Hotel Pre-Arrival Preferences Survey
Apr 1, 2015, 5:03 pm
#1
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Hotel Pre-Arrival Preferences Survey
Has anyone ever heard of a lengthy pre-arrival preferences survey?
The other day, I overheard someone saying they stayed at a luxury hotel that requested she fill this out – it asked for things such as her preferred bed sheet color (I suspect this is a highly unusual request of a standard luxury hotel) and what kind of tea (earl grey / darjeeling) she'd prefer.
Granted, it appeared to be a special occasion stay, but it piqued my interest; unfortunately I was unable to get the name of the hotel, so I turn to FlyerTalk for possible answers.
The other day, I overheard someone saying they stayed at a luxury hotel that requested she fill this out – it asked for things such as her preferred bed sheet color (I suspect this is a highly unusual request of a standard luxury hotel) and what kind of tea (earl grey / darjeeling) she'd prefer.
Granted, it appeared to be a special occasion stay, but it piqued my interest; unfortunately I was unable to get the name of the hotel, so I turn to FlyerTalk for possible answers.
Apr 1, 2015, 5:22 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Europe
Posts: 2,600
Park Hyatt New York sent me one of those -- only to ignore just about everything noted.
These pre-arrival preferences surveys are relatively rare, better luxury hotels have the reservations department or a member of management reach out to the guest and just send a nice note.
It definitely depends on the room or suite you book. A regular room reservation will get less attention, whereas a Presidential Suite-type booking creates more buzz: usually the hotel will be in touch with that person's PA or travel manager to be aware of the likes or dislikes. The CEO of Nestle wouldn't want to see a fridge of VOSS water on arrival in his suite? It's crucial they know the ins and outs.
Many hotels have SOPs to google the names of new arrivals, should their guest profile not already have the necessary information (Park Hyatt and FS do that).
I'm sure someone else can chime and what the typical process is after the hotel's reservations department is notified of an important reservation?
These pre-arrival preferences surveys are relatively rare, better luxury hotels have the reservations department or a member of management reach out to the guest and just send a nice note.
It definitely depends on the room or suite you book. A regular room reservation will get less attention, whereas a Presidential Suite-type booking creates more buzz: usually the hotel will be in touch with that person's PA or travel manager to be aware of the likes or dislikes. The CEO of Nestle wouldn't want to see a fridge of VOSS water on arrival in his suite? It's crucial they know the ins and outs.
Many hotels have SOPs to google the names of new arrivals, should their guest profile not already have the necessary information (Park Hyatt and FS do that).
I'm sure someone else can chime and what the typical process is after the hotel's reservations department is notified of an important reservation?
Apr 1, 2015, 6:36 pm
#3
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standard for some luxury properties
alila villas >
soneva is an example of a company that sends form via email
might be more common at luxury all-inclusive properties such as twin farms (twin farms is 20 rooms)
alila villas >
indicate our preferences (music, pillows, level of attention by the butler, etc) prior to check in? To give you an idea, you can click on the Alila Villas Uluwatu – Personal Preference Menu link to take a look. Go ahead and input a fake name/email address – nothing is saved until the form is submitted
I have never seen something like this before, at least. Have been asked to fill in a form a couple of times, but this has been mainly about minibar content and not something I have done. Mainly I just write an email about preferences or talk to this, but this electronic book was just so nice and informatice that it is a pleasure to fill in.
might be more common at luxury all-inclusive properties such as twin farms (twin farms is 20 rooms)
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Apr 2, 2015 at 1:49 pm
Apr 2, 2015, 12:08 am
#5
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: France
Posts: 971
They should not do that or they may be confused. Short story:
Usually we book hotel stays with my name. But it happened in the past that Pierre made the reservation directly. When it was the case the arrival at the hotel was almost like a welcome 'ceremony'
In 2012 the Dolder Grand in Zurich made a mistake which enlightened us. When they asked to confirm personal details, the information sheet they gave us was filled in with 'another Pierre' information. It is how we discovered that he has the same family name as a prominent CFO in a company making billions of revenue.So for sure if they try to Google us they might expect a much bigger bill than the reality
Apr 2, 2015, 12:12 am
#6
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Apr 2, 2015, 12:27 am
#8
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Apr 2, 2015, 2:37 am
#9
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Europe
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Really
They should not do that or they may be confused. Short story:
Usually we book hotel stays with my name. But it happened in the past that Pierre made the reservation directly. When it was the case the arrival at the hotel was almost like a welcome 'ceremony' In 2012 the Dolder Grand in Zurich made a mistake which enlightened us. When they asked to confirm personal details, the information sheet they gave us was filled in with 'another Pierre' information. It is how we discovered that he has the same family name as a prominent CFO in a company making billions of revenue.
So for sure if they try to Google us they might expect a much bigger bill than the reality
They should not do that or they may be confused. Short story:
Usually we book hotel stays with my name. But it happened in the past that Pierre made the reservation directly. When it was the case the arrival at the hotel was almost like a welcome 'ceremony'
In 2012 the Dolder Grand in Zurich made a mistake which enlightened us. When they asked to confirm personal details, the information sheet they gave us was filled in with 'another Pierre' information. It is how we discovered that he has the same family name as a prominent CFO in a company making billions of revenue.So for sure if they try to Google us they might expect a much bigger bill than the reality
They even go so far and customize aspects of the room according to possible likes in your Facebook profile, should they find one.
Apr 2, 2015, 9:40 am
#10
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 1,782
I would always be booking under Pierre's name if that was the case 
Really
They should not do that or they may be confused. Short story:
Usually we book hotel stays with my name. But it happened in the past that Pierre made the reservation directly. When it was the case the arrival at the hotel was almost like a welcome 'ceremony' In 2012 the Dolder Grand in Zurich made a mistake which enlightened us. When they asked to confirm personal details, the information sheet they gave us was filled in with 'another Pierre' information. It is how we discovered that he has the same family name as a prominent CFO in a company making billions of revenue.
So for sure if they try to Google us they might expect a much bigger bill than the reality
They should not do that or they may be confused. Short story:
Usually we book hotel stays with my name. But it happened in the past that Pierre made the reservation directly. When it was the case the arrival at the hotel was almost like a welcome 'ceremony'
In 2012 the Dolder Grand in Zurich made a mistake which enlightened us. When they asked to confirm personal details, the information sheet they gave us was filled in with 'another Pierre' information. It is how we discovered that he has the same family name as a prominent CFO in a company making billions of revenue.So for sure if they try to Google us they might expect a much bigger bill than the reality
Apr 2, 2015, 11:52 am
#11
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Apr 2, 2015, 1:45 pm
#12
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I figured the "what color would you like your bed sheets to be?" would jog someone's memory of a specific hotel, but perhaps it's either too specific to particular type of room or occasion (it was her honeymoon) or just not specific enough. The other clues were that it was a non-stop flight from JFK within a reasonable distance of a major airport in a non-English speaking country.
Apr 4, 2015, 6:03 pm
#15
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Posts: 3,317
A lot of companies require these kind of things lately...but it leans more towards hotel & tour combo companies (Explora, for example, whereby you aren't supposed to show up without filling physical/dietary info...also includes more personal/hospitality info on form.)