Top List of Hotel Complaints

This is a Hotel Assist page about some of the classic problems found in hotels without a doubt customer services are becoming more sympathetic about client complaints. One of the reasons for this renewed service level is the power of the internet as a medium for publicizing a hotels problems.
1. Bed Bugs
A very serious complaint and one that the hotels dread. These horrid creatures can be found in carpets, woodwork, beds and travellers luggage. They can last up to one year without your blood as food. Check out the sheets for small specks of blood.You can also pull back the bed sheets and check the mattress seams and bedside drawers for signs such as the bug itself or minute small black droppings or dried blood.
2. Dirty Hotel
There is nothing worse than a dirty unmaintained hotel and I could personally name at least a dozen off the top of my head in London. There is a new breed of “hotel owner” emerging in London, mainly relatively small overseas investors. Property prices are still “going north” and it has become lucrative to purchase a freehold hotel, continue running it as a hotel for 3 or 4 years and then sell it. The hotel business pays the overheads and makes the landlord an operating profit and he gets the benefit of a large profit after he sells the premises. In that ownership time he spends no money of refurbishing or good maintenance as he is in it short term to make money.
3. No booking on arrival
Saturdays in the office on a busy London day brings in hotel calls that Mr Smiths credit card is invalid and they are cancelling his booking. For this statement read “The hotel has overbooked and we need to dump some one night bookings“.
For a greater insight, check out our hotel overbooking excuses

4. Unhelpful staff
Now here is a hot potato ! We have all encountered the Reception person from hell. Maybe they have a hangover or have just missed out on a pay rise but they want to make your life hell. There is a well known good tourist class hotel in Kensington London with some of the best reception staff in the business but let the head receptionist have an argument with his boyfriend and whether you are the King of Siam or Tony Blair you will be made most unwelcome..
5. Next to a lift shaft
I can remember vividly spending a sleepless night in a Paris Hotel with my head just the other side of a thin wall adjoining the lift shaft … never again.
6. Noisy room
I recently stayed at a very popular superior hotel in Manchester which is constantly in the top 1 or 2 Tripadviser rankings. Apart from the shower head falling off the wall and the lounge being effectively an ash tray, the walls and ceilings were so thin that you could hear everything around you. Even worse outside our room was a fully operational scrapyard. Are all client internet reviews genuine??? I doubt it … C’est la vie !
7. Overcharged
Its surprising how many travellers do not check their itemised bill when checking out. Extras such as a paid movie or a short from the minibar can go on the wrong room bill so easily. Also be careful when at the hotel bar as the room name and number that you shouted out to the barman can now be used by an unscrupulous person to charge his drinks to.
8. Poor room service
9. Overpriced Phone charges
10. Minicab scam
This for sure applies to London but probably happens all over the world too. You ask Reception to book you a taxi to the airport on check out morning. He uses his “friendly” unlicensed or private hire driver service who adds a commission on for him which you pay for!
11. Sub Standard restaurant
12. Inaccurate star rating
The problem in London is that there is no single regulatory body which controls star ratings. It is therefore possible, in fact probable, that many hotels decide themselves what star rating to be. the main discrepancies lie in the one to three star range. We have a budget hotel in Paddington at the moment that has after many years decided to replace the 70’s bedroom furniture with Ikea products. No problem there until they therefore decide to up the nightly rate by 20 pounds and ( this is the bit I object to ) call the rooms “DELUXE”. Now bear in mind this is a 2 star grot box.
13. Cancellation costs

REVPAR… GOPPAR…Something is Missing
By Patrick Landman
In the early days we all measured the performance of our hotel based on occupancy. Then the revenue management phenomenon hit our industry and we all shifted to REVPAR. Nowadays the keyword is GOPPAR. We want to see how every booking affects our GOP. But something is missing…
On a flight last week from London I was pondering on the fact that we are moving from REVPAR or revenue on our profit and loss statement all the way down to GOP or gross operating profit too fast. Mind you the first articles on GOPPAR I find online date back from 2003. But we are missing a few steps here which are crucial to fully understanding our GOPPAR.
And don’t get me wrong, I am one of the biggest fans of GOPPAR as REVPAR does not give us enough insight as KPI (key performance indicator). However we need to fully understand what the GOPPAR represents.
//

So let’s a take a step back and run through the definition of REVPAR and GOPPAR.
REVPAR = (Rooms) Revenue / (per) Available Room, or, ADR (average daily rate) x Occupancy % (shortcut…)
GOPPAR = GOP (gross operating profit) / (per) Available Room
Surprisingly enough I did find the definition of REVPAR on Wikipedia, but not the one of GOPPAR. So I took the liberty of writing a basic definition… Please add your points of view here as well, when you have some time on your hands…
Back to my point now. The difference between GOPPAR and REVPAR are the all operational costs of the hotel. The problem is if we lump all of them together we don’t fully understand the results from our pricing, contracting and distribution strategies.
We propose to implement another KPI. NREVPAR, or Net Rooms Revenue per Available Room.
NREV = Rooms Revenue -/- Distribution Cost, Transaction Fee & Travel Agency Commissions
NREVPAR = Net Room Revenue / Available Room
It is one step before GOPPAR on which you can measure very well the performance of the hotel and your revenue manager.
Now again here we would not like to look at it as a total, but we propose to measure NREV per market segment in the hotel. Or rather we would like to start looking at NADR, Net Average Daily Rate per market segment and even account or distribution channel.
Imagine you can see the NET Revenue and NET ADR of every corporate booking, made directly or through the GDS. And get NETREV for group business, online travel agencies, merchant models, tour operators and wholesalers.
Finally we would be able to compare apples to apples and do a proper displacement calculation based on NADR and NREVPAR contribution.
Unfortunately PMS systems are not configured to pull this data automatically. For now it is a tedious manual task that we are performing in hotels we work with. As un industry we have to challenge our system and software providers to enhance their systems and develop them according to our requirements of 2010. We would need to be able to add to agency and account profile the % commission. To the source codes like GDS we should be able to add transaction fees or % commissions as well.
I hope to see more hotels working both with GOPPAR and NREVPAR this year. It will help us to better understand our business, make wiser decisions and in the end achieve higher profit margins.

Managing Hotel Revenue

Hotels are being pummeled by the economy, and the hospitality industry is suffering in every corner of the globe – what else is new?
In the current climate, most hotel experts are expecting RevPar (revenue per available room) to drop by as much as 11%, perhaps even more.And with occupancy rates already at all-time lows, this isn’t good news for the hotel business. In such a climate, many hoteliers will compete on rate, but this only creates a downward spiral of price competitiveness, and more pain for the long-term growth and sustainability of hotels’ revenues once the economy bounces back.
So how can hotels compete in this weak economy, looking beyond discounts? Is it possible to flourish, even during such a travel slowdown?The answer is yes! I have seen proper revenue management take a struggling hotel from barely surviving to thriving, even as the recession bites deeper.
One Miami-based property was struggling to maintain a 45% occupancy rate. After overhauling its revenue management system, occupancy jumped to 90 to 94%, with an increase in revenues of 70%. Too good to be true? Absolutely not!
A fundamental building block of revenue management, RevPar is one of the most important metrics of the hospitality industry and absolutely possible with the right system in place.For hotels, RevPar is key determinant of profitability. It’s what keeps the doors open, yet many hotels and chains still handle room occupancy and pricing in an old-fashioned and haphazard manner – reactively and rarely scientifically.
//

Times like these require greater efficiencies in everything from improving customer relationships and boosting loyalty initiatives, to improving direct marketing programs and not cutting back on service. None of these, however, can be sustained without optimizing cost centers and profits. And on that basis, effective revenue management becomes an operational imperative, not an option.
It’s time for hoteliers to think beyond discounts and so I have created a list of tips on how hotels can increase their RevPar, without sacrificing margins or brand value:Supercharge your internet salesOnly web-based internet sales can compensate for what has not been sold in advance to fill your hotel. In 2009, the meetings and corporate market is slowing even more so sales efforts should be focused on the internet.
This is the channel that discount-hungry travelers are using more and more frequently when booking travel, so it is vital to manage your hotel’s web presence to gain greater visibility and better positioning… which of course, means more sales.Open your sales office at nightHotel staff cannot manage Online Travel Agencies (OTA) allotments 24/7. So if you’re not adapting in real-time and making updates as travelers are out there shopping (even internationally) when you’re asleep, you are missing out on valuable RevPar dollars.
As supply and demand fluctuate non-stop, you need to automate your pricing at night to increase your hotel’s profitability.Increase sales by changing your rates more oftenOnce the OTA allotments are filled, your hotel is closed for business, with no one to reopen the online booking allotment.
But as more bookings arrive, hotel rates should successively increase. Many hotels, however, leave money on the table because there is no one to change prices in real-time. In this economic environment where every dollar can make the difference between boom or bust, changing rates only once or twice a day does not make sense, or cents, anymore.Use today’s technology tools to sell your roomsRevenue and reservations managers get overwhelmed by day-to-day data entry. The manipulation of extranets, rate buckets, rate codes, allotments, promotions and page positioning has become so complicated that many leave rates stagnant in fear of changing the wrong codes or buttons. But no action can lead to no business.
By automating the process, staff can focus their time and energy on the ‘big picture’ such as strategy development, OTA market manager relationships, promotions, packaging, implementation, group values, etc. You know, all the good stuff.Re-direct sales from your online competitors to your hotelThe evolution of the internet and the growth of online bookings, has made every hotel’s list of direct competition grow dramatically. But online is now a lifeline for the lodgings industry.
There are many hotels to choose from in any particular area, but by increasing your hotel’s online visibility, managing complicated internet opaque channels, and having the perfect competitive rate always listed on your website while keeping rate parity and best rate guarantee, will lead to a substantial increase in sales.
Pricing competitively at all times will keep your hotel in the front of your online competitors, and will re-direct guests to your hotel, keeping your rooms full and profits ticking over.While this may sound like a lot of work, having the right revenue management system in place can wring the maximum amount of revenue from any hotel property – automatically – and free of human error.
The added benefit of having such a system is that it frees managers to control pricing and other crucial variables in a proactive rather than reactive manner. Hotels can increase their occupancy rates and manage their distribution costs like never before.Given the effects of the global economic downturn, managing RevPar intelligently and effectively is a necessity and savvy hoteliers are embracing this business practice in their own properties. Rather than discounting in an effort to increase bookings (and decreasing their profit margins in the process), they are optimizing their pricing and their online presence for increased bookings and revenue. They are thriving even as consumer and business travel continues to decline. So now the only question is – will you be one of them?
Jean Francois Mourier is CEO & Founder of RevPar Guru, a company that has developed an alternative type of revenue management and real-time pricing solution (combined with automated online distribution) to help hotels maximize occupancy and increase their profits. The company’s Yield Dynamic Price Engine, an integrated revenue management and pricing solution, adds unprecedented power and real-time adaptability to the pricing process, leaving managers more time to run their hotels. Reach him at jfmourier@revparguru.com or visit www.revparguru.com for more information about the company’s services.

REVPAR GURU recognizes the growing need for a competitive pricing system that updates the rates automatically in real time. It is reacting to the changing consumer purchasing behavior and delivers results that are based on current supply and demand instead of poor performing forecasts.
cheap tickets to the Philippines

Hotel Industry Trends in 2010
By Daniel Edward Craig

In the midst of all the doom and gloom, I think we could all use some levity. Here’s my annual list of predictions for trends in the hotel industry in 2010.
1. Hotels to rival used-car salesmen in price integrity.
Attempts to curb rampant discounting in 2009 by offering value-ads like free breakfast and parking will prove futile in 2010 as hotels panic over weak demand and drop rates even further — without taking away the value-adds.
Meanwhile, a prized mathematician at Cornell proves once and for all that discounting does not increase demand, but is denounced by the hotel industry, who announces another fire sale — third night free!
2. Hotels shoulder burden of bargain-hunter economy.
Airlines, who stopped fussing over trifles like customer satisfaction years ago, will counter periods of weak demand by simply canceling flights and hiking fares. Car rental companies, who apparently missed the memo about the Great Recession, will continue to charge premium rates for substandard cars. Meanwhile, travelers will expect bargain rates from hotels while refusing to tolerate lapses in quality and service.
3. Bungled bundling.
In an attempt to offset losses, hotels will craft packages more complex than cell phone plans, hoping to confuse travelers into paying higher rates, but will end up only confusing themselves and giving away even more.
//

4. Flagrant spending is back!  (just not for you).
Luxury went mass-market in 2008, then in 2009 became a symbol of shame and excess after people discovered credit has limits. Now it’s set to make a comeback — as a niche market. The glamorous world of private jets and champagne Jacuzzis will revert to its originally-intended audience: billionaires, royalty, celebrities, bankers and hotel doormen.
5. Lifestyle: the new luxury.
Filling the void created by conversions of luxury hotels into RV parks, lifestyle hotels will open at a rate of one every 3.7 seconds. Brought to you by the big-box chains, these boutique knock-offs will cater to the conscientious traveler’s demands for eco-friendly practices (as long as it doesn’t cost more), social responsibility (provided no extra tipping expected), and affordable style (quirky patterns and garish colors that will have guests screaming for the days of all-beige hotel rooms).
6. Hotels join the social media conversation.
No longer willing to remain silent while guests misbehave and then post nasty, biased reviews on TripAdvisor, the hotel industry will launch a website of its own called DickAdvisor(TM). Employees will post candid reviews of guests, rating them on manners, tipping, honesty, brainpower and tidiness, as well as providing details regarding alcohol and porn consumption, late-night visitors and missing and damaged hotel property.
7. Travel goes virtual.
Advances in mobile phone technology will allow travelers to check in to hotel rooms remotely, raid the mini-bar, sleep, attend a meeting, and check out, all without leaving their home.
8. Safety first, service second.
Faced with threats from the swine flu, terrorism and reverse peephole viewers, hotels will install full body scanners at check-in to weed out terrorists, virus carriers and pervs and redirect them to the nearest competitor. Employees will use hand sanitizer sprays like mace to keep sniffling and leering guests and other vermin at bay, with a special fire-extinguisher format for groups.
9. Heavenly Deathbeds.
As the economy recovers, nonessential amenities will creep back, and hotels will resume the quest to build the ultimate bed, adding ‘essentials’ like 3,000 thread-count sheets and seventeen varieties of pillows. This trend will take a tragic turn, however, when a hotel guest discovers a room attendant buried deep within the layers of his bed, having suffocated there while attempting to make it. Thereafter, hotels will strip beds down to a mattress and pillow, charging a fee for everything else.
10. Vegas is out, Iowa City is in.
The corporate meetings segment will rebound in late 2010 with a new era of cost-consciousness in the wake of the ‘AIG Effect’. Popular excursions like all-night tequila-and-stripper blowouts in Vegas will be replaced with authentic experiences like cabbage soup cook-offs and quilt-making in the Amish heartlands.

//

The hotel business is one of the most cut throat and competitive businesses in the world. Usually the human resources manager has his or her hands full all the time because of employee complaints and a very high turnover rate. However, there are a few human resources management tips for hotels that can eliminate some of the problems that plague most hotel human resources managers. Since one of the biggest problems that a human resources manager in the hotel industry faces is the issue of employee retention, many of the tips address that issue.
The first tip revolves around choosing the right person for each job. Choosing the right person for each job can be one of the hardest tasks of the human resources manager. In many cases only people will low skill levels apply to many of the jobs offered in a hotel. It is the job of the human resources manager to make sure that the person chosen for the job will do it correctly and have staying power. This can be done through the interview process. With the right questions each applicant’s answers will reflect how they feel about the job.
One of the most important human resources management tips for hotels is to make sure that each employee enjoys working in the hotel and that they have all of the training and supplies that they need to complete their job effectively. One of the biggest complaints among hotel staff members is that they are required to do too many jobs that they do not have the training or tools to do it with. The human resources manager that takes the time and money to train employees and equip them properly will have a much higher retention rate.
Another part to the human resources management tips for hotels is to follow up on the jobs that the employees do. Providing performance reviews and incentive programs will go a long way into making the hotel experience better for both customers and employees. If the employee knows he or she will get a benefit from doing excellent work then they will be more likely to perform at a higher level.
Another great tip for the human resources manager is to have a lot of positive reinforcement. If they employees feel they are in a friendly environment, then they will produce better work. Everyone likes to be noticed when they do a good job so catching employees doing their jobs properly is an important part of being a human resources manager. This is also very important in the hotel business because customers can always tell the tone of the staff. If they see happy staff members the customers will be more likely to return to the hotel.
Another aspect to the human resources management tips for hotels is to implement a clear progression plan that employees can use to advance in rank and salary at the hotel. If employees feel they will be stuck in the same job and pay grade throughout their time at the hotel then they will move on to another hotel or business to increase their salaries and duties. If there is a clear advancement program in place at the hotel that they already work in then they will be more likely to stay at the place they already work.
Perhaps the most important thing for a human resources manager in the hotel business to do is to lead through example. If employees see the human resources department taking short cuts and doing poor work then the rest of the staff will reduce their quality of work as well. However, if they see the human resources department working hard and providing the best quality of service that they can then the employees will improve their work as well.
All of these human resources management tips for hotels will provide a basis to use as a springboard to increase the productivity in your hotel. Follow these tips and you will soon see an increase in the mood and service level of your hotel. The human resources position at any hotel is one of the most important jobs in the hotel, so it is very important that it is run professionally and well.