PHILLIPE KJELLGREN US7 :5nov 25/6/09 08:43 Page 80
So what makes a hotel stand out to someone like Philippe Kjellgren, as the
“I stayed in a hotel in Amman
best keeps getting better and he keeps seeing the best? Attention to detail is the
where you can arrive by car,
absolute most important thing, and properties that go to extensive lengths to per- boat, or paraglide, so of course
sonalize a stay are always a better experience. Many properties tout their high-end
I opted to paraglide in”
furnishings and high-tech gadgets, but personal care always trumps technology.
“All hotels have these high-tech things, but I think we live surrounded by that
now. When people anticipate your needs, it is really impressive.” He gives an ex-
ample of one hotel in Europe, when he arrived late after flying for most of a day.
“When I got to my room, the first call I got was from the spa director, calling to
say that they’d heard I had a long flight and they were sending a masseuse for a
15-minute in-room massage. Was I excited I saved fifty bucks? No. It was a value-
added thing above and beyond the dollar amount.”
Other examples include hotels that stock the liquor bar to your individual
preference, or hotels where you’re greeted by name before you’ve checked in for
the first time. “The Peninsula in Beverly Hills changes the literature in the room
depending on who’s coming. If it’s a man they include car and boat magazines; if
it’s a woman they have more fashion magazines, and if they know I like National
Geographic, then they will have National Geographic.”
Kjellgren also noticed another deficiency in the hospitality industry, one that
his site seeks to rectify in a way that is tailored to the needs of his users. The Kiwi
Collection rating system is an independent entity that does not take into account
the inconsistent ratings of other guides, giving their readers a useful gauge for
comparing different properties.
He and his staff “try to manage expectations across the board, so when our
users see we’ve rated a hotel as five stars, whether it’s in the Maldives or in New
York, they’ll know they’re likely to get the same kind of experience.” And of
course, when you are looking at as many extraordinary properties as the Kiwi Col-
lection staff are, your scale must accommodate the truly superlative, hence the 5-
star plus rating they have adopted.
“Some of these hotels are so wonderful, and we could go to six stars, seven
stars, but that gets confusing. The 5-star-plus ratings are the above and beyond
of the 5-star hotels. For instance, when you have two hotels in a city and both are
undoubtedly 5 stars, but one is better than the other, that is a 5-star-plus.” The
site also offers their WOW picks, which are editorial picks, places where re-
viewers have been and had an incredible and unique experience, but which aren’t
intuitive choices for most users and require a little more information in order to
be appreciated.
A new version of the site – bigger and better – will be launching in 5-8
months, following some established reviewing patterns and inventing some oth-
ers. Aside from their unbiased and well-contextualized reviews, The Kiwi Col-
lection is about building relationships, with managers and concierges and owners,
which should make booking through the site an even more attractive option.
“When someone books through us, we can send a personal email to someone, say-
80 100 Thousand Club
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