Addressing the Top 5 Hotel Complaints
Guests always expect a fantastic hotel experience and customer service, no matter how affordable the rates are in a hotel. However, there will always be complaints from time to time, and management must always be one step ahead in addressing these.
Here we tackle the top five complaints hotel guests make, how to address them and prevent them from happening again.
1. Dirty rooms and amenities
While a dirty room immediately guarantees a poor rating, the lack of cleanliness may extend to the hotel amenities, which may irk guests further.
Address this by ensuring the hotel is well-staffed to cover all the areas that need cleaning-from the rooms to the pool areas and other places. Staff must follow a regular cleaning schedule at all times to satisfy even the most meticulous guests.
2. Rude Staff
This complaint happens even if you have the most polite of hotel staff-after all, they are human and are subject to stressful moments, which may lead to mishandling guests.
Maintain an excellent level of hospitality by training employees on the proper approaches for handling guest issues and de-escalation strategies. Include refresher courses to preserve the quality of service.
Follow standard procedures in greeting and dealing with guests, down to the expected responses to the body language. Deal with complaints about staff in a confidential manner, and assure the guests you are on their side without undermining your employees.
3. Poor food quality
Food quality in hotels can be a deal-breaker for many guests. Prevent guests from rating the food service poorly by serving only high-quality dishes, for both room service and ones served in common areas like continental dining. Even for more affordable dishes, make sure to use quality ingredients and appropriate cooking methods.
Of course, the top-quality ingredients are reduced to nothing if the kitchen is dirty. Food contamination, poisoning, and food-borne illnesses are things that one shouldn’t associate with a hotel kitchen as much as possible.
A hospitality insurance plan like the Santa Fe Hospitality Insurance helps the business when things go wrong in the kitchen and the hotel’s other services.
4. Disputes with hotel rules
Some guests believe they are free to do what they please in a hotel as long as they have paid the bill. Politely reminding them of the hotel’s house rules is one of the ways staff can prevent misunderstandings.
Upon the arrival of guests, inform them of the general rules of the establishment. Furthermore, make sure to post important information in conspicuous places.
The basic agreement between guests and the hotel before booking is that the individual has the right to privacy in their room. However, there are caveats to this rule with most hotels, including attire within public areas, noise levels at night, and listing amenities in each room that the hotel may forfeit upon departure. The guests must be well-informed of this upon their arrival to prevent misunderstandings and disputes.
5. Theft
Although safes are provided in most hotel rooms, it is known that they are easy targets for theft. The hotel staff is the number one person under suspicion in those cases. Even though one is sure that the staff has nothing to do with the loss of valuables, one wrong move could escalate, resulting in bad publicity for the hotel.
Plan a protocol to deal with theft reports as discreetly as possible while still adhering to hotel policy. Assure the guests that all means are done to find the missing things, but see that both the staff and the guests are equally protected during an investigation.
Conclusion
Complaints are common in the hotel industry, but with proper handling, irate guests can become regular ones that would give you a positive rating. It all comes down to how complaints are handled and what steps are taken to prevent them.
It may take a while for guests to become trusting of a hotel’s management, but if they see a strategy for resolving issues, they might even recommend it to others.
Preventing complaints before they happen is also a great way to avoid complaints, such as keeping rooms immaculately clean, etc.
Having hospitality insurance greatly enhances the hotel’s ability to recoup potential losses caused by these common complaints.
About Daniels Insurance, Inc.
At Daniels Insurance, Inc., we have a unique understanding of the risks that businesses like yours face on a regular basis. With the backing of our comprehensive coverages and our dedication to customer service and quick claims resolution, your business will be fully protected. For more information, contact us today at (855) 565-7616.