Hotel shop?

This board is so vast and full of info and I am still learning how to navigate. Have been doing mystery shopping for a few months now and I am doing pretty well so far.

This year I have many trips coming up with one kid graduating college and one leaving for college so I would love to learn more about hotel mystery shops and who offers them. This would be mostly for the East Coast area.

I have about 8 apps on my phone currently and I have not seen any hotels so I am sure there are some specific to that. Plus, how hard is it to break into that area? I have been doing some research and it seems they look for experienced people to do these.

I am still combing through the forum looking for more info but figured I would ask in the meantime. Everyone in this forum is so informative. Thank you!

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More About Hotel Mystery Shopping

Keep reading.... there have been many discussions about this. There are several companies, none of which use an app. You are going to have to expand beyond app shopping if you want to do hotels.

Searching this forum will provide lots of useful and accurate info.

To sum up:

1. Be comfortable with detailed, fine dining restaurant reports prior to attempting hotels.

2. Lots and lots of narrative writing: On average (different MSC may deviate) - One night stay - 10 pages in Word plus the shop forms, Two night stays - 17 pages, Three night stays - 24 pages

3. Different hotel MSCs use different terminology and focus on different aspects of the hotels - don't mix them up

4. These shops are a great mini vacation for your guest, you'll be working from the 6AM Wake Up call until the 11 PM bar evaluation and anything/everything in between.

5. Strict time management is a must!

Given the above, do I still do it? Yes! Why? It appeals to my frugal side to stay at $600+ a night hotels, eat at the top notch restaurants and drive away knowing that all the expenses will be reimbursed and a fee will be earned as well

My best suggestion would be to start by looking for a hotel shop in your local area to get your feet wet and get a feel for what they require. Look at it like any other on the job training. Hotel shops can definitely be labor intensive, and they are often looking for very specific information depending on their brand. They are also high dollar up front, and you will be a lot less stressed if you learn what you are dealing with from the start, like before you are on the road.

The higher end hotel and resort shops may or may not suit your mentioned needs simply because of how labor intensive they tend to be. As noted above, with some of them, you are not going to have much, if any time for anything else when you are on assignment. However, I have helped to fund a lot of little road trips by shopping the mid-range hotels. They are not quite so labor intensive as the resorts and upscale hotels, and they may be the better choice if the purpose of your trip is not to actually spend the whole time evaluating the facility and doing your report.

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
"Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln

Thanks for sharing. Newbie here -2 5G shops

. I'd love to get into hotels - - with the caveat that I should have *some* earthly reason to be there. I actually enjoy narratives - as a matter of fact one of my online reviews for a lux hotel years ago got picked up by a business Author. Not a big deal - but I got a free book and bragging rights

. I've written so many long reviews about cruises and hotels I'm sure not as in depth as a "shop"....but nevertheless this is something I'd actually like. Would be nice to have a break - and also if done right, the right credit card points can be earned. I guess it's fishing - figuring out which MSC does what and then somehow showing them I can do it. I'm hoping part of that is doing the Five Guys, or the H/R block pics, doing it well and getting some sort of history they can see. And if not, well, it's cool to get paid to eat burgers so far.

Check out Coyle. Simple, short report, done in 10 minutes. (Just joking. Coyle is the worst of the worst)

A Closer Look just entered the room lol
(I've done one shop from each, Coyle's reporting was far easier for my experience.)

@Maryanne J wrote:

Check out Coyle. Simple, short report, done in 10 minutes. (Just joking. Coyle is the worst of the worst)

Greg
South Florida: Broward and Palm Beach County

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Thanks for sharing. Newbie here -2 5G shops . I'd love to get into hotels - - with the caveat that I should have *some* earthly reason to be there. I actually enjoy narratives - as a matter of fact one of my online reviews for a lux hotel years ago got picked up by a business Author. Not a big deal - but I got a free book and bragging rights . I've written so many long reviews about cruises and hotels I'm sure not as in depth as a "shop"....but nevertheless this is something I'd actually like. Would be nice to have a break - and also if done right, the right credit card points can be earned. I guess it's fishing - figuring out which MSC does what and then somehow showing them I can do it. I'm hoping part of that is doing the Five Guys, or the H/R block pics, doing it well and getting some sort of history they can see. And if not, well, it's cool to get paid to eat burgers so far.

@GSRshops wrote:

A Closer Look just entered the room lol
(I've done one shop from each, Coyle's reporting was far easier for my experience.)

@Maryanne J wrote:

Check out Coyle. Simple, short report, done in 10 minutes. (Just joking. Coyle is the worst of the worst)

The ACL hotel shops I found easy. Coyle shops I refuse to do at this point. A restaurant alone would take me five hours to report.

i have zero doubt that you are a good writer. i just want to share that a hotel narrative has very little similarity to a hotel review. outside of both being a narrative, the hotel shop is dry and mechanical.

hotel shops are the only types of shops i do these days. if you want “free time” during the shop, the only realistic company is A Closer Look. if you sign up for the other hotel-focused MSCs, you will spend 90% of your time at the resort…

Seconding LindaM's comment.
The narratives are strictly on what the client wants to know about, purely factual, with no room for personal opinion or (God forbid) suggestions.

I am actually signed up with ACL for the past few months but there have been no hotel jobs in my area at all. I don't think I would use it as a vacation, as least to start with, more like a night away from the family and some peace and quiet with a laptop.

You will not see ACL hotel shops on their job board until you have established a record with their other shops showing that you are reliable, excellent at adhering to shop guidelines, and impartial.

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.

Good to know. There is literally nothing except one restaurant and they are all taken. Will just keep an eye out. Thanks.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2023 11:16PM by Datagirl.

@Datagirl - remove your reference to the Mystery Shopping Company’s client. Against the forum rules and the agreement you signed with the MSC

Service with Style has some simple hotel mystery shops. This may just be in Canada for all I know.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2023 10:56PM by prince.

No, doing 5Guys won't help you. That MSC doesn't have hotels & they aren't the type to talk to another MSC to recommend you. Start working with smaller MSC. The ones that actually 'know' their shoppers. My advice, under schedule and over deliver with the small jobs for these types of MSC.[/quote]

Thank you very much. Can anyone say a few MSCs that are small and eventually have relationships with shoppers? Thanks

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

No, doing 5Guys won't help you. That MSC doesn't have hotels & they aren't the type to talk to another MSC to recommend you. Start working with smaller MSC. The ones that actually 'know' their shoppers. My advice, under schedule and over deliver with the small jobs for these types of MSC.

Thank you very much. Can anyone say a few MSCs that are small and eventually have relationships with shoppers? Thanks[/quote]

Sign up with as many companies as you can. Most of us here had to put in the work to make our business what we wanted it to be. Time for you to do the same.

Thanks, Signed up for a few more. One asked for a writing sample to describe a picture of an entree (looked like nothing I'd order lol) but I dressed up my description, I feel hit every point I could and made the vocabulary better than sophomoric, but not conceited. Initially I see some mid-level dining shops offered to me but as you said, less volume more quality in some cases.

I am on the East coast and have been shopping for over 15 years. I have only found one company to do them for, and it is very in-depth narrative and minimal pay. The reimbursements for a meal and drink are fair and hotel cost of a standatd room is reimbursed.

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