Executive Travel : ‘Mystery Guests’ Keep Hotels on Their Toes

Standards that business and other frequent travelers have come to expect are being met and maintained with the help of spies.

Some hotel chains hire professional consultants to pose as guests. Others have in-house employees who do the same thing.

Consulting firms that provide professional “guests” to hotel and motel chains are widely used.

Carl Braunlich of the Department of Restaurant, Hotel, Institutional and Tourism Management at Purdue University calls them “mystery guests” and says their aim is different from that of people working for auto association and other travel guides.

“The mystery shopper emphasis is really on service quality--interaction between guest and employee--how quickly they can check in, do they have the reservation,” he said. “Mystery guests are valuable because they will see things that managers never see.”

He said one large mystery guest firm hires only people with extensive lodging industry experience, trains them and expects quick, detailed reports, while another recruits people off the street.

He said one positive impact of such services is that they keep employees on their toes.

Hyatt Hotels said it uses a number of the services on an as-needed basis. “We find them valuable,” a spokeswoman said.

Stephen Givlin, senior vice president for operations at Omni Hotels, said the chain hires a company that provides professional guests who even carry thermometers to measure the temperature of the room and for whom complex messages have been left to see how well the front desk relays them.

But he said Omni’s first line of intelligence remains the inspectors who make three unannounced visits yearly to its properties. Their opinions are expressed in a rating system used in the chain’s directory. The company says inns that move up in the ratings see an increase in guests and can raise rates.