Originally Posted by
lighthouse206
Sorry to be a "hard nosed business person" here but where do you draw the line? A points stay is, essentially, a pre-paid reservation. I'm not sure if they are considered non-refundable but I assume they are by the time you have checked in.
Crap happens. Accidents happen. So the hotel should waive its contract all the time when such things happen? How bad does the crap or accident have to be?
What happens when they hold firm and wish to retain the payment for the service they agreed to provide and you agreed to accept? Is that really wrong? Should we just do away with all contracts if "something" happens?
For us business owners this is a slippery slope.
Its about reasonable empathy here in making the right call with your customers when guests have an issue/event
Today we see so many horrible airline decisions where people die or stranded due to the airlines fault and they still say no.
Its really shocking to me how many airlines conduct their business in a heartless manner
Its affected much of my spending even when I read about others experiences
When you go into a restaurant and they burn your steak its the restaurants fault and assumed liability to make things right
When the steak is cooked perfectly and the guest still sends it back due perhaps to their expectation in flavor, preparation,quality that's another issue that some establishments have to endure no matter who is right.
Its really all about relationship building.CRM
Does the restaurant say no or do think of the good will and possible long term relationship benefit in pleasing the customer
I know a restaurant on the East Coast that takes a credit card at time of booking.No shows are charged 150 dollars to cancel up to 24 hours before arrival
You have to be really desirable,highly popular to do that
What about rental cars? To this day it amazes me there isn't a penalty for a no show charge when paying at time of rental pick up.
At the end of the day running a good business means making exceptions sometimes on a case by case basis even if there may be some occasional losses incurred.
In a well run business profits should exceed any potential losses and that's how I look at it with my real estate investments even when I lose some when folks wiggle out of signed contract
Am I still making considerably more than I lose? When I sell a property it won't even be thought about down the road
Empathy and gratitude is good for everyone in and out of the business world and unfortunately its not easily taught or learned unless you have had good role models and teachers in your life
Speaking for myself more comes from a goodwill gesture above and beyond and how it translates to my personal loyalty and spend from my wallet in and out of the hospitality world
Costco and their overly generous policies come to mind.I've been fiercely loyal to them over the years
I can say that Hyatt Hotels have taught me a lot in how to handle my own customers and tenants over the years.Not everything can be learned in school
Quite frankly they have had some legendary talents pass through many of their hotels through the years
I've been privileged to know and learn from a quite a few of them