A handwritten note may be well-intentioned, but Guest feedback processes should feel professional, structured and easy to respond to. The way feedback is requested often says as much about an operation as the feedback itself.
Hotels want feedback. They need it. Reviews influence booking decisions, reputation, ranking, team morale and sometimes even management bonuses.
So when a Guest has a poor experience, asking for feedback should be an opportunity to recover, learn and show professionalism.
But the way the request is made matters.
After a disappointing breakfast service, a Guest was handed a scruffy piece of till roll with a handwritten name and asked to leave a review. No branded card. No proper process. No apology that matched the experience. Just an improvised request that looked as careless as the service that came before it.
The intention may have been good. The execution was not.
Feedback requests should feel considered. They should be easy for the Guest, consistent with the brand and connected to genuine improvement. When they feel random or desperate, they make the property look less professional.
Worse, they can irritate the Guest. If the experience has already fallen short, a poor request for feedback becomes another negative touchpoint.
A hotel should never make the Guest feel responsible for fixing its service problem. The Guest may choose to help. The hotel must still own the failure.
Informal is not always personal. Sometimes it is just unprofessional.
The GUESTX View
Feedback systems should be clear, consistent and properly managed. If the feedback process feels poor, the Guest may review that too.
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