Mystery guest in a hotel: which stages to evaluate, from booking to departure?

Stages 1 to 3: booking, pre-arrival, arrival

The first three stages decide the perception of the stay, because they set expectations. A booking request handled in twenty minutes does not leave the same impression as an answer obtained after three follow-ups, and a preference declared at that moment becomes a truth test: will it be picked up at the table, in the room, at the spa?

Arrival concentrates the most visible risk, waiting. We measure the time before the first contact, the way that wait is occupied, the handling of luggage and the clarity of the practical information given to the guest.

• Booking: response time, accuracy of the information given, traceability of preferences
• Pre-arrival: confirmation of the stay, reopening of the file, anticipation of particular requests
• Arrival: time before the first contact, guest recognition, handling the wait
• Check-in: luggage handling, practical information, accuracy of the amount announced

Stages 4 and 5: room, housekeeping, dining

The room is observed twice: at arrival, then on returning from dinner. The second pass is the most revealing, because it measures how the standard holds at the end of the day, when the housekeeping headcount is reduced and protocols loosen.

In dining and at breakfast, the observation covers the follow-through on declared preferences, the advice actually given, the synchronisation between guests and the replenishment at the busiest hours.

• Room at arrival: invisible cleanliness, equipment actually usable, state of the linen
• Returning from dinner: is the room at the level it had in the morning?
• Breakfast: replenishment, temperatures, availability of the stations at the busiest hour
• Dining: follow-through on preferences, advice, order of service between guests

Stages 6 and 7: the night, departure, the post-stay relationship

The night is the least audited and the most discriminating moment. A request made at eleven in the evening, a minor incident to handle: those situations show the house without close supervision, and often without the guest thinking to mention them later.

Departure and the post-stay relationship close the loop. We check the accuracy of the bill, the handling of an unusual request without a visible escalation, the response time to a comment and the real use made of guest information in the file.

• Night: response to an out-of-hours request, discretion, security of access points
• Departure: processing time, accuracy of the bill, guest recognition
• Post-stay: response time to a comment, guest information kept and reused

Turning the stages into usable findings

A stage only has value if it produces a debatable finding. We require three elements for every observation: the moment, the evidence and the workstation concerned. “Disappointing welcome” is not a finding; “fifteen minutes of waiting before the first contact at 19:40, two receptionists on duty” is one.

The stages are then repeated in a fixed order during the control visit, three or six months later, in order to compare what has been corrected rather than what has been announced.