I have to give hotels a lot of credit for taking complaints seriously. In my experience if there’s an issue at a hotel, they’ll do a much better job actually addressing the issue than airlines will. While airlines might throw a “gesture of goodwill” your way, hotels actually make listen to customers and make changes (or if it’s an issue that only impacts that guest, maybe offer a refund or future stay).
That being said, I’m not sure what to think about the survey that is on my desk at the rather mediocre Holiday Inn I’m staying at. Don’t get me wrong, it’s decent, the employees are nice, and everything is ok, but the rooms aren’t renovated or “fresh” and there are some minor things that annoy me. Of course unlike most people on TripAdvisor, I’m not expecting Ritz Carlton treatment for the $80/night rate I’m paying.
But there is a sheet of paper they left on my desk which outlines Priority Club benefits, and at the bottom is a little survey which reads as follows:
Our goal is to make sure you have a very comfortable stay with us. Please fill out this form and leave it at the desk. We highly appreciate your feedback.
1. Are you completely satisfied with your stay?
2. Can you mark “Very satisfied” on the survey you will receive from InterContinental hotels within the next couple of weeks?
If you answered no to either of these questions, how may we contact you to correct the problem?
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate their proactive approach to customer service, but if I’m understanding them correctly they’ll get in touch with me if I felt my stay anything but very satisfying.
I paid $80/night for my stay and am earning lots of Priority Club points. Would I return? Probably, because of their affiliation with Priority Club. Does the hotel itself leave me “completely satisfied?” Probably not. Would I mark “very satisfied” (as opposed to “satisfied”) on the survey I receive? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean my stay was bad. But do we really expect to have a stay that is “very satisfying” at an airport hotel? Besides, doesn’t the second question seem a bit pushy?
I’m tempted to mark “no” to the second one and see if they contact me. Of course my advice would in on way be practically constructive. At the very least I’d suggest they replace the furniture, which is a multi-million dollar investment, of course.
I’ve written in the past about the Holiday Inn Ontario, for example. It’s simply an incredible hotel. It’s cheap, has incredible customer service, fresh rooms, and is all around modern. They recognize my Platinum status every time and give me a nice room upgrade. The hotel simply “gets it.” They have left me completely satisfied with every aspect of every single stay. But I can’t say the same about almost all other hotel stays I’ve made at sub-four star hotels.
Posted on February 5th, 2010 by lucky
Filed under: Hotels | 5 Comments »