"Share a ton" of Lean Brilliance

Does anyone reading this ever worry that they might wake up one day and suddenly realize that they finally know everything they are ever going to know in their life?  That no matter what happens going forward they will never ever learn another thing?  I'm not saying that happens very much to me either.  But every once in a while I discover such elegant brilliance hidden right under my nose that I am shocked and profoundly humbled into realizing just how little I actually know.

Such was the case for me the other day when I checked into my hotel - something I've done thousands of times over the course of my lifetime.

Those of you who know me or read my blog will appreciate the fact that, while I certainly do not know everything, I do pride myself on being able to see Value and Waste in just about any environment, process or situation.  And my mind is constantly thinking of ways to apply Lean principles just about anywhere to try and maximize Value and minimize Waste.  No surprise there.  So imagine my shock when a certain hotel chain, who shall remain nameless since I can't afford a legal department, managed to turn one of my most cherished Value Proposition upside down.

It happened like this.  I was going through the "Preferred" (a.k.a. Lean) check-in process that had actually started a few days earlier when I had conveniently made my reservation on line.  Everything was happening smoothly which meant my reservation was in order, my information was on file, and my room had even been upgraded.  Not exactly Value in the strictest definition, but certainly fairly minimal Waste by any standard.

And then I was asked if I "wanted to participate in their Green program."  I immediately assumed this meant declining the morning newspaper outside my door in exchange for fifty cents off my room charge, something I had seen in the past.  But was I in for a surprise.  The person behind the desk explained that their Green program meant that for every day that I declined room cleaning service I could choose between $5 off my bill or 500 hotel loyalty points.

I will take a second to explain something to those of you who do not spend at least 100 nights a year in hotel rooms.  For those of us who do, hotel loyalty points, like frequent flier miles, are as addictive as any drug you can think of.  If you want to fully understand what these points mean to frequent travelers I highly recommend renting the movie Up In The Air staring George Clooney.  Suffice it to say I would have probably agreed to sleep in the parking garage as part of their Parking Garage program in exchange for 500 loyalty points.

Of course I immediately agreed to sign up for any program that gave me free points.  And I quickly completed the check-in procedure and hurried away from the desk, 500 points in hand, before they changed their minds.  I had made it almost to the elevators when the enormous significance of what I had just been a part of began to sink in.  Before I walk you through what this particular hotel chain had gone through in order to come up with this idea, first consider the typical process for a hotel.  It would go something like this:

1. Guest makes a reservation
2. Guest arrives at hotel
3. Guest is assigned a room
4. Payment terms are arranged
5. Key to room is provided
6. Guest goes to room (eats, works, watches TV, sleeps, gets up, showers, etc.)
7. Guest leaves room
8. - If guest checking out them room is cleaned, towels replaced, etc. - go to Step 10
9. - If guest not checking out them room is cleaned, towels replaced, etc. - go to Step 11
10. Guest returns key and pays bill - END
11. Guest returns to room - go to Step 6

Of course like any complicated organization hotels spend the vast majority of their efforts doing non-value added activities not listed on this process.  I won't go into those here.  But I don't think too many people, including myself, would disagree that the above process is pretty much pure Value to the customer.

So just imagine the commitment and dedication to Lean thinking it must have taken for someone to say "....wait a minute, I have a question.  How much Value do guests really get from us cleaning the rooms every day while they're off at the beach or attending meetings?"  Just imagine the backlash that person would have received from hotel management, the sales and marketing people and especially the folks who carefully and lovingly clean the rooms and fold the fresh towels into those cute little animal shapes?  Who could possibly question the Value to the guests of coming back to a neatly made bed and fresh animal towels?  In fact that sounds like an idea so ridiculous only a consultant could think of it.

But wait.  Remember my reaction when offered the choice between a neatly made bed and free hotel points?  I couldn't wait to log into my account, calculate how many more points I was going to collect, and gloat over my great fortune.  Clearly if asked whether or not I was receiving more Value the answer would have been a resounding "yes!"

And it gets better.  What does the hotel get from this alternative process (minus Step 9 above)?  For starters they have to spend less time cleaning repeat rooms which leaves more time cleaning rooms to be turned over.  That means a shorter cycle time between orders and better asset utilization.  You can't really rent out a dirty room.  And in addition to that they also sink the loyalty barbs even deeper into a customer who spends tens of thousands of dollars a year on hotel rooms.  And even when I come back with my family and use the loyalty points for "free nights" you know there will be room service and restaurant charges that go straight to the hotel's top line.

The point of me telling this story is not to impress anyone with this particular process change.  I recognize that only the most rabid pursuers of Value among you will truly appreciate this example.  The purpose of me telling you this is to remind you that Opportunity is everywhere.  It's in the Waste that you can see.  But also in the Value you thought your customers could never live without.  Never ever stop asking "what if we....?"