hotel lobby shops

Anyone doing them? Seems like there is to be several interactions asking questions. Is this confrontational or not? Also, anyone shop for ACE if so what type of shops do they offer?

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I don't think I've done these hotel lobby shops. For ACE though, I've done a number of healthy eating type shops. It may be different in your area. To me, the report is on the longer side for what the shop is. But, the pay plus reimbursement is acceptable to me. I do it every once in a while. I found them easy to work with!
Are you talking about the covert event board audits in hotels? I've done them since fall 2022 . The MSP is Bestmark. I don't know how many of them currently are available, though, as they assign the visits to specific auditors week-after-week who agree to perform the audits consistently. You can certainly hop onto their site and see if there are any visits available. They post these visits every Thursday, if any are available, for the next week.

If you do some thought and planning, it is fairly easy to avoid all hotel staff entirely. Plan your entry/exit in such a way as to avoid the front desk, and you're usually home free.

In the 2+ years that I have done these audits I have had 2 serious confrontations. In both cases I was approached and asked what I was doing. I told them that I was doing a project gathering event data. In 1 case I was kicked out of the facility by the onsite security and told never to come back. In the other case it was security which was specific to the event and not general onsite security that kicked me out, so I was able to return after the event had concluded (and I continue to visit that facility currently).

I've had a couple of other interactions that were not at all confrontational. The staff that approached me were fine with me doing what I was doing. Some other interactions have been humorous because what they think/thought about the nature of my visits isn't correct.

If you're hesitant about doing these audits because of potential confrontations, then don't be hesitant. You can reduce to a minimum being seen by hotel staff with proper planning, and in most cases the staff doesn't really care. I am forced to pass by the front desk at one of my assigned hotels. I have walked by the front desk on entry/exit 3x per week for 2 years and the front desk staff has said a total of 3 words to me. On 3 occasions someone said "hi" and have said nothing to me the other 300 times.
Never really paid much attention to these but now I will have to give them a look. I see a few currently outside of my area, too far for me but paying $10. Do they go up or is that it?
@teacherguy Thank you for this very helpful look at these shops.

Like Datagirl I'm curious how you make them profitable at the $10 rate they are posted at. Do you have a cluster of them that can all be hit one after another? Do they all have free parking? I'm in an urban area where hotels charge upwards of $50 just to park for an hour or two.
@Datagirl and @NinS
1) They have always been 10 bucks for me, never bonused, but I live in a city and don't have to travel far.
2) I currently have 5 locations that I visit every Tue/Wed/Sat. During most of 2024 I had 6 locations, and for some of 2024 I had 7. Locations come and go based on the amount/usefulness of the information gathered or whether I get banned from the location as happened with the 1 location last year.
3) I do not pay for parking. My city doesn't monitor the parking meters downtown until 9am, so I make sure to finish my 3 downtown locations before 9am. On occasion I will park in the "10 minutes check in only" parking stall or in the valet area. I just tell the valet that I will definitely be less than 5 minutes, and they have always been fine with it.
4) You don't have to interact with any onsite staff at all. In fact, you're told to not interact with them.
5) For me currently it's a 34 mile route if I do only the 5 locations. I absolutely do other jobs for other companies on many of the days. Currently I'm picking off bonused post offices each Tue/Wed/Sat when I'm out visiting my hotels.
HMU if you have any other questions.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2025 10:46PM by teacherguy.
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