A good night’s sleep

Leaving Castlebar after a 3 hour speaking engagement at 11pm, and with a BNI meeting the following day in Tullamore at 7am, meant very little time for sleep. Even though home is just 40 minutes further down the road I decided to try an overnight in Days Hotel Tullamore with a short trip down the stairs to their excellent conference room in the morning. Normally I sleep badly in hotels so it a tough decision, but that extra hour sounded oh so appealing and the welcome at Days is always just great. What was really unexpected was the acres of really seriously comfy bed, effective soundproofing and blackout curtains. I slept better than I have in any hotel of any star rating around the world. Despite a post 1am hour on the room WiFi sorting crisis occurring in the opposite timezone. Apparently there is some kind of bed policy that means you can get this sort of sleep in any Days Hotel. Brilliant idea, after all what else are you paying for but a good nights sleep?

Funny they don’t really capitalise on this on the various admirably branded but rather predictable and staid Days’ websites – take a look at Trip Advisor to see how their clients spot the difference. How do modern hotels establish USPs in such a crowded marketplace where hotel websites seem increasingly to be cloned ? Fine if you are the Castle Hotel Group with all that Georgian interest, the Mills Inn with the craic factor or Castle Durrow as a gastronomic experience par excellence. But if you are an ordinary modern hotel with an extraordinarily good sleeping experience does the bog standard misty flash banner or splash page do you justice?

Ideas please!