I asked this question of the Coyle scheduler and got a response that had nothing to do with my question other than stating that the specific requirements would be sent to me after shop acceptance..... I've emailed back asking the same question again, worded differently, but.... I'm wondering if folks on here would have some insights.

I am eyeing a two-night stay at an upscale hotel (max reimbursement of $300/night). It is not listed as one of their "all-inclusive" shops. The description available to me does not give any hint as to what sort of interactions will be required during my stay. Will I need to report on check-in and check-out only? Will I need to eat a certain number of meals onsite? Will I need to use room service once, twice, thrice? Will I need to take advantage of their amenities or spa services? Etc. In a nutshell, is this a shop that I can effectively use as an overnight stay and home base for a multi-day route, or will I pretty much be stuck at the hotel?

That scheduler would go on anyone's 10 foot pole list, IMHO.

I have never been able to use a Coyle hotel while on a full route due to the work involved.
I have completed a 2 night audit that appeared to leave 'extra' free time from the description that turned into a picture NIGHTMARE with the editor. (Think hundreds of pictures resized according to guidelines & uploaded then asked for the pictures in regular size sent via email which means only a few per email)

Reported on
Valet
Bell services
Check in staff
Room conditions
Laundry service
2x room service
Hotel restaurant
3rd party food delivery
(No spa at this hotel)
Concierge service
Check out

I am hoping that the scheduler responded in haste and simply did not read the question correctly.... I'm hoping for a response to my follow-up email that, at the least, responds to my question.... There are some other things Coyle offers that intrigue me a lot more, but, having never shopped for them, I want to test the waters (and establish myself with them) on less involved shops. I can work with a scheduler that is less-than-forthcoming if I can get the information I need here.

I have been shopping Coyle for a few years. I wouldn't ever consider a hotel with them "testing the waters."I think I have the specific two night stay you're referring to, or brand at least. There are roughly 20 interactions that must be made. I think there is a healthy amount of time allotted to that in two nights, but it is not a minimal interaction type of property.

Hundreds of pictures sent via email and uploaded? That seems nuts.

Does $75 + reimbursement sound like what they offered you? The shop I am eyeing does not call it an "audit," but..... If I don't hear something different from the scheduler, this tells me that I want to avoid the shop. Yuck.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

I have never been able to use a Coyle hotel while on a full route due to the work involved.
I have completed a 2 night audit that appeared to leave 'extra' free time from the description that turned into a picture NIGHTMARE with the editor. (Think hundreds of pictures resized according to guidelines & uploaded then asked for the pictures in regular size sent via email which means only a few per email)

Reported on
Valet
Bell services
Check in staff
Room conditions
Laundry service
2x room service
Hotel restaurant
3rd party food delivery
(No spa at this hotel)
Concierge service
Check out

20 interactions and Coyle's legendary reports? That hardly seems worth the $75.... Yeah, this sounds like a hard pass....

@nolimitem wrote:

I have been shopping Coyle for a few years. I wouldn't ever consider a hotel with them "testing the waters."I think I have the specific two night stay you're referring to, or brand at least. There are roughly 20 interactions that must be made. I think there is a healthy amount of time allotted to that in two nights, but it is not a minimal interaction type of property.

People do Coyle’s hotels for the experience or to get to the premium rewards level, not for the pay. Steve will spend an entire day writing up the report.

...and if it's a first time, do not schedule ANYTHING else during the evaluation. The $75 doesn't even really cover the time it takes to write the narrative, much less be on property.

Two night stays generally have at least 2 meals and 1 bar, plus often a spa, and a multitude of tests that need to be done. I'd say about the equivalent of 4 to 5 of the standard bar/dinner evaluations in terms of reporting.

I can usually schedule 1 dinner outside the hotel when I am doing them now, but I also have 1-2 days of work to do when I get back home!

It usually takes me 8 or more hours to report, depending. I didn't mind, I got to stay in some nice hotels and really enjoyed it.

And.... seeing as I have no desire to just hang out in a hotel (however nice it might be), this shop would be so not worth it for me.

Yeah, doesn't sound like it. I did them as a treat for me and my husband. I selected locations near casinos and he got to gamble while i did my interactions, then we enjoyed the FB outlets together. They do have a stay that is more of an audit and gives the shopper a lot of free time otherwise. I think Steve mentioned he had done that one before.

@JASFLALMT I'm able to do the audit-style evaluations in a lot less time. The more you do, the easier it gets, so for a 2-night stay, I can get a full 24 hours of free time during the evaluations. The check in and check out days are the only time you have to really be working if you organize it well.

It's basically one day on for each day off, so I have been able to group repeated hotels for affordable vacations that way. I got a week in Tokyo and another in Paris last year with no hotel costs whatsoever, severely reduced food costs, a little extra travel $$ to offset the flights and plenty of time to sightsee.....

That's what I thought, but I didn't want to "speak" for you. I was sure you would chime in with the facts and not what I "thought" you had posted before about it.

This is my favorite hotel chain, although I'm looking for five stars in my very near future. I've never done a hotel for Coyle, so I'm a little nervous. But I honestly can't foresee it being THAT bad. It looks straight forward and manageable. I booked a dinner eval outside of the hotel, because it only includes one dinner and one breakfast for two nights. I still think I can manage that. I mention this often, but mystery shopping is for sure a lifestyle enhancement for me. It is not entirely about the money, but the more you guys teach me, the more it becomes that. I've been doing ACL hotels for no fee, but I'm learning.
For the record, ACL has really nice hotels here. I don't think that's the case in a lot of places. Hotels have become the following things to me: I will do them if I know I like a property; I will do them if I need to gain status with a new MSC; I will do them if I'm traveling and don't want to pay for a hotel; I will do them to earn lifetime status with a hotel loyalty program. I'm no longer just doing them because they're there.

I think it's worth pointing out that the audit evaluation that Steve is talking about that is manageable and gives him one day of work for one day of no-work is the same one that luckygirl is saying is a photo NIGHTMARE. That speaks to the fact that a) YMMV and b) that shops and MSP are scalable! The first time you do it is going to be tough, but it does get easier. This also means that doing a Coyle hotel shop as your first ever Coyle shop is just not a good idea for so many reasons. I consider myself a fairly advanced shopper. I can do back to back Coyle shops and be okay and I can do a Coyle dinner report in under 60 minutes and get a good score. My first Coyle shop took me probably 3 hours to write up and I got a really quite poor score...

I so want to be you all when I grow up! I'm still doing ACL hotels for no fee but I am, of course, getting hotel and CC points. I've finally managed to get a few phone jobs with Coyle and I am hoping that will at least get me established as a reliable shopper so I can move up to the big girl jobs.

@MickeyB wrote:

The first time you do it is going to be tough, but it does get easier.

And I certainly didn't mean to imply that anyone could get a 50/50 work to vacation ratio out of the starting gate. I have performed around 100 of these audits over the past few years honed my system. It includes a combination of knowing the photo requirements, having an organized system of handing the photos and utilizing a variety of software options to expedite the photo processing. If you are using the app to upload photos directly you will probably have no free time and the audit will be a nightmare.

I think Mickey and I managed to get in a round of golf, painting class and renting a private island for the day during one of these, though....

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I think Mickey and I managed to get in a round of golf, painting class and renting a private island for the day during one of these, though....

And a photo shoot with Flamingos...

@MFJohnston wrote:

In a nutshell, is this a shop that I can effectively use as an overnight stay and home base for a multi-day route . . .?

No. Whether it be an audit or a full-scale evaluation, no - not if you've never completed a hotel survey for them before. Even then, probably not.

However, you received a reply from the scheduler, even though you're not even scheduled for the assignment. Kudos to you!

I'm new here but I'll just weigh in and say that I've done many high-end hotels and other travel-related shops and I have found Coyle's expectations to be perfectly reasonable given the nature of the job. In the beginning? A steep learning curve, as with any job. But the shops are definitely scaleable. Just my two cents.

My question was not about whether or not the work was reasonable given the nature of the job, rather:
* What is the nature of the job? For the purpose of planning and being able to guarantee being able to properly complete the work without neglecting other commitments, I needed a sense of what the expectations are going to be of the IC who takes the job.

Along side that, comes the follow-up question:
Setting aside the "joy" of staying in the hotel for a couple of nights (as that is a reward I do not value), is the work commensurate with the compensation? Once I determined whether or not the work was feasible given my constraints, would it be something for which I found the compensation adequate. As I have yet to hear back from the scheduler, I am relying on the above inputs (thank you everybody). I am not looking for the "experience" of a fancy hotel stay, so is the $75 compensation adequate for two nights in the hotel, multiple interactions, several meals and several hours of report writing. No.

All of that brings up a concern that places this on a 10 ft. pole list for me:
Being able to plan out my route timing is imperative to my success and reliability as a shopper. The fact that the scheduler would not share what time commitment was required in order to perform the shop - especially one that is almost certainly very involved - is concerning. As an IC, it is imperative that I know what I'm getting into before having to commit. If I can't get a general idea what the expectation for my time is before committing to a shop, I will simply not take a shop.

@sharisavage wrote:

I'm new here but I'll just weigh in and say that I've done many high-end hotels and other travel-related shops and I have found Coyle's expectations to be perfectly reasonable given the nature of the job. In the beginning? A steep learning curve, as with any job. But the shops are definitely scaleable. Just my two cents.

Yup. That about sums it up.

@MFJohnston

Here's SOME of what you should expect in a package of surveys:

Reservations Call - Time and Date of call, formatted to their specifications. How many rings? Correct scripted greeting? Opening quote? Type of rooms available and their features? Did they ask for the sale? Closing quote? Narrative. (This alone took 10 paragraphs.)

Valet - Time and Date? Greeting? Assistance with vehicle? Assistance exiting from vehicle? Opening quote? Closing quote? Narrative.

Bell Arrival/Acclimation/Departure - Time and Date? Greeting? Assistance with luggage? Opening quote? Closing quote? 3 separate narratives.

Front Desk Arrival - Time and Date? Greeting? Opening quote? Room and rate? Closing quote? Narrative.

Housekeeping - Initial Impression/Stay Over/Turn Down/Request - Capture images of where luggage placed. Images of room from different angles. Images of defects. Four separate narratives. Numerous images - initial/before/after. Scheduled for a two-night assignment? It's possible that you test stay over and turn down service twice.

Service Recovery - Time and Date? Greeting? Opening quote? Sense of urgency? Issue resolved? Closing quote? Narrative.

Room Service - Time and Date of call, formatted to their specifications. How many rings? Correct scripted greeting? Knowledge of menu? Did they upsell? Did they ask for the sale? Expected delivery time? Closing quote? Arrival time? Temperature of food? Expectations met? Table set up correctly? Order correct and complete? Opening quote? Closing quote? Tray pick up request. Tray pick up time. Images of covered plates. Images of uncovered plates. Narrative.

Facility - Similar to room, but instead for the property.

Maintenance - Similar to Service Recovery.

Pool - Specific to the pool.

Fitness Center - Specific to the Fitness Center.

Bar - Well if you're up to a hotel shop, then you know what to expect.

Lounge - See above.

Dinner - See above, in addition to separate narratives for reservations process/call, management, food/facility.

Breakfast - See above.

Spa - reservations, facility, treatment, service recovery, cashier - times required. Five separate narratives. Six, if you test retail.

Front Desk Observation - Observe for 30 minutes. You know the drill.

Bell Observation - See above.

Wake Up Call Request - Time and Date? How many rings? Greeting? Opening quote? Closing quote? Narrative.

Wake Up Call Receipt - Time and Date? How many rings? Greeting? Opening quote? Did they provide the day's weather forecast? Did they offer coffee/tea/to connect you to In-Room Dining? Closing quote? Narrative.

PBX - Time and Date? How many rings? Greeting? Opening quote? Closing quote? Narrative.

Bell Departure Interaction - See above.

Front Desk Departure Interaction - Yep, by now you know what they're looking for. Narrative.

Valet Departure Interaction - See above.

Subjective/Overall Impression - Let loose with your subjective opinions. "Tell the client what they might not know."

If it's the client with the little "boutique" properties throughout the US, then you may also be testing their wine hour and complimentary morning coffee service.

One of my recent hotel evaluations had 37 pages of single-spaced, 10 pt. font text - just for the narratives. Expect to capture approximately 30-40 images that need to be uploaded, and formatted and labeled to their specifications.

You may also find this thread helpful: www.mysteryshopforum.com/read/6/447295/447633#msg-447633

@Professional Guest
Yeah, I’ve figured out that the shop is totally not for me. I could care less about having two nights in a nice hotel, so those expectations are totally not worth the measly $75 being offered.

@MFJohnston, if the pay for shops is your only interest, some MSC's will better a better fit than others, and Coyle is almost never going to be a good value in terms of pay for the amount of work required. They offer a specific style of reward for the labor that almost always involves an experience being the main component of the exchange....and the starter shops are generally just to get in line for the chance to take on the larger shops.

That said, while each shopper has their own goals, mine is having experiences, and I don't know of any other MSC that offers such a wide array of shops that meet my needs. Agreed the $75 is measly, and it's not why I take the shops.

If your question to the scheduler was equivalent to, "How much work is required for the $75 pay," then the response you received was most likely commensurate with their interest in having you take the assignment. Coyle offers a resource center via the link in Shopmetrics that has details for what is expected on dining and hotel assignments, and almost every hotel post lists the meal requirements, so there's an expectation that you have already absorbed that information before requesting any assignments. If your question was based on knowing the details of the reporting requirements already posted, and you wanted to know specifically what the other requirements for the assignment may be, the response would probably then be based more on your previous experience with the company and overall score, which could also still represent their interest in having you perform the assignment. Either way, the whole point of the application/assignment process is to pair appropriate evaluators with assignments.

Don't think that just because an assignment sits on the job board that they don't have applicants. They sit on assignments for a variety of reasons. Coyle has a large number of shoppers interested in their type of shops, and that's what they focus on. It's an extremely small scheduling team and so answers to questions are prioritized....

@SteveSoCal
Yes, I recognize all that. I was simply revisiting options with MSC's for which I never/rarely shop to see if they had new clients, shops, etc. Here is my initial email and response (names deleted) with the scheduler:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RESPONSE:

Good day!

Thank you for reaching out in regard to hotel opportunities offered by Coyle clients. To clarify, hotel evaluations are booked with your credit card. Those charges are then reversed by the client back to your credit card within a few weeks after the stay or refunded by the client during the normal remittance cycle. If the charges are to be refunded via PayPal, that information will be indicated in the client survey details.

Client reimbursements typically include: the room rate, tax, parking, pre-approved travel and meals and/or activities that are a part of the offered opportunity. All of this information is provided in the opportunity description and reiterated in greater detail by the client once an evaluator accepts and agrees to perform an opportunity.

Thank you for your interest in the client opportunities and feel free to make any opportunity requests online.
_______________________________

XXXX XXXXXXX
Operations Coordinator
Coyle Hospitality Group
web: www.coylehospitality.com

IMPORTANT: NEW SUPPORT EMAIL HOURS
9 AM to 8:00 PM EST - Monday-Friday
Support Line is CLOSED on Weekends

(Please be sure all questions are sent on weekdays to avoid any delay)
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXX XXXXXX
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2020 5:47pm
To: support@coylehospitality.com
Subject: Hotel XXXXXX Seattle: Two Night Stay


Greetings,
I have some interest in the two night stay at Hotel XXXXXX in Seattle (and similar shops). However, I would like to have a little more information before I apply. Primarily, would like clarification on what interactions are required during the course of the visit (restaurant, check-in, room service, spa, etc.) so as to be able to gauge how much time a shopper would spend on location in order to properly complete the shops.
Thank you for your time,
XXXXX XXXXXX

@MFJohnston wrote:

I was simply revisiting options with MSC's for which I never/rarely shop to see if they had new clients, shops, etc.

Well...seems like some of this is a misunderstanding. You sent the email to support, which is the best place to start if you don't have an existing relationship with a scheduler there, but you then received a scripted answer from support. You were not interacting with the scheduler who would have assigned the shop.

They really should have linked you to the resource center because a lot of the information you were seeking is supplied there. The listing itself for that hotel group specifies: Includes 1 breakfast and 1 room service dinner at most locations.

The resource center has examples for each of the following that could then be inferred to be included with the assignment. It also discusses a number of best practices and time requirements for performing hotel assignments

Reservations
Bell/Door Arrival
Bell/Door Acclimation
Bell/Door During the Stay
Bell/Door Departure
Bell/Door Final Impression
Front Office Arrival
Front Office During the Stay
Front Office Concierge
Front Office PBX Phone
Front Office Departure
Housekeeping: Guestroom Cleanliness
Housekeeping: Stayover Service
Housekeeping: Interactions/Requests
Engineering
Public Areas Inspection
Food & Beverage: Room Service Order
Food & Beverage: Room Service Delivery
Food & Beverage: F&B Outlet

I'm guessing that support gets a lot of questions like this and they are not really doing a very good job of educating shoppers when the reply with scripted answers that don't give shoppers the opportunity to to discover the online resources that are available.

The issue seems to more with how the MSC handles requests than a scheduler being rude or not answering specific questions....

In the past, I have reached out directly to the hotel scheduler for information about an assignment, and had them offer to send me the specific guidelines.

At first I was confused by MFJohnston's questions - thinking, but all of this is really quite detailed out in the Evaluator Resource Center - including what is generally included, how much time a typical 2-night stay write up should take, etc. But then I went and looked at the current Resource Center and I get why the questions now. While it does have examples of the different sections and what could be included in a hotel assignment, it is not clear what, if any, are typically, usually, and/or always included in an assignment. If you had never done a hotel for Coyle before, there would be no way to know what to expect and there could be some major disconnect between expectation and reality.

The email response exchange looks like a copy and paste response that is sent out to anyone with questions about hotel evaluations.

It's really puzzling why they took down so much of the useful content in the old Resource Center...

Thank you. I really had no idea what they expected for visits, etc. I was fully anticipating a very, very, very detailed report. What I did not know is how many different areas they were going to want shopped - which would tell me approximately how much time I would have to commit to making the visits and give a hint at the amount of time I would need to spend reporting on them.

I've been around and can usually get a decent idea what sort of time a shop will take. I then plan to spend two to three times that my first time through (as it always takes longer the first time and I acknowledge that I am very capable of making incorrect estimates). I just could not find anything substantial in the shop description to tell me what I needed to know. The response to my email inquiry did not help, either. I actually sent a follow-up to that and have not received a response.

It was actually frustrating. There are some things I might consider doing with Coyle at some point, but it bothers me that I can't get basic shop information before applying.

@MickeyB wrote:

At first I was confused by MFJohnston's questions - thinking, but all of this is really quite detailed out in the Evaluator Resource Center - including what is generally included, how much time a typical 2-night stay write up should take, etc. But then I went and looked at the current Resource Center and I get why the questions now. While it does have examples of the different sections and what could be included in a hotel assignment, it is not clear what, if any, are typically, usually, and/or always included in an assignment. If you had never done a hotel for Coyle before, there would be no way to know what to expect and there could be some major disconnect between expectation and reality.

The email response exchange looks like a copy and paste response that is sent out to anyone with questions about hotel evaluations.

It's really puzzling why they took down so much of the useful content in the old Resource Center...