Travel Rant: June 2008

By Darren Cronian

In the past I have had the opportunity to interview people from the likes of Lonely Planet and Boeing. It’s been a while since the last interview but yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Tamara Heber-Percy of Mr and Mrs Smith, who specialise in luxury and boutique hotels.

Please could you introduce yourself and the role you play?

Hi, I’m Tamara. I’m one of the directors and founders of Mr & Mrs Smith. I set up the company with my husband, James Lohan, so I guess you could say I’m the original Mrs Smith (back off, Angelina). Today, I work at the head of our online operation.

Our website has grown colossally since we first struck out into cyberspace in 2002. There are also lots of development aspects to oversee – recently we’ve launched a US site, a Blackberry application, a comment facility, a loyalty programme and we’re in the midst of introducing a flight-checker service.

Of course, I still go to stay in boutique hotels…

What do you think hotels could do better to help the environment?

You know a bit about what I feel about this from threads I’ve commented on before, but eco-friendliness is one of the hottest potatoes in the hotel industry at the moment, and I think that there’s an awful lot of bandwagons being jumped on and green wash being splashed about.

Not washing towels daily isn’t enough; a hotel can have all the green policies it likes, but ultimately if the individual members of staff or guests themselves don’t care, then what’s the point? I think eco education is the single most important thing.

Once staff and tourists understand the issues and implications, and care about environmental impact, then they bring that both to their work in the hotel, and in their personal lives too. As with the quality of a hotel’s service, it’s about the people themselves.

What tips would you give consumers searching for hotels?

Hmmm… Well, other than the predictable use Mr and Mrs Smith (which isn’t just bias – I genuinely believe we’re as reliable as it gets), I’d recommend three things:

Just because it’s ‘five-star’ doesn’t mean it isn’t decorated like the Bates Motel and run by psychopaths. Check out photos online before you go – the traveller’s photos on Flickr and Tripadvisor can be pretty helpful.

Make sure it’s clear whether or not the hotel’s room rates include breakfast, taxes or parking – you don’t want any nasty surprises on check-out.

Do some research into what the rooms themselves are like – call the hotel if need be. There’s nothing worse than booking into a gorgeous-looking hotel, only to find that they’ve put you in a cupboard by the bins.

What is the difference between a standard and a boutique hotel?

This is the question that keeps us awake at night. If you believe the hotels themselves, 99 per cent of them are boutique hotels (and eco-friendly to boot). As far as we’re concerned, a boutique hotel has to be a one-off, uniquely designed (the phrase ‘boutique hotel chain’ makes me shudder) and with an intimate atmosphere, regardless of its actual size.

It should offer a warm, unfussy welcome (no bowing and scraping, no snooty sommeliers), and it should look good – design-led, grown-up, fashionable and gimmick-free. The litmus test I always apply when I’m staying in a hotel is ‘would I mind not going out?’

If the hotel is a destination in itself, then I think it qualifies.

What impact do you think the strong Euro is having on consumer spending on travel?

The growing clout of the Euro is having an effect on the behaviour of UK travellers, of course. People are thinking twice about popping over to France or Spain in a way they wouldn’t have even a couple of years ago.

Now they want to make their money go a bit further – why pay for a week in Greece, when you can get to the Caribbean, Indonesia or the US for just a little bit more? Tourists and holidaymakers are getting more intrepid, so I think we’ll see a reduction in European city breaks and an increase in long-haul jaunts – until rising fuel prices make that problematic too, that is.

Weekends away in the UK are also more popular than ever and also of course where Mr & Mrs Smith’s expertise is – our single most requested break is a weekend in the Cotswolds.