way to support the local hotel industry, but the upgrade was kindly offered to us at no extra cost. This work happened long before the start of MCO 3.0 and the hotel staff had all the SOPs needed for our safety.
Did you say what size is exact?
The suite we had for ourselves for 3 days covered approximately 2,261 square feet and each room was very spacious and allowed us to have our own beds.
Immediately, that was the first good sign. When you’re in a workplace with your colleagues, you’ll still want some personal space and privacy.
Rooms are an important part of any group stay, but one type of room that is just as crucial but is often overlooked until someone really needs it is … the bathroom.
Luckily for us, we were mimat to choose from 3 private bathrooms and 2 separate toilets (still spacious) at our disposal to bless. There are five people who can “go” at once! The master bedroom had the largest bathroom, with a bathtub to relax in the evening.
Outside the bedrooms, the kitchenette had a kitchen, a large refrigerator, an oven, and a cupboard full of glasses and other cutlery suitable for a party. Of course, utensils were also provided. In addition to appliances, what was there were mainly tools for eating, not so much for cooking, but the hotel reception was ready to deliver the pots and pans we needed.
It’s not a jobless job
With all the space we had, we didn’t lack places to install, but as for a proper workstation, there was only one, in a separate area. It had a cove for your laptop or books, with plugs nearby and an office chair.
Our video editor picked it up and the rest of us worked at the dining room table where we could talk. Even on the upper floors (we were above the 30th floor), the speed and accessibility of the WiFi were pretty stable. The entire suite is also soundproofed, which helped reduce external distractions.
We ran into our first problem when we realized we weren’t carrying our own extension cord to get more plugs to charge our devices while we worked.
The dining room we had had 2 plugs nearby, but not enough. When we called the front desk to request an extension cord, unfortunately they had no more units available. So we settled in to take turns charging our laptops.
Although we told them to let us know if there were any during our stay, this request could not be complied with.
The works will be the new WFH
That, in itself, wasn’t enough to ruin our work, of course, as the rest of The Ritz-Carlton KL’s service was impeccable. We received several deliveries at the hotel, including food, extra toiletries, a pot and extra glasses. The staff sent it all away with smiles that never wavered.
He showed us that the hotel had the ribs to offer a high quality service to the guests who spent a holiday there.
But people who work like us have slightly different needs, which the hotel should be better prepared to meet in the future. Aside from having more extension cords, items such as mice and extra mice, USB adapters, or even WiFi adapters are always useful because you only know someone has it. tied forget one thing or another.
During the pandemic, the hotel industry has lost tourists and local guests, especially with travel restrictions. Locally, we may not see a complete return to normal life and travel for a few more years, and on a global scale, it may take even longer.
A crowd that would really have a hard time getting out of their homes and finding new spaces to work in would be the FMH crowd.
Let’s be realistic, WFH is no longer an advantage right now for those of us who have been doing nothing more than that for over a year. Sure it was an advantage when we were in the office and now it’s just a daily routine.
In this regard, we predict that working groups will become the new “WFH,” the new benefit that younger Gen Z employees would end up expecting to expect from companies, if they began their careers during the pandemic.
This means that hotel industry agents need to be prepared to cater to this specific target market (i.e. individuals or companies working), even more so than before.
Is the Ritz-Carlton KL ready for this?
Area CEO Mahmoud Skaf of The Ritz-Carlton told Vulcan Post that they had already anticipated this change in consumer behavior.
Marriott International (owner of the Ritz-Carlton hotel brand) had announced a new program in late 2020 for guests to work anywhere with Marriott Bonvoy.
“The new Marriott Bonvoy Day Pass, Stay Pass and Play Pass the packages were designed as flexible options whether customers are looking for a one-day stay from early morning until evening to change their WFH environment, to [an] extended night stay with early check-in and early night check-out, or a multi-day getaway from work and leisure to the destination, ”shared Mahmoud.
These packages were created with contributions from customers, hotel operations and corporate partners.
Commenting on our experience with the extension cable request, Mahmoud said, “We are usually able to handle extension cable requests, a wide variety of cables for different devices and chargers. Unfortunately, it was a very busy period for us. limited availability “.
However, he assured us that his team will be much better equipped for future applications of this type.
This is a necessary step if The Ritz-Carlton hopes to appease guests who come not only to relax, but also to be productive.
Despite being more than two decades old, it maintains its current pace and has a collection of 16 meeting and conference spaces that can accommodate groups of up to 6 people for intimate discussions.
These rooms include graphics with markers, writing pads, pens and are equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment with virtual functions, shared by Mahmoud.
Let’s be real, a job at The Ritz-Carlton KL is as fantastic as it can be achieved nationally, and at the same time is an investment, it is not an experience that will be easily forgotten, we can prove it.
After all, what are the job benefits if they don’t differ from what you can do in normal day-to-day living?
