From the hotel 'no show' room incident, experts suggest how to handle when guests are late

Mr. Do Duy Thanh, Director of FnB Director & Horeca Business School Consulting Company, analyzed: In this case, the Royal Hostel hotel staff did not proactively contact the guest when they saw that he did not arrive on time, which means they missed the most basic step in hotel operations, which is to verify the guest's status and carry out the support process.

This is a clear operational error and demonstrates a lack of hospitality - the essence of the hospitality industry.

" Once 100% payment is received from the guest, the room is not just a product but a service commitment. Thinking that the guest will no longer use the service after the scheduled time and letting someone else rent the room is unprofessional behavior in the hotel business ," Mr. Thanh commented.

Royal Hostel Hotel No. 19 Hang Chao Street - = where the incident happened.

According to Mr. Thanh, if following the general policy of international OTA platforms (online travel platforms, providing products and services such as hotel bookings, airline tickets, tours), when guests do not arrive before midnight on the check-in date (0:00) and there is no late notice, the accommodation can be temporarily considered a "no show". However, it is still necessary to carry out the contact process to reconfirm with the customer.

If the hotel does not contact to confirm even though it has customer information, it may be considered irresponsible in performing the contract.

After the above incident, Mr. Do Duy Thanh said that hotels must require staff to be careful, review check-in procedures, and clearly define the responsibility to contact customers before canceling or renting rooms to other guests.

Hotels also need to integrate CRM and Zalo OA systems, send automatic messages confirming arrival times or asking about guest status to proactively support. More importantly, they must build a culture of quick response, ensuring that all incidents are handled immediately at the front line.

In addition, this expert also expressed disagreement with the Royal Hostel staff not assisting guests even though it was midnight. " A woman walking alone in the middle of a rainy night, carrying a paid bill, but being refused assistance, that is a manifestation of a lack of hospitality. The hotel industry does not only sell accommodation but also sells peace of mind and a feeling of being welcomed ," Mr. Do Duy Thanh acknowledged.

In this case, according to Mr. Thanh, instead of refusing to serve the customer, the receptionist can completely invite the customer to the lobby to rest temporarily, explain the situation gently and at the same time help the customer find another hotel nearby, if the rooms in his hotel are full.

" Just such a small action is enough to maintain trust, even turning an incident into a brand plus point," he said.

Sharing the same opinion, F&B expert Tran Trung Hieu said that if hotels do not make an effort to communicate with guests and apply regulations mechanically and rigidly, it is easy to cause resentment and anger from guests as well as the public.

'' The hotel's task is to explain and provide clear information to customers right from the time they book a room, then take care of them throughout before, during and after their stay at the hotel ,'' Mr. Hieu said.

As reported by VTC News, the incident of a female tourist being refused to check in at 2am at a hotel in Hanoi despite having paid in full has caused a stir on social networks. Recently, at a meeting with the O Cho Dua Ward Police, Ms. NTQH - owner of the Royal Hostel (No. 19 Hang Chao) - said that the hotel had received a room reservation from a guest named NYQ via the Agoda application, with a check-in date of November 7, but the guest did not come to check in. At around 2am on November 9, Ms. Q. came to check in and was told by the staff that the facility was full.

The hotel owner said that after receiving the information, the facility proactively contacted Ms. Q. to apologize and offer a refund. The facility also coordinated with the booking platform to process the refund. The hotel also admitted that the night shift staff did not fully understand the service process, leading to the unfortunate incident.

Meanwhile, confirming with VTC News reporter, Ms. Q. said that she had received an apology from the hotel and hoped that accommodation establishments would learn from experience in serving customers, especially in emergency situations or outside of business hours. Regarding the room refund, Ms. Q. still maintains her stance of not accepting it back, and hopes that the matter will end here, both to maintain her own mental comfort and to avoid affecting the hotel's business operations.

Hieu Nguyen

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tu-vu-khach-san-bung-phong-chuyen-gia-neu-cach-xu-ly-khi-khach-khong-dung-hen-ar986734.html