Hail!
The Hotel Guy here. As an employee of the hotel industry I've discovered that most people have no idea what they are doing when it comes to staying at hotels. Well I am here to help. I will be giving tips on how to get the best rate when checking in, what to look for when choosing a hotel and also share some stories about what really happens at hotels that most travelers never find out about. Plus a bunch of other stuff as I think of it.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Locked Out!
I was working night shift (seems like all the interesting things happen on night shift) and it was about 2:00 am. I had just finished checking a guy into a room and decided I was going to go out to my car to get some change so I could raid the vending machine. Now at this particular hotel at night all the doors are locked and you can't get in without a room key or a master key. I grabbed my car keys and walked outside. The instant I heard the door slam shut I knew I was in trouble. I forgot to bring my master key. I didn't know what to do. I had no phone with my so I couldn't call my manager, not that I would have wanted to. I walked over to my car and grabbed some change and as I was walking back I saw a light on up on the third floor. It was the guy I had just checked in. Thank God he was still awake. I picked up some pebbles from the parking lot and started chucking them at his window. He slid the glass open and looked out. I shouted up to him, "Hey it's the guy from the front desk". I didn't even have to explain the situation he immediately asked, "Did you lock yourself out?" I acknowledge my stupidity and he said he would come down and let me in. Within a minute he was downstairs opening the door for me with a big grin on his face. This guy was my hero. Not only did he let me in but he could have climbed over the desk and stolen all of the money if he had wanted to.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tip #3 - Don't be shy about complaining
I numbered wrong so Tips 3 and 4 are out of order. THIS WHOLE SITE IS OUT OF ORDER
If your room is not what you expected it to be then don't hesitate to call the front desk and let them know. Now I run into a LOT of people that make up complaints just to get discounts on rooms so I am not endorsing that behavior. People like that make hotels less compassionate when a guest has a real problem. If you do have a legitimate complaint though make sure you let the hotel know. The hotel will take 1 of 2 steps to resolve your initial problem. 1 - A staff member will correct the problem themselves. (Perhaps you were missing a pillow or the hair dryer wasn't working) If the problem in that room cannot be solved they should offer you another room. If this is taking place in the middle of the night you have every right to refuse to move and demand a discount. Depending on the severity of the issue you may also have the right to switch rooms AND demand a discount. Once these steps have been taken by the hotel and you continue to run into problems there is no way you should pay full price. If the staff gives you a hard time about a refund or discount then ask to speak to the manager. If the manager is no more helpful then tell him/her that you will be calling the corporate office. (This only works with franchises. Independent hotels most likely don't have a corporate office) Most franchises penalize hotels for complaints. My particular chain allows 1 complaint per 1,000 rooms rented the previous year. After this it is an automatic $75 penalty plus another $100 if the issue isn't resolved in a timely fashion. In most cases it's cheaper to give a full refund than it is to pay the penalty.
That's all for now.
If your room is not what you expected it to be then don't hesitate to call the front desk and let them know. Now I run into a LOT of people that make up complaints just to get discounts on rooms so I am not endorsing that behavior. People like that make hotels less compassionate when a guest has a real problem. If you do have a legitimate complaint though make sure you let the hotel know. The hotel will take 1 of 2 steps to resolve your initial problem. 1 - A staff member will correct the problem themselves. (Perhaps you were missing a pillow or the hair dryer wasn't working) If the problem in that room cannot be solved they should offer you another room. If this is taking place in the middle of the night you have every right to refuse to move and demand a discount. Depending on the severity of the issue you may also have the right to switch rooms AND demand a discount. Once these steps have been taken by the hotel and you continue to run into problems there is no way you should pay full price. If the staff gives you a hard time about a refund or discount then ask to speak to the manager. If the manager is no more helpful then tell him/her that you will be calling the corporate office. (This only works with franchises. Independent hotels most likely don't have a corporate office) Most franchises penalize hotels for complaints. My particular chain allows 1 complaint per 1,000 rooms rented the previous year. After this it is an automatic $75 penalty plus another $100 if the issue isn't resolved in a timely fashion. In most cases it's cheaper to give a full refund than it is to pay the penalty.
That's all for now.
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