Need help with a scenario for hotel overnight shop
Your divorce is final and you just want to luxuriate in a little peace and quiet.
Your son is having a big surprise birthday party for his girlfriend and wanted to borrow your house, so he is sending you out for the night. You still want to be close to home 'just in case'.
Your son is having a big surprise birthday party for his girlfriend and wanted to borrow your house, so he is sending you out for the night. You still want to be close to home 'just in case'.
Oh, I like the idea of the party & being close by!
You could also say you're having issues with your electric/water/etc and [whichever utility you pick] is shut off for a day or two. When I first moved into my current place, I had to stay in a hotel (less than 2 miles away 
) for a couple nights because I moved on a Saturday afternoon into a small town whose electric department doesn't do things online and didn't open until Monday, so my new place was without heat in the winter for a couple days. Similarly some of my friends have had issues with water or sewage before, and they decided to stay in a nearby hotel overnight or for a couple nights until all was fixed. So something of that nature might work too
) for a couple nights because I moved on a Saturday afternoon into a small town whose electric department doesn't do things online and didn't open until Monday, so my new place was without heat in the winter for a couple days. Similarly some of my friends have had issues with water or sewage before, and they decided to stay in a nearby hotel overnight or for a couple nights until all was fixed. So something of that nature might work too Happily shopping the Pacific Northwest. Shopping since 2013
You are having a "staycation" and wanted to stay at the hotel.
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I've fallen back on the divorce scenario for a few shops, myself. You say the D word, and by far and away, most employees will stop being pushy, give you some space, or otherwise cut you some slack. I try not to us this scenario unless I feel like I have to, though----it always feels a little bit manipulative, and you never know who actually might be having divorce issues. Not that it would be an excuse for an employee to be less professional or that it's not something people hear all of the time, but I try not to push any buttons.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2015 11:01PM by OceanGirl.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2015 11:01PM by OceanGirl.
I'm celebrating finally selling my house! Just closed on the deal this morning. Everything's in storage and I'm going to travel for a month!
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
You are having the kitchen remodeled. You are having the bathroom remodeled. However, since it is local, they might want to know who you hired.
Better still (I think): since it is only one night, tell them that you tried to fix the toilet and failed. Tomorrow is another day and the quickest that you could find a plumber. Or your air conditioner broke if it is still hot where you are located. I had a house guest myself a few weeks ago when her air conditioner broke and since the repair service was backed up (duh - they are only busy when it is hot and humid), they could not come until the next evening.
Better still (I think): since it is only one night, tell them that you tried to fix the toilet and failed. Tomorrow is another day and the quickest that you could find a plumber. Or your air conditioner broke if it is still hot where you are located. I had a house guest myself a few weeks ago when her air conditioner broke and since the repair service was backed up (duh - they are only busy when it is hot and humid), they could not come until the next evening.
Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
You are having the house painted and the fumes are preventing you from sleeping. You're treating yourself until you can go for an extended visit out of town, while your place airs out.
Unless this is a new hotel, that would have the same chemical sensitivity issues, such as new carpet. Also, probably not a good idea of you have a smoking room.
PS...I love spy programs on TV, especially Burn Notice. What would Michael Westen do? Likely, use as much truth as possible, and leverage a few extra twists to complete the scenario.
I hope you pull it off, whatever you come up with!
Unless this is a new hotel, that would have the same chemical sensitivity issues, such as new carpet. Also, probably not a good idea of you have a smoking room.
PS...I love spy programs on TV, especially Burn Notice. What would Michael Westen do? Likely, use as much truth as possible, and leverage a few extra twists to complete the scenario.
I hope you pull it off, whatever you come up with!
I agree with Kimbesa. The closer to the truth you stay, the better. These days, they often (sometimes?) ask for a photo ID, so they will know where you live. No need to pretend. Even if you have to ask for a restaurant recommendation, you can say that you tend to go to the same places all the time, and maybe you have been missing something.
Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
I'm curious... do most people do hotel shops very close to home? I typically only do them out of town when i want to spend a night in another city. I didn't cross my mind to do one closer to home. The ones I have been doing so far are very small fee and so the stay is the benefit. For those doing local hotels, is there a fee associated with it or are you doing it for the rewards points/night credit at a chain hotel?
Thanks.
Thanks.
anne,
As part of my drive to "work smarter", not harder, I do a ton of hotel shops within 75 miles of home. Some pay a fee, some do not. I am a member of each chain's rewards programs and have the rewards credit card that boosts the number of points earned at each chain. For certain hotel chains, booking through ebates.com also yields cash back bonuses of the folios amount that are being reimbursed by the MSC!) I get enough points to pay for a lot of vacation hotels each year. [ Plus a nice amount of free room service meals (which almost always generate take-home portions), concierge lounge food (take Ziplock bags and get a room with a refrigerator), excellent buffet breakfasts, some gift shop swag (tee-shirts, very nice socks, etc.), and some relaxing evenings.] Many non-hotel shops cannot be done on weekends, and in this area most new home video shops cannot be done on Mondays (due to sales meeting for the agents). So, I can do 3-5 hotel shops a month without giving up any of my "bread-and-butter" shops. Even without doing Coyle and similarly narrative-heavy hotel assignments, I get a lot of luxury hotel assignments. Another bonus? When I take a hotel overnight 30-75 miles from home, I use it to "anchor" a mini-route of other shops that I would not ordinarily drive that far to do.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2015 01:06PM by walesmaven.
As part of my drive to "work smarter", not harder, I do a ton of hotel shops within 75 miles of home. Some pay a fee, some do not. I am a member of each chain's rewards programs and have the rewards credit card that boosts the number of points earned at each chain. For certain hotel chains, booking through ebates.com also yields cash back bonuses of the folios amount that are being reimbursed by the MSC!) I get enough points to pay for a lot of vacation hotels each year. [ Plus a nice amount of free room service meals (which almost always generate take-home portions), concierge lounge food (take Ziplock bags and get a room with a refrigerator), excellent buffet breakfasts, some gift shop swag (tee-shirts, very nice socks, etc.), and some relaxing evenings.] Many non-hotel shops cannot be done on weekends, and in this area most new home video shops cannot be done on Mondays (due to sales meeting for the agents). So, I can do 3-5 hotel shops a month without giving up any of my "bread-and-butter" shops. Even without doing Coyle and similarly narrative-heavy hotel assignments, I get a lot of luxury hotel assignments. Another bonus? When I take a hotel overnight 30-75 miles from home, I use it to "anchor" a mini-route of other shops that I would not ordinarily drive that far to do.
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2015 01:06PM by walesmaven.
* House is being fumigated
* In-laws are in town and you just need a night away
* Fight with spouse (or, sad look on your face and you don't want to talk about it)
* Meeting a friend (with a conspiratorial wink)
* Son's girlfriend is over and she is hacking up a lung
* In-laws are in town and you just need a night away
* Fight with spouse (or, sad look on your face and you don't want to talk about it)
* Meeting a friend (with a conspiratorial wink)
* Son's girlfriend is over and she is hacking up a lung
Since I had to make the reservation a few days in advance I think I'll go with a scheduled work in the home, like having the floors redone. I could definitely go the spousal fight route with my eyes being messed up with allergies, so it does look like I've been crying. But we don't typically schedule fights 3 nights in advance & make reservations & I don't want to 0ut out that karma, lol.
I've done several of these & 99% have been in the city where I live, usually downtown. Every set of guidelines is always the same so it's no wonder employees are picking up on it now. I don't know how you guys piggy back other shops onto these because they are labor intensive, and yes they pay a fee on top of room, meals, drinks, etc. Thanks for all of your suggestions!
I've done several of these & 99% have been in the city where I live, usually downtown. Every set of guidelines is always the same so it's no wonder employees are picking up on it now. I don't know how you guys piggy back other shops onto these because they are labor intensive, and yes they pay a fee on top of room, meals, drinks, etc. Thanks for all of your suggestions!
ambereve,
I piggyback these with other shops by getting extensions on some deadlines, not taking the most labor/narrative intensive ones, completing the hotel report, except for the check-out interactions, before departing the hotel. That leaves plenty of time before check-in and after check-out to do other shops around the area and drive 75 miles or less to/from home.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2015 06:39PM by walesmaven.
I piggyback these with other shops by getting extensions on some deadlines, not taking the most labor/narrative intensive ones, completing the hotel report, except for the check-out interactions, before departing the hotel. That leaves plenty of time before check-in and after check-out to do other shops around the area and drive 75 miles or less to/from home.
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2015 06:39PM by walesmaven.
These are all great scenario ideas. Another to add to the mix: I'm a writer/freelancer/consultant who works from home and I scheduled an overnight retreat for myself so I can concentrate on completing a project without the distractions of home. (I know plenty of people who actually do this, with varying degrees of "swankiness" depending on their income).
We are all here on earth to help others....What on earth the others are here for I don't know.
--W. H. Auden
--W. H. Auden
I sometimes stay at a hotel down the street from my house.its not for MS just to get some R&R.. I used to say that my house just got painted and the smell was annoying me.
The most likely reasons that the employees know who the shopper is:
The car doesn't fit the demographic of a normal guest. Ten year old Honda, for example.
The guest places their phone on the front desk counter because they're attempting to record the interaction.
The guest doesn't dress like the rest of the guests do at the location (clothing, shoes, purse, wallet, luggage).
The guest has been there before, and the employees already have a note under their name that they are the mystery shopper (basically all 5D shops).
I have a friend that works at one of the large local resorts. We had a long talk about this one afternoon.
The car doesn't fit the demographic of a normal guest. Ten year old Honda, for example.
The guest places their phone on the front desk counter because they're attempting to record the interaction.
The guest doesn't dress like the rest of the guests do at the location (clothing, shoes, purse, wallet, luggage).
The guest has been there before, and the employees already have a note under their name that they are the mystery shopper (basically all 5D shops).
I have a friend that works at one of the large local resorts. We had a long talk about this one afternoon.
If you are using the excuse of a house sale and coming back to sign paperwork (I use that one often), be sure to give a distant address that's not the one on your ID when you make the reservation. Hotels never confirm the address on your profile with credit card companies for some reason. Your back story will be confirmed if they happen to notice the local address on your iD.
If the MSC is asking for you to do a shop that's not suspect, let them also allow you to modify the assignment so that you will not be suspect.
-If the assignment requires a phone reservation, reserve over the web and make a separate phone reservation after checkout that you can cancel.
-Book something more than just a basic room.
-Ask about a room upgrade at check-in.
-Book a 2-night stay and then leave after 1 night, or ask to change it to one night when you check in.
-Ask for a corporate rate when you make the reservation.
If the MSC is asking for you to do a shop that's not suspect, let them also allow you to modify the assignment so that you will not be suspect.
-If the assignment requires a phone reservation, reserve over the web and make a separate phone reservation after checkout that you can cancel.
-Book something more than just a basic room.
-Ask about a room upgrade at check-in.
-Book a 2-night stay and then leave after 1 night, or ask to change it to one night when you check in.
-Ask for a corporate rate when you make the reservation.
You know, I was thinking about this, and I concluded that in all my years of paying to stay in hotels, I've never informed the hotel staff of the reason why I was staying there unless I was part of a group reservation. You need a back story if someone asks, of course. But I think truthfully the best way to blend in is not to loudly announce "I AM GETTING MY FLOORS DONE! AND SO THAT IS WHY I'M STAYING HERE SO CLOSE TO THE HOME ADDRESS ON MY DRIVER'S LICENSE!"
If I came up with several hundred dollars to stay in a swanky hotel 3 miles from my house, the thing I'd be most likely to say to the front desk staff is, "I drive by this place all the time and I'm so excited to finally get to stay here." And if they are professionals, they would never ask why.
If I came up with several hundred dollars to stay in a swanky hotel 3 miles from my house, the thing I'd be most likely to say to the front desk staff is, "I drive by this place all the time and I'm so excited to finally get to stay here." And if they are professionals, they would never ask why.
We are all here on earth to help others....What on earth the others are here for I don't know.
--W. H. Auden
--W. H. Auden
Having the hardwood floors refinished is a very believable reason for staying in a nearby hotel. But I would probably just say, "My kids and husband have been driving me crazy, and I need a mental-health break from them!" And I have, in fact, done overnight stays alone for that reason! Not for mystery shopping, but if I ever do one close to home, and there is one that comes up in my area every so often, that's what I'm going to be prepared with in case anyone asks.
I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
All through this thread I kept thinking just answer none of your damn business. But of course you need a story and now I have several for the next time the hotel across the street comes up as a shop. I have never done a hotel shop. I would actually come home to sleep but it would be good practice.
It is quite common to have a cell number near your address of several years ago and also to not have gotten around to changing your drivers license especially if you have not mentally accepted the fact that you had to move and are hoping for years to move back again. Also common when you move to a state that has higher insurance rates. Although it is illegal it is common for people to get away with that for as long as possible. And do not think that "rich" people do not do some things that less rich people do. Saving money on whatever scale you live on is popular with that type of person and much easier for the wealthy to do sometimes.
When you check into a hotel you have to give a picture ID and credit card and the credit card has to match the billing address. Oddly enough, all of this was for naught because when I handed both over, they addressed me by name and said, "Welcome back". Oh! lol, did they still have me in their system from my in-laws' golden anniversary party I had there years ago?
Usually the back story comes into play as the bellman is accompanying you to your room, which has been a requirement on every hotel shop guideline I've done. That can take a while and & chitchat should be natural. I've always wondered if anyone had their suspicions and then questioned the bellman when he returned. Or like the next day, "You took that woman to her room, what did she say?"
It all turned out and so far the first followup email wasn't too bad, lol
Usually the back story comes into play as the bellman is accompanying you to your room, which has been a requirement on every hotel shop guideline I've done. That can take a while and & chitchat should be natural. I've always wondered if anyone had their suspicions and then questioned the bellman when he returned. Or like the next day, "You took that woman to her room, what did she say?"
It all turned out and so far the first followup email wasn't too bad, lol
You have a ghastly apparition (ghost) that has been haunting your basement for many years, so tonight, paranormal experts will be trying to remove the ghost and you don't want to be there when they contact the dead spirit. 
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2015 07:40PM by SunnyDays2.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2015 07:40PM by SunnyDays2.
Probably not an option, but I always kept my out of state license active after moving. Comes in real handy.
@ambereve wrote:
When you check into a hotel you have to give a picture ID and credit card and the credit card has to match the billing address.
That's absolutely not true. I have literally shopped hundreds of hotels using a billing address that doesn't match what what's on my driver's license. Never once in over 10 years of doing this has my address been questioned.
If I were going to waver from the truth, I would black my eye and just by accident, take off my dark glasses. ha!
I have always been happy to have a back story. Several times I have needed to provide bits and pieces of it, though never have I needed to go into depth. Of course it is not just hotels for which we need a back story. We do it every day when we are assigned a scenario to pull off.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@ambereve wrote:
When you check into a hotel you have to give a picture ID and credit card and the credit card has to match the billing address.
That's absolutely not true. I have literally shopped hundreds of hotels using a billing address that doesn't match what what's on my driver's license. Never once in over 10 years of doing this has my address been questioned.
I can confirm that Steve is correct.
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