When a guest arrived at Millennium Hotel Broadway Times Square in July with his 12-year-old daughter, Aaradhya Sunder, the pair had travelled from Singapore for the World Children’s Festival. What they did not know was that the hotel team had picked up on a small but meaningful detail in their earlier correspondence and prepared a thoughtful surprise in the room ahead of their arrival. 

A Detail Noticed in Advance

The night before the arrival, the team discussed the family’s requirements and decided to upgrade them to the Times Square suite. Vikram Sardana, General Manager and VP of Operations, New York, suggested going further. Aaradhya is an artist, and her work, The Artist-Athlete, was framed and placed in the suite before the family arrived.

A Check-In Handled in Person

George Jacob, Rooms Manager, watched for the family in the lower lobby and recognised them as they approached the lifts. He escorted them to the upper lobby, handled the check-in personally, offered a late check-out, and walked them back to the guest lifts, deliberately saying nothing about the framed artwork so that it would still be a surprise. Twenty minutes later he made a welcome call to check that everything was in order. Colleagues across the team, the concierge among them, supported the arrangements throughout.

A Note Left Behind

Aaradhya wrote to the team before leaving, addressing her note to Vikram, George and the wider hotel team, and left a small magnet from Singapore alongside it.