We've proven how easy it is to collect 300,000 United points, 200,000 Hilton points, plus an array of amazing airline and hotel perks for nominal out of pocket fees. In doing so we have redeemed our points for nearly $20,000 in premium travel, at an out of pocket cost of $1,200, which offset a base cost of at least $5,000 that we would have otherwise had to pay.
From a few $4,000+ flights in business class crossing the Atlantic to a $700/night three-bedroom suite in Dubai, we used our points to upgrade into some serious luxury.
But with these premium outings came many experiences that had us questioning our brand loyalty along the way. This happened so many times with one particular chain that we finally asked ourselves a startling question: "When is enough, enough?"
When Brands Lose Customers
It doesn't take much for a company to lose a customer in the digital age, and major brands appear to be blind to what is going on.
For us, all it took to start our questioning our loyalty to one hotel chain was a few repeated check-in delays of 1 1/2 and 2 hours and staff members that clearly didn't care.
In the first instance it was in that $700/night room where we lost more than 2 hours of our time waiting for it to become available. If you want to put that on a dollar amount, that would be around $60 of room fees lost plus our own time spent waiting (which I value much higher on the freelance market). In the next resort it was a little less time and a cheaper room rate, but the same poor check-in policies were to blame.
That is all it took for us to wonder if we should be finished with that brand for the foreseeable future.
If you think that this is a really simple reason for us to change our opinion of a chain, you'd be right! For most travelers it is the little details that cause the most annoyance when they're out of place, and we truly cannot fathom how a hotel could overlook such simplicities like having the room ready at the promised time.
So while a chain may have thousands of customers who are loyal for life, they are missing out on converting far more into that coveted category through simple issues that seem easy enough to fix.
How Can Hotels Fix This Problem?
I could make the claim that I could stay 3-5 nights at any property in the world, stay in a handful of rooms, and give a laundry list of ways to improve the hotel's offering.
Why can I make this claim so openly?
Most of the issues that turn customers off are the basic things. We never talk about the fact that the infinity pool was a bit smaller than in another resort, or compare the free water sports and entertainment offered between properties.
These are not issues most travelers care about.
Instead the biggest concerns are always the most minor things: front desk issues, a leaky faucet, slow-to-heat showers, broken air conditioning, poor wifi, or an unresponsive team manager after a request.
Doesn't that sound like something anyone can pick up on?
That is precisely the point. If anyone can note it, and frequently do on comment cards and TripAdvisor, why are the issues still there?
Some Brands Don't Care
I often worry that brands couldn't care less about the quality of their properties.
Why is that? Well, as long as the rooms are sold out and the guests are spending large amounts of money, they can do whatever they want. If one or two guests fall through the cracks, they can be written off as the cost of doing business in such a huge property.
For us, we've been at the receiving end of these policy issues far too many times and are starting to put our foot down when enough is enough. Sure, we can complain on social media and get some resolution for ourselves, but that only happens because we have 13,000+ travel followers on Twitter. Not everyone else is so lucky, and having to throw our weight as travel writers to reach an adequate solution means that the problem has gone on far longer than it should have.
Looking back on those hotel issues we mentioned at the beginning of this article, we have to wonder what happened to those dozens of other guests who were stuck with the same issue on the days we checked in hours late. Did they receive an adequate response for their complaints? My guess is that they didn't, and that is completely unacceptable.
If a brand is wanting to receive loyalty from their customers, it is only fair the customers expect the same in return. Until that happens, we'll be keeping our options open.
Won't you do the same?
Do you have an experience where a hotel or other travel brand has put you through issues on multiple occasions such that you switched brands? Comment below and join the conversation!
