So I have been sweating through shops for four years now and finally have my first overnight hotel! I am planning a silent retreat all by myself. Any tips to make an awesome report? Besides carefully following instructions, of course. I have to say, I am pretty excited about it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2013 02:50PM by CAscotch.

I actually love doing hotels alone...I people watch while on the computer, love hanging out in the lobby, love breaksfat in the room (alone). enjoy your overnight, bring a good book, and relish in your alone time. Problem being, you'll enjoy yourself so much, it will become a habit.

Hotel shops are my favorite. I agree with Irene, I love the IRD breakfast. Depending on which msc you are shopping for, you might be writing or pushing for interactions the whole time. If you're like me and have to take a guest along, who likes to watch TV in the room, while you're trying to write - bring earbuds to listen to your music. I do the room check after bellman leaves, before it gets dark. If you have to request turn down service, mess up the room first.

I just did my first hotel, too, elizabeth! It was soooooo much fun, but I have to warn you-- maybe it's just me, but this was some work. Boy howdie! From the minute I checked in (this was a high end hotel) to the second I checked out, there was detail, detail, detail... not only that, but mistake after mistake! Like big mistakes-- things preventing me from conducting the shop! They were all fixable, of course, just made for a lot more writing!

The writing was the hardest part for me. I wanted to set a good example (I was working with a new company). Turns out, I got a 10/10, so I was happy! No notes yet, but maybe that's a good sign.

I thought I'd have a lot more time to "rest", but I didn't. I wasn't unhappy, doing hotel shopping is like... it's what I'd love to do for the rest of my life! =DD The best advice I can give is to plan to be on the property for as long as you can. The earlier you check in, the more time you have to conduct whatever the client is looking for and still have time for _you_.

I hope you have a great trip, Elizabeth!

Sending the best,

Jen

I would love to do hotel shops but since I refuse to work for Freeman anymore I don't know who else does them.

jpgilham Wrote:
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> I would love to do hotel shops but since I refuse
> to work for Freeman anymore I don't know who else
> does them.


I've done hotel shops with a-closer-look.com Never had any problems @ the hotels & the DH & I get a night to ourselves :-)

How is the report with them? I've seen them posted, but have never taken one.

Congratulations. I had one a few weeks ago, but I couldn't get a reservation. The whole town was sold out, several big events were going on that weekend. ;0( I've only done a check in/check out. That was pretty easy. I'm still on the look out though. Check in as early as you can and check out as late as you can. I think that would be a good thing. Have fun, too and enjoy the room service.

If you're doing a high end shop with valet & bellman etc. I like to do the in-room dining for dinner. That way, I can type those parts while I'm waiting for dinner to be delivered. If I do dinner in the restaurant, I'm not working on the report. I then do the restaurant for breakfast, which takes less time to spend in the restaurant.

I have been mystery shopping for about one year. I do fine restaurants, high end boutiques and hotels mostly. My first hotel bill would have been almost $1850 if I had messed up the report! That was a bit scary but I did fine. It was two nights and three days in a VERY expensive hotel with pool side drinks, beach chair, in room dining, restaurant, lounge visits, bellman, valet, etc. The minimum narrative was expected to be 30,000 characters if I remember correctly.

I flew my mom down from the NE to go with me since I had a use it or loose it ticket. Mom loves to read and walk on the beach so she had an elegant vacation! I worked the entire time I was onsite and the next two days as well once I got home.

No, I have not asked for another hotel shop from that company but I do more basic one night stays regularly. This summer my husband and I took a drive up the east coast and I picked two hotels along the way to do on the drive north. Since I did not know what our schedule would be like on the way home, I opted not to shop on the return trip. I was able to much of the reports from the passenger seat in the car while my husband drove to the next location.

Now we are considering a move to a new area so next weekend we are going house hunting. Yes, I have scheduled a hotel shop (and since I have been to this one before and KNOW how bad the food is) and a restaurant shop!

My advise:

1. Print the report out before you go and keep it hidden in the room.
2. Put out the “do not disturb” sign when you walk out of the room so no one from housekeeping spots your work.
3. Take a smart phone ( I use a mystery shop app)
4. Take a digital camera
5. If you have an iPad or something like that, you can work on narratives in the lobby or other public area using a word program.
6. Plan on busy when you get home.
7. Take a good book or magazine for your travel partner to read.

Once you have done one or two, they get easier – but I am not an expert!

Ohhhh shopit! Those are GREAT tips! Rock on!

I will admit, and should have mentioned, that I asked for a sample report (a version the company's scheduler had filled in) and read it before I left. I took time reading it, trying to savor the kind of detail they wanted. I printed it out, along with the questions from the report, along with the shop guidelines (it was over 150 pages). I took all of that with me, and didn't really think about the "do not disturb" sign until I walked out of the room and found housekeeping just about walking into it when I came back!!

I agree, those are fantastic suggestions! I wish I'd had my phone with me to take pictures of the bathtub! I left it at home, by mistake, and my phone just didn't have the juice to get a shot worthy of the mess!

Definitely agree! =) These are great suggestions!

What mystery shopping ap?

I noticed one in my area that was available. However, it was just the nights stay reimbursement and nothing more. I thought, not me...I'm not gonna go somewhere and spend the night just to do a report. Sometimes I wonder just who do these MS companies think they are fooling.

geauxcj Wrote:
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> How is the report with them? I've seen them
> posted, but have never taken one.


A Closer Look's hotels are easy, as they are not "full" hotel shops with 2-3 meals, bars, concierge...
They are simple and easy to write - you will have lots of free time in the evening, but no fee and barely any food.

jentodd Wrote:
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> Ohhhh shopit! Those are GREAT tips! Rock on!
>
> I will admit, and should have mentioned, that I
> asked for a sample report (a version the company's
> scheduler had filled in) and read it before I
> left. I took time reading it, trying to savor the
> kind of detail they wanted. I printed it out,
> along with the questions from the report, along
> with the shop guidelines (it was over 150 pages).
> I took all of that with me, and didn't really
> think about the "do not disturb" sign until I
> walked out of the room and found housekeeping just
> about walking into it when I came back!!
>
> I agree, those are fantastic suggestions! I wish
> I'd had my phone with me to take pictures of the
> bathtub! I left it at home, by mistake, and my
> phone just didn't have the juice to get a shot
> worthy of the mess!
>
> Definitely agree! =) These are great suggestions!

I don't print out the report any more, since I have done over 30 4-star hotels. I do print out a cheat sheet so I know not to miss any interactions because one night I was so busy writing, I almost forgot to make the wake up call. My typical cheat sheet looks like this: valet in, door man in, bellman in, front desk, guest room, pbx internal, pbx external, security personnel public area, engineering, housekeeping, pool bar, pool attendant, pool lunch, spa attendant, fitness center, lobby bar, dinner, etc....
I put my cheat sheet, laptop, iPAD in the safe before I leave. I cannot use the do not distrub sign because I need to allow the turn down service housekeeper to come in.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2013 09:09PM by CAscotch.

Awesome! I like this thread a lot. =))

CAscotch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cubbiecat Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > geauxcj Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > How is the report with them? I've seen them
> > > posted, but have never taken one.
> >
> >
> > A Closer Look's hotels are easy, as they are
> not
> > "full" hotel shops with 2-3 meals, bars,
> > concierge...
> > They are simple and easy to write - you will
> have
> > lots of free time in the evening, but no fee
> and
> > barely any food.
>
>
> What are we reporting on? The Check
> In/Bellman/housekeeping? Do we have to take a lot
> of photos of the room and inspect the grounds?


They do not do the type of hotels that have bell service. Just check in/out, one request, sales manager, hotel manager, buffet breakfast, common grounds, fitness, pool - no picutes. There is no pay, only reimbursement. I do it for the chain's loyalty points. Others do it if they need a place to stay while traveling, or for a free night near the theme parks.

So who are the MS companies that have hotel shops in New England? I travel throughout the region for business and would enjoy some 4 stars.. I did 2 hote;s for Freeman , got paid for one and still waiting 9 months for the other. Not holding my breath.

Wonderful thread. With all these tips I may get around to trying one myself someday. Thanks all.

Hotel shops are not so plentiful that you could easily plan them into a business trip with a fixed itinerary. BUT, I can take a hotel shop through ACL and then build a video route around it sometimes. It's the "frequent sleeper" points that are he value in ACL hotel shops.

I just did my first hotel shop. I too, thought I would have a nice little vacation alone. Warning: check hotel site reviews BEFORE excepting hotel shops. Also check the bedbug web site. My hotel was the worst dive ever with holes and stains in the mattress, holes in the walls, numerous cigarette holes on all the bedding, hairs on the bedding, wires coming through the mattress, profanity etched on the elevator mirror. It was the worst hotel I have ever been too and I've been to some dives in my early years. I stayed until midnight and then made a reservation at another hotel. I came back in the morning to do the breakfast and finish my report. There was NO WAY I was going to sleep in that bed after seeing the holes, stains, and having the hotel pop up as having bed bugs recently. Good luck!! I learned my lesson. And it was an expensive one because my "new" hotel cost almost $100 but I had nowhere else to stay and I wasn't getting paid enough for this shop to bring back bedbugs to my family. Has anyone else had this horrible experience or I am just lucky?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2013 09:09PM by CAscotch.

elkejames Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just did my first hotel shop. I too, thought I
> would have a nice little vacation alone. Warning:
> check hotel site reviews BEFORE excepting hotel
> shops. Also check the bedbug web site. My hotel
> was the worst dive ever with holes and stains in
> the mattress, holes in the walls, numerous
> cigarette holes on all the bedding, hairs on the
> bedding, wires coming through the mattress,
> profanity etched on the elevator mirror. It was
> the worst hotel I have ever been too and I've been
> to some dives in my early years. I stayed until
> midnight and then made a reservation at another
> hotel. I came back in the morning to do the
> breakfast and finish my report. There was NO WAY I
> was going to sleep in that bed after seeing the
> holes, stains, and having the hotel pop up as
> having bed bugs recently. Good luck!! I learned my
> lesson. And it was an expensive one because my
> "new" hotel cost almost $100 but I had nowhere
> else to stay and I wasn't getting paid enough for
> this shop to bring back bedbugs to my family. Has
> anyone else had this horrible experience or I am
> just lucky?


That sounds like a few of the properties Freeman has/had. I did one which fortunately was just one of the checks - I could stay all night but I didn't have to because I was checking to see if there was any logo items left from the last chain. It was totally disgusting and it was in a rather nice area and where I would expect to find an ok hotel (in my college town) but it was horrible. My husband thinks the Marriotts, Hyatts, and Hiltons I regularly shop have probably spoiled me to an extent and that might be true too.

Liz

By all means, always check out the property on TripAdvisor AND on the bedbug reporting site!!!

Meanwhile, Elizabeth, how did your hotel shop go?