Coyle hotel shops...worth it?

If you needed to travel somewhere, would you rather (a) get a Coyle hotel shop for reimbursement plus $50 fee plus $75 travel, or (b) get a cheap hotel and pay out of pocket?

I can't decide. I know Coyle is SO much work, but the free hotel + fee + travel is tempting.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:22AM by CAscotch.

I was recently thinking the same thing. It depends on a few factors:

-How much $$ you have set aside for travel.
-How much free time you have.
-How much you enjoy the assignments
-The value of the hotel in question.

Some of those $50/$75 hotels are in the $100 per night range, but others are closer to $400 per night. If you consider the addition of food, plus the travel and fee, the value is close to $1,000 on those, which is my cutoff for what makes a shop worth it.

On the other hand, I have to travel to city with one of those hotels where my travel expenses are $300 and the hotel is inexpensive, I would rather just pay the full amount, get a full night of sleep and forgo the report rather than save $300 and spend 2 days writing. Those particular hotels are notorious for requiring you to eat at a specific hour that I don't like to be out of bed at....

id rather have the MSC just pay for my hotel for wherever i am traveling to do their shops, this way I dont need to do a report for the hotel.

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There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
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techman01 Wrote:
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> id rather have the MSC just pay for my hotel for
> wherever i am traveling to do their shops, this
> way I dont need to do a report for the hotel.

I'm not traveling for MSing unfortunately.

I'm a proficient writer and can knock out a high end restaurant shop in under 45 minutes...the exception is Coyle. Their reports are a bit more grueling.

If I were to get a hotel on my own, I'd probably get a cheapo Priceline special at $40 per night. I'll probably be traveling alone so I won't have anyone to help with photos/names/interactions.

Right now I'm leaning toward just sucking it up and doing the hotel shop. It's a swanky hotel, a couple meals are included, and the cash payment (fee + travel) will help with my airfare costs.

Cake, have a done a hotel for Coyle before?

I never recommend doing them if you have anything else going on the first time at a hotel. You may be surprised at the lack of free time you have.

If you are a good writer, the report isn't really so much of an issue...It's the tasks required while you are at the hotel.

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cake, have a done a hotel for Coyle before?
>
> I never recommend doing them if you have anything
> else going on the first time at a hotel. You may
> be surprised at the lack of free time you have.
>
> If you are a good writer, the report isn't really
> so much of an issue...It's the tasks required
> while you are at the hotel.

I haven't done a Coyle hotel shop before. I am doing a hotel shop for a different MSC next week. I'm pretty comfortable with the guidelines and requirements--it doesn't look too bad--plus I'll have help with me.

I've done hotel shops for another MSC that has a pretty involved report with a lot of pieces. It leaves me with little time for any leisure. However, if it's a two night shop, which I've done once, it does leave a little more time. The reason I like the shops is because I get to stay in a hotel that I normally wouldn't stay at, eat meals I probably wouldn't pay for if I wasn't getting reimbursed and, I had a great ginger collins that I probably wouldn't have had because I would never pay that much for a drink.

cake... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I haven't done a Coyle hotel shop before. I am
> doing a hotel shop for a different MSC next week.
> I'm pretty comfortable with the guidelines and
> requirements--it doesn't look too bad--plus I'll
> have help with me.

I know the hotel brand in question, based on the fee structure you mentioned. The report sounds like it won't be to much for you. Like I said, I just don't like the requirements at those hotels very much, even though I like the hotel brand.

The reports used to be a bit easier at those hotels and pay a bit more for both travel and the report fee as well. It's hard to swallow more work, more hassle, less sleep...and less money

(for those that haven't done these hotels, one of the requirements of a certain test means you have to get up very early one day, which can be especially painful if the hotel is on the east coast and you just flew in from the west....)

[edited for a typo that was confusing]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2012 09:57PM by SteveSoCal.

Has anyone seen any Jakarta, Indonesia hotels posted on Coyle recently?

I need to go to Indo and was hoping they still offered this possibility.

They usually get shopped a few times per year, so keep a look out for them them in the coming months, I'd say.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:23AM by CAscotch.

@CAscotch - there is one msc that shops 3 star hotels that does not provide dinner and you have the evening free. All the 4 star hotels require dinner and bar with full reports. Some hotel have Starbucks, pool lunch, market place, dinner and two bars - and breakfas the next morning. You don't have any free time!

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

~Polish Proverb~

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:23AM by CAscotch.

Actually, the shop the OP asked about does not have to include diner AFAIK. You would get at least one free evening.

I get upset having to write the breakfasts since I would be happy with just coffee & yogurt. At least I get something of value for the dinner write-ups...

@CAscotch. It's the msc that does not pay a fee for their hotel or FD shops. The hotels are a well known national chain of 3-star hotels. The msc shops FD steak restaurants all over the country and that's about all I can tell you. The hotel reports are really easy and being 3 star, lower end hotels, there are no valet or bellman to evaluate. The hotels offer free breakfasts to all guest - the report is really easy.

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

~Polish Proverb~

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Actually, the shop the OP asked about does not
> have to include diner AFAIK. You would get at
> least one free evening.
>
> I get upset having to write the breakfasts since I
> would be happy with just coffee & yogurt. At least
> I get something of value for the dinner
> write-ups...

I disagree - I live for the in-room-dining breakfasts at the 4-star hotels. Last week, my IRD breakfast was served on the balcony, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

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

~Polish Proverb~

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:24AM by CAscotch.

cubbiecat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I disagree - I live for the in-room-dining
> breakfasts at the 4-star hotels. Last week, my IRD
> breakfast was served on the balcony, overlooking
> the Atlantic Ocean.

I actually completely agree with you on that, cubbie! The problem is that the shops the OP was referring to force you to go to the restaurant each morning for breakfast, and rarely allow you get a room with a balcony.

I have no issue writing a few pages on a IRD breakfast with an ocean view!

SteveSoCal...you just have to find the right msc with the oceanview hotel! I shopped that hotel 3 x's in 3 years. Each time I told hubby, how did we get to be so lucky that I can enjoy this and all it "cost" me is a few hours (OK, maybe 5-6, but sill...) of writing, instead of being the one who went to work at 3am to cook breakfast for the hotel guests.

I'm sorry, but I don't know which hotel chain the OP referred to, because I don't shop for Coyle.

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

~Polish Proverb~

NO send me to one of the worse hotels in this major city Had to do more than 20 pages of a report explaining why it was so bad even though I had pictures.Then I had to threaten them to get my money refunded ...

deleted

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2012 02:34PM by MotherDaughterTeam.

I was contacted directly by Coyle about an upscale golf resort 3-day/3 night shop. They were anxious to get it done within the following week. I agreed to do it but when I received the instructions I was floored by the number of items they wanted me to do, there were close to 60 separate things to report on like evaluating the front desk service when getting locked out of your room every day for 3 days, ordering drinks several times a day at different meals, etc, etc. The round of golf itself had over 10 different steps to evaluate and all names had to be collected. The final bill was to be charged to my credit card and would have been close to $1500. Who can afford to pay this much and risk not getting reimbursed because of missing some piece of data?

Therin lies the rub, miker32us!

Those with the money to face non-reumbursement would probably never put up with the shop requirements. That why you next to be extra-double-super prepared for these shops.

$1,500 is a drop in the bucket. Sometimes my hotel bills have been in excess of $5,000. You gotta check and re-check everything, or risk loosing your money.

It truly begs the question; Is it worth it?

My answer is...sometimes! For a hotel in a nearby town that I do not want to go to...No way. For an all expense paid vacation somewhere I want to go...sure.

I gotta say, I have had some of the most amazing travel experiences over the past decade, and I could not have done it without the help of this company. I still sweat the details of every assignment because I know what's on the line, but I really enjoy the fine dining and 5-star properties, and simply cannot afford top travel like that without MSing.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:25AM by CAscotch.

I can tell you that's how I always do it, CAscotch.

I can't guarantee that policy would always be available, but I've done hundreds of hotel evaluations and never had an issue with the adding a day or two to the trips.

I do recommend ALWAYS saving the evaluation for the end, since otherwise you end up working on the hotel report from another hotel room in an exotic location, that you are paying for, which kinda sucks. Writing on the flight home gives you something to do as well....

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I gotta say, I have had some of the most amazing
> travel experiences over the past decade, and I
> could not have done it without the help of this
> company. I still sweat the details of every
> assignment because I know what's on the line, but
> I really enjoy the fine dining and 5-star
> properties, and simply cannot afford top travel
> like that without MSing.

I have gotten great reviews in 4-5 years of shopping hotels. So good to find out I am not the only experienced hotel shopper who sweats every report.
Steve, are you able to bring a guest along to the out of state/country shops, or do you shop alone? I am pretty sure they would not pay for two airline tickets, right?

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

~Polish Proverb~

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:25AM by CAscotch.

It varies from assignment to assignment, but I would say the majority of shops pay travel for one, and will allow two guests at the hotel and cover all of the hotel related expenses. Some hotels will allow the travel expense to be used both evaluator and guest.

I actually find that nonsensical in situations where you are being sent to a luxury resort that caters to honeymooners and only travel expenses for one are covered. Who would go to one of those hotel alone!

I have either handled it by each of us taking an assignment (2 hotels in the same area), covering travel for both that way, or using miles gained from the shops to get a free ticket for my guest. At other times, I will visit cities where old friends from school are living and have them come by for meals and such.

The personal value to me of going to a honeymoon style destination alone is non-existant, since it would really piss my GF off, and I would be bored and alone. Luckily, she has never been to a 5-star hotel that wasn't a mystery shop, so she things that wake up calls every day and taking pictures of the room service breakfast are a normal way of life (I'm mostly kidding about that).

I've been trying to get shops with them. I have read that you have to prove yourself first before getting the great hotel and cruise shops. Have applied for a couple of phone shops without much success. How hard is it to break through to get assigned?

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