I’m not one for gossip normally, as you know, but I had to give you the inside information on the HotelConnect Annual Quiz Night. I went as an impartial observer and photographer - that's why you can't see me in any of the shots... I can tell you that the HotelConnect gang are a pretty knowledgeable bunch. They took it upon themselves to dress up for the occasion!!

General knowledge, mental agility, and the ability to set off a party popper in lieu of a buzzer all came in handy on the night. The HotelConnect gang were on top rowdy, jovial form! The winning team was Japan, who won a lot of points in the round that involved gambling. I must take them with me to Monte Carlo next time I go. They could be handy in the casino!

What an Easter I’ve had! You may not know this, but a while ago I borrowed Jeff Goldblum’s teleporter (don’t ask me why he has one, but it’s on permanent loan to me as I do more good with it) to ensure I can get round the world as quickly as possible to track down bargains for you. It’s a little bit like that new film, Jumper, but with a bit more machinery involved, and, unfortunately, the delightful Rachel Bilson doesn’t always accompany me... well actually she never does, but the offer’s there!

Anyway, my travels took me far and wide: I went to Barcelona to see the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions, to Stockholm for egg rolling, I decorated an egg tree in Munich, I read a crime thriller in Oslo - it's an Easter tradition over there I learnt, and it certainly whiled away a few hours before I sped off to Canada to see the world’s largest Easter Egg, at 31 feet tall. Of course I came back to dear old London for an Easter Egg Hunt and a big turkey roast.

I hardly had any time to sleep, what with packing in all these activities, which was a real shame as we at HotelConnect have got some great hotels at all these locations. I wish I’d had time to pop into the 4* Avenida Palace in Barcelona for instance, you can stay there for 4 nights for the price of 3 for just £183 per person.

Easter reminded me of my travels with my parents, who were both intrepid explorers and part-time Red Cross volunteers. We would go from place to place (not as quickly as with a teleporter, I can tell you!), soaking up the local cultures. I remember the first time we went to Australia, my father asked one of the aborigines what the strange bouncing creature with the long tail was... He replied "kangaroo", so that's what we called them. It was only later that we found out that meant "I don't know"!!! Ah, wonderful times. Actually, come to think of it, that wasn't us, that was Captain James Cook... Oh well!

Paying for your pillow? Not in my room...

You know when someone in your office is having a bit of a rant about something? I usually choose to block it out, unless it's crazy office gossip, or I hear my name - and ESPECIALLY if the two occur together.

Anyway, my ears did really prick up this time and for neither of the above reasons. It was Ian (Ackland, our Commercial Manager - see the picture below) who was doing the talking.

I haven't seen him this passionate about a subject since games night at the pub.

Anyway, Ian went to a travel conference in Ireland the other week, and heard some crazy stuff about customer service. So let me paint the picture...

He walks in, with his luggage, and starts telling the story to a few of us

"At the conference there were some of the major players in the travel industry – airlines, hotels, car hire companies, travel insurance companies, transfer companies and companies that organise car-parking at departure airports.

I heard some fascinating ideas and insight into what all these companies are planning to do to give the customer choice. Some of it was amazing, but some of it quite depressing..."

a few more people gather around, Ian puts his bag down, takes a swig of MY water, and continues...

"One technology company told us all about what they’re doing to help airlines “unbundle” – which is industry jargon for breaking down everything about a flight to show you the cheapest price possible.

This is why you now see a cheap price, and then add on everything else: airport check-in, baggage check-in, priority boarding.

This company even joked - I hope! - about charging people to use the toilet on board!..."

'ooooh' the crowd groan at this one

"It seems that while flights become a simple commodity that is no more glamorous than taking a bus into town, the only thing left to fight on is price.

I sat there scared and depressed: scared that, at some point, hoteliers may adopt this approach and start charging us for a duvet in the room (with an additional charge if you want a pillow!), and depressed that the industry is failing to “sell the experience” of travel. Shouldn’t travel make you feel warm and fuzzy, a little bit excited and , in all cases, relaxed, rather than make you have to work out if your bag will be too big to take on board and, God forbid, if that bottle of water you had in the departure lounge is going to make you need a wee on board?!... "

Ian was REALLY loud at this point! Those who hadn't gathered around, now did. The stairs were busy full of people pushing their way upstairs to listen to what was going on. People were shaking their heads at the thought, and all was quiet as he took a breath and stepped up onto his chair:

"So, I did breathe a slight sigh of relief when a bigwig from Starwood hotels told us of their plans: sell the experience, show the customer the type of views they can expect if, for example, they upgrade from a standard room to a superior, Eiffel Tower-view room at the Westin, Paris. They stressed the concept of making the customer feel comfortable and reassured by your brand, and always seeking to offer the customer something more..."

people nod, there's a bit of pushing and shoving in the audience. I wonder if Ian's going to crowd surf

"At this point, I decided I’m in the right part of our industry – or at least, as long as hotels don’t start this trend of “unbundling” rather than provide decent service exceeding expectations.

At HotelConnect, we’ll keep trying and fighting to ensure that customers are inspired and excited by their travel experience, not stressed and bombarded with extra charges for something you should just expect to receive. We’ll always include taxes, we’ll always show the total, final price right at the beginning, and we’ll always try to make you feel warm and fuzzy about booking your hotel stay, because we’re passionate about what we do well! "

By this point, Ian's standing on the table and we've all got our credit cards out, wanting to book hotels with our own company. There's whooping, cheering and he's pumping the air with his fist. Couples in the crowd embrace and that girl from our Hotel Experts team kisses that bloke from Accounts.... Ian starts singing 'danke schoen' and waves to the crowd.... then he goes back to Camerons place and the car goes in the pool and ooh - hang on - I might have confused SOME of that with Ferris Bueller's day off. Sorry.

We love customer service - it really is important to us. We love it when our customers email us with their comments - good and bad (hardly any of those mind you - the last one we had was someone complaining about the colour of their curtains in their hotel room. but we did not snigger about that. No we did not).

Finally, I should pass on Ian's thanks to the Temple Bar hotel in Dublin for letting him stay with them – an excellent welcome from the front desk, a really good quality hotel and in a great (if a bit lively!) location. He gave us one small tip though – unless you want a serious intake of salt in your diet, steer clear of the scrambled eggs at breakfast! Absolutely nothing wrong with the eggs, but they’re just very, very salty!

Until next time...

Secret Agent