Without naming specific hotel chains, what are some mystery shopping companies that cover hotel shops. Thanks.
Paul

Buckalew Hospitality
Freeman
Coyle
A-Closer-Look
LRA
TNS

I know there are more but those are the ones that come to mind. Some of those do Timeshares as well.

Liz

Data Quest
Regal Hospitality

Customer Impact had one I did, however, no pay, long report.

Irene - what happened on that shop with Customer Impact? Why didn't they pay you? Did you miss something, or were the instructions foggy?

Best Mark

The Guest Check
SQM
Spies in Disguise
Service Sleuth

Really almost all MSC "might" have a hotel mystery shop, i.e. they probably wouldn't turn it down if the client came to them.

I have found that in this space, some companies (not the ones mentioned here however) do not accept applications - you have to be invited to apply to even be in their shopper database.

Oh - and Bare - they have their own hospitality division that requires a special application. It used to be really big, although not sure if it still is... I don't hear as much about it anymore.

I'm so glad this thread was started! I am beginning to do routes for videos and other shops and want to plan some overnight trips to extend my range. Combining a hotel stay with a shop would be ideal as that would mean less travel expense for me.

TechSavvy,
Be careful what you wish for. some of the hotel reports will eat great hunks out of your travel time between video shops. Oddly enough, Freeman reports are short, and fit well into road trips. BUT, you have to wait for your reimbursements for up to 3-4 months. AND, of course, check out the hotels' reviews before booking to avoid the roach motels.

Hotel shops generally fall into three categories:

Reimbursement only (or small fee) at low-mid level properties - these can fit in well with shopping routes as they "usually" allow time for other activities. The type of hotel/motel may be below some peoples' cleanliness/condition standards; however, some totally decent places fall into this category too (as walesmaven said, be sure to research the place before accepting). Generally good for when you need a place to stay and would do the work than pay the money. These are usually (but not always) one night stays. Often offered by ACL, Freeman, Data Quest, SQM's half-off module also falls into this category (although you are having to pay 50% of the cost). The amount of work required can vastly vary; however... but if you are an experienced shopper (even if not an experienced hotel shopper) you can probably get the work done and still have time for other shops/work.

Full reimbursement with small/medium size fee at (often) very nice properties - sometimes well beyond what your lifestyle can afford. These usually take WAY more work and unless you are very experienced, you cannot do much else but the report. I would not recommend these for a shopping route where you are doing a lot of other shops or work. These types also often include other benis like room service, spa, etc. Again - be sure to research the place, nothing worse then staying at a yucky place (or even an average place you could have gotten on Priceline for $100 a night) and having to do a report that takes you 10-12 hours.

Full reimbursement plus travel, plus significant fees that rivel or exceed any other type of shopping fees - these are almost always multi-night stays and are offered by companies that usually expect a significant committment from you as they invest heavily in your training. They also usually expect that while performing the shop - that it is your sole focus.

Obviously it works best that you start out with the first type and work your way up.

Thank you for the good information, both you and Walesmaven. My husband and I both scour reviews of places before we go on trips, so I would definitely be combing the reviews sites before applying for locations. Cleanliness can vary so greatly within a single chain's locations, it's always scary going somewhere new! You've given me some insight about report lengths, too, and I certainly wouldn't want to spend many hours reporting on a stay when dog tired after a full day of shops.

MickeyB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hotel shops generally fall into three categories:
>
> Reimbursement only (or small fee) at low-mid level
> properties - these can fit in well with shopping
> routes as they "usually" allow time for other
> activities. The type of hotel/motel may be below
> some peoples' cleanliness/condition standards;
> however, some totally decent places fall into this
> category too (as walesmaven said, be sure to
> research the place before accepting). Generally
> good for when you need a place to stay and would
> do the work than pay the money. These are usually
> (but not always) one night stays. Often offered
> by ACL, Freeman, Data Quest, SQM's half-off module
> also falls into this category (although you are
> having to pay 50% of the cost). The amount of
> work required can vastly vary; however... but if
> you are an experienced shopper (even if not an
> experienced hotel shopper) you can probably get
> the work done and still have time for other
> shops/work.
>
> Full reimbursement with small/medium size fee at
> (often) very nice properties - sometimes well
> beyond what your lifestyle can afford. These
> usually take WAY more work and unless you are very
> experienced, you cannot do much else but the
> report. I would not recommend these for a
> shopping route where you are doing a lot of other
> shops or work. These types also often include
> other benis like room service, spa, etc. Again -
> be sure to research the place, nothing worse then
> staying at a yucky place (or even an average place
> you could have gotten on Priceline for $100 a
> night) and having to do a report that takes you
> 10-12 hours.
>
> Full reimbursement plus travel, plus significant
> fees that rivel or exceed any other type of
> shopping fees - these are almost always
> multi-night stays and are offered by companies
> that usually expect a significant committment from
> you as they invest heavily in your training. They
> also usually expect that while performing the shop
> - that it is your sole focus.
>
> Obviously it works best that you start out with
> the first type and work your way up.

I knew they didn't pay a fee, only offer a hotel room but did it anyway as I liked the loction. The instructions are straight up, no problem with them ever.
What is with your new name, I thought you might be having split personalities, who would ever fight with a romance novelist???

MDAVISNOWELL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Irene - what happened on that shop with Customer
> Impact? Why didn't they pay you? Did you miss
> something, or were the instructions foggy?

Thoughts on hotel shops with no pay or food.....I get it works for a long run, but othewise when you have to drive miles for a sleepover, really!!

Irene - thanks for clarifying on the shop with Customer Impact.

I got into a dustup with Husky9 on the "New Image is scum" thread and he said I was "not Miss Personality". I thought it was such a great putdown I picked it up for my signoff for a while, but I'm all better now so I took it off.

Jacob deleted Husky's remarks, which I regret because they were slam bang fun and a laugh a minute. I miss him. I was looking forward to more correspondence and was hopeful we could deepen our relationship. Guess not. Oh Well.

Mary, Mary, how did I miss that...don't know the name Husky9, I'd better stay awake while on the forum, and I love your sense of humor...sorry you couldn't deepen the relationship, who knows what you missed.. dustup, must be a Texan thing!!

Irene - I feel called upon to explain a dustup. I guess your being from LA explains your unfamiliarity with the word. It is an actual word in the dictionary, meaning row or dispute. I just now looked it up because I had my doubts it would be there.

But there's a twist on how we use the word here in Parker County, Texas. Usually, we say, "Those boys had a little dustup. Joe Bob got the best of Billy Gene." What happened is the boys had a difference in outlook, and it went into a minor fistfight, which ended up on the ground grabbing and kicking. Hence "dustup".

Nobody gets hurt bad in a dustup. You would never say, "Those boys had a dustup and Joe Bob shot Billy Gene". That would not be a dustup. That would be a shootin', or if was skillfully done, that would be a killin'.

How does this relate to hotels? Well, if you watch your westerns, you know that dustups and shootings and killings take place in the middle of the street in front of the hotel. Hence, this is the correct thread.

So now you know, and you're welcome as all get out.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2011 03:10AM by MDAVISNOWELL.

And once again - I need a like button for Mary's last post!!!

Mary makes my day...and yes, a like button would encourage us to write to our best ability, are you listening Jacob.

MickeyB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And once again - I need a like button for Mary's
> last post!!!

Yes, I am listening! I have plans for a like button! It will take time, but it is on the list. And its actually a feature I'm excited about.

I'm excited as well...let's do this in my lifetime...

JacobJ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, I am listening! I have plans for a like
> button! It will take time, but it is on the list.
> And its actually a feature I'm excited about.

LOVE this thread.

** Nevermind - found thread about Guest Check, which is what I was asking about before I edited this post. **

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2011 06:50PM by TechSavvy.

I'm looking to do Hotel Shops in Ohio,IN,MI,and WV. Do you know who covers these states.BWB of Ohio

You should just apply to all the companies listed. Different companies work with different clients and even if they don't have a shop in your area now it does not mean they won't at a later date. Have you been mystery shopping for a while?

With some of these hotel shops, does anyone know of any that specifically requires video?

I seem to recall that there were some check-in only shops with video in the past, but haven't seem them recently. I expect Walesmaven would know about them if they were around.....

Most hotel shops do incorporate photos, however.

Video is very likely "the next big thing" for hotels. However, I cannot currently comment on which companies are pilot testing this.

Suffice to say, if you are an MSC doing hotel shops, and you are not yet pilot testing video shops, watch out for some new and impressive competition.

That is exciting! While I will admit my bias because narrative heavy reports are the bane of my existence, it's those types of jobs and reports which can benefit greatly from video since it can remove any vestiges of subjectivity and capture some things the most astute shopper could miss.