Emotional Decisions

I stayed a night at Hotel Meininger when I was in Brussels. Like many other backpackers I chose Meininger primarily for the price, tempered by the availability of WiFi and whether the pictures looked dodgy or not.

When I got to the hotel I was pleasantly surprised: it was not your ordinary hotel turned dormitory. They had electronic keycards to access the different areas! They were using an eco-friendly architecture that saves electricity (and indirectly, fossil fuels)! They gave me the option for a late checkout for free! They allowed me to leave my stuff in a secured locker room even after checkout!

They had hairdryers!

All for a low, cheap price. In fact, I found the hotel had so much value for the money I paid extra for an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet and for usage of the self-service laundry machine.

Looking back, I realized that was an emotional decision. I was very much happy with the value I was getting for my money that I didn’t mind if the breakfast wasn’t worth the price I paid for it, nor that I could have done the laundry by myself inside the shower.

I made an emotional decision, but I rationalized it anyway.

This is a very valuable lesson for everyone who has a customer (and as Dan Pink argues: To Sell is Human): make customers feel they just got great value and they will want to support you.