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The
travel industry is an unusual industry, not only do we sell products and
services but we also, especially resorts, deal in the fragile concept of
people's dreams and fantasies. For some a holiday, whether they travel
thousands of miles or only a few, may happen only once in a lifetime,
for others it may be once a year or more frequent. No matter how often
someone travels they already have an idea of how they want their holiday
to go, what they are expecting from the resort, destination and its
people.
So
what happens when these dreams and hopes are not met? What happens when
the guests arrive at a resort only to find it under renovation, with
hammering, drilling beating out the sounds of birds singing and waves
lapping on the shore. Is it sufficient for the hotel or its management
company to inform its partners that sell and promote the hotel - what
happens if that message does not get heard or understood? Is it right
for a hotel to simply lower its room rates and hope that the selling
agent has informed guests of the extent of the work being carried out?
These are important questions which effect resorts and holiday
destinations far more than city hotels where renovation is easier to
hide and relaxation may not be a guests priority.
There
are some things the hotels can do, they could insist on contacting every
customer directly at the time of booking to ensure they know that the
hotel is under renovation and explain exactly what they can expect from
the hotel, without putting any spin on the message being given. For
example we recently stayed at a resort which we had no idea was under
renovation, we were told by hotel staff that the loud renovation work
(hammering and drilling) is only carried out between 8am and 6pm through
the hotel's public areas and between 8am and 8pm in the lobby area, but
even at 11pm you could walk out onto your room balcony and hear someone
banging away with a hammer.
So
who is responsible? Is it down to the management company to have a set
of guidelines that they stick to and if so what are these guidelines and
how are they enforced? Should it be the owners decision whether to
remain open or not? What happens to the staff if the resort does close?
Many
hotels conduct their renovation work in their quietest time, the low
season, but this poses two problems. One problem with this, is that
travel is changing, and a traditional low season where the hotels may
have been almost empty are fast merging into one long high season with
hotels enjoying a large number of guests year round. Another problem is
that the low season often coincides with bad weather such as rain etc.
which effects the amount of work that can be done in open
areas.
It
is all well and good to offer those that complain an option of moving to
another hotel at no extra cost, but what if the alternatives are full,
and even if they aren't, the damage to the hotel's reputation and quite
often the brand will already have been done, not to mention the guests
dream of a trouble free holiday. What of those that don't know they can
complain or are simply too shy to do so. One hotel we spoke to, which
was under heavy renovation said that less than 1% of guests make a
formal complaint and other guests with lesser complaints were offered a
free meal or half board. Is that really sufficient, are we, the hotels,
their owners, management companies and agents, really doing
enough to ensure that the dream vacation our guests desire is a reality
and does not just remain a dream?
More
to come on this subject as we
put these questions to some major International hotel companies. If you
have any opinions on this subject please do send us an email.
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