I see from the press that a hotel in Blackpool charges £100 to guests who post poor reviews of them online, and that the hotel is rated as number 858 of 894 hotels in the town. My cynic's view is that they might be finding it a goor way to raise extra money, especially as they're quite a cheap place towards the lower end of the market.
These day, though, all good hotels and B and B proprietors are working to get good reviews, thoughtful in handling justified but poor reviews, and concerned at what do do in the event in an unjustified, perhaps malicious, slamming. You may wonder "would that really happen" ... well, yes, I'm afraid it would.
1. We opened our doors to the cameras of "Four in a Bed" - a TV show in which only the highlights of a week's visits by guests least likely to choose to stay (given the option) are broadcast. It's set up to be an interesting show, and it's marvellous publicity - but it also raises emotions including (we have learned) in people who have never stayed, and who judge a place purely by what they see of it and its owners on TV, and have those emotions raised to such an extent that they follow up on what they think as if they had stayed.
2. People love a bargain. And some love complaining in order to get a better deal. "We always look for faults when we check in so we can complain and get an upgrade" said a contact to me once ... and I can believe it of her. We've been caught once (once too many) when I suggested to a guest who had reported a spec on the mirror that shouln't have been there that she pay what she felt to be the right amount, and she walked out at the end of her stay paying nothing. And this tiny minority of people will quite cheerfully threaten a poor review unless [insert what they want here] ... occasionally following through if the hotel doesn't give way.
So, I have an understanding for the folks in Blackpool. I think they have it wrong; I think they need to look at their product as say "perhaps these people have a point" ... but I do have an understanding.
And I was taken by a peverse parallel too. We too have a £100 charge in our terms and conditions which we may levy. We have a very late cancellation without penalty policy as business guests do need to change plans at the last minute on occasions, but late cancellations do cost us. So we reserve the right to make a charge of up to £100 in cicumstances where cancellations are not bona fide or prompt - say someone books a room "just in case", or if they decide they're not travelling weeks ahead, but only let us know with little notice. And we would also apply the charge should someone cancel, then phone in to re-book a few minutes later and ask for a last minute bargain price because "I know you had a room just cancel". They would probably find, indeed, that they weren't welcome to rebook even with the £100 penalty as the trust that's needed between guests and operator would have been broken. We have - never - made the charge. But if there's a good case to do so, make no mistake that we would.
(written 2014-11-20)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
M400 - Well House Manor - The Hospitality Business [774] Bed and Breakfast, or Hotel? - (2006-06-22)
[884] Drive time - (2006-10-02)
[922] Staying at your own hotel - (2006-11-12)
[988] You should think you're first in a hotel room - (2006-12-15)
[1002] Meet the neighbours - (2006-12-20)
[1046] Bounce, bounce, bounce - (2007-01-20)
[1048] Getting rid of people - hotel techniques - (2007-01-21)
[1084] Writing terms and conditions for conferences and other events - (2007-02-17)
[1108] Express service - (2007-03-14)
[1122] Hotel - online feedback forms compared - (2007-03-30)
[1161] A contrast in room rates and facilities - (2007-04-25)
[1180] Conjugation - (2007-05-08)
[1248] How NOT to oversell a hotel - (2007-06-27)
[1284] An update on the West Wilts show ... - (2007-07-30)
[1421] Castle Lodge Hotel, Ely, Cambridgeshire - (2007-11-04)
[1422] Wiltshire - speaker / after dinner talker offer - (2007-11-05)
[1445] Looking after you Christmas Customer Crowds - (2007-11-26)
[1548] Hotelympia - show report - the lighter side - (2008-02-21)
[1622] An extra step - victory from defeat - (2008-04-25)
[1792] All the pieces fall into place - hotel and courses - (2008-09-10)
[1877] Guests doing a bunk? - (2008-11-09)
[2007] Launch of Melksham Food and Drink Festival - (2009-01-24)
[2283] Everyone is in the customer relations business - (2009-07-12)
[2303] Turning potential customers away - (2009-07-24)
[2593] Food and drink launch - (2010-01-21)
[2724] Escapee Grandparents welcome - Henfield and Melksham - (2010-04-15)
[2879] Night Porter and reception - 24 hours a day? - (2010-07-20)
[2936] The service that customers should receive - (2010-08-27)
[3147] Hotel star ratings - towards a better system of review - (2011-01-25)
[3164] Brown - or Mrs Sally Brown, accountant from Whitstable? - (2011-02-10)
[3309] Tipping Policy - Well House Manor - (2011-05-29)
[3660] A Pivotal Incident - learning how to welcome your guests - (2012-03-18)
[3743] Sunday - no longer a day of rest - (2012-05-28)
[3832] A busy day at Well House Manor - so come in and make it even busier! - (2012-08-10)
[3838] Guest review - Well House Manor, Melksham - (2012-08-14)
[3909] Every Customer Counts - (2012-11-01)
[3988] Three cheers for the staff at Well House Manor - (2013-01-24)
[4033] Official Star ratings for hotels - still worth having? - (2013-03-07)
[4051] On reading a new hotel review - (2013-03-24)
[4202] Excellent Railfuture conference, but some setup lessons - (2013-11-03)
[4232] Not wanted here - hotel guests who will not be happy - (2013-12-30)
[4521] Should we get an AA or Visit Wiltshire hotel assessment? - (2015-10-09)
[4543] Saturday morning at Well House Manor - (2015-10-17)
[4603] Happy New Year. Our customers are our ambassadors - (2016-01-01)
[4613] Our best hotel customers help us ... to help them ... be our best customers. - (2016-01-04)
M401 - Well House Manor - Seeing how others do it [17] Differing tastes - (2004-08-17)
[514] Crazy Day-sies - (2005-12-02)
[619] If its Sunday, it must be the Norland - (2006-02-23)
[693] The on line booking experience - (2006-04-21)
[699] Extremes costs of getting on line - (2006-04-25)
[714] Room for Octopuses - (2006-05-08)
[736] New Tape Librarian - (2006-05-28)
[966] CSL, KISS and RTFM - (2006-12-05)
[1011] Well House Manor and Beechfield House, Hotels, Melksham - (2006-12-29)
[1026] The Wheatsheaf 2, The Bell 0 - (2007-01-09)
[1091] The Psyche is all wrong. - (2007-02-24)
[1205] Arrival and Departure experiences - another hotel - (2007-05-26)
[1287] Work and play at Well House Manor - Football and Shell Shortcuts - (2007-08-02)
[1301] Plastic or China - (2007-08-12)
[1333] Kasteel Elsloo - Michelin rated hotel. - (2007-09-05)
[1347] Wireless Internet Access at hotels - an update and some pitfalls - (2007-09-12)
[1354] Match the Bedroom to the Hotel - (2007-09-17)
[1356] Crystal Ball - How long do I need to be online? - (2007-09-18)
[1374] Maidenhead Coffee Challenge - (2007-10-02)
[1406] Away or home - which do I prefer? - (2007-10-25)
[1413] The little gestures that can really count - (2007-10-27)
[1454] From Sunday to Monday, from Melksham to the Balkans - (2007-12-03)
[1458] The wrong way to put up prices - (2007-12-05)
[1525] Just one thing let the service down - but that is my memory - (2008-01-31)
[1547] New bathing idea for hotels from Hotelympia - (2008-02-20)
[1597] Comparing hotels - as a guest and from the proprietors view - (2008-04-01)
[1672] The Composting Cone Challenge - (2008-06-10)
[1758] Lindors Hotel, near St. Briavels, Wye Valley - (2008-08-18)
[1915] Quietly putting prices up - (2008-12-02)
[2105] Hire Car, from Atlanta Airport - (2009-03-27)
[2127] Call in the professionals! - (2009-04-12)
[2308] A new place in pictures - (2009-07-28)
[2311] Floor to ceiling - (2009-07-30)
[2413] Sanity checking the price, and selling up to increase income - (2009-09-21)
[2441] Not your cup of tea? - (2009-10-08)
[2502] Monday night, Tuesday night - (2009-11-13)
[2885] Twenty Questions - (2010-07-24)
[2911] Feeding the Grockles - (2010-08-09)
[3054] Longhope Hotel - (2010-11-16)
[3333] Honesty and a friendly welcome goes a long way - (2011-06-25)
[3368] Well House Manor hotel, Melksham - recommended to you by our customers - (2011-07-23)
[3754] Eyes Wide Open - (2012-06-06)
[3776] Some traps it's so easy to fall into in designing your web site - (2012-06-23)
[3794] Should hotel staff sit on the toilet in the customer bedrooms? - (2012-07-02)
[3900] The Xxxxx Guest House in Xxxxxxxxxxx - my stay reviewed - (2012-10-20)
[3963] National TV - Melksham - 9th January 2013, Pre-alert. - (2012-12-27)
[3970] Comparing four VERY different places to stay - (2013-01-11)
[3975] Being an amateur hotel inspector helps me run a professional hotel - (2013-01-14)
[4058] The highs and lows of customer service - Cheltenham - (2013-04-03)
[4081] Pushing down the advertised price, pushing up the total price charged. - (2013-05-08)
[4091] A reminder of why we opened Well House Manor for our customers - (2013-05-17)
[4093] More things to make sure that we do NOT do ... - (2013-05-18)
[4109] What might you find at a tiny bed and breakfast? - (2013-06-03)
[4177] Setting and publishing your hours to suit your customer base - (2013-09-18)
[4245] It always happens to me when I'm in Borehamwood! - (2014-03-06)
[4255] Making a personal gain from a more expensive business hotel stay - (2014-04-02)
[4348] Taking my life in my hands in Swansea - (2014-12-11)
[4373] A long and disappointing evening - (2014-12-30)
[4443] Seventh stay away this year - and it's still only February! - (2015-02-25)
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