Ritz-Carlton-Chicago, a Four Seasons Hotel (because of long ago branding legacy) is always voted one of the top luxury hotels in the country (It was recently named “Best Hotel in the U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler for a seventh year) – and is always seeking to outdo itself, has introduced a ”Stay As Long As You Like” program that seeks to make the hotel an all-purpose hassle and stress easer.
  
   

While elements of the program had been in place, according to general Michele Grosso, the hotel decided to put a name on it and formalize it because of the growing chorus of guest demand when it came to the annoyance of travel as far as carrying luggage and dealing with air travel in general.
    The program includes complimentary travel essentials (always changing as need arises), guest luggage storage, and unpacking and laundering of guest garments.
    Guests can leave their bags behind and the hotel’s special services manager, Jennifer McVicker, will store them. She has secured entire wardrobes, golf clubs, children’s’ toys – and – yes - that Christmas tree for a woman who celebrates the holiday at the hotel every year.
    When guests return, McVicker will have laundered their clothing and have it waiting in their rooms. She can also ship items home – as she did for a guest who wanted 90 pounds of clothing waiting for her back in her native Australia.
    And those travel essentials include everything from three-ounce baggies for carry-on cosmetics to sharp items like razors and scissors; and even Yarmulkes (skullcaps for Orthodox Jews.)
    “We have many guests, says Grosso, “who have been here 100 or 200 times and it’s very convenient for them to leave things here. We have one guest who stores his guitar here because he plays while he’s here to relax. People come here every week or every other week.”
    But Grosso said travelers do not have to be regular customers to take advantage of “Stay As Long...”, explaining, “Some infrequent guests leave things like a winter coat. We have a company that comes in every few weeks for meetings and they leave their audio visual projector.”
    And where is all that stuff stored? “We have a big building,” says Grosso, “and we just find places.” While there is no charge for storage or for the essentials, says Grosso, guests do, of course, pay for laundering or mending. Tipping is optional.
    And what if something is not retrieved for months on end? Says Grosso, “At some point we would send them a little reminder.”
    “We’re always trying to think of the next thing,” says Grosso, “what would be useful to the guest? When a couple of guests start to ask if they can leave things – before you know it there is a pattern and you have a program going. That is how this evolved.”
    As for the payoff, Grosso says, “People who travel frequently will hear about this and we might win a few of them over.” Grosso says he has heard from Ritz-Carlton colleagues asking about the program. “Even resorts,” he says, “might find this useful. Perhaps a family wants to store an inflatable raft; that could be highly appealing.”