Types of Hotel Guest Complaints that You Must Avoid

In the hospitality industry, it is a must to keep up with the expectations of clients. When it comes to hotels, guest satisfaction counts a lot. It is important to ensure that their experience will be as satisfactory as possible.

However, hotel guest complaints still arise. This draws the line between a superb experience and a frustrating one. The key here is to learn from the mistakes of others to ensure that the same problem won’t happen in your hotel.

Here are some of the most common hotel guest complaints and tips on how to handle them.

The Most Common Hotel Guest Complaints

1. Noisy Neighbors

This is a common complaint and happens in almost any type of hotel. Loud neighbors get in the way of peace and comfort that other guests hope to experience during their stay. Keep in mind that hotel guests paid for their accommodation to enjoy a comfortable stay. Getting some quiet time is the bare minimum of their expectations from your hotel.

When you receive this type of hotel guest complaint, be polite in approaching their neighbor. Make them aware of the complaint and inform them about your hotel policy regarding room occupancy. Politely asking them to lower their volume will give them the impression that you are politely addressing the complaint about their noise and still giving them the proper treatment fitted for hotel guests.

2. Dirty Rooms

Hotel guests will definitely have a negative response to a dirty room. Cleanliness is a top consideration for choosing a hotel. Guests pay for a luxurious experience and they deserve to be offered a fresh and clean room. The quality of their stay will be greatly impacted by the rooms that they will be provided. At this point when more people are cautious about cleanliness due to virus scare, your guests deserve nothing less but a well-sanitized hotel room.

Dirty rooms indicate poor management and housekeeping. This is an important aspect that you should not overlook. When you receive a complaint about dirty rooms, validate and respond swiftly. Politely offer them a new room (an upgrade would be appreciated), apologize, and assure them that this issue will be promptly addressed. 

On the other hand, you also have to address the issue internally.

• Make sure that the management is aware of the complaint. 
• The housekeeping staff should see to it that hotel rooms are cleaned according to hotel standards before a guest checks in. 
• The front desk staff should also be responsible for making guests wait comfortably while their room is being prepared.

3. Insufficient Complimentary Guest Supplies

Complimentary guest supplies might not be the most important factor in a hotel stay, but guests expect to have them ready in their room. Items like shampoo, soap, and other toiletries add pleasure to their experience. Complimentary welcome drinks and snacks also add value to their hotel stay. 

Be responsive to this type of guest complaint. Make sure that hotel supplies are sufficient in rooms before a guest checks in. Hotel guests love complimentary treats. These hotel essentials are some of the things that they may look forward to every time they book your hotel.

A sustainable option that you can try is a liquid soap and shampoo dispenser that can be installed in every room. You will only need to check it and refill it from time to time to ensure that guests will have a sufficient supply of the toiletries they commonly need. With a quality liquid dispenser, you are able to promote sustainability. You will also be able to control the operational costs of your hotel since guests will only use the amount they need and can’t bring home unused supplies.

4. Unexpected Charges

Going on a vacation and staying in hotels is already expensive. Most guests already planned their budget before they arrived at their destination. Having unexpected fees wouldn’t be a welcome surprise. Your guests wouldn’t want to be charged more than the amount that has been disclosed to them.

Unexpected fees are a sign of poor customer service. It creates trust issues and will prevent you from acquiring loyal clients. Worst, it will be the reason why your hotel may get bad reviews. 

Transparency is key when dealing with customers especially when it comes to money matters. You have to integrate it into your systems. 

• Be upfront and make sure that they are properly informed about costs and fees during the booking process. 
• In case of miscommunication in which a staff is at fault, address the matter and offer proper apologies.
• Stay polite while resolving the issue with undisclosed fees. The last thing you’d want is to offend a displeased customer.

ALSO READ: Sustainable Practices in Hospitality Industry that You Should be Doing Now

Running a hotel is not easy, but you’d be better off if you will be able to avoid hotel guest complaints. Client satisfaction will impact your reputation, improve your trust ratings, and earn you more clients. Revisit your processes to prevent issues with your guests. You can start with the list shared in this article.

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