Choosing A Hotel Mystery Shopping Service

Choosing a Hotel Mystery Shopping Service

by

Antony Shaw

An increasingly powerful research tool, hotel mystery shopping is becoming more prevalent as a marker of standards among many large hotel chains. Training courses can be comprehensive and precise and in theory it is relatively straightforward to create the perfect customer experience. This experience, however, needs to be put into practice and the concepts must adapt to a living situation that often deviates from the exact theories. It is at this point that the hotel mystery shopping service comes in. Members of staff are assessed in a real living situation and every aspect is monitored and analysed according to a business individual needs.

Quality assurance in the field is what sets one business apart from the rest in this competitive world. Making certain that the content delivered in training is transferred to the actual field is the key aim of this service. Many training courses are run in a multi-cultural environment, with students gaining experience in the industry on a global scale. Hotel mystery shopping services can be accessed in many countries and providers are often internationally based. This is important for many larger hotel chains that operate on a global scale. Every client has an individual internal brand and this is taken into account when a program is designed.

Assessing the customer experience is not just about the staff, it is also about the general atmosphere, the feel of the place, the facilities and the proficiency of the hotel as an entity at working together and creating seamless cohesion.

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What is involved in the service?

When looking for an appropriate service for your business there are many things to consider. Reputation is an obvious pre-requisite but

hotel mystery shopping

services differ and target different types of businesses. You need to find one that accommodates your particular needs. Consider the rates of success that a company will proffer and make sure they have a quality assurance process that suits your business.

An important issue is the way a company analyses the results and relays them for action. There are many traditional and simpler ways to gain the required information, but with the development of many technical programs the accuracy of analysis has become much more detailed. Exact behaviours and critical performance attributes can be isolated and dealt with as necessary.

When deciding on a service that is right for you it is worth making sure you use a company that has a highly trained staff or experienced individuals. They must be briefed on your business thoroughly before they embark on a visit. It is worth considering companies that do not sub-contract. This means that every aspect of your program is dealt with in-house and constant communication between editors, shoppers and technicians equals a personal and effective service.

Antony Shaw, Vice President of Global People Development at IFH Institute for Hospitality Management, is a leading expert in the field of

hotel mystery shopping

. IFH provides high-level quality control for the worldwide hospitality industry through its renowned

hotel mystery shopping

program.

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