Top 8 Guest Complaints

“More than one third of consumers will not book a hotel room without reading (online) reviews first.” – LateRooms

Discussion of hospitality trends is a constantly changing one that’s usually very unpredictable.  “Online Reviews” is one of those “trend” words that we’ve all been hearing a lot lately.  Online reviews have become directly related to the success of your property.  With the number of online users only increasing as time goes on, these reviews will come to determine the future success of hospitality businesses.  Monitoring and interacting with online reviews has become a cornerstone of successful hospitality business practices.  The engine for which these reviews are shared and posted will always be changing.  Right now, the popular sites are Yelp and TripAdvisor, but in 5-10 years, it could be anything.  Regardless of where people go to post these reviews in the future, they will forever and always be doing it.  It’s your job as a hospitality professional stay on top of these reviews.  One can try to avoid negative reviews from occurring altogether, but if that doesn’t work, then you need to be online fielding these customer reviews; good and bad.

How can you stay on top of your hotel operations to make sure bad reviews aren’t posted in the first place?  HotelInfo.com published a multiple year study detailing the comments and causes related to a negative online customer review.  Here are the top 8 things guests complained about:

1. Extra costs for internet access, parking, breakfast, etc.
   1. Free WiFi has become an expectation. If something as simple as free parking will provide your property with positive customer reviews, it’s worth it.
2. Lack of service
   1. This isn’t always in your control, but making sure your staff is happy and knowledgeable can combat this issue. With emphasis on happy; a happy employee is a happy guest.
3. Breakfast choice
   1. Again, if it gets your property a good review, it’s worth providing some additional breakfast options.
4. Uncomfortable beds
   1. If your beds are uncomfortable, it’s not an easy/cheap upgrade. But to remain successful in the longer term, guest comfort is essential.
5. Dirty rooms
   1. This is no different than lack of service. If your rooms aren’t clean enough, your housekeeping staff needs to be re-evaluated.  Keeping your staff happy is the best preventative measure.
6. Unfriendliness
   1. Same as dirty rooms and lack of service.
7. Quality of breakfast
   1. A cheap breakfast with multiple options is no better than a good breakfast with no options.
8. Hotel does not offer what it promises.
   1. Keep track of your online/print listings and descriptions. If your hotel doesn’t offer listed options, get the info changed to appropriately market your property.

As you can see, a lot of these negative reviews stem from issues that can easily be prevented from occurring in the first place.  If you’re constantly seeing negative reviews for unfriendliness, dirty rooms or general lack of service, you may need to re-evaluate your staff.  Keeping your employees happy and making sure to keep yourself open to them is an easy way to prevent these issues.  If they can knowingly come to management with their questions and issues, they’ll be sorted out much quicker and hopefully help avoid negative reviews in the first place.  Besides issues with your staff, the majority of these complaints come from additional charges for services.  These charges may bring extra income to the property, but they cause negative buzz to your online community and ultimately harm your establishment.  These extra charges should be carefully reconsidered in your future hotel operations.  Extra benefits like this can generate positive reviews and ultimately loyal customers.

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To see the full article including percentage statistics on these top complaints, please visit the link below.

http://www.eturbonews.com/48354/tips-hoteliers-what-do-about-negative-hotel-evaluations?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Eturbonews-TravelAndTourismIndustryNews+%28eTurboNews+-+for+the+global+travel+professional%29

Role of Reviews and Reputation on Buying Success

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2012/07/27/americans-biggest-complaints-about-hotels/

How Much Should You Tip?

Tipping is an essential part of the hospitality industry.  It shows an appreciation for the services that go the extra mile and it’s something that should be encouraged throughout the industry.  There’s always a looming uncertainty of how much is the appropriate amount to tip for services.  Tipping situations always vary; especially in the hospitality industry.  The most common tip is for valet service, restaurants and bars; but in hospitality there is often a need to tip for exceptional service in areas like housekeeping, room service and bellmen.  The American Hotel and Lodging Association has partnered with Forbes Travel Guide to provide you with this detailed guide of how much you should be tipping for various services.  Of course these are recommendation, not expectations.  Presenting this guide to your guest can be beneficial for those who are unsure of how much to tip.  Asking the person providing a service what an appropriate amount to tip is an uncomfortable situation for both parties involved. 

Hotel Courtesy Shuttle Driver = $1-2 per person or $4-5 per party

Valet/Parking Attendant = $1-5 when your car is delivered. Tipping when your car is parked is optional

Bellstaff/Porters = $1-5 per bag when you are escorted to your room (especially if your luggage is heavy or they prepare your room or show you around). Tip the same if you request the bell staff service checking out.

Doorstaff = $1-2 for getting a taxi.  If they unload your luggage, tip in proportion to the amount and weight.

Concierge = $5-10 depending on how involved the service (booking a restaurant versus hard-to-get tickets) or a lump sum upon departure.

Housekeeping = $1-5 per night. The tip should be left daily (preferably in an envelope or with a note so that it’s clear it’s for housekeeping).

Delivery of Special Items = For special requests (like an extra blanket), tip $2 for one item, $1 for more. Tipping is not required for someone fixing something broken or bringing something missing.

Room Service = A gratuity of 15-20% should be added if the hotel did not already inc,lude a room service charge on teh bill.

Bartender = 15-20% of the total beverage tab.

Waiter/Waitress = 15% of the total bill, up to 20% for exceptional service.

Download this full list here–> Gratuity Guide

It can be tricky finding a good place to display this guide, but the guests’ room is probably a good place to start.  What other areas of the hotel might you be able to present this to your guest? Perhaps in digital form as to have access when you’re around the hotel? Let us know what you think!