I saw one posted the other day and the expected spend on it was over $2000, all of which you would get reimbursed. I would just be so nervous about something going wrong or a super picky editor because if your shop is rejected, you are out that $2000. One time I carefully scrutinized the guidelines and there were many many scenarios they wanted the shopper to set up. Honestly, you would spend your whole time there just taking pictures and setting up scenarios. It said that you could expect the report to take 10 to 12 hours to finish which probably means it actually would take at least 15 hours.

I could see doing one of these if you were traveling to the area and were going to have to pay for a hotel anyway. In that case, it would definitely be a savings, but it really seemed like a tremendous amount of work and you are not actually profiting at all.

I've always passed up those shops due to the reasons you listed. If I am a tourist, I would rather go explore the city instead of spending hours evaluating hotel employees. If I was at home, I would not be interested in staying at a fancy local hotel. There are some MSCs that work with the client to provide free lodging instead of reimbursement. That seems like a less riskier proposition than paying for it out of pocket.

I did one many years ago -- for the experience. I am not sorry I did it but will probably not do one again. I am older and in poorer health now and not as adventurous.

Would you mind sharing which mystery shopping company is doing the shop?

@MS007 wrote:

I saw one posted the other day and the expected spend on it was over $2000, all of which you would get reimbursed. I would just be so nervous about something going wrong or a super picky editor because if your shop is rejected, you are out that $2000. One time I carefully scrutinized the guidelines and there were many many scenarios they wanted the shopper to set up. Honestly, you would spend your whole time there just taking pictures and setting up scenarios. It said that you could expect the report to take 10 to 12 hours to finish which probably means it actually would take at least 15 hours.

I could see doing one of these if you were traveling to the area and were going to have to pay for a hotel anyway. In that case, it would definitely be a savings, but it really seemed like a tremendous amount of work and you are not actually profiting at all.

RBG

Wow. I’ve never seen RBG have these.

I've done a few. It usually takes the whole next day to do the report, but they are fun and pay pretty good. The first one I did I didn't keep track of timings as well as I should have, but got it through anyway, and now I track it better.

I wonder how an RBG hotel shop compares to a Coyle hotel shop

Never did those shops because one, a whole lot of reasons it could get rejected. Second, it becomes almost a job rather than anything remotely relaxing. Same reason, I don't pick shops at Amusement Advantage. They are all so much work with lengthy reports. I would rather watch a movie or show with my own money than worry all the time about missing something.

I have not done one for RBG, but I can’t imagine that they are very difficult. I can’t even recall if they have ever asked for clarification on any shop I’ve done for them.
$2000 is not a huge amount to spend for two days at a resort - seems about average to me.
You need to spend a lot of time researching the resort online and getting a spreadsheet or a game plan either on paper or on your phone or laptop before you show up, unless you’re very experienced at these.
Most high-end resorts required two people, so your guest will have a great time. The shopper is going to want to enter as much of the report at the resort , so that it’s not overwhelming once you leave. I have a small group of friends that I take on these types of resorts, and they help me with timing and interactions and taking photos. I’ve got to earn their keep somehow, you know?

I did one once. It turned out to be a small nightmare. The only advantage was that it was a big fancy hotel near my downtown office for my real job, so it kept me from having a long commute to work the next day.
I will never do one of those again. Why? because I only have one life to live. That's not the way I want to live it

MS007: what state are these hotel shops in?

I’ve seen them posted in multiple states. On Coyle, you can search geographically and maybe find something.

There was one on Coyle where I read in detail what the requirements were. You had to set up multiple scenarios such as leave a scrap of paper on the floor and then call down for Housekeeping service and leave the room and come back an hour later and see if the scrap of paper was gone. That was just one scenario. There were multiple ones and they all involved getting hotel staff involved. Many sets of before and after pics from specific angles. Like a normal customer or even a persnickety customer would not be bothering the staff over all these things they wanted you to do. You had to make multiple complaints to see how they were handled. It really seemed terrible! And basically no pay, just reimbursement.

@MS007 wrote:

There was one on Coyle where I read in detail what the requirements were. You had to set up multiple scenarios such as leave a scrap of paper on the floor and then call down for Housekeeping service and leave the room and come back an hour later and see if the scrap of paper was gone. That was just one scenario. There were multiple ones and they all involved getting hotel staff involved. Many sets of before and after pics from specific angles. Like a normal customer or even a persnickety customer would not be bothering the staff over all these things they wanted you to do. You had to make multiple complaints to see how they were handled. It really seemed terrible! And basically no pay, just reimbursement.

Out of curiosity, how do you imagine a fancy hotel shop should go? Check in, enjoy yourself, and then report on if it was good experience or not? Can't the hotel management just go to Tripadvisor and see that?

They are offering a completely reimbursed experience, often with travel expenses, and every assignment does offer some pay...even if it's a small amount. They expect something in return for that.

One of the core tenets of MSing hotels is that each department has to be tested objectively. If a shopper leaves a scrap of paper on the floor at every one of the clients hotels in the world, then they can see the level of detail by housekeeping somewhat objectively over the whole brand.

I used to do the Amusement advantage one s a few times per year when my kids were old enough to get around at the venue themselves. We would do a running meal, pick up an entree here, a drink there, a dessert at the third required restaurant. I thought that was fun. I would save the cost of multiple entry fees and did not mind the reporting.

I did four hotels in a row on a vacation. It was no vacation. To be fair, they were like 8 hours apart and a lot of driving. All had different reasons for being shopped. The final two were “full service” and the reports were beasts. But I mean dinner and bar evaluations complaints, requests, valet, and all. The reimbursements were $500+ pay $50 ish. They were cool experiences and I saw a few different towns. But it was a TON of work.

I'm not sure what you mean by fancy, but I have done more than a hundred overnight hotel and/or hotel/casino resort overnight stay shops. The list includes all the LV Strip resorts, several in Reno, and several on Indian reservations in other states. If you cannot justify the job fee and risk/reward, then I would not recommend those shops as vacations. They are work with perks. They are narrative-intensive. Although they are labor and time-intensive, they are not hard after you have successfully done a few. I definitely recommend that newbie shoppers set their sights elsewhere.

TripAdvisor is nowhere near the same type of feedback as what’s gained in a mystery shop. This forum is full of posts from people who feel they got shafted. That’s one thing if you’re talking a dinner at Sonic or even a nicer upscale restaurant. But I’d hate to spend 2K or more only to have something go wrong. That possibility would ruin the experience for me. Everyone has their own level of risk tolerance and this is above mine. I admit travel expense reimbursement would sweeten the pot but I live in a major metro area and extra incentives are not a thing here.

I did one once, many years ago, for a 2 night, 3 day resort stay at an expensive resort about an hour and a half from my house. However, before I did that, I had done a number of shops, of increasing difficulty and reimbursement with the company (it is now defunct, to the best of my knowledge) and the specific scheduler without issue, so I felt reasonably reassured I would be reimbursed. It was a lot of work but also something I could never have afforded, and my daughter got to have a lot of really fun experiences as part of fulfilling the many activity requirements.

I've done them. I enjoy the hotel shops and treat them as a job. I'm not expecting them to be a vacation. I'll gain some hotel points and some experience but I'm prepared to be working the whole time that I'm there. If anything these have taught me things to look for when travelling for vacation or business (how many times have I said to my husband, "I wish this was a shop!". They make a change from my regular day job plus I get reimbursed. That said I have done them for several different companies but never for Coyle. I can't imagine how much work that report would be!

In addition to the big fancy city hotel, I've done a couple shops for convention hotels and mid range hotels - basically those in office parks, they were reasonable - i.e. the effort matched the compensation.

I would do those again in a heartbeat...and yes of course, it's not a vacation - but there is/was one MSC that was abusive - never again.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2024 06:02PM by BarefootBliss.

@MS007 wrote:

TripAdvisor is nowhere near the same type of feedback as what’s gained in a mystery shop.

@MS007 wrote:

Like a normal customer or even a persnickety customer would not be bothering the staff over all these things they wanted you to do.

Pick a lane. You are either a specialized agent willing to secure the feedback requested, or a 'normal customer'.

Nobody is asking you to take shops beyond your comfort. I would specifically recommend shoppers staying away from anything that would be financially problematic if it went south, because sometimes it does, but the MSC are not setting you up to fail. They need to turn the reports in per their agreement with the client, so they want you succeed. Nobody wants to decline a shop. It makes bad blood with the shopper and extra work for everyone.

I do agree with your comment above that many here "feel they got shafted." Sometimes they did, and other times it may be shopper error, but the MSC's do in fact get all the hotels assignments regularly completed, so there are clearly a large amount of shoppers who enjoy the shops, and complete them without issue. For every shopper who complains about shops getting rejected, there's another another one like me who has completed many hotel assignments and never had one rejected. I just don't post about it that much because I have other things to do, and it usually results in a bunch of PM's asking me to disclose details I am not authorized to disclose.

I do shops while on vacation, but would never take multiple hotels in a row again. I did that when I was younger and had no other means of traveling. These days, I'll take one or two nice dinners during the trip, stay some free nights with hotel points I have collected previously doing assignments, and then close out my trip with a final hotel assignment that I write after I return home (or on the flight back). That allows me time to enjoy the trip, for the most part.

You need to balance the risk/reward with all shops!

I've done a couple. I remember thinking one was going to be fancy but the reimbursement was more like 600 not the 2000 the email stated. The spa was closed, the restaurant only served breakfast and the hot tub was out of order.

@RobinMarie wrote:

I've done a couple. I remember thinking one was going to be fancy but the reimbursement was more like 600 not the 2000 the email stated. The spa was closed, the restaurant only served breakfast and the hot tub was out of order.

I have been to many a hotel on my own dime where something I was booking that hotel for was not available once I arrived. Pools, spas, breakfast included in those missing experiences. Paid my own dime and would much rather have had that particular experience as a reimbursed hotel guest. I am not the type to ask for a free or much discounted room when that happens.

This was not your usual one or two night hotel evaluation. This was a high end boutique hotel. Requirements included booking spa services. The skill would be much higher than a typical hotel evaluation. Furthermore, when you add the second night the timing and scheduling becomes so much more important. Yes, the spa services and dining are great but make no mistake about the extensive reporting and observations required.

Ive signed up for a one that is a shops on timeshare sales. It requires a 3 day hotel stay that is reimbursed but you dont have any surveys on the hotel itself. I'm traveling to the area already so its a savings in that regards but I'm still nervous since it is a rather expensive hotel. Has anyone done one of these before?

Yes, Ive done a few. All of my reports have been accepted.

your reports were accepted - does that mean it was worth any pain involved? LOL.

In addition to all that has been said in these posts, I will say that my experience has taught me that multiple-night stays are definitely easier than single-night stays. There are more interactions, but it is easier to get them all in during your stay. Another point a newbie to this type of shop should consider is that you will quite likely need to stay and complete some interactions after you check out of the hotel until you become experienced in these shops. You will also be writing the report after you leave the hotel. So you would need to plan for this when doing a route shop, perhaps make the hotel/resort shop the last shop on your route.

I've done everything from fleabag hole in the wall "boutique" hotels to upscale resorts. I used to take a lot of mid-level hotel shops to help fund little weekend trips. They were not an excessive amount of work, so I could actually travel and have a good time. The one high-end resort was the most labor-intensive shop I've ever done in my life. I had a gentleman friend with me, but he was closer to a liability than a good shopping partner. I wouldn't do another resort of that level without an honest shopping partner who pulls their weight. It was too much work. I was flat exhausted before I was finished. It was 11:00 the night before we left, and I was still running around the place checking off boxes. At the time, I noticed that they had a whole lot of workers who came out at night to spit shine the place. I had the very real realization that I was not on vacation, I was one of the workers. There was a token payment, but it was mostly reimbursement. There was the real fear that something would go wrong, and I wouldn't get reimbursed, so there was also that. I made very sure I did a good job on the shop, but the only way I'd take such again is if I had a good reliable shopping partner. It was in no way a vacation; it was an ordeal.