When I checked in, I was greeted by a really friendly lady at the desk. I wasn't expecting so much because I have read one recent review which wasn't appealing. So I told my partner, let's just stay one night, walk on the beach and just appreciate the place for what it is. When I walked in, I was pleasantly surprised:
1. Very clean - my #1 pet peeve is an unclean hotel room. It's more stressful to travel if the accommodation is not clean.
2. The King Bed - just the right firmness, at least for me. The lady at the desk said there's no view from my room but it was not an issue at all.
3. The location - The Clan Terrigal is EXACTLY at the beach. No need to cross busy roads! I walked barefoot from the hotel to the sandy soil. It's an incredible experience to watch the sunrise. Australia you're truly the lucky country.
4. The restaurant - My partner said - "This is literally the best breakfast I've had in long while". No explanation needed. :)
As our context, my partner and I cherish our breakfast mornings. It's the most important meal of our day especially when traveling. We would always try to visit unique, local places and surprise ourselves. We love being surprised with healthy and tasty options.
5. Lastly, the people at The Clan Terrigal.
When I checked out, I told the lady at the desk that I loved my stay. I slept from 9pm till 7:30am. Uninterrupted. This was important as I needed all energy for a digital conference over the weekend.
That's my top 5.
There are more little things I loved about this place but the most important is the way I felt at the end of the stay. Thank you for a memorable experience.
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I've been a digital marketing consultant to high end accommodation providers since 2011 in New Zealand. I have worked closely with business owners who have near zero digital presence and assisted them in taking their business online. I may have done a lot of coaching and strategy planning but these business owners taught me so much more in terms of life and business. Let me take the opportunity to give them credit.
Owning and managing a motel / accommodation business in New Zealand / Australia is incredibly challenging.
The moteliers have put a huge investment in their properties. They live in it, they work hard for it, they re-invest in it continuously. To say that they put in so much work is an understatement.
They consider their business an extension of themselves -- it's a conviction.
There's so much competition and industry disruptions that moteliers are also now required to keep up with what's going on with the tech industry:
- Air BNB
- Booking aggregator websites like Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, Trivago etc that spend over a billion dollars in digital marketing advertising
- The customer reviews and increasing expectations - Tripadvisor and Google Business Reviews are relevant to tourists. The trend is that customers research, on average 7 times, before they make a purchase.
- Innovative online and social media marketing
Amidst all these and on top of operations and service requirements, moteliers and their staff greet you with a smile. You can see passion in their eyes albeit sometimes tired. You can see persistence in their hands. It's amazing to watch these business owners in action, especially in the service industry. Thank you for the inspiration.
