Thistle Hotels has launched a service that allows guests to take a virtual online tour of actual rooms and then book the one they desire.
The "Choose Your Own Room" facility is live at the group's Thistle Euston Hotel in London. After booking a room, guests receive an email with a link to take a 360-degree tour of the property's rooms, including the view.
Should a guest not be happy with a room, he can simply request to tour another and then select the one he wants. Rooms are automatically allocated shortly before check-in should no self-selection take place.
Thistle claims the service is a world first and plans to extend it to its other properties.
David Grosfils, chief operating officer at Thistle Hotels, said: "We know Brits hate to complain, so concerns about causing a fuss if we don't like the room we're allocated really can spoil a stay for many.
"Guests often opt to stay in the same bedroom if they've stayed with us before, so we're simply putting them in control by inviting guests who book direct on thistle.com to use the 'Choose Your Own Room' service.
"Our ambition is that all Thistle hotels across the UK will have the CYOR service and we are working on rolling this out now.’
Graham Smith
