The Magic Castle is ranked by Trip Advisor as the second-best hotel in Los Angeles. An impressive 94% of the 3,125 reviews rate it as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. That’s a higher proportion than the famous Four Seasons in Beverley Hills.

Its success is surprising as the hotel is basic: dated décor, spartan suites and a small swimming pool. And it comes at quite a cost. I tried to book a single room in a month’s time. The price? A far from magical £254 a night – in line with a Marriott.

So what’s the Magic Castle’s secret? It masterfully applies the peak-end rule. It doesn’t create a uniform experience. Instead, it focuses on one or two outstanding moments. One such moment is the popsicle helpline.

Any time, day or night, you can pick up the old-fashioned red phone by the pool and dial the helpline. A man, complete with white gloves, promptly appears bearing a silver platter with a selection of free ice-lollies.

It’s this focus on creating a stand-out peak moment – rather than trying to improve all the elements of the stay a little bit – that is responsible for the hotel’s phenomenal popularity.

Simple? Maybe – but how many brands apply this thinking? Most spread their efforts thinly, attempting to make marginal improvements to every aspect of the customer experience. That damns them to mediocrity. It’s prohibitively expensive to improve everything.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.marketingweek.com