REPORT FROM THE U.S.—The guest experience isn’t what it used to be at the Wyndham Austin Garden Hotel in Austin, Texas. Individual copies of USA Today are no longer delivered to each door, high-end water bottles have been replaced by less expensive brands from Sam’s Club, and complimentary bathrobes no longer hang in every guestroom closest.

Such cutbacks to once-standard amenities abound at the property, underlining perhaps the biggest change of all: improved guest satisfaction. Call it doing more with less.

Amid a historic industry downturn that has cut revenues to the bone, hotels are trimming operating expenses to follow suit,  refocusing on those parts of a hotel stay that matter most to guests.

Wyndham Austin Garden Hotel

The key to these cutbacks is transparency, said Shane O’Flaherty of the Forbes Travel Guide. As president of what formerly was the Mobile Travel Guide, he oversees inspection of nearly every hotel throughout the world.

“In any business that you work on, you do cutbacks and try to make it as transparent to your customer as possible,” he said.

In other words, don’t impact the guest experience. If you try to staff the front desk with one associate during peak check-in hours, guests will notice. But only put two bars of soap in the bathroom instead of five, and the average customer won’t think twice.

If the results of this year’s Forbes Travel Guide are any indication, it appears savvy operators are catching on to what really matters to guests. There were 54 top-ranked hotels this year. In 2008, there were only 49.

What really matters

While amenities are a crucial part of a hotel stay, the most important aspect of the experience is guests’ interactions with staff, O’Flaherty said.

Hotel companies have recognized this need and are rolling out various service initiatives to boost the customer experience during lean times.

At Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, that means giving hotel management more flexibility and control to handle the unique  challenges of each property, according to Frits van Paasschen, CEO of the White Plains, New York-based company.

“We have been able to boost productivity without compromising the guest experience, and our guest satisfaction scores have continued to rise,” he said.

Allan Reagan, owner, Wyndham Austin Garden Hotel

The Wyndham Austin Garden has taken the initiative a step further with its “Walk a mile” program, which aims to create a more flexible, efficient work force through extensive cross training, according to Casandra Kokoska, guest services manager at the 210-room property.

So far, the program is working. Overall customer satisfaction scores have increased from 8.29 out of 10 last year to 8.65 out of 10 this year. 

“We’re breaking down a lot of the traditional departmental barriers in order to create a very substantial group of line employees who are  cross-trained in multiple departments in multiple jobs,” added the hotel’s owner, Allan Reagan.

When done right, that can create a more efficient team of associates and drastically reduce labor costs.

The Wyndham Austin Garden, for instance, used to employ a team of dedicated hotel drivers that shuttled guests to and from the airport. Now, existing staff members including sales associates, dishwashers, front-desk attendants and others are empowered to take the driver’s seat when the need arises—saving the hotel 25 percent on total payroll.

Breaking down those departmental barriers and sharing responsibilities has increased employee buy-in to the ultimate goal.

“All of us are here for one purpose only, and that’s guest-service delivery,” Reagan said.