There are several topics on hotel shops, but I'm wondering the circumstances that cause people to do them especially one night ones. l did a one night shop on a college visit, but that is it. For those that complete hotel shops, especially one nighters what are the circumstances? Do you complete them in your city, for a one night getaway, during routes or do you take a long weekend somewhere and pay for the other nights yourself?

I take then anywhere within about 50 miles of home and then, if possible, build a mini- route around the 1-2 night stay. I take as many as I can get and use the hotel rewards points to get free nights to use either on vacation or to control costs on profitable longer routes. The trick is to join every hotel "family" rewards club AND get the matching credit card so that you get MAXIMUM points for every dollar spent. For this reason, I favor the hotel shops where I get reimbursed NOT the ones where they reverse the charges !!!

It varies greatly by company and even within companies. My favorite hotel company has 1 night stays that I have no interest in and 1 night stays I will book whenever possible. I mostly do hotel shops on routes.

bgriff, what is the difference between the stays that you will do and the ones that you will do?

I do one-night stays in my city and one that is about a 45 minute drive away. I usually take my best friend and its more of a fun thing for us to do (before I was a shopper, we did hotel nights anyway). The ones I do also include a bar visit, dinner at their restaurant, and room service breakfast. I usually get reimbursed anywhere from $400-700 for what amounts to about 3 hours of writing, plus a $25 fee. The companies editors are also great to work with. However, I wouldn't do one-night stays for other MSCs, for example ACL, where I would likely only get reimbursed $100-150 with no fee on top of that, have to do a ridicously long report, and probably get a million follow up questions from their editors about things that were already included in the report.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

bgriff, what is the difference between the stays that you will do and the ones that you will do?

For me I am interested in the reimbursed room. I'm not interested in room service and bar visits and expensive dinners being reimbursed. My preferred hotel company has some 3* hotels that have minimal reporting on the hotels service. You don't have to report on facilities, or room service or any of those things. There is a minimum amount of check in and you don't even have to go through check out, you can check out on the app. Most of the reporting is on an easy dinner and breakfast and it's the only chain that I routinely eat dinner in anyway.

The same company has 1 night stays in 4* properties where you have to report on valet and luggage assistance, check in and out, dinner, breakfast, room service, etc. Yes the shops pay a bigger fee but I can make WAY more money spending that extra time on money making shops.

As for ACL shops, I generally find they take me about an hour and a half and I value them at $100 as that's my per night hotel budget. At $65 per hour they an ok shop to do but not great. I love finding them in spots where I can't get rooms in my budget. I refuse to do them in places where I can always get in under budget. Unless I have a light route anyway.

I like different types of hotel shops at different times. I will do the reimbursement-only shops on big routes or in places I am traveling anyway. Occasionally, I do higher-end hotels (with room service, etc.) for a treat, and they usually have a decent fee too. Just depends what I want/need at the time. I like both options.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2018 08:25AM by RedRose22.

Speaking of hotel shops...has anyone ever found bedbugs while on a hotel shop?

@Jill_L wrote:

Speaking of hotel shops...has anyone ever found bedbugs while on a hotel shop?

<shudder> no. And I do NYC hotels all the time.

I mostly do large hotel overnight shops in my city. I do them for the money but also enjoy the free food. I never do reimbursement only shops, and I do not work for food.

Not on a shop but I was bitten by bed bugs at a Sandals Resort in St. Lucia a few years ago.

Not on a shop, but two weekends ago I was at a meeting when one of the attendees got bed bug bites. I came home and put everything that was in my suitcase in the freezer for four days, then washed it and dried on 'High'. Then I brought my suitcase in from the garage and put IT in the freezer.

@Jill_L wrote:

Speaking of hotel shops...has anyone ever found bedbugs while on a hotel shop?

I live near a major city (Boston) that has some fancy hotels that are near the big parks so I have taken a few shops at these hotels for the luxurious experience of staying overnight, and a lovely walk in the park the next day. The food at both hotels was very good, so there's a nice dinner involved and some room service and breakfast the next day. The report takes a long time for me, so much writing, but I figured if I do these enough, the report will get easier with repetition. It's always nerve wracking to know you are putting almost $1000 on your credit card and a relief when your report is accepted. Being out of that much money would be a tragedy, so I'm careful to not miss anything.

I do minimal-report reimbursement shops while out on my routes. Then I use the points on vacation. I just finished using the hotel points I earned for one chain during a 6-month project in CA two years ago. I haven't paid an unreimbursed dime for a room in years.

@Lucy88, I'm so sorry you got bitten. And you're very lucky that they didn't come home with you!

@KathyG, good thinking. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

I'm so paranoid of bed bugs, that before I choose a hotel, I check on a couple of different bed bug sites, and when we go into the hotel, we do a thorough check. We have also started taking plastic bins (one for each of six family members) on driving trips instead of suitcases.

Have had bedbugs before because we invited someone who was desperate to stay at our house for a while. She had a horrible infestation of bed bugs. Now, we check EVERYWHERE!

I stopped doing Vegas hotel's because (my experience) they have gotten more difficult with all the latest 11:00 PM night clubs needing evaluating, not for me. More work now than I can or want to handle...used to be fun back in the day, and although I have an active Vegas work card, having looked for a normal hotel isn't feasible adding my airfare and the resort fee. We have Timeshares close by, but the money you put out and wait a month for reimbursement doesn't do it for me....I see it working for routes, but not for me. Hate it when things change for the worst.....

...

I would really like to do a hotel shop for room service, pool, restaurant, etc., but have never been able to sign up for one since my fur baby is now an old man and needs lots of care. I can't just disappear overnight. It seems like a good deal especially if it's reimbursed, not reversed charges, and you can get hotel & CC rewards points. If I could, I would love to do a hotel shop in another area and make a small trip out of it.

There are so many reasons. Some one-night shops are helpful for routes. Some boutique hotel shops are fun. I took a ho-hum shop once to get a break from my noisy neighbors. (They are, thankfully, no longer my neighbors.)

I take them for points. There's also one that bumps you to top-tier status in order to do the assignment. You keep that status for at least a year. That's worth far more than the fee.

ADVICE/HELP needed PLEASE!
I am signed up to do my first Hotel Shop scheduled for today it was a RUSH job only requested this morning.
I need help deciding if I made a mistake accepting it. I was told I would be given Elite Status that I will get to keep after the shop and any points for the stay. There is no fee/$ compensation, but for me I was excited to do it!
HOWEVER! My Elite status is only showing up on the Companies App and not on the main website (it has been several hours & I have refreshed/cleared everything). From the App, I see the elite status, but it states I am not eligible for any of the Annual Elite benefits- such as a free stay etc. In addition, I am reading through the Forum's that if the charges are reversed (which is what they state) that I will lose any of the points I would have gotten for the stay. The Hotel Experience is EXTENSIVE and will take most of the time that I am there. Have I made a rookie mistake?

Take a deep breath, please.
If the folio amount is reversed you still get the rewards points for the stay, but not for the credit card charge. Many of us do these as well as the ones where you have to wait for reimbursement. It all adds up and you get MORE points per stay as Elite. Also, Elite Status, in most systems will provide access to free food, non-alcoholic beverages and snacks in the Concierge Lounge (or whatever they call it at that hotel). Take a cooler and some Ziplock bags, lol. (Also, room service dinners are often so much food that you will want containers and a cooler in which to take it home!)

Of course they are not giving you a free night as if you had really qualified for Elite status. BUT, you get bonus points for the entire year that you remain Elite, as well as access to said Concierge Club lounge. In some cases it also means that if you are not required to eat breakfast in the hotel dining room and report it, you can still get a free breakfast in that lounge. You may also be offered extra points or a voucher for a free drink in the bar when you check in. The client wants to see if you are treated royally; that's why you get Elite Status.

Walesmaven, TY for that detailed insight. I have travelled through my job for many years and I have held Elite status with a few different chains, and yes I enjoy the concierge clubs/lounges In my experience, when they remove/reverse charges from your credit card they also take back the points given. I have read through several of these forums where that has indeed been the case especially in the last year. This concerns me.

Perhaps you will be able to give me advice on the other item that seems odd. My newly added (today) elite status is available on the Hotel's App, but not on the full website? I have tried two different computers..removed cookies, different search engines, changed my passwords... still no status change. When I asked my scheduler about this problem, I was told to go ahead and book through the App that it may just be delayed. Now the shop states ALL OVER THE PLACE if you are not showing as Elite Status you cannot complete nor will you be compensated. The amount we are talking is $550, so I cannot risk not being compensated. Not to mention that it is an extensive busy from check-in to check-out evaluation/reporting. I am definately willing to put in the work for the status upgrade and points that is completely worth it!! I am just not confident about what I am being offered, and do not want to end up spending $550 for sleeping right next to my house and a good dinner- LOL

Is it possible that they are offering me a watered down or temporary elite status that will be taken away as soon as this is done? What has been your experience with how long the status lasts.. my previous status always reset in Jan 1..that would be a bummer.
PS- I always pack a cooler and zip-lock bags for left overs..glad to see I am not the only one!
Thank you for your input!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2018 09:40PM by jfrey.

If it shows on the hotel's web site, as far as I know, that is all that counts. I have not lost the points for the stay when the cc was reversed, ever. Just the points for charging the costs.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I stopped doing Vegas hotel's because (my experience) they have gotten more difficult with all the latest 11:00 PM night clubs needing evaluating, not for me. More work now than I can or want to handle...used to be fun back in the day, and although I have an active Vegas work card, having looked for a normal hotel isn't feasible adding my airfare and the resort fee. We have Timeshares close by, but the money you put out and wait a month for reimbursement doesn't do it for me....I see it working for routes, but not for me. Hate it when things change for the worst.....

It's my guest who has the most fun at the hotel shops; I am busy doing the work. Nightclubs are a separate shop that I love to pad my income with when I am already in the hotel anyway shopping the hotel. When I shop the hotel, I grab as many walking distance small shops as time will allow, in order to make the time spent on site and writing the report worth the money. The nice thing is that you only have to wait 2 weeks for reimbursement in Vegas

No bedbugs, and I look very closely in the usual places with a good flashlight.
I did check into an ACL hotel in central NJ this summer to find well over 30 dead flies. They were mostly on the windowsill of the through the wall A/C unit. I figure some screening was missing and/or insulation. I could see right through the machine to outside in daylight. It was especially creepy when you consider the complete visual impact of these things standing completely desiccated, upright and dead in their boots on the very dated circa 1960's bedspread and room decor. Very "Hotel California." The front desk was great. I discretely reported the room was "already occupied".and they immediately switched keys for another room.

When I entered that next room I immediately identified a subtle mold/mildew smell coming from the bathroom. I am observant but not particularly sensitive so I shut the bathroom door and turned on the A/C. I figured I was going to be out most of the night anyway and included the observations in the report. By the time I checked out I was completely stuffed up for two days with a sinus situation I have no other explanation for. ACL can keep their flea bag hotels. This was no magic carpet ride!

Congratulations to Walesmaven on your well written and well informed reply. Your information is complete,even expansive and helpful.

emm,
I do a lot of ACL hotels, but no fleabag hotels. Before I apply, I check out the reviews on Trip Adviser and on a bedbug alert site. Once in a great while that has led to deciding not to apply. Due diligence is required before asking for a hotel shop.

@Jill_L wrote:

Speaking of hotel shops...has anyone ever found bedbugs while on a hotel shop?

As a general rule (shop or personal stay) I don't climb in the sheets of *any* hotel bed . I sleep on top after I have inspected the duvet or top cover closely. My rule of thumb: "assume there are bed bugs." I always wonder if they really changed the sheets of the bed I am laying on?

I believe I've done those shops recently. My elite status was activated in March of this year, and I still have it without any issue.

Screenshot the heck out of your reservation on the app and that make sure that your elite status is noted on the confirmation email. If it's not, show it to your scheduler and ask how to proceed.

For these shops though...Honestly?

The shops in question are some of the easiest hotel shops out there. No down to the second timing on meal pacing, or excessive photos of every corner of your room. Print off the checklist and timeline they give you. It did me a world of good during my first one, and I've continued to do at least one a month ever since as they were so much fun. The only photo that gave me trouble was in the gift shop, as it's hard to take the 2-3 pictures there with employees so close and no one else there. Good Luck!