Hotel mystery shops

I am still having trouble finding companies that have some hotel/motel mystery shops. We travel a lot and I'm trying to get hooked up with companies that have these. Any advice?? I'm trying jobslinger but haven't found anything.

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More About Hotel Mystery Shopping

Type "hotel shop" in the search feature and scroll down the list a bit. You'll begin to see some companies named. Be sure to read the thread to see other shopper's feedback. It is valuable.

Jobslinger will rarely have hotel shops listed, even for companies who offer them, unless they are in remote or undesirable locations. Many companies that shop resort type hotels will want you to do some lesser shops for them first before being considered for the hotel assignments as well.

Know also that not all hotel shops are created equal. While some may consist of checking into a hotel just to see if a certain item is present in the room, others will require full use of all the facilities at the hotel and a 30 page narrative.

The two MSCs that I do hotels for have their shops snapped up within minutes (and I *do* mean minutes) of their hitting the "send" button on their emails to registered shoppers.

Extensive written reports are the norm.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

I haven't seen any Hotel assignments lately...Steve, where are you???

Live consciously....

When I had done both the simple hotel shops (reimburse stay + small fee) and complex hotel shops (the famous/infamous 30 page reports), I thought it would be cool to find some simples to cover lodging on a fairly routine type trip (i.e. major cities, flexibility in road time and trip inception/return dates). We knew 3 months in advance the earliest date we could check in to a friend's time share and the latest date we could check out. We didn't care if we were there the maximum possible stay.

I spent those 3 months watching the job boards of companies for hotel stays and even contacted several of them to check availability of upcoming shops that would work. There were shops two months and one month ahead of our trip and shops two months after our trip, but we were not able to get a single hotel that worked--and this was not in prime touristy season in the areas we were passing through.

Attempting the complex hotel shops on a 'vacation' to me is folly. I did use one to snag a visit with a distant child, who ended up being my 'companion' for the hotel visit, but the shop was the time determinant for the visit rather than just being something to do during a visit.

I've found that it's easier to plan the vacation around the shops, rather than planning the vacation first and looking for a shop to fit into it. That can be frustrating if you have to schedule vacation time from work, however.

I can't tell you how many times I have been off work for a few weeks with no decent hotels offered, only to see a really great assignment then offered the same week I have to go back to work. If you know the frequency that the hotels are shopped (monthly, quarterly, yearly), you can sometimes plan on them showing up pretty far in advance and perhaps make a deal with the scheduler.

I have two more hotel assignments scheduled before I go back to work in April, and I'm probably just going to keep it at that. I don't feel as comfortable having a lot of money out of my 'kitty' these days. Even the hotels that offer reversal still have a lot of travel expenses and cash outlay when on assignment.

I do a LOT of hotel shops (about 2-3 a month) - these days they are really all I do (except for a few airport shops and the occ. restaurant that is separate from the hotel) - but I agree with Steve, it is much easier to plan the vacation around the shop then plan the hotel shop around the vacation.

But... if you happen to be in the area where they have work, a good company for "easy" hotel shops that allow quite a bit of time for other things is A Closer Look. The places are not upscale (usually) and they only allow for reimbursement, but that might fit the bill.

Coyle has restaurant,hotel, cruise shops.

Avoid FreemanGroup! I did 2 shops for them in Oct and still haven't been paid. I have emailed and they stopped responding to that so I am calling now. So far I haven't received a thing but empty promises.

~K~

They sent out a global email Jan 29 indicating that shops would be paid on or before Feb 15 and that if you weren't paid there would be follow up information. I was not paid for Nov and about 12 days ago contacted them. I did get a response with no update on payment date. Today I emailed again and was told that payments should be going out next week and mine should be in it. Now hopefully an Oct payment would be getting paid prior to a Nov because the 'squeaky wheel' syndrome is not fair to other shoppers. But I'm about done.

It seems from other posts that squeaky wheels win out with Freeman, and those who they simply need for another shop.

Taking shops for them seems just prolonging the inevitable at this point, since the situation appears to be getting worse, rather than better. Shoppers have been financially propping up this company for too long.

I know it's hard to pass up that seemingly free fine dining assignment or hotel stay, but you have to imagine how much better things would be if the clients moved to an adequately capitalized company that could actually pay you within 30 days.

SteveSoCal Wrote:

> I know it's hard to pass up that seemingly free
> fine dining assignment or hotel stay, but you have
> to imagine how much better things would be if the
> clients moved to an adequately capitalized company
> that could actually pay you within 30 days.

Yea. Hopefully that is what Restaurant Evaluators clients are doing... :-)

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton

dee shops Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yea. Hopefully that is what Restaurant Evaluators
> clients are doing... :-)

Saw another one make the move last month.

Hopefully the others will wise up soon and move on as well.

I became a squeaky wheel today, I filed a complaint with the BBB.

~K~

For which company? Freeman? Restaurant Evaluators?

Sorry for the long thread. The FreemanGroup Solutions, because that is who sent me the email that my payment was delayed. When I looked them up I found a complaint against them for contract issues.(link posted below)
I got a response from BBB today " We are sorry, the BBB cannot assist in any complaint that primarily involves issues of labor, employment or wage claim. You may wish to contact the Texas Workforce Commission at [www.twc.state.tx.us] or 800-832-2829."

It's too late for me to call today. I've been going from link to link trying to figure out where to file. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be told it is not a labor issue but a small claims issue.

I understand why these companies get away with this, no one has the time or energy to find the right channels to file a complaint and if they get their money they drop it. Back channeling seems the only recourse. If anyone has suggestions I welcome them.

[www.bbb.org]

~K~

That is because you classified it incorrectly. You are not an employee. There are other laws that govern employee/employer relationships and the BBB cannot assist with that. This is a contract issue. They did not fulfill their side of the contract you each made with each other. Refile. Use contract issue. Not that I think it will do more than put another black mark next to their name, but...it's there.

I did file it as a contract issue. I guess the BBB only gets involed if the company is contracted to perform a service and does not fulfill their obligation.

~K~

No, I filed for non-payment for Restaurant Evaluators. Many others did too. It is a contract. You do the job. If they accept the job, they owe you the money. They did not pay. They violated their end of the contract with you. There must be something in the language you used. I used to work as an HR Director, and so have knowledge of the employment laws. I can only think that the language you used must cross into the area of employment law. If you want to PM me what you wrote, I will take a look at it for you and see if that might be it.

It double posted! I deleted the second appearance.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2010 06:17AM by dee shops.

Thanks Dee,
Check your PMs. BTW I snooped around and found an email address for the CEO Bill Freeman. I think tomorrow I will forward the email I sent to him and see if it gets any attention. One thing is certian I will never do another evaluation for this company! I'm in the hole for the wasted hours attempting to be paid!

~K~

WooHoo. I just got payment from FreemanGroup after 4+ month of non-payment.

Yay! That is great.

Kimc1az, I am working with your text that you sent via PM right now. If you got paid today also, could you let me know?

I finally got paid!!! Done with that company!

~K~

Argh. I just got the email notice of this post. Right after I edited your text and PM'd it back to you. Glad you got paid.

To follow up here, after chatting extensively with Kim, it appears to me that the TX BBB might have constraints that deal with the employment laws within that state. For I filed in Illinois for the same type of complaint and the BBB had no issues with it. Every state has there own employment laws. Speaking as an ex-HR director, these will supercede federal laws (unless they somehow violate federal laws.)

Flash, did you get paid today, too?

I don't expect payment until Monday.

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