How hard are hotel shops
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No reputable company would allow you to do a hotel shop until you had given them a substantial quantity of acceptable work. They do it just for the reason you state--not being able to reimburse you. We have had shoppers screaming on forum that they had a hotel shop rejected and we have privately wondered whether they were a troll stirring up sentiment or someone who actually performed a shop so poorly it could not be rescued.
It is not in the interest of any company to send you out on a high reimbursement shop they don't have reason to believe you can acceptably complete. Yeah, we all screw up a shop now and then, but it is usually we shopped the wrong location or the wrong day or we failed to do something pretty obvious. One of those 'duh' moments when you realized you wasted an hour of your life and $10 on a _____ you didn't really want. But when there are big bucks involved a shopper could do serious damage to a company's reputation, so they will try their best to make sure it is assigned to someone qualified, with a good shop history and then they will bend over backwards to make sure it goes through.
It is not in the interest of any company to send you out on a high reimbursement shop they don't have reason to believe you can acceptably complete. Yeah, we all screw up a shop now and then, but it is usually we shopped the wrong location or the wrong day or we failed to do something pretty obvious. One of those 'duh' moments when you realized you wasted an hour of your life and $10 on a _____ you didn't really want. But when there are big bucks involved a shopper could do serious damage to a company's reputation, so they will try their best to make sure it is assigned to someone qualified, with a good shop history and then they will bend over backwards to make sure it goes through.
Some are much more work than others. I have done some for Consumer Connection and for Spotcheckservices that were not that much work. But, I do always worry I will forget something and not get paid. So, I really only look for hotel shops when traveling.
@Flash wrote:
No reputable company would allow you to do a hotel shop until you had given them a substantial quantity of acceptable work.
Entirely not true. I have done hotel shops for 3 companies, 2 of which I have done no other types of shops for. Amazingly enough those are the two that I still have a good relationship with.
"How hard are hotel shops" is like asking "how hard are food shops"
Some are brainless, some take hours.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
And you were willing to take the risk with companies with whom you had no prior relationship?
Wise. You are wise to ask for information. Much information is in various threads here about hotel shops. Search the forum and find great ideas regarding the gamut of hotel shops.
Where are you and where can/must you go?
What room price is good for you? What amenities would you like? The poshness of food may affect your tasks and costs. It may delight you!
There is so much more... I hope you will find a comfortable place in which to continue hotel shopping. I hope you come to your next hotel shop rested and organized. I hope you enjoy it!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2015 02:32AM by Shop-et-al.
Where are you and where can/must you go?
What room price is good for you? What amenities would you like? The poshness of food may affect your tasks and costs. It may delight you!
There is so much more... I hope you will find a comfortable place in which to continue hotel shopping. I hope you come to your next hotel shop rested and organized. I hope you enjoy it!
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2015 02:32AM by Shop-et-al.
@Flash wrote:
And you were willing to take the risk with companies with whom you had no prior relationship?
Absolutely. They were both reputable companies (Dataquest and Mercantile Systems if anybody is wondering). I had no problems and have done several more hotel assignments for Dataquest. They're a fantastic company to work with BTW. ACL of course did not let me do hotels until I did other shops. They also have proven to be much less than fantastic. Additionally I was assigned a hotel shop for Buckalew, who I have never done a shop for, but unfortunately had to cancel it due to the dates of my trips changing.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
@bgriffin wrote:
@Flash wrote:
No reputable company would allow you to do a hotel shop until you had given them a substantial quantity of acceptable work.
Entirely not true. I have done hotel shops for 3 companies, 2 of which I have done no other types of shops for. Amazingly enough those are the two that I still have a good relationship with.
"How hard are hotel shops" is like asking "how hard are food shops"
Some are brainless, some take hours.
I have done two hotel shops where it was it was the first shop I did for the company. I looked into the companies, mostly looked at comments about them on this site. I got good scores on both of them even though they were the first two I have ever done. One editor called me with a question and she was surprised it was my first hotel shop. She thought I did a very good report and offered some helpful insight about how to multi-task during these complicated shops.
Yes, they're difficult. Some more than others. I suggest that you put in the company's name here before applying for one. Start out with ones that others have posted are less involved, and move your way up. Note that payment amount does not always reflect the difficulty -- a beginner shop from Buckalew pays almost the same as a 2-day 700+ questionnaire from Coyle.
Doesn't Regal allow self-scheduling for anyone in their system on hotels?
I always thought that was kind of a reckless practice.
I always thought that was kind of a reckless practice.
Regal doesn't allow self-scheduling for new shoppers. The website appears to allow it, but I always had to contact them directly for my first few hotel shops with them.
Like bgriffin mentioned, I got my start with Regal by jumping straight into a 3-night hotel shop. Then again they don't really have anything other than hotel shops in my area. And on that note, it's interesting how the definition of "in my area" has changed on that website. After I had done a few shops with them, I began seeing tons of hotels from other states listed as "in my area". But none of these except the ones actually in my state show up when doing a state by state search.
Like bgriffin mentioned, I got my start with Regal by jumping straight into a 3-night hotel shop. Then again they don't really have anything other than hotel shops in my area. And on that note, it's interesting how the definition of "in my area" has changed on that website. After I had done a few shops with them, I began seeing tons of hotels from other states listed as "in my area". But none of these except the ones actually in my state show up when doing a state by state search.
I have done one bistro shop for Regal, about 2 years ago. I'm fairly certain I self assigned and it appears that I can now but I haven't had the opportunity to.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I guess I may have done a few bars for Regal in the beginning. I don't recall a time that I WASN'T able to self-schedule the hotels...but perhaps that's also that changed over time.
All the hotel shops I see from the main companies are the 5-stars or similar, which is great and all and I will do them. (In fact I will be doing my first one in two weeks)....
... but I have to wonder, do the random 2-stars, like the Econo Lodges or Days Inns of the world, also have ties with MSC's, or do they just leave their shops to the corporate offices? (Disclaimer: I am not asking for a MSC name, just if they are out there).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2015 09:27PM by tcurione.
... but I have to wonder, do the random 2-stars, like the Econo Lodges or Days Inns of the world, also have ties with MSC's, or do they just leave their shops to the corporate offices? (Disclaimer: I am not asking for a MSC name, just if they are out there).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2015 09:27PM by tcurione.
Just finished a hotel today. I'm not thrilled that I had a "hidden" extra bar shop in the report. I was at the bar at 9 am when they opened.... sucks to be me.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2015 07:54AM by SoCalMama.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2015 07:54AM by SoCalMama.
My first shop for Regal (and my first ever hotel shop) was a full blown shop which I was able to self assign. I remember being surprised that they let me do it after I did the shop. I know they have some kind of algorithm where you see more shops the more shops you do and based on your grade. I have gradually seen more and more shops.
Edited to fix some typos
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2015 01:01AM by Roxie.
Edited to fix some typos
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2015 01:01AM by Roxie.
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