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Are Mystery Guests Important for Hotels? 

 

The Hospitality industry is highly competitive. Hotels are constantly fighting to stay on top of one another, and the guest has become more and more sensitive to their needs. As a hotel operator, owner or manager, one of your biggest concerns should be to improve the quality of your service to your guests. If your guests do not get good value for money, they will switch to your competitor. You want to be head and shoulders above your competitors to get a higher market share and ROI. One of the best ways to find out if you are still offering the best is through the mystery guest programme. 

 

What is a Mystery Guest? 

First of all, let us look at what exactly is a mystery guest in a hotel. In simple terms, a mystery guest is a person who is employed by the hotel to pose as a real guest and evaluate the quality of the hotel. The idea of mystery shopping is that this exercise should be done discreetly. Staff members shouldn't know that they are dealing with a mystery guest as this may act differently than they are used. According to law, hotel employees should be told though that there will be a mystery guest. 

 

The scope is usually discussed with management, as one hotel may have different needs to the other. In essence, a mystery guest must be able to evaluate the quality through the guest cycle. Mystery guests are hospitality industry professionals who know what to expect as a guest. The mystery shopping journey starts from reservations, (airport) shuttle service, front office, housekeeping, food & beverage, overall staff appearance, overall property appearance and more. Like we said earlier, it depends from one property to the other. 

 

Is it worth it? 

Without a doubt, yes, it is very important. As the hotel operator, owner or manager, relying only guest reviews may not be good enough to help you make sound decisions. The mystery guest reports will help you see which areas are doing well and which ones need some work. 

 

What are the Benefits?

The mystery guest programme will help you achieve the following:

• Identify issues that lead to poor service in your hotel(s)

• Identify employees that deliver exceptional guest experience and those who need assistance

• Identify skills gap and the exact training needed

• Identify what works for your hotel and what doesn't

• Benchmark your hotel against your competitors

• Identify which hotel(s) are delivering exceptional guest service and which ones need assistance (groups)

• Identify which departments are performing well and which ones need assistance

• Improve your customer experience and revenue

 

How Long is it?

Mystery shopping duration depends from one hotel to the other. We prefer a minimum 2-nights' stay in order to evaluate extensively and fairly. 

 

Which are the Best Hotel Mystery Shopping Companies in South Africa?

Well, there are a lot of companies that claim to be the best mystery shoppers. At Sam Hospitality, we pride ourselves to have a pool of experienced hospitality professionals, who will not only advise you what to do, but will also help you in the process. We bring 60+ years combined experience in the hospitality field. Our team is dedicated and we take each project so seriously as if it was our last. We work on each project as if it was our own. 

 

Here Are Questions To Ask Yourself

• Do you know how your guests see you?

• Are you achieving your brand quality and standard goals?

• Are you meeting your guests' expectations?

• Are you aware of your employees' skills gap?

 

If your answer is no, to any of these question, you definintely need to consider our mystery guest programme. Talk to us today and let us work with you. 

 

Are you in the hospitality industry? What is your take on mystery guests? Please leave a comment.