Hello, cautionary tale working with this company. They have interesting properties, and their shops can be appealing when you shop hotels. However, my latest experience with them makes me think they're actually running a scam.

I shopped a first hotel earlier this year. The payment was supposed to be, as per their pay policy on their own website, 45 to 75 days. A deeper look into the IC agreement shows it's actually 90 days. When I reached out to the accounting department after 90 days, I was told that the person who signs the check was traveling, without being told when they would return. A month later, I finally received the check, after a few emails that were left unanswered, and it was that same person who said the person was not there who had signed it. I did a search on that person, it turns out it's the CEO himself. So, Regal is a company where the CEO cannot sign the checks for his contractors.

But it gets better ! I get an email from an independent scheduler for a shop near my home. The shop is a hotel bar, only accessible to hotel guests. The email from the scheduler says an overnight stay is provided. I get assigned, and the survey says it's a bar only shop, no overnight stay is included. I reach out to the scheduler who confirms a second time, in writing, by email, that the overnight is included. I do the shop, get a 10/10 feedback, and then a couple of weeks later that same person, who is supposedly the CEO, tells me that there won't be an overnight stay reimbursed. I sent him the emails from the scheduler confirming it was promised, and then he sends me back to that person, who was supposedly traveling, saying that I should see with him since, I quote, "He is working with the hotel."

WTF?? The scheduler is not helpful either. As I'm ready to file a complaint with the FTC and will probably need to go to Small Claims to get my money back on this shop, and another one I had done a couple of weeks later, I asked for the scheduler to confirm I was supposed to have the overnight reimbursed. The scheduler claims she has an email confirming it, but now is asking me how it would help and refuses to send it...

I'm currently out of over $2000 in hotel fees for the three shops I have done for Regal, around $400 in cash I had to put down for the cash transactions. I've had issues with companies who don't pay before, but this has reached whole new levels.

Shoppers please beware when dealing with Regal Hospitality.

Approx. 15 yrs. ago, I completed a hand full of hotel dining shops for Regal, with the pay set at Net 45. All went well until I received a letter notifying me that pay was changing to Net 90; I terminated our agreement. There are only two reasons for an MSC to wait 3 mos. to pay shoppers: Cash flow problems or desiring to use our money as an interest free loan. The first is bad and the second sure is not good.

Fortunately for me, I have been relatively free of MSC payment problems. At the first hint of trouble, I execute a "to the rear march" and do not, in the slightest, consider second chances.

I don't think it's necessary a scam. I just think it's a poorly run and poorly capitalized company.

They have been on the late paying, non-email-returning phase for over a decade, so I am with Bob in keeping these guys on a 10-foot pole list.

Also, as a primarily hotel shopper, I hate their offerings, even when they have nice properties. I don't want to be putting out that much cash for anyone. Even if they pay on time. The fact that you have to order generic drinks and write in 3rd person for narratives always rubbed me wrong as well.

My advice is don't let it go. The squeaky wheel usually gets paid. Post here. Name names. Call and email every day. Contact all their clients if they refuse to pay. At a minimum you can help put them out of business and make sure this doesn't happen to others...

I saw one recently post in my area from Regal, but for this shop, it did state it was an overnight stay with bar and dinner.

charlhenri, I saw your post in the hotel thread earlier about your Regal payment experience, as well. Thank you for bringing it up!

I have only done cafe shops with them so the cash outlay was small. However, their system seems old-fashioned. I had to write in a certain style that didn't seem natural and submit an Excel sheet invoice that is just asking for human errors. I avoid them unless there is a huge bonus and I'm already in the area for other business.

Thanks for sharing and good luck in getting paid...
Slow pay, non responsive, and when they respond they are dishonest. Plus all their reviews on Glassdoor are one star....
Tells me all I need to know.

Thank you for letting us know about this.

Interesting.

[www.pacermonitor.com]

Thank you for sharing.

I did a hotel shop where they partially paid me my reimbursement. They paid me the rest the following month. There was no reasonable explanation for them on their part for this. Haven't shopped them since. Not to mention they docked my pay..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2024 09:41PM by audrialyn30.

Did they give you a reason for the docking?

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

Interesting.

[www.pacermonitor.com]

I found it. They were owed $26,000. I hope that their cashflow isn't affected by such a small amount.

I did a hotel in SF for them. Terrible instructions (IYKYK). I clarified and misread the clarification. I missed some interactions. The editor let me do all of the clarifications that she sent back to me, while she "checked with the client" to see if they would accept it. She excluded the report. I offered to PAY FOR ANOTHER NIGHT on my dime. (Throwing good money after bad, basically shelling out another $500 to save $1500-$2000.) Ghosted me. So did the scheduler. I think that I have done at least 10 full hotel shops for them. Never again.

Much like Steve, I am not a fan of shitty well liquor.

I did a few shops pre-covid where the property was supposed to reverse the charges. Took something like 10 emails to get that done.

So, luckily I can afford that kind of hotel. It still sucked after wasting those hours writing the reports.

And thanks to charlhenri for posting. Now I definitely won't be tempted to work for them nor will I recommend them to others. 0/10 rating.

Summit Hotels, LLC was the bankruptcy debtor, not a creditor, and it owed millions of dollars. Its principal place of business had the same address as Regal Hospitality. The signer was Jatin Batra -- Regal's founder and CEO and Summit's second-largest equity owner.

Several years ago, they had movies and bar shops with a restaurant as well in the building I never had an issue with them paying.
However, I did a restaurant shop for them and got a 10 on the report but they did not pay me. So I sent them an email and I was paid shortly after that. I don't like laying out large sums of money if the company does not pay on time. For now, I am not taking any shops from them.

The two companies are unrelated.

The Regal Hospitality MS company is based in Florida and has no connection to the Regal Hospitality one run by Jatin Batra.

[search.sunbiz.org]

Update: the scheduler for this shop was Tina, from Coast to Coast Scheduling services. I tried to have her send me an email where it would say clearly that an overnight stay would be reimbursed, and 3 times in a row she did not do that, and now is defending Regal for not answering on Hurricane Milton. I have been arguing on this matter with Regal since September 11, a month ago ! So Hurricane Milton...

What I ended up doing: I opened a dispute on my credit card company to reverse the charge, I filed a complaint with the FTC, and did something I had never done before: I called the hotel directly and explained what happened. They were extremely nice and understanding, so there's that. I am still out of the cash I put down during the stay as well as the job fee. Hopefully the actions I took will push Regal to pay what they still owe me.

It is frustrating to say the least! Thank you for everyone who commented on my original post.

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

Summit Hotels, LLC was the bankruptcy debtor, not a creditor, and it owed millions of dollars. Its principal place of business had the same address as Regal Hospitality. The signer was Jatin Batra -- Regal's founder and CEO and Summit's second-largest equity owner.

You always have been good at online research. Thanks for clarifying.

@charlhenri wrote:

Update: the scheduler for this shop was Tina, from Coast to Coast Scheduling services. I tried to have her send me an email where it would say clearly that an overnight stay would be reimbursed, and 3 times in a row she did not do that, and now is defending Regal for not answering on Hurricane Milton. I have been arguing on this matter with Regal since September 11, a month ago ! So Hurricane Milton...

Wow. Tina is the owner. Something must be up. I found it odd that she is listed as the schedular lately? Perhaps she is taking the risk?

She was not my scheduler. One of her employees/contractors was my scheduler. Regal used to have one scheduler, but I think that she works for Coyle now mostly.

I would not recommend this company now. It's odd because I was worried when COVID hit full force and shoppers were waiting for reimbursements. Eventually, everyone got paid.
Now it is not looking good at all, is it?

I don't know Tina, but that was who posted the shop in my area. When she starts posting the shops, she posts some every hour over the course of days. It seems like a manual process.

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

Summit Hotels, LLC was the bankruptcy debtor, not a creditor, and it owed millions of dollars. Its principal place of business had the same address as Regal Hospitality. The signer was Jatin Batra -- Regal's founder and CEO and Summit's second-largest equity owner.

You always have been good at online research. Thanks for clarifying.

You're welcome and thanks. Many years ago, I had to review bankruptcy documents and attend hearings when my employer was one of the unsecured creditors. It was easy to find this filing and figure out the connection to Regal only because Jatin Batra was the signer and used the same address on the filing as Regal's. For those who have not had to deal with bankruptcy (i.e. most of us), it is easy to see "debtor" and think that's someone who is owed money.

@MMMM wrote:

The two companies are unrelated.

The Regal Hospitality MS company is based in Florida and has no connection to the Regal Hospitality one run by Jatin Batra.

[search.sunbiz.org]

Yes, they are two unrelated companies. Thank you for the link.

The Florida company is Regal Hospitality Group. I thought the OP was talking about the Ohio company because he said "Regal Hospitality."

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@charlhenri wrote:

Update: the scheduler for this shop was Tina, from Coast to Coast Scheduling services. I tried to have her send me an email where it would say clearly that an overnight stay would be reimbursed, and 3 times in a row she did not do that, and now is defending Regal for not answering on Hurricane Milton. I have been arguing on this matter with Regal since September 11, a month ago ! So Hurricane Milton...

Wow. Tina is the owner. Something must be up. I found it odd that she is listed as the schedular lately? Perhaps she is taking the risk?

She was not my scheduler. One of her employees/contractors was my scheduler. Regal used to have one scheduler, but I think that she works for Coyle now mostly.

I would not recommend this company now. It's odd because I was worried when COVID hit full force and shoppers were waiting for reimbursements. Eventually, everyone got paid.
Now it is not looking good at all, is it?

Wow. Tina from CTCSS. That's a blast from the past for me. I can't even remember the last time I did a shop scheduled by CTCSS. I did a quick search and the last direct correspondence I had with Tina was from 2016!

Yeah, it looks like she is scheduling. That's fine, IMO. What's not fine is how she's handling things with the OP.

My apologies to all if the "Regal Hospitality" in this thread is the Regal Hospitality Group in Florida and not Regal Hospitality in Ohio. I haven't shopped for either company and may have assumed, incorrectly, that the OP was posting about the Ohio company.

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

My apologies to all if the "Regal Hospitality" in this thread is the Regal Hospitality Group in Florida and not Regal Hospitality in Ohio. I haven't shopped for either company and may have assumed, incorrectly, that the OP was posting about the Ohio company.

OP's post was definitely about the FL company, not the OH company. The OH company appears to be a hotel management firm, while the FL company mystery shops hotels (and I have personal experience with their apparent cash flow issues).

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

Summit Hotels, LLC was the bankruptcy debtor, not a creditor, and it owed millions of dollars. Its principal place of business had the same address as Regal Hospitality. The signer was Jatin Batra -- Regal's founder and CEO and Summit's second-largest equity owner.

You always have been good at online research. Thanks for clarifying.

You're welcome and thanks.

I may have you look up an employment lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County. I can't get past the paid ads.

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

Summit Hotels, LLC was the bankruptcy debtor, not a creditor, and it owed millions of dollars. Its principal place of business had the same address as Regal Hospitality. The signer was Jatin Batra -- Regal's founder and CEO and Summit's second-largest equity owner.

You always have been good at online research. Thanks for clarifying.

You're welcome and thanks.

I may have you look up an employment lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County. I can't get past the paid ads.

I can try but I am retired and no longer have access to resources that are available to practicing attorneys. Shoot me a DM if you want and I'll see what I can do.

Attorneys usually take unpaid wage cases on a contingency basis, meaning they take their pay when the case settles. (Edit: Attorney fees are separate from an award.) They also may make it a class action, which is much more of a pain for everyone involved.

Basically, you were at this hotel for work. You were completing work as an agent for the MSC, they gave you instructions. They were your employers. You did work for them and they did not pay you. We are misclassified as MSCs. This is what it boils down to. You can try to take them to small claims court, but they may never pay you and may not even appear. You need an attorney who knows wage laws. They can get you reimbursed and also paid for your time based on a fair wage.

Try this lawyer. He helped me with both employment law issues and fair debt collection practices act issues.
[www.toddflaw.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2024 09:54PM by cherubino3.

Uh-oh. I have my first shop scheduled with them next month. Does anyone have positive experiences working with them and getting paid properly?

I think the best way to go, if you want to do a shop with them, is to make sure you can pay off the hotel folio after the shop. Otherwise, if you let it sit on your credit card, the interest you'll be paying on this charge will cancel out the shop fee...

I was able to get them to pay 2 out of the 3 shops they owe me - over 100 days to get paid for each, along with email reminders and such.. and to top if off, after sending the 2nd check, I was lectured by the owner. (I think he's the owner).

First of all, one person (Russel) told me he couldn't send the payment because another person (John) was out of town, without letting me know when he would return. Then when I got the check a month later, it was Russel himself who had signed the check he claimed he couldn't.

And second of all, when the 2nd check was finally sent - John, who had never bothered to respond before, lectured me at the end of his email saying, "Sometimes patience is a virtue" - coming from someone who cannot even commit to paying his IC on time....

I'm waiting for the 3rd and final payment now, and on my end, no more working with them. Not worth it.

I did a coffee shop for them years ago in which I was required to buy coffee and a $10 gift card. After entering the shop they rejected and refused to pay me because they claim I was supposed to pay for the coffee with the gift card??? That was not in the instructions and made no sense and when I pointed that out they closed my account. They got a free shop on my dime.

@charlhenri wrote:

I think the best way to go, if you want to do a shop with them, is to make sure you can pay off the hotel folio after the shop. Otherwise, if you let it sit on your credit card, the interest you'll be paying on this charge will cancel out the shop fee...

Yes, and make sure that you follow up when they conveniently forget to pay on time.