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Need help with a scenario for hotel overnight shop

October 03, 2015 11:37PM
I always have a back story BUT I always make sure that story will work for whomever else I might run into as well...so I would not mention divorce, refinishing floors, or painting unless that was really what was going on...your neighbor's just might be staycating there as well.

Liz
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More About Hotel Mystery Shopping
October 03, 2015 11:47PM
Only one front desk agent out of over 50 hotel shops had noticed my address was within 15 miles of the hotel. He looked at us and commented, "You're doing a staycation." I just smile - nice of him to come up with a reason for me. The 4 and 5 star hotel agents just don't care.

Not my circus - Not my monkeys @(*.*)@

~Polish Proverb~
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October 03, 2015 11:50PM
@SoCalMama wrote:

@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.

I agree! My credit card is a post office box. No one has ever brought up my billing address. Also, some hotels do not ask for any type of ID, just credit card.

Not my circus - Not my monkeys @(*.*)@

~Polish Proverb~
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October 04, 2015 04:29AM
I had the same situation a few years ago. Why would you pay to stay in a hotel that costs $350 a night that is 5 miles from where you live?

At the check-in I stated I was going to have a business client coming for a meeting. I asked how she could contact me in my room--ie--house phone. I made some comment about the client not being comfortable meeting at the law firm so I had set up a off-site interview. I basically hinted it was a discreet event and I think it worked well. I dressed up in "office dress" to give the correct impression and even had my computer bag. I made a comment how I could enjoy the hotel after the meeting and that explained me in the work out room, etc during the evening.
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October 04, 2015 07:02AM
My first hotel stay was a test stay for me nearby where I live. It was just on the other side of the airport from my home. I left home without my overnight bag..guess I was overwhelmed with all I had to make sure to do and bring with me. The hotel (a Hilton) had an airport shuttle . I arranged with the shuttle driver to drop by a shopping center near the airport where my husband met me with my overnight bag. I had also asked the front desk if they could accommodate me with this trip. Never once did anyone raise an eyebrow or even ask why I was staying so close to my home and without my husband and I never even thought it might raise any suspicion that I was a mystery shopper. I guess being clueless and not seeing red flags everywhere has saved me from the angst of being a mystery shopper.
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October 04, 2015 09:26AM
@siamese5555 wrote:

Why would you pay to stay in a hotel that costs $350 a night that is 5 miles from where you live?

That's not even a question where I live as the staycation is so common here. So commonplace that I have run into neighbors staying at several resorts that we stayed at.
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October 04, 2015 01:48PM
@SteveSoCal wrote:

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.

Regarding hotels verifying address with credit card companies, I actually ran into this when I inspected a Best Western, believe it or not! I was shocked! They asked if I had another billing address because the card was declined.
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January 08, 2016 07:02PM
This thread is very helpful. I want to get into hotel shops and I live in a large city with lots of nice hotels so i was going to try to do my first one close to home. It's enough of a PITA to get downtown and attend events and such and get home, especially if you drink, that I was thinking of doing some in downtown hotels (I live about 10 miles out from downtown) and just say that my husband and I had plans downtown and didn't want to drive home so we decided to do a little overnight staycation. But my idea was I wouldn't give any back story unless I was asked.
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