The fact that a guest is saying the room is noise is not a reception speech alone. Who is the part of the same stream when he listenes, what solution he offers, what the technical team does and the next wardy controls the result. When the complaint is visible and managed in a possessive way, the team will both give more consistent answers and can see whether the same problem is repeated or not.
- It provides traceability to convert a single record containing time, subject, impact and responsible instead of leaving the complaint as a verbal note.
- The purpose of the first contact is not to resolve everything immediately; it is to show the guest that it is clear, to clarify the real next step and not to lose possession.
- Closed records should be reviewed regularly to find the repeated room, hour, equipment or service problems.
The complaint, demand and emergency are not the same.
Placing every feedback on the same hole leads to the expectation of a really urgent problem or a simple request to appear bigger than it requires. The complaint tells us that the experience the guest has been below the expected. The request for additional handwashes is a request; water leak, safety risk or health-related situation in the room may be an event that should be immediately transferred to a separate procedure.
Classification in the first record makes it easier to inform the right team. However, the category should not be replaced by listening to the guest. The same ‘climate doesn’t work’ notification may require technical and safety assessment if the device smells while the comfort problem for the guest who cannot sleep in a hot room.
- Disadvantage: Disadvantage with experience, service or expectation.
- Request: additional service, information or request for arrangement.
- Disability: recording the technical problem in the room or joint area.
- Emergency: the situation in which the hotel must be transferred to its own emergency and safety stream immediately.
What information did you record in the first contact?
The person in the reception should not try to remember after the conversation ends. Registration guest's room or booking information, time of notification, the problem's own expression, the affected area, the first contact staff and the first response given should be entered. The guest's expectation of solution also, if possible, the direct problem; the room may not ask for change, it may only wait for the noise to be interrupted.
Instead of comment, write a note. Instead of a record like ‘Gest was very angry’ a record like ‘Gest not able to sleep at 23.10 p.m. because of the noise of the corridor’ allows the next person to understand what it is. Do not unnecessarily reproduce the sensitive personal details in the record; keep what is necessary for the solution where the teams with access can see.
- The time of notification, room or the area and the contact area of the employee
- The problem and its impact on the guest.
- Person or team priority
- First information provided, promised return time and preferred communication method
- The process, the person who confirmed the result and the closing time
Clarify the time and time of return.
A record should not be unowned in the ‘Technical Team’ stage. Select a single owner to follow the return to the guest for each problem. This person does not have to do the solution alone; the relevant team coordinates, if there is a delay, gives new information and ultimately checks the guest’s status.
Share a reliable check-out time instead of promising uncertain time. For example, the expression ‘I’ll send to the guard team, I’ll give you the situation information within 15 minutes’ can be more managed than saying ‘We’ll fix it immediately.’ If the solution is long, don’t wait for the guest to call again: send the reason and the next option proactively.
- Front office: Open the first record, give the first response and identify the owner of the guest contact.
- The relevant team: records the intervention, time of arrival and the result.
- The Valve Manager: keeps the records that are delayed or require an exception visible.
- Registrar: confirms the result with the guest and closes or starts a new step.
Example flow: noise complaint
At 23.10 pm, consider that the noise of the corridor is coming from room number 412. the reception staff listen to the guest, apologizes and gives a short check time. the record is written in the hour, room, the place of the noise and the impact on sleep. the night manager is assigned to the security or the floor team; the first calling staff remains the owner of the record.
If the team checked the corridor and reduced the problem, the recording is not closed only as “solved” the owner, after a reasonable time, reaches the guest and asks if the situation is healed or not. If the noise continues, the alternative room, the compensation option that requires a different intervention or authorized approval is assessed. The morning valley also sees whether there is a similar recording on the same floor; so the single-looking subject is clear if it indicates a repeated operation.
Not just the solution, but also the cause.
The root of the solution applied when the record is closed should be considered in separate areas. room change can correct the current experience of the guest; but the technical failure, planning error or repeated cleaning standard question may remain open. the closing note prevents the next team from searching for the same solution again.
A short review per week is a sufficient start. List the most frequent topic, the most affected area, the longest open record and the re-notification rooms or processes. Use the numbers not to score employees, but to find the obstacles in the working order. For example, if the room cleaning appears late on Friday, the room plan or room output forecast can be re-treated.
- Number of records and repeated reports
- From the first response to the first intervention.
- The cause of the ageing and delay of open records
- Themes focused on the same room, area, equipment or gardens
- The ratio of the guest confirmed records received after the solution
Do not lose in the warfare.
Open records must be a visible part of the delivery of the turnover. The new turnover must see not only the room number; the guest must see what is last said, the next check time, who's expected response and which option requires approval. If this information is not available, the guest must repeat the same story.
The teams that follow the reservation, room and valley notes in the same operation stream in RoomFollow can keep the following step more visible and responsible for an open notice. To be effective, the recording language, authority limits and closing measurement must be shared within the hotel.
Guests complaint management checklist
You can use this list for front office training, valley transfer delivery or weekly operating meeting.
- The difference for complaint, demand, failure and emergency was clarified.
- Each record included time, field, problem definition, effect, possession and the next step.
- The guest was sent a real return or check time.
- The team’s intervention and result were the same.
- The delayed records were clearly taken over by the manager of the valley.
- Before closing the guest was reached for confirmation of the result or the attempt to reach was recorded.
- Repeated topics, rooms, areas or processes were reviewed weekly.
- The responsibility for the reason the operation requires change and the review date is determined.
FAQ
Who should close the guest complaint?
The registered owner must close after the relevant team has confirmed that the solution has been done and after the guest’s status has been checked where possible. The person who intervened and the person who followed the guest’s communication may be different.
Should I be compensated for every complaint?
No. First, it is necessary to understand the problem, to resolve it if possible and to explain the result. The compensation approach should be assessed in a consistent manner according to the hotel’s authority framework, the impact of the problem and the adequacy of the implemented solution.
How should open complaints be transmitted in the period of valley?
In addition to the room or booking information, the final contact, the expected process, the responsible person, the subsequent check time and the need for approval should be clearly transmitted.
