The Long Stay Standard
Five steps for guests staying seven nights or more. By day four the welcome has worn off and small irritations add up; that is when the stay needs a plan.
- Who
- Guest relations, with housekeeping and the restaurant
- When
- Every stay of seven nights or more, from check-in to departure
- You need
- Long-stay list, the guest’s routine notes, laundry and menu options
- Measured by
- Routine agreed by the end of day 2
- A short catch-up every 3 or 4 days
- Something on the menu varied each week
5 steps
01
Learn the routine
In the first 48 hours, learn when the guest goes out and comes back, when they want the room cleaned and how they like to eat. Agree a fixed cleaning time and write it on the housekeeping board.
Say this
“Mr Takahashi, 902, 21 nights: out 08:30–18:00 weekdays. Clean at 10:00, turndown 19:00, linen every 3 days.”
Common mistake Cleaning at a different time every day. The guest who works from the room plans the day around the trolley.
02
Make it home
By day three, offer what a long stay needs: more hangers and drawer space, a bigger desk or lamp, a printer, a kettle with their own tea, room in the fridge. Ask once, then deliver within 24 hours.
Say this
“Mrs Haddad, you’re with us for three weeks. Would more wardrobe space or a bigger desk help?”
Common mistake Treating day 12 like day 1. The guest is still living out of a suitcase on the floor.
03
Vary the food
At least twice a week, ask the kitchen for a dish that is not on the menu, and tell the guest what is new. By day five a long-stay guest knows the menu; a simple home-style dish often matters more.
Say this
“Mr Takahashi, the chef can make grilled fish with rice and miso soup any evening. Shall I ask for Thursday?”
Common mistake Offering the same room-service menu for three weeks. The guest starts eating out and talking to you less.
04
Catch up quietly
Every three or four days, have one short catch-up in person at a time that suits the guest: in the lobby or at breakfast, never at the room door. Ask one open question and act on small things the same day.
Say this
“Good morning, Mrs Haddad. You’re halfway through your stay. What could we do differently this week?”
Common mistake Calling every day to ask if all is well. To a guest on day nine it feels like being watched.
05
Mark the end
Two days before departure, confirm by email the check-out time, the car, the laundry return and the final bill, so nothing is a surprise. On the last day, the staff who served them most say goodbye.
Say this
“Mr Takahashi, your car is booked for 07:00 Friday. Laundry back Thursday by 18:00; the bill is in your inbox tonight.”
Common mistake A guest of three weeks leaves through the lobby with nobody on shift who knows their name.
Our Long-Stay Plan
Fill in one card for each guest staying seven nights or more, at the end of their second day. It keeps every shift working to the same plan.
Week one
- Room and cleaning routine
- Food to vary
- Catch-up day and who
- Small extra to offer
Week two
- Room and cleaning routine
- Food to vary
- Catch-up day and who
- Small extra to offer
Week three and after
- Room and cleaning routine
- Food to vary
- Catch-up day and who
- Small extra to offer
Fill the card at the day-two briefing with housekeeping and the restaurant, then keep it in the long-stay folder at the guest relations desk. The guest relations manager reviews every card each Monday.
The Standards Library.
No. 05 · Communication & NLP
The Calibration Standard
Five steps for reading a guest before they have said anything. Warmth is not a volume setting you turn all the way up. It is a frequency you tune.
No. 06 · Guest Experience
The Recovery Standard
Five steps for the complaint that reaches you in person, which is the good one. For every guest who tells you, several didn’t, and they are the ones writing the review.