UBC July 2024 - Hotel Rooms

Photo by Dave Photoz on Unsplash

Welcome back to July's UBC. This month I'm going to be talking about cultural differences between Switzerland and the USA.

Today let's take a look at hotel rooms. 

Why? 

Equipment, quality standards, sizes and pricing can vary considerably. 

I would like to start by saying that I prefer the hotel landscape in the USA, even though Switzerland is so proud of its hospitality.

Why is that?

I find it very transparent that in the US there are clearly recognizable hotel categories, and I don't mean the number of stars. When we're on a road trip, we need an affordable room with a bathroom and breakfast in a hotel with wifi and free parking. If we don't want to stay in Times Square in New York or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, this is always possible. 

For our purposes, we don't need a swimming pool, a fitness center, a laundry service or an in-house ATM, so we are happy to be able to find (and pay for) exactly what we are looking for, thanks in part to the fact that there are many well-known hotel chains. 

However, let's take a look at the specific differences when it comes to hotel rooms:

Room size

Hotel rooms in the USA are generally larger than in Switzerland, where space is limited and expensive. Standard rooms in the US often have more space due to the more spacious layout of American buildings. 

Types of beds

In the USA, the most common bed types are the king size bed and the queen size bed. Double rooms with two queen size beds are also widespread.

King size bed: Approx. 193 cm × 203 cm = 6.3 x 6.6 ft

Queen size bed: Approx. 152 cm × 203 cm = 5 x 6.6 ft

In Switzerland, beds in standard European sizes are more common. Double rooms often have two single beds (which can be together or separate) or one large double bed (king size or queen size, although the sizes can vary).

Single bed: Approx. 90 cm × 200 cm = 2.9 x 6.6 ft

Double bed: Approx. 160 - 180 cm × 200 cm = 5.25 x 6.6 ft

The fact that bed sizes vary so much makes it hard to move from one to the other country. Just saying. When I first arrived in the US, there was no duvet in my otherwise furnished room, so the very first thing I did in the morning was to shop for one and the according bedding. When I stood in front of the shelves, I was hopelessly overwhelmed. Not only did I not know what queen and king size meant at the time, the measurements in feet and inches were of no use to me either.

Fun fact: 20+ years later I sill have my large American duvet, and I will use and cherish it! 

Electrical plugs

Make sure you bring adapters that allow you to plug in your phone charger, blow dryer and the like. I'll talk more about things like these in a separate post.

Room doors

Also our doors are different. They don't come with knobs but handles. If you're staying at an old school hotel you won't be given a credit card-like room key that operates using a magnetic stripe, but an actual metal key, to which they attach something big and heavy to prevent you from taking the key with you. Not a fan of leaving my room key at the reception, but it is what it is!?

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels

Breakfast

If you're used to bacon, eggs, pancakes and the like, you'll have to compromise in many Swiss hotels. They usually offer "continental breakfast". a selection of fresh breads and rolls, croissants, various cheeses, cold cuts, yoghurts, muesli, fresh fruit, jams, honey, eggs (boiled, and, if you're lucky, scrambled or omelette),  as well as coffee, hot chocolate, tea and fruit juices.

Pricing

Prices for hotel rooms in the USA vary greatly depending on the city, hotel category and season. Large cities such as New York or San Francisco often have high prices, while rural areas can be cheaper. Prices are also strongly influenced by supply and demand.

Here's a pro tip I learned the hard way: check for sports or cultural events before making plans. Accommodation may not be available due to an NCAA Basketball final!

Switzerland is generally an expensive country to travel to, and this is reflected in hotel prices. It may happen that prices are per person instead of for the double bedroom. So if a hotel stay seems to good to be true price-wise, check whether this might be a case of "per person".

Frequent guest benefits

I think pretty much every American hotel chain offers some kind of the equivalent to "collecting miles" at hotel chains: Guests collect points with every stay, which they can later redeem for free nights, room upgrades or other benefits. In Switzerland, the few Swiss hotel chains I know of don't seem to offer a program of this kind. We do have Marriott and Holiday Inn in Switzerland, and fortunately their guest program is international. 

Parking

Due to the shortage of general space in Swiss cities, as well as initiatives by nature conservationists, there are chronically too few and too expensive parking spaces. Of course, this also applies to hotels. The limited number of expensive spaces they provide are then even more cramped than those in public parking lots. This makes getting in and out of the car and loading and unloading the trunk a challenge. 

Elevators

Older buildings may come without elevators. Make sure to check the description. You don't want to haul your bags up to the third floor. 

Air Conditioning

Same goes for A/C. I find it unacceptable that you pay full price for a hotel room that is simply too hot to sleep. Not only is it a question of "old building" but also of ecological reasons. Granted, air conditioning uses a lot of electricity, but I like to say servers (as in IT) refuse to work if they're getting too hot, therefore they get an air-conditioned room. Why can't we uphold the same standard for human beings?

Cultural differences

As already mentioned in the beginning, American hotels are often part of large chains with standardized services. There are also many motels and inns along the highways, which is super convenient. Also, if breakfast should not be included, you can be sure that the next Starbucks, IHOP and the like can't be far.

Swiss hotels are often family-run and emphasize personal service. There are many smaller, independent hotels and guesthouses that have unique charm and character. But quite frankly, many don't.

Just last month I attended a business event at a traditional Swiss lakeside hotel - they call themselves "resort & spa" - that actually has a good reputation, certainly the price suggests great quality and service, and I thought they did poorly all the way, and it wasn't the first time. Many hotels and restaurants live off their beautiful location and are not dependent on returning guests. 

I will talk more about the quality of customer service in an upcoming post. 

For now let me ask you: Have you experienced European hotel rooms? Would you like to? I mean we do have gorgeous mountains and sights ;-)