Lousy Hotel Service Causing Big Headaches for Planners
by Harvey ChipkinThis part one in a two-part series on hotel service issues for meetings
When meeting planner Kyle Hillman, CMP, found himself running around a hotel, picking up dirty dishes from room service deliveries, he knew things were not right at the property hosting his group’s conference.
Hillman is conference manager for the National Association of Social Workers, and he is outspoken about what he sees as a serious decline in hotel service.
“There’s definitely been a huge drop-off in service,” Hillman told Travel Market Report.
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“Those at the top end, like Loews and MGM, have maintained their spending on the product. It’s at the other franchised brands of some major companies where we’re regularly confronting serious issues of quality and service.”
‘New face of the industry’
Staffing is a big part of the issue, said Hillman, an independent planner. “A lot of hotels have high employee turnover, and the service has dropped as a result. I don’t know how some of them can fix it.
“I went on a site visit a few months ago, and the person giving me the tour became lost. She had to ask a maintenance man the way. That is the new face of the industry.”
The problem is not universal, he said. “With the higher-end brands, they invest so much in training that their people tend to stay. When managers have been there awhile, they can give me an accurate picture – including the ugly side of the situation.”
But high-end brands aren’t always an option for Hillman, whose clients include some with tight budgets.
Deferred improvements
Hillman, who has been a meeting planner for 11 years, has had to learn to navigate the new hotel landscape.
That landscape includes poorly maintained physical plants. “Operators of hotels put off renovation costs during the recession, and they’re way behind in maintenance,” Hillman said.
“The problem is that there are so many deferred improvements, and a lot of that is due to the economy. They used to have a 10-year maintenance cycle, and now maybe it’s 12 years or more.
“Now you look at a space and they are offering a better deal than in the past, because they know they’re underperforming.”
At the dirty dishes meeting, Hillman and his staff overcame some of that underperformance themselves. “My staff and I managed to deal with some shortcomings by doing a lot of the work on our own – so attendees wouldn’t notice all the problems.”
Trailing in technology
Inadequate technology is particularly aggravating to Hillman.
“Hotels have gotten so far behind the curve. I see a lot of patchwork fixes. Rather than put in a new wireless system, they’ll do some additions to existing equipment.
“You have to have sophisticated video to do what I need to do, because our meetings are mostly educational. Sometimes we have to broadcast events live. We can’t afford to go to hotels that are not prepared. True Wi-Fi is a decider for a venue choice – or else I’ll be hearing from attendees.
“I did a large conference last year at a property where the technology was outdated and the service was understaffed. I had a limited budget and had no clue in advance about the staffing issues.
“I knew going in they weren’t on top of the technology. They’re under a respected brand, but their projectors and even their room signs were out of date. One of our presenters forgot to bring his laptop and I swear they brought out a 1990 laptop with Windows 95.”
“I have learned my lessons,” Hillman said.
Rethinking site inspections
One of those lessons has to do with hotel visits during the site selection phase. “I have had to rethink how I do site inspections.
“I went to one property in Chicago that had redone one floor of rooms, which they showed me. I asked about the actual rooms my attendees would be staying in. In those, the furniture was all scratched up and the bathroom fixtures dinged. Now I ask to see all the floors instead of just one.
“It’s not a good situation. Even if you’re not getting the flagship brand, you do expect some standards from the overall brand, and that is frequently not happening.”
Hillman concedes that it’s tough for many hotels to keep up with necessary investments. “Some hotels promise good Wi-Fi, but many of my attendees now use their phones and need cell towers, not Wi-Fi hotspots. The hotels constantly have to play catch-up.”
Next: How planners can address hotel service issues in contracts.
