I have completed many fine dining restaurant evaluations for Coyle, so want to try my first hotel.

I see on the new shopmetrics platform, it tells you how many questions are on the survey. Also, some hotels have $50 reimbursement and others have $100. However, the amount of reimbursement doesn't always correlate with the amount of questions.

Since I am looking for a bit easier of one for my first hotel, would you guys go with the one with the least amount of questions or for the one with the lower reimbursement (because I am assuming that the higher reimbursement is for more difficult evaluations)? Thoughts?

Don't worry about the number of questions. Worry about the number of interactions and amount of wiring required, and the fee is often associated with that. The majority of the questions are simply checking a "YES" box and not having to write anything.

Lower fee is your best bet. There are also some single night evaluations that may be easier to start with. Don't take on anything that has a spa your first time out and I also recommend starting with a local hotel. It gets more complex when you have to add travel to the mix.

Thank you! I am not able to see all of the client requirements before I submit my application. Is there a way to view that?

Also, a fine dining dinner evaluation with bar takes me about 2.5-3 hours to write. With that as a benchmark, how long would you estimate it take me to write up a hotel? (I realize every person is different, but I'd like to know a tentative time investment)

Thankfully, I live in the same city as these evaluations. If I bid $25 or so for travel reimbursement to cover parking my car, is that OK or is that asking for too much? If I ever actually need to travel to a hotel and spend $100 or so, is that acceptable to ask for?

My suggestion to you is to look up the hotel you wish to visit. It has all the bells and whistles (spa/fine dining/etc), most likely you will be completing them all. If it is a lower end hotel, you will have more free time.

I recently completed a hotel with a minimal fee. I can assure you that the lower fee doesn't always mean less work/less writing. Check the hotel itself.

Parking at the hotel is included with all hotel shops so I would NOT include that as an expense. They pay milage at the standard federal rate, though, so you can bid for that. You get a feel for what's allowed with travel expenses over time. Some hotels only pay up to $75. Others are ok with $500 for the right evaluator.

You will not see the full requirements until you receive the assignment. You also get a feel for requirements over time from the postings.

For me, a dinner takes 1-1.5 hours to write up. The easiest hotel takes 8 hours, so that might be potentially double for you first time out. I generally leave myself a full day after my return from a hotel to write the report.

I checked out of one of the easier hotels yesterday. I wrote for about 5 hours when I was there, but also took an added dinner assignment in the area since I had one open meal. I wrote for another 3 hours on the trip home yesterday and still have probably 3 hours of work today to be completely finished. I also got 3 days away from home, all meal and my flights totally covered, so it's worth 8-12 hours for me.

I work fastest and best when working from home, because of my comfortable home office set up. 8 hours of work from my home office = 10-12 hours in an airport lounge, hotel room or on a flight. It's just not as productive with smaller screens and laptop keyboards.

@LindaM wrote:

I can assure you that the lower fee doesn't always mean less work/less writing.

Yes...some of the easier to schedule hotels (due to desirability) have lower fees.

I think the ones that offer 2 breakfasts and a single room service meal are good starter hotels, and they offer a decent fee. They don't have spa components and cover a lot of the food while you are there, plus evening cocktails. Breakfast are simple to write up and room service even simpler. I can write 2 breakfasts and a room service in the time it takes to write 1 dinner.

I agree. Look for the one-night hotel evaluations, without a pool, gym and/or spa component. Even better is when the property does not offer turn down service or additional perks, such as a hosted wine hour or complimentary morning coffee/tea service.

Sometimes you'll even get a friendly email that has a subject line that starts with, "Easier One Night Stay Available . . ."

I just want to say thank you. I really appreciate everyone's help. If you have any additional insights, I am here to listen!

Make sure to check out the resource center to get an idea of what a hotel evaluation can entail [coyleapps.com] . While they can be quite an undertaking, they can be a fantastic experience. Our clients have opportunities ranging from simple one night F&B only evaluations to resort style accommodations that require golf and/or spa evaluations with the stay. If you have a question about a particular evaluation, I would be happy to answer it. Please feel free to PM or email me at the address below. Good luck!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2016 08:41PM by mwentworth.

I've done secret-shopper light, relative to what y'all are talking about. I'll definitely bear in mind the advice here. Is there a good website you can recommend that gives a walkthrough of how to get it done right the first time?

[coyleapps.com]

@Advocate wrote:

I've done secret-shopper light, relative to what y'all are talking about. I'll definitely bear in mind the advice here. Is there a good website you can recommend that gives a walkthrough of how to get it done right the first time?

Advocate, I would start with some of the other MSC hotel shops first. If you're on the East Coast, Buckalew has some that are "beginner" shops. Even their advanced shops are not as much work as a Coyle shop.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2016 10:29AM by PasswordNotFound.

I prefer the Coyle Hotel shops that don't have a lot of food and beverage. If I want or need to be in the area where the hotel is located I am fine with paying for a meal or two on my own. In room dining reports are relatively quick to fill out and like Steve said I can complete a room service meal and a breakfast or two in the time it takes to do 1 dinner and bar evaluation as there are not multiple courses to time and as many interactions with different staff.

You mentioned every single place i'm not I'm in Oregon. I'm sticking my toe in the water already. We'll see how it goes. Nobody's first time is flawless so I'm not going to stress.

@Advocate wrote:

You mentioned every single place i'm not I'm in Oregon. I'm sticking my toe in the water already. We'll see how it goes. Nobody's first time is flawless so I'm not going to stress.

I'm in Oregon. Six Star Solutions has some hotels in Oregon. Their reports are a lot of work, however they are relatively easy compared to Coyle. Regardless of the time involved in writing a Coyle report they are my favorite simply for the experiences they allow me to have.

I'm definitely going for the more complex assignments but i need to get there in baby steps. Everything i've done so far has been pretty simplistic relative to this. I will check out Six Star

I noticed that some they pay up to 100. But here is the catch The rooms are more than 100. ​

And why is that a catch? They reimburse for the room

@stacysanford wrote:

I noticed that some they pay up to 100. But here is the catch The rooms are more than 100. ​

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2016 05:05PM by kimmiemae.

To clarify what kimmiemae is saying; The fee listed is in ADDITION to the reimbursement for the cost of the hotel stay, all F&B, any tips, plus any travel previously agreed upon.

Most of the hotels I do for Coyle range between $400 & $1,000 per night.

Correct. If I'm evaluating a property for Coyle, or for any other MSC, I would hope that the room is more than $100.00 a night. Lots more.

Thanks for clarifying Steve....I think I need more caffeine.