Sir, This Is a Courtyard, Not a Castle S1E18

Got podcast love, a plot twist, or a lost-and-found tale? Send fan mail here. Bonus points for wit.

Ever had a guest who expected Versailles but booked a standard room with two queen beds? You're not alone! 

Hospitality professionals everywhere are facing an expectations crisis. Guests walk in with dreams shaped by perfectly filtered social media posts, demanding spa-like experiences and Instagram-worthy aesthetics from corporate hotels near airports. This growing disconnect between expectation and reality creates unique challenges for even the most seasoned hospitality workers.

Through a hilarious yet relatable story about a guest demanding a sunset-view hot tub in February in Minnesota (at a property without hot tubs!), we explore what's really happening beneath these seemingly unreasonable requests. When guests ask for the impossible, they're often expressing a deeper desire to feel special, valued, and seen. Your job isn't to magically create amenities that don't exist—it's to understand this psychology and respond with clarity, creativity, and genuine warmth.

Drawing from expertise at the University of Arkansas Hospitality program, we break down the critical balance between experience marketing and experience delivery. Learn practical strategies for managing guest emotions when their expectations collide with reality, and discover how small gestures combined with authentic connection create what guests are truly seeking: memorable experiences that make them feel important.

The magic formula? Clear communications + thoughtful touches + genuine care = hospitality success. No castles or thrones required! Whether you're dealing with guests expecting unicorns in the parking lot or just trying to deliver excellence within constraints, these insights will transform how you approach guest satisfaction. Listen now to master the art of making everyone feel like royalty—without building a moat.

Support the show

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey everyone, rob Powell here, welcome back to
Housekeeping.
Didn't Come the podcast thatreminds you if a guest is
demanding a throne but booked adouble queen room near the ice
machine?
It might be time for a realitycheck.
Today's episode.
Sir, this is a courtyard, not acastle, because while
hospitality is all about goingabove and beyond, it's also

(00:24):
about managing expectations withstyle, the royal treatment
within reason.
Guests walk in with dreams.
Some want a spa-levelrelaxation, others want their
room to look like it wasdesigned by a Swedish influencer
and scented by angels.
And what they booked?
A corporate hotel near theairport.

(00:46):
Still, they expect magic.
So here's a real story.
I once had a guest demand a hottub with sunset views in
February in Minnesota, from ahotel that didn't have a tub,
let alone a view.
When we explained this, he saidwell, what do you have that
feels more special?

(01:07):
We offered a free drink, a roomwith a lamp and our warmest
smile.
He wasn't thrilled, but he leftwith a selfie in front of a
breakfast buffet, calling itlocal flavor.
What's actually happening here?
When guests ask for more,they're not always being
difficult.
They're often asking to feelseen, special, valued.

(01:30):
Your job isn't to be a magician, it's to communicate clearly,
add delight where you can andstay calm when guests are
convinced they booked Versailles.
At the University of ArkansasHospitality, we teach this
balancing act.
We talk about experiencedelivery versus experience,

(01:52):
marketing Under promise overdeliver, not the other way
around, and how to manage aguest's emotions when their
expectations were built onsocial media fantasies.
It's not about castles, it'sabout connection.
So the takeaway is here Everyguest deserves to feel like
royalty, but we don't need tobuild a moat to do that.

(02:12):
Clear communications plus smallgestures, plus genuine care
equals hospitality magic.
Thanks for joining.
Housekeeping Didn't Come, andif you're dealing with guests
expecting unicorns in theparking lot, hang in there.
Learn the art of modernhospitality without the thrones
At the University of ArkansasHospitality Management Program.