Common Missteps in Hotel Management

Hotels are held up to high standards, and if any guest runs into serious negligence by management, then that hotel will be hit hard with negative reviews and bad publicity. To stay in front of possible problems, hotels must be aware of the most common problems that guests come into contact with when staying overnight. After a guest invests money and the fate of their trip or vacation in a hotel, they develop a sensitive judgment of that hotel's appearance, comfort and hospitality. The success or failure of a hotel lies in guest reaction and opinion of how well their stay at the hotel went. Topping the list of complaints that ruin hotel credibility are poor customer service and environment.

A guest expects the hotel staff to treat them with warmth and maintain an obligation to fulfill any request they make. Staff must listen to their guests and give them any available service to help them stay comfortable and adjusted to their temporary home. Poorly managed hotels often have staff that seem disinterested and simply want to get their paycheck and leave. Finding staff that are friendly and can offer good insight into the area surrounding the hotel are essential, because unhelpful, rude or lazy staff automatically shatters hotel credibility and detracts from a guest's stay.

Even if the staff is friendly, a bad environment will leave guests with a spoiled view of the hotel. A room that has bugs, stains, poor design or noisy surroundings all are common problems with badly run hotels. Staff must clean the room every day that a guest stays, because negligence will be noticed. Stale design and a boring or nonexistent window view injure an initial reaction and take away from any excitement generated from arriving at the hotel. Noisy neighbors and close proximity to loud ice machines or the swimming pool may enrage guests who are trying to get some sleep.

Well-run hotels put customer service and maintenance at the forefront. Hotels need to do whatever they can to ensure that guests don't hear much outside noise, are provided with daily cleaning service and arrive with a comfortable room to stay. Good managers look for any and all ways to accommodate each of their guests and hold up the standard that all hotels should swear by.