Hotel Amenities: How to Choose, Track, and Manage

Selecting hotel amenities involves finding the perfect balance: too few amenities may compromise your hotel's brand and disappoint guests, while too many can strain your budget and complicate operations.

In this post, we discuss how to find the optimal mix that resonates with the guests and delivers optimal ROI. We also touch on how to track amenities performance and the role of software.

What are hotel amenities, and why do they matter?

Hotel amenities are the items, services, and facilities a hotel provides to enhance guest comfort, convenience, and enjoyment.

As a YouGov study proves, some amenities like toiletries and Wi-Fi are non-negotiable and taken for granted. Others, like a bathrobe and slippers, will give your guests a luxury experience.

Yet others – like a welcome snack basket from local vendors – are perceived as a pleasant surprise that can turn a stay from "just okay" to "oh, wow!"

Hotel amenities list

From the essentials that meet your guests' basic needs to the fancy extras that spoil them silly, amenities are what can make or break a hotel stay. Of course, the amenities mix will depend on the type of your hotel – and the lines are often blurry – but let’s try to define a general categorization.

In-room basic amenities. These are some standard essentials that every guest expects from a hotel. This category includes clean bedding, towels, toiletries, etc.

In-room extras. Added comforts like bathrobes, an assortment of teas and coffees, or a minibar aim to make your guest's stay more enjoyable.

Property facilities. A lobby sitting zone is also considered an amenity, and so is the business center, playground, bar, pool, and gym.

Services. This group includes all the services you offer to your guests, such as daily housekeeping, room service, laundry service, and so on.

Activities. If you do yoga classes, wine tasting, dance performances, or movie nights at your property – all that falls into this category of fun and engaging experiences that most guests appreciate.

Luxury offerings. These are high-end amenities designed to offer an upscale experience. They might include gourmet dining options, butler services, in-room massage, a pillow menu, etc.

Tech amenities. The world is rapidly digitizing, so this category is becoming the norm. Think smart room automation, high-speed internet, mobile check-in, and digital concierge services.

Unconventional amenities. This is the category for all the unusual and creative ideas: welcome snacks, in-room beer taps and cocktail stations, robots, cooking classes, themed tours – anything that creates a wow effect.

This list is nowhere near exhaustive. We can also add eco-friendly, kid-friendly, pet-friendly, and other sorts of friendly amenities – there are endless opportunities to cater to your guests.

Why are hotel amenities important?

Along with location, price, and reviews, they are one of the key factors in a traveler's decision-making when choosing a property.

On top of that, the 2024 STR study shows that almost one-third of hotel revenue comes from outside the room (particularly the food and beverage department), so paid amenities can be an important revenue stream.

Amenities also impact

• guest experience and loyalty,
• ratings and reviews,
• the position of your property against competitors, and
• star rating.

Hotel amenities obviously play a huge role in defining a hotel's appeal, operational success, and market position. Still, not all of them are equally important to your guests. 

Which amenities do guests want?

Here’s what recent studies show regarding main traveler preferences.

Wi-Fi and toiletries are the top priorities. The YouGov study of US travelers showed that the most expected amenities in the standard room are Wi-Fi (72 percent of respondents) and toiletries (66 percent of respondents). For luxury hotels, these figures are even higher, with 74 and 71 percent, respectively.

Leisure travelers expect to have A/C and power outlets near their beds. Most sources name Wi-Fi as the most expected amenity across all guest segments. However, the recent Booking.com’s 2024 Travel Trends survey claims that air conditioning and power outlets near the bed are the top priority for leisure travelers.

Business travelers require healthy dining and free printing.  Flight Centre’s Corporate Traveller study revealed that the most desired amenities for business travelers (besides Wi-Fi, of course) are healthy dining options and free printing facilities.

Travelers overpredict usage of in-room fitness equipment and alarm clocks. Studies show that travelers’ expectations differ from what they actually use. For example, the Cornell Hospitality Report found that guests tend to overpredict their usage of a wide range of amenities. Topping the list are video games on demand, in-room fitness equipment, alarm clocks, and self check-in (though the situation might have changed since then).

Travelers underpredict usage of valet parking and lobby seating. On the other hand, concierge, bellhop, and valet services were underpredicted. The same goes for lobby spaces – which is probably because guests now see them as coworking areas with networking opportunities.

Bottled water has the highest impact on return intent. Cornell Hospitality Research Brief found that while Wi-Fi was the most important amenity for first-time guests, complimentary bottled water brought them back.

As you can see, sometimes, traveler expectations aren’t that obvious. So how do you know what they expect?

As we mentioned in the beginning, selecting the right hotel amenities is about balancing guest expectations and managing costs effectively. So the selection process will involve

1. doing the research to understand what your guests want the most;
2. comparing the costs and financial benefits to evaluate the ROI; and
3. implementing the amenity and tracking its performance.

So let’s talk about each of these stages – moving one step at a time.

How to select hotel amenities: Understand your guests first

To understand which amenities your guests will appreciate the most, start by defining your target guests. Are they business travelers, families, couples on a romantic getaway, or tourists exploring the city? Each group will have different needs and expectations.

Solicit guest feedback

It’s good practice to ask your guests about their experience. Send out post-stay email surveys about which amenities they used, what they valued most, and what they felt was lacking.

In addition, consider sending follow-up emails asking for more detailed feedback about specific amenities guests used during their stay.

Another way to collect feedback is to set up digital kiosks in the lobby or in-room tablets. They allow guests to rate their experience in real-time, particularly about the amenities.

Tip: Be cautious about taking action only based on guest feedback. As we saw, people often over- or underpredict their usage of amenities.

Also, you might be tempted to discontinue the amenity because people don’t use it much, but this might be a bad strategy. Sometimes, guests just feel kind of safe getting the expected service—even if they end up not using it.

Analyze reviews

Guests often write about what they lacked or wished to have during their stay on review platforms or social media. Respond to positive and negative feedback, and use the information to make improvements.

One way to approach reviews is to employ sentiment analysis. Using natural language processing, this technique helps understand positive, negative, or neutral sentiments in texts – not only about your property, but also the ones of your competitors.  

For example, our data science team developed a tool that can run sentiment analysis on a bulk of reviews, assign ratings to every amenity in a hotel, and compare different properties based on those reviews.

Read more about how to work with reviews in our hotel reputation management guide.

Besides doing the internal research, do the external one too.

Check the competition

See what amenities your direct competitors offer. Your hotel’s compset includes properties with similar

• location (beach, urban, rural, etc.);
• size (the number of rooms);
• target market (families, business travelers, luxury seekers, etc.);
• category (luxury, upscale, budget, boutique, etc.); and
• price range.

Using industry tools like STR or Data Appeal reports and data services like expert feasibility studies might be helpful. These tools analyze hotel performance across different markets, allowing you to identify which hotels are consistently your direct competitors and look for new ideas.

Watch the trends

Keep an eye on what’s happening in the industry. Today, for example, there is a growing demand for sustainable and health-oriented amenities like organic toiletries, air purifiers, and healthy meals. In 2024, over 60 percent of travelers named sustainability a crucial factor when choosing an accommodation.

As mentioned earlier, hotel technologies are quickly becoming not just additions but essentials for modern travelers. In-app chatbots and contactless check-in are now expected features.

Also, J.D. Power reports that today, 5 percent of guests want to charge their electric vehicles in a hotel, so consider equipping a charging station (or at least include this option in your survey to understand if that’s what your guests want).

Obviously, people would always want more. And pre-pandemic, hotels were in that intense rivalry mode, adding more and more amenities—like fancy soaps, fitness classes, or gourmet coffee—in an attempt to outdo the competition or please guests. That got the name amenity creep.

While it sounds nice, it can become a problem if it costs more money than it brings in. So, besides figuring out what your guests want, let’s discuss the business aspect.

Compare costs against benefits

So your research should’ve helped you to come up with the list of amenities you expect your guests to appreciate. Here are the steps of a cost-benefit analysis that will help you pick the most beneficial ones.

For the sake of an example, let’s analyze adding a high-end coffee machine in each room.

Estimate the costs 

Calculate the cost of each amenity. Include everything, such as the purchase cost, installation, maintenance, and any additional operational costs, such as extra staffing or training.

Example:

• Cost of a coffee machine per room: $300
• Installation per machine: $50
• Cost of coffee grains per room per year: $40
• Annual maintenance per machine: $30
• Additional housekeeping training: $500 total

If your hotel has 100 rooms, the total cost calculation will look like this:

• Total installation cost = ($300 + $50) * 100 = $35,000
• Annual operational cost (maintenance + coffee grains) = $30 * 100 + $40 * 100 = $7,000

Assess direct financial benefits

Consider how the amenity will directly affect your revenue. This can include increased room rates, more bookings, or fees for using the amenity.

Example:

Assume you can charge $5 more per room night due to the coffee machine.

Average room occupancy rate: 75 percent

Additional annual revenue = $5 * 100 rooms * 365 days * 75% occupancy = $136,875

Estimate indirect benefits

Indirect benefits include improved guest satisfaction scores, higher return rates, or positive reviews, which can be harder to quantify but are crucial. Conduct guest surveys or analyze trends in reviews mentioning the amenity.

Example:

A coffee machine increases guest satisfaction by 10 percent, based on surveys. With more positive reviews and more return guests, you assume that after 6 months, your occupancy will increase by 5 percent.

Let’s say your average daily rate across all room types is $85.

Additional revenue from higher occupancy = $85 * 0.05 * 100 rooms * 182 days = $77,350

Note that for the sake of simplicity, we don’t factor in additional operational costs and only take the average daily rate.

Compare costs and benefits

For each amenity, weigh the costs against the benefits. If an amenity costs more than the value it brings in, it might not be worth it.

Example:

Total cost in the first year = $35,000 (installation) + $7,000 (operational expenses) + $500 (training) = $42,500

Total benefits in the first year = $136,875 from increased rates + $77,350 from increased occupancy = $214,225

ROI = (Total Benefits - Total Costs) / Total Costs * 100 ROI = ($214,225 - $42,500) / $42,500 * 100 ≈ 404%

Based on the above analysis, adding a coffee machine to each room appears to be a financially beneficial amenity for the hotel. It enhances guest experience, potentially increases revenue significantly, and provides a strong ROI.

You can apply this methodology to any other amenity by adjusting the variables and costs accordingly. Needless to say, it makes sense to choose the amenities that offer the most value for the lowest cost. Focus on what really makes your hotel stand out and what your guests genuinely appreciate.

Note that some amenities (like a gym or a pool) would demand more upfront investment, and it will take more time to start seeing the benefits.

Also, remember to do this analysis regularly to compare the value of your existing amenities and costs, as these factors might change with time. It will help you decide if continuing, enhancing, or removing an amenity is financially sensible.

Test and adapt

Don’t be afraid to experiment. You can introduce amenities to a subset of rooms to gauge guest reaction – and ROI – before fully committing. Then, ask guests who experienced the new amenity for their honest feedback and track its use.

Based on the feedback, make any necessary changes to the amenity. This might be tweaking how it's offered, making physical improvements, or changing how you promote it.

But to make a final decision, you must know how to measure their effectiveness. So now, let’s discuss how to track your amenities.

How to track hotel amenities: main KPIs to monitor

To understand how your amenities perform, monitor KPIs that show usage rates, guest satisfaction, and financial benefits.

Usage rate

The usage rate measures how frequently an amenity is used. High usage rates generally indicate that an amenity is popular and valued by guests. However, sometimes it’s not that straightforward. For example, a spa can show a low usage rate, but it’s critical for your high-value guests.

The way to track it will vary across different amenity types. For example, for in-room extras such as water bottles or tea bags, inventory count will help; for the spa, gym, or activities, the number of bookings/visitors will give you the data; and so on.

The usage rate of some intangible amenities (e.g., a nice view) is hard to measure. For these cases, guest satisfaction metrics will do better.

Guest satisfaction metrics

Guest satisfaction metrics are a group of KPIs that show how happy your guests are with their experience. These can be simple quantitative ones, like net promoter score, which measures how likely the guest is to recommend your property to a friend. While they’re fast and simple to collect, they don’t give you the full picture.

So, whenever possible, gather qualitative information through surveys that include questions about amenities or online reviews and ratings that specifically mention amenities. Such direct guest feedback will best show their attitude.

Financial metrics

Financial metrics show the direct financial contribution from each amenity. Again, they only show the input of paid amenities such as laundry service or massage sessions and don’t include complimentary amenities.

TRevPAR (Total Revenue per Available Room) shows the total revenue per room. Unlike RevPAR, it includes all revenue sources (room rates, food and beverage, spa services, etc.),

RevPAG (Revenue per Available Guest) is the guest-centric metric that measures the total revenue generated by each guest.

RevPAM (Revenue per Available Square Meter) measures the revenue generated by each square meter of a hotel’s property. It’s especially useful for properties with various facilities, such as conference rooms, dining areas, fitness centers, and other revenue-generating spaces. Unlike room-specific metrics, RevPAM accounts for the total usable space.

GOPPAR (Gross Operating Profit per Available Room) measures a hotel's profitability per available room, accounting for operating expenses. GOPPAR helps analyze how paid amenities contribute to the bottom line. For example, if GOPPAR remains low despite high revenue from certain amenities, it may indicate high operational costs or inefficiencies.

Please refer to our detailed overview of hotel KPIs to learn about all the metrics worth monitoring.

Indirect metrics

There are also a number of indirectly related metrics worth evaluating, such as

• the number of recurring guests – if the number of return visitors increases, that’s probably a sign that they’re having a good experience at your hotel;
• conversion rates – how often mentions or ads for these amenities convert into actual hotel bookings; etc.

Nowadays, nobody calculates all those KPIs manually. So it’s time to talk about software and its role in choosing and managing amenities.

How software helps manage hotel amenities

Building a robust software infrastructure is a must in today’s digital reality. Here’s how technology helps manage amenities.

Aggregate and analyze data. You must first collect the data to measure and track those metrics we described. A property management system (PMS) serves as a central hub and in best case scenario aggregates all the information, including:

• transaction data from the point of sale system (POS);
• facility usage logs from gyms, spas, etc.;
• booking data from the central reservation system (CRS);
• guest preferences from the customer relationship management (CRM);
• inventory consumption, and so on. 

If your PMS doesn’t support holistic integrations, you’ll have to rely on the varying analytics capabilities of each individual product.  Integrating your data sources with a business intelligence tool will allow you to be more flexible in terms of how you aggregate and visualize data.

Check out our overview of specialized hospitality BI solutions.

Synchronize information. Hotels need to ensure that their amenities are accurately listed and priced across all booking platforms. A channel manager synchronizes your property information across distribution channels in real time.

Assess guest sentiment. Hotels use sentiment analysis tools to gauge guest reactions to their amenities and identify areas for improvement.

While it seems like a lot, such a comprehensive, tech-driven approach will allow you to achieve efficient amenities management. These systems will help you choose, assess, and promote your amenities, ensuring they meet guest expectations and drive profitability.