Received a gift from a hotel staff and later got an email for a positive review on TA
Sep 7, 2018, 8:31 am
#1
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Received a gift from a hotel staff and later got an email for a positive review on TA
Mr. was in a Marriott hotel on business (I'm home with the kids), booked on corp rate with lounge access (he is Plat. Prem.). He was very happy with the hotel - the service and the lounge offerings.
He was asked to take a picture with the lounge staff (don't know if he did), he also got a gift of some Ferrero Roche and some craft things from the lounge manager. He showed me while we were messaging each other.
I have full access of his emails (except his work ones), and then I saw the lounge (F&B) manager sent him an email after Mr. told me about the gift:
If Mr. enjoyed his stay there's no need to bribe him with a gift to ask him to write a review. It feels wrong.
He was asked to take a picture with the lounge staff (don't know if he did), he also got a gift of some Ferrero Roche and some craft things from the lounge manager. He showed me while we were messaging each other.
I have full access of his emails (except his work ones), and then I saw the lounge (F&B) manager sent him an email after Mr. told me about the gift:
......
We need your feedback about your Stay Experience in Executive Lounge at Trip Advisor . Hope you are happy with our small gift.
In today’s age Trip advisor plays a vital role in shaping up customer perception, may I request you to share your delightful feedback on that forum and assist other travelers like yourself to come and enjoy our famed hospitality . It could be Helpful for my team.
I have send you this link.
......
We will see you soon.
We Missed you in Lounge.
It was a real pleasure to be of service to you and if there is anything I can do to make your next stay with us more comfortable,
We need your feedback about your Stay Experience in Executive Lounge at Trip Advisor . Hope you are happy with our small gift.
In today’s age Trip advisor plays a vital role in shaping up customer perception, may I request you to share your delightful feedback on that forum and assist other travelers like yourself to come and enjoy our famed hospitality . It could be Helpful for my team.
I have send you this link.
......
We will see you soon.
We Missed you in Lounge.
It was a real pleasure to be of service to you and if there is anything I can do to make your next stay with us more comfortable,
Sep 7, 2018, 10:00 am
#2
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This is SO WRONG on all levels on what the hotel has done, especially asking to have picture taken with the staff... I hope he has not agreed to. Who knows what the picture(s) would be used? and then plastered all over the net...
And if Mr. not follow suit, he would be blacklisted by this property?
And if Mr. not follow suit, he would be blacklisted by this property?
Sep 7, 2018, 11:46 am
#4
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This is SO WRONG on all levels on what the hotel has done, especially asking to have picture taken with the staff... I hope he has not agreed to. Who knows what the picture(s) would be used? and then plastered all over the net...
And if Mr. not follow suit, he would be blacklisted by this property?
And if Mr. not follow suit, he would be blacklisted by this property?
Sep 7, 2018, 12:00 pm
#5
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What annoys me the most is, these days on all the hotel surveys I care to fill out, it always asks if you want to share this on TripAdvisor / FB / whatever. This is from every chain, not just Marriott group.
For authentic reviews I would use Booking's due to you can only post a review if you have stayed there. Reviews on TP are not always from the actual guests. Didn't EU fine TripAdvisor a few years back for publishing fake reviews?
Sep 7, 2018, 7:32 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Redondo Beach, CA USA
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I see nothing wrong here. Hotels (and many other businesses, for that matter) live or die these days based on internet reviews. I am now used to being pestered to leave a review on Yelp or TripAdvisor or whatever (which I rarely do unless something is remarkable, either in the positive or negative direction). I don't see the e-mail (which certainly appears to be written by someone whose English is not the best, so maybe this is a foreign hotel) as presenting a quid pro quo of the little lounge gift for a good review. More of a "hey, we hope you enjoyed your stay including all the little extras, and we'd appreciate it if you would leave a review to that effect).
Sep 8, 2018, 3:12 am
#7
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I see nothing wrong here. Hotels (and many other businesses, for that matter) live or die these days based on internet reviews. I am now used to being pestered to leave a review on Yelp or TripAdvisor or whatever (which I rarely do unless something is remarkable, either in the positive or negative direction). I don't see the e-mail (which certainly appears to be written by someone whose English is not the best, so maybe this is a foreign hotel) as presenting a quid pro quo of the little lounge gift for a good review. More of a "hey, we hope you enjoyed your stay including all the little extras, and we'd appreciate it if you would leave a review to that effect).
Mr. doesn't even have a TA account......he is not a review person.
Sep 8, 2018, 6:39 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,324
The hotel is not a hotel in the US - this is the first time happened to him (I got a business card from a hotel in the US and asked me to leave a review). I don't understand why they need to do that - if the hotel provided great service (which they did), then Mr. will be recommending the hotel to others (I was asked by a friend as he's trying to decide which hotel to stay in his next business trip).
Mr. doesn't even have a TA account......he is not a review person.
Mr. doesn't even have a TA account......he is not a review person.
Sep 13, 2018, 3:23 pm
#9
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Location: Philadelphia
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I’m currently traveling in Asia and was really surprised by how often I get asked to specifically mention names on TA reviews. Even at a St Regis, the housekeeping who proactly helped me to bring luggage from the room door to the elevator asked me to mention her. On one hand I was grateful for her proactive help. But asked being asked for the mention, it just cheapens the experience a little.
Sep 13, 2018, 5:14 pm
#10
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I’m currently traveling in Asia and was really surprised by how often I get asked to specifically mention names on TA reviews. Even at a St Regis, the housekeeping who proactly helped me to bring luggage from the room door to the elevator asked me to mention her. On one hand I was grateful for her proactive help. But asked being asked for the mention, it just cheapens the experience a little.
Sep 13, 2018, 6:38 pm
#11
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If I can help someone who works hard by leaving a good review and helping their job security, what's wrong with that.
Sep 13, 2018, 10:08 pm
#12
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Sep 14, 2018, 3:03 am
#13
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Mr. is back for 6 days now and he has already got 2 more emails from the hotel asking him to leave a review. Personally I think it's just too much. Mr. never writes reviews - it's not his thing and I don't think he will do it.
Sep 14, 2018, 4:22 am
#14
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I don’t see anything wrong with this. The hotel sought out guests who had a good stay to write a review. Probably have better luck rather than people who had a mediocre stay. It didn’t say the gift was in anticipation of or in exchange for a good review. I think the two things are independent.
Sep 14, 2018, 5:04 am
#15
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To me I see nothing wrong in the hotel / lounge emailing asking for a review. Where it goes badly wrong is the mention of the gift in the email, that to me makes the gift more akin to blackmail and actually removes any good thought I would have about the gift and its intentions.
Do a review and mention the gift and the email, let people make their own minds up. The hotel may change strategy then somewhat.
Do a review and mention the gift and the email, let people make their own minds up. The hotel may change strategy then somewhat.