Still here in Kingston, Jamaica on business -- and making observations to share...
In-room coffee versus coffee bar coffee and cannibalization...
When I first started working here a few years ago, I knew of only one place to get a good coffee, at the Pegasus Hotel. So, like many of the foreigners here, I dropped by their coffee bar fairly regularly for an outing and a fix.
This trip, I see the Hilton has finally caught on, and built their own coffee bar. And I see the other consultants hanging out there at the tables pretty frequently, just as we do at Starbucks at home.
One weird side-effect of this change: the Hilton still has coffee makers in the rooms, but they only provide instant coffee now. I presume this was to force us to go buy the cappuccino. IMHO, this was a mistake that makes them look cheap. In a Hilton anywhere else, I would expect to find the in-room coffee AND access to many other coffee bar alternatives.
The room coffee was never a substitute for the other stuff in terms of coffee quality. (D'oh) Aside from which, as I noted above, people like to hang out somewhere, and the new coffee bar has quickly gained standing as this third place.
