Indispensable: How to Become the Company That Your Customers Can't Live Without

Chapter 5. Case Study: W Hotels

Making My World a Better Place

I travel all the time. The nature of my work is that I take a plane to the "office" like others drive their car every day. Most of the time I stay in the same hotel as the convention group with which I'm working. Luckily, much of this work takes place at resorts and top-flight hotels, so it's generally a pretty cushy job in terms of my accommodations.

When I have a choice, though, I default to one brand—W Hotels. If there's a W Hotel anywhere near my work, that's where I want to stay. In 2003, the annual convention of the National Speakers Association, of which I am a member, met in New Orleans in a perfectly nice chain hotel. This hotel was where all convention activities would take place and where the 1,500 attendees would be staying.

I stayed at a W Hotel two blocks away. Why? I certainly had nothing against the convention hotel. It's perfectly acceptable. But for a five-night stay, acceptable wasn't enough for me. I wanted my room and hotel experience to be great.

As I write this, I am doing business in New York City, and since I had a choice of hotels I stayed at the W Hotel Times Square. There were probably two dozen good hotels located closer to my client, but the 10-block walk was easily worth it to me.

So what's up with W Hotels? Why have they become indispensable to me? Like almost any other indispensable choice, it's a combination of things, but in a word, W Hotels are cool. Very cool. There is a vibe and a feeling ...