Handling the Top Five Hotel Mishaps – According to Travellers

In the fall of 2010 we conducted research with business travellers and hoteliers across North American. Interestingly – though not too surprisingly – what hoteliers thought constituted a problem for travellers, and what travellers thought were real problems, were not always the same.

For instance, many hoteliers thought that not offering reward “miles” or credits was a problem – yet only 14% of respondents listed this in their top 10 complaints about hotel stays.

On the other hand, non-smokers being given a smoking room made it to 78% of all lists – and to 98% of non-smokers’ lists. Hoteliers? Only 17% of the 201 surveyed included this on their top 10 traveller problems list.

The top 5 things on the travellers’ list – and some suggestions on how to handle the problems – can be found below. For the full article, please go to: http://www.theqgroup.com/articles-b.php?ArtID=41.


1. The room not being available – after having confirmed a late arrival

Although not a common occurrence, this rated the most ire among business travellers. Said one executive, “There’s nothing worse than being in meetings all day, catching a late flight and then finding out that the hotel has given away your room. And that they have not made arrangements for you elsewhere.”

So what do travellers want?

• It’s simple - if a guest confirms a late check-in, don’t give away the room! You already have the credit card number and are getting paid for the room night. As one frequent traveller expressed it, “You’ve got my money. Why get greedy?”

• Don’t let your front desk staff defend the action by saying, “Well, you’re late.”

Said one executive, “No kidding. I know I’m late. I’m also tired and grumpy and just want to go to sleep – not travel to another hotel.”

• Put the guest in a suite – at your charge – before sending him/her elsewhere.

• If there’s been a screw-up, arrange transportation for the guest – at your cost. Don’t leave him/her stranded in the middle of the night.


2. The hotel “losing” a reservation

It is very frustrating to travellers to be told that the hotel does not have their reservation, or that the hotel has it listed under a different day. The problem is further compounded when the hotel offers the guest a room, but insists that the guest pay full rack rate – for whatever reason the front desk clerk comes up with. Seasoned travellers know to take their e-mail confirmation with them, but not everyone remembers to print it off before they leave.

One hotel manager's approach: “If someone is attending a conference, and we have a room, we give them the room at the conference rate – no questions asked. If we can get them in to a slightly better room, we do so and give them the same rate. Even if it’s not as easy as how we handle the conference situation, we usually do something to accommodate the guest, without charging them the full rack rate. If we can’t accommodate them, we get them another room elsewhere, at a comparable rate.”

3. Being given a smoking room – when a non-smoking room has been requested

Luckily hotels are saving more and more rooms for their non-smoking rooms. There are, however, times with non-smokers end up being assigned smoking rooms. How should you handle this situation?

• Do not simply send your guest to a stinky room hoping they won’t notice. Over 50% of non-smokers have said this has happened to them on more than one occasion and they resent the extra time this costs them at check-in when they have to get a new room. Most will not willingly return to a hotel where this has happened.

• Do not force someone to take a stinky room. Said one woman, “I had specified at the time of reservation that I had a smoke allergy. When I was told that there were no other rooms available, I spend the next 10 minutes on my cell and found a room elsewhere. I will never return to that hotel.” Her sentiments were echoed by dozens of people in the survey.

• If you have managed to persuade the guest to try the room on the understanding that you are going to spray it, put in heavy duty fans, etc. – don’t make a fuss if they are still bothered by the smoke after all your efforts. Move them – some way, some how. If for some strange reason you can’t work it out until morning, then that first night should be on the house.

4. Being over-billed – and the front desk not graciously correcting the mistake

Despite online travel advisories and other warnings, travellers continue to be overbilled at hotels around the world. Nothing deliberate, of course, but human and computer errors (yes, they do happen LOL) result in the in the average business travellers being over-billed by about $14.00 a night.

Research we conducted in early 2010 suggests that over 70% of the time, the amount quoted at check-in will, on average, be $3 - $4 dollars higher than the amount quoted when reserving the room. As long as it sounds right, most travelers don’t notice the difference.

Errors also occur in other room charges (for a complete list, please read: “Hotels Overbilling Costs Travellers +$.75 Billion a Year” on this site: http://www.theqgroup.com/articles-b.php?ArtID=42).

Good rule of thumb: When the matter is not clear, give the client the benefit of the doubt. Given that research suggests that less than 0.5% of business travellers (and less than 1% of vacationers) lie about having been billed incorrectly, we feel it’s better to side with the customer.

5. Getting my name wrong – over and over

One comment from the research just about sums up what everyone had to say on this matter, so I’ll let this executive's words address the point.

“I know that the Front Desk staff are told the need to address people by name – so I don’t squirm too much, even when they overdo it – but they should at least get the name right. Last week, when I checked into a hotel that I use regularly I was greeted very pleasantly by the young man behind the desk. I gave him my name; he got the folio out and then proceeded to call me by a different last name. I mentioned twice that my last name is Kessler, not Johnson and he kept on calling me Ms. Johnson. I showed him the name on the form; he apologized – and then said, oh so enthusiastically, “I hope you enjoy your stay with us Ms. Johnson. I saw him a few times after that, and each time he greeted me with a huge smile – and called me by the wrong name. Several of them, actually. If you can’t get it right, don’t bother!"

What about the other things that can go wrong at a hotel? Check out the other articles on The Q Group site at: http://bit.ly/QGroupArticles.

Top Five Embarrassing Hotel Moments – According to Hotel Employees

We do a lot of work in the hospitality industry and thought I’d share a couple of tidbits from things we’ve learned along the way.

I know, I know, when things go wrong in a hotel, they seem so much worse than the missteps that happen in “regular offices”. They are also a lot more comical – and far more embarrassing for all concerned.

The top 5 “Most Embarrassing Moments” as reported by hotel employees are listed below, along with suggestions on how to handle them.

Obviously the first thing you do is to apologize sincerely, profusely and even abjectly depending on the situation. Apologizing is such a given that it won’t be repeated in every answer below, but rest assured it’s there in BIG CAPITAL LETTERS.

Side note: What seems a little scary is that only 1 employee out of 150 surveyed indicated that losing a guest’s luggage, fax or other belongings was embarrassing. Most chalked it up to “stuff happens in a hotel” – obviously not a great customer service thought.


1.  Spilling something… on someone.  Interestingly, only very new waiters listed serving the wrong meal to a diner as an embarrassing moment (perhaps more experienced staff know there are things that are far worse). After clearing away the worst of the debris and fetching salt, soda water and clean napkins, you should a) provide the guest with your full name and card if you have one, b) give him or her the manager’s card, c) offer to pay to have the clothing item cleaned, and d) comp the dessert, drinks or meal depending on the severity of the spill.

2. Accidentally outing a guest.  Whether it's letting it slip that the person is gay, or that the guest has been to the hotel before with someone else, it can be very painful for all parties. Seasoned staffers suggest the best thing is to take your cue from your guest and respond accordingly. Follow your guest’s lead. You messed up, so it’s only right that you help fix things as best you can. If you can cover your mistake by suggesting that you simply made a mistake, this may be the best option. To read how one quick-thinking concierge handled, things, please go to: http://bit.ly/ha9d2y.

You can, however, avoid this situation altogether by changing your greeting to "Welcome; it's a pleasure to have you here" - without adding "again", when the person is travelling with someone. This is especially if you don't know the guest's travelling companion very well.

3. Walking in on a naked guest (or worse, one engaged in a “private” activity). After apologizing (okay, I couldn’t help but add it here), turn and leave (instead of the customary backing out) and don’t bring it up again.

Don’t talk about it and don’t indicate you saw anything when you see the guest the next time. Over 90% of guests who have been “caught” this way are embarrassed enough that they don’t want any reminders of what happened – and they don’t want to feel like they are the only ones to whom this has happened. Making it seem like a novel event compounds the situation for most guests.

4. Falling as you show a guest around a room (especially if you land on their luggage or bed). Usually humour is the best response. Also, unless you are seriously hurt, save checking on your bruises until you have left the room. Instead, let them see you check to ensure that their luggage was not damaged, and restore the room to its initial state (smooth the bedspread, pick up the chair, etc.).

5. It’s late and no room is available – despite the guest having confirmed a late arrival.

Although not a common occurrence, this rated the most ire among business travellers surveyed. Given the remarks of one executive, which echo the thoughts of most respondents, it’s not surprising that front desk people rate this situation in their top five most embarrassing moments, too.

Said the Sr. VP Sales, "There's nothing worse than being in meetings all day, catching a late flight and then finding out that the hotel has given away your room. And that they have not made arrangements for you elsewhere."

What to do?

• It's simple - if a guest confirms a late check-in, don't give away the room!

• Put the guest in a suite - at your charge - before sending him/her elsewhere.

• If there's been a screw-up, arrange transportation for the guest - at your cost. Don't leave him/her stranded.

Says one hotel manager: "On the few occasions when we have had to turn away a confirmed guest who has arrived in the middle of the night, we make sure the person is given a superior room - at the rate of the originally reserved room - and we arrange transportation to the other hotel (and back if the person's attending an event at our hotel) and we still award the frequent guest points. Yes, it costs us some - but it sure makes them come back again."

Whether it’s at home or on the road, life is filled with its share of embarrassing moments, but if you handle them with prevailing hotel standards of concern, courtesy and discretion, you and the guest should be able to surmount just about any obstacle “thrown” your way

Whether it’s at home or on the road, life is filled with its share of embarrassing moments, but if you handle them with prevailing hotel standards of concern, courtesy and discretion, you and the guest should be able to surmount just about any obstacle “thrown” your way

For more about handling hotel mishaps, please see: http://www.theqgroup.com/articles-b.php?ArtID=41.

In the meantime, I wish you and your colleagues a wonderful 2011 and “uneventful” travels as you get back to work.  Jane-Michele