Doing a Hotel Audit on First Time Mystery Shop?

Hi everybody,

I am a first-time mystery shopper. I am hoping to do some mystery shopping to make it cheaper to travel more often during the wintertime.

Is it unwise for a first-timer to try to apply for (or try to complete) a hotel shop/audit? If so, how should I start so I can do MS jobs with hotels and airlines?

I signed up at Coyle and viewed several job postings for hotels. I looked at documents related to one large brand-name hotel chain and it was almost 15 pages. I am okay with going into the extreme detail they're asking for, and taking 100+ photos as they request. However, it seems like almost every page has a warning that failure to do X or failure to take photos of Y will result in your report being rejected. I assume that means no reimbursement or fee for doing the job.

I got the feeling that this company is almost looking for reasons to avoid paying the shopper for their work. Am I just being paranoid? Do all companies do this sort of thing, where they name lots of stipulations and rules but don't itemize and summarize those all-important points on one page to make them crystal clear? Do companies look for reasons to not pay?

If these questions are already answered in another post, please let me know.

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"Do all companies do this sort of thing, where they name lots of stipulations and rules but don't itemize and summarize those all-important points on one page to make them crystal clear?"
Yes, yes, yes. I agree it is a big PITA. Ironically, the repetition of threats actually makes it easier to miss a vital part of the guidelines. I'm a big fan of bullet points rather than having to hunt for the pertinent information in a hodge podge of various fonts and colors.

"Do companies look for reasons to not pay?"
No. In general the MSC does not want to reject a shop. By the time someone completes an assignment, there is already an investment of time from the scheduler and editor. When possible most MSCs will work with the shopper to get the report submitted. Of course it will vary as each company has their own policies and some errors cannot be fixed.

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^^^^Agreed with Lisa above....but take in account the reason for the warnings is likely due to shoppers neglecting the items in question.

Also, the Coyle shop you refer to does try to summarize the points. It's just that there are so many of them it takes 15 pages. That's in addition to the multi-page resource center you are required to know for the assignments.

I would absolutely NOT recommend attempting to do one of those as s first-time assignment. And if you had read the resource center, you would know that Coyle likes shoppers to have a few smaller assignments under their belt before taking on a hotel. Your chances of getting a hotel as a new shopper (unless you a located in an extremely remote area that has no other shoppers) are very small.

Most hotel/lifestyle shoppers take some time to get to where they can get the really good assignments. It took a few years for me.

@Iowndat You will want to try a few retail/restaurant shops before taking on a Hotel/Resort. Figure that an overnight shop will INCLUDE a retail/giftshop report + a dining/roomservice report + check-in + room service + security + bar integrity +++ and +++. It's like doing 10 reports in one day. Just don't get it in you head that it's a free & easy way to travel.

I had to do some restaurant shops beforecoyle would allow me to do hotels. They definitely want to pay shoppers for work.

@SteveSoCal Thanks for the input. Where do I find this Resource Center? The only thing resembling that that displays on my screen when I log in is a link labeled tutorial, which I've been unable to view as it requires a new version of Flash (which the rest of the internet has been doing away with). I was actually looking for something with details. Is this tutorial link the Resource Center?

EDIT: I just logged in and saw it. It was not there yesterday or earlier today. I am checking it out now.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2018 04:49PM by Iowndat.

When you log in, it's directly under the Shopper Tutorial (at least it is on my page).

Edited to add that the Shopper Tutorial is just a basic instruction on how to navigate through Shop Metrics. The Resource Center is a separate link located underneath the Shopper Tutorial.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2018 04:52PM by JASFLALMT.

@JASFLALMT; Yes, the resource center is very subtly located for such an important collection of information.

I know it's mainly a result of how Shopmetrics functions, but it would be nice if they could install a feature where new users would at least have to click the rough the documents like a user agreement before applying for assignments.

@Monk-N-Nut; The audits the OP referred to are actually not standard Coyle assignments and don't require nearly the amount of time as standard mystery shops. While not free, they are an easy way to travel once you learn the format, but I think they reserve the assignments for long-term proven evaluators.

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