Steigenberger Airport Hotel Frankfurt — Hotel in Frankfurt

Horst Schulz is a renowned figure in the hospitality industry and is credited with creating the high standards of customer service that the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Chain is famous for. Here are some of the customer service principles taught by Horst Schulz:

Anticipate guests' needs: The best customer service is proactive, not reactive. Staff members should be able to anticipate guests' needs before they even ask for something.

Empower employees: Employees should be given the authority and responsibility to make decisions that benefit guests. This creates a sense of ownership and accountability.

Attention to detail: Attention to detail is critical in creating a memorable guest experience. From the cleanliness of the room to the presentation of the food, everything should be done with precision and care.

Continuous improvement: Customer service is an ongoing process of improvement. Regular training, feedback, and performance evaluation are essential for maintaining high standards.

Create a culture of service: Customer service should be ingrained in the culture of the organization. This means that every employee, from the front desk to the kitchen, should prioritize the needs of the guest.

Years ago, I stayed at the Steigenberger Hotel and the company displayed such standards. My how times have changed.

We arrived at the Frankfurt Airport Steigenberger Hotel early at 8 AM after a long international flight and requested an early check-in. Official time is at 15:00. The front desk assistant understood and said that if we came back at noon, surely a room would be ready. We ate at the buffet, went on a walk and fell asleep in the lobby to kill time.

When I appeared at the desk at noon, a new front desk person scolded me for making the request. I could not recall the name of the person who gave us the encouraging waiver from official policy. This request was never passed on to other staff. We thought that perhaps there had been a shift change.

When a the airport bus unloaded and a group of travelers started checking in at 1:00, we thought I would try again. To my surprise, we were given a room! I guess it depends on who you ask. Why was our request not communicated with other staff? Why did the staff not come and get us in the lobby (with a direct line of sight) when the room was ready? Why was scolded when asking for a deviation from policy? Surely rooms are released when cleaned!

Furthermore, it's unacceptable that the hotel checked in other guests before attending to your needs. This is a clear breach of basic customer service etiquette and an utter lack of respect for your time and comfort.

In order to maintain a reputation for excellent customer service, hotels must prioritize the needs and comfort of their guests at all times. It's apparent that the Steigenberger family hotel chain failed to live up to these expectations, and it's truly disappointing to hear about your poor experience.

The Steigenberger, once a proud family chain has become an ordinary hotel with sub-par customer service, unfortunately the standard of many today. This is no Ritz and the leadership and staff should engage Horst Schulz for...

I’ve never written a 1-star review in my life. I’m a very easygoing traveler — I usually only leave 5-star reviews and don’t expect perfection. But this experience was unacceptable from start to finish. I was disrespected, ignored, gaslit, and ultimately accused of theft, all while paying over €500 per night.||||Let’s start at check-in:||We arrived with very young children after a full day of travel, expecting to check in at the guaranteed 3:00 p.m. time. Our room wasn’t ready. We were told to wait. We waited 90 minutes in the lobby then left to kill time, came back at 6 p.m., and it still wasn’t ready. We weren’t given access to our room until around 8:00 p.m.. There was no apology, just defensiveness and attitude when we asked for updates — while two exhausted kids waited with us for hours.||||They offered us free breakfast and a complimentary drink because they knew they had messed up — and while we appreciated the gesture, it doesn’t even come close to making up for the experience we paid for.||||Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there.||||The room we were eventually given — which they called an “upgrade” — had a non-functioning air conditioner. We set it to 19°C, and it stayed brutally hot all night. I tried calling the front desk — no answer. I went down in person around midnight and waited 30 minutes to speak with someone. They promised it would be fixed the next day.||||It wasn’t.||||No follow-up. No communication. No check-in.||I had to go back to the desk again after lunch the next day just to get someone to actually send help.||||We spent a full night sweating in an overheated room with our young children, after already waiting five hours just to get in. Still, no apology, no compensation, no concern from management.||||And then — as if that weren’t enough — I went to the pool with a beer from the hotel. There were no signs prohibiting outside drinks (confusing because I thought the pool was part of the hotel). At least two other guests were in the pool drinking glass bottles they clearly brought themselves. I was stopped and told I couldn’t bring mine in even though I was going to put it in a plastic cup — which I was completely fine with. But then the male staff member took my drink briefly and accused me of stealing it from their fridge. Out loud. I had to explain no I brought it from my room. In public. With zero basis. I couldn’t help but notice the other guests who weren’t questioned happened to be white and did not use plastic bottles either but glass around the pool. ||||That was it for me. ||||I stayed calm, respectful, and patient. I gave the hotel multiple opportunities to do the right thing. But they failed every step of the way — from service to communication to basic human decency.||||If I were a business, airline, or event planner, this would be the last place I’d ever trust with my staff or guests. If this is how they treat top-paying customers, imagine how they’ll treat anyone else.||||We expected a high-end stay.||We got delay, discomfort, disrespect — and an accusation.||||Stay...

I’ve never written a 1-star review in my life. I’m a very easygoing traveler — I usually only leave 5-star reviews and don’t expect perfection. But this experience was unacceptable from start to finish. I was disrespected, ignored, gaslit, and ultimately accused of theft, all while paying over €500 per night.

Let’s start at check-in: We arrived with very young children after a full day of travel, expecting to check in at the guaranteed 3:00 p.m. time. Our room wasn’t ready. We were told to wait. We waited 90 minutes in the lobby then left to kill time, came back at 6 p.m., and it still wasn’t ready. We weren’t given access to our room until around 8:00 p.m.. There was no apology, just defensiveness and attitude when we asked for updates — while two exhausted kids waited with us for hours.

They offered us free breakfast and a complimentary drink because they knew they had messed up — and while we appreciated the gesture, it doesn’t even come close to making up for the experience we paid for.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there.

The room we were eventually given — which they called an “upgrade” — had a non-functioning air conditioner. We set it to 19°C, and it stayed brutally hot all night. I tried calling the front desk — no answer. I went down in person around midnight and waited 30 minutes to speak with someone. They promised it would be fixed the next day.

It wasn’t.

No follow-up. No communication. No check-in. I had to go back to the desk again after lunch the next day just to get someone to actually send help.

We spent a full night sweating in an overheated room with our young children, after already waiting five hours just to get in. Still, no apology, no compensation, no concern from management.

And then — as if that weren’t enough — I went to the pool with a beer from the hotel. There were no signs prohibiting outside drinks (confusing because I thought the pool was part of the hotel). At least two other guests were in the pool drinking glass bottles they clearly brought themselves. I was stopped and told I couldn’t bring mine in even though I was going to put it in a plastic cup — which I was completely fine with. But then the staff member took my drink briefly and accused me of stealing it from their fridge. Out loud. I had to explain no I brought it from my room. In public. With zero basis. I couldn’t help but notice the other guests who weren’t questioned happened to be white and did not use plastic bottles either but glass around the pool.

That was it for me.

I stayed calm, respectful, and patient. I gave the hotel multiple opportunities to do the right thing. But they failed every step of the way — from service to communication to basic human decency.

If I were a business, airline, or event planner, this would be the last place I’d ever trust with my staff or guests. If this is how they treat top-paying customers, imagine how they’ll treat anyone else.

We expected a high-end stay. We got delay, discomfort, disrespect — and an accusation.

Stay...