In today’s world, a lie said so many times without any correction becomes the ‘’truth’’. In the same way, any myth that isn’t debunked over time becomes a fact. Think about it for a second, have you ever considered if any of the age old myths were real events and occurrences or if they just existed in the heads of some people? It is easy to believe a myth than to believe the facts because myths carry along with it mind blowing stories and as the human psyche is set up, we almost always lean towards the negative news than the positive. Negativity alarms us and awakens a certain level of excitement in us. Hotel myths have existed since the very first hotel was opened. Some are wild and others are laughable. However we have said them so many times that they now feel like the facts. True or not, these myths are killing the hotel business gradually and it’s about time we cleared the air. Jumia Travel, Africa’s leading online travel website enumerates top 6 hotel myths that no one should take seriously. They don’t help you make good hotel choices.
Hotels are sex centres – Isn’t this the most popular myth about hotels? The mere mention of a hotel in many parts of the world connotes sex or sexual engagements. This is so bad that, when two people of the opposite are seen entering or exiting a hotel, there is a general belief that they were there to engage in sexual activities. Why should it be so when a hotel offers more than just a bed or sexual appeal? Arguably, many hotels offer romantic settings for honeymoons and other couple related activities but that doesn’t give premise to conclude that hotels are for sex. To be fair, hotels are used for events, conference meetings and other beneficial activities.Some hotels have restaurants, spa, gyms, pools and other facilities. Why then should a hotel be perceived as a place for immorality? It’s about time we took this off our minds.
Secret place of hiding for evil doers – When there is a big scandal or crime and investigations are ongoing, usually the first points of call for security services are hotels. Why hotels? Are they the only places where criminals and evildoers can hide? If for nothing, these are public places and should be the last places where criminals would want to hide. However, hotels have over the years been tagged as a hiding place for evil doers. This actually scares some people from booking and staying there. The fear of staying close to a criminal being at their mercy limits the appeal and marketability of these hotels. Great hotels that are well placed to do big business are not selling as much. Hotels are not secret places of hiding for evildoers. This is just a myth. In fact there are more businessmen and good people using hotels now than ever. If you want to catch top businessmen and do business with them, try the hotels.
Hotels are for the rich – Have you ever had someone make faces or react in a strange way at the mention of you going to a hotel? Usually, these reactions are out of shock if you are in a different budget category and ideally cannot afford the luxury of hotels. Indeed not every hotel is a 5star hotel and nearly everyone can afford to experience hotel at least once in their lifetime. Hotels are not reserved for only the rich and affluent in society. You don’t have to be rich to use a hotel. Being that hotels have varying uses and many other facilities, nearly everyone can afford a hotel. WIth some online travel websites offering hotel rates as low as 40 Ghc, there is a room for everyone. Whether rich or not, you can stay and enjoy a hotel. You just need to know where to look.
Everything is overpriced – Actually, there are many faces to this. Thinking about all the costs that go into building and managing a hotel, one might argue that the high prices of everything in a hotel is justifiable. The expensive furniture, decor and high levels of professionalism definately comes at some cost. If all hotels were the same price, shouldn’t they all be of the same standard? Anyways, the ideology that everything in a hotel is overpriced may be true to some extent but these prices are notably justifiable. First hand examples are the expensive ‘’fufu’’ and ‘’gari soakings’’ in certain 5star hotels. Many are of the mindset that regardless of the ambience, professionalism and facilities, they should be way cheaper than they are. Comparatively, water and soft drinks are cheaper on the streets and in supermarkets than they are in hotels. Why is this so? Because hotels come with a certain added value. When you buy from a hotel, you are not only paying for the item, you are paying for the ambience and the services too. It is expensive the moment you begin to compare.
Nothing is real – In the world of hotels, everything looks too good to be true and they actually are too good to be true. If not, there would be no need for hotels, will there? Many believe hotels are not exactly what they seem. Typical examples are when hotels display pictures of their facility on their websites and online booking websites. These pictures look too perfect right? Too clean for you to believe it and agreeably, there have been instances where what you see isn’t what you get. However, this age old myth that in hotels, nothing is real should immediately be disregarded. In hotels, what you see is what you get. If any hotel says they have this and that but you don’t get them when you actually book, then there is a problem. Almost always, hotels will tell you what they have to offer and seldom lie about it. Also what you see is what you get. These pictures are taken with high resolution cameras and sometimes edited a bit to give it the glossy look. However, this shouldn’t deceive you. The bed, A/C, wardrobe , Tv and general look of the room are generally the same. It is real!!!
Hotels are important to tourism and development. For hoteliers, it brings in income while for travelers, it solves the problem of accommodation. When all is said and done, the importance of hotels outweigh the flaws. Sticking to age old myths only leave us not enjoying the beauty and benefits of hotels. Never take myths too serious. There is a reason they are called myths in the first place.