MAY 2020
ACCOMMODATION SECTOR
ALEXANDRA TIGANESTEANU
TOURISM MAGAZINE
HOW TO MANAGE...
COMPLAINTS AND CLAIMS? The hidden side of hotel establishments.
VOL. 1
Here you will find the solution to your problems.
Index YOUR GUIDE TO ISSUE NO.01
2 Complaints, claims, bad experiences...
3 Which are the most common complaints?
5 How do tourists manage complaints and claims?
7 Which are the solutions?
8 Webgraphy
COMPLAINTS, CLAIMS, BAD EXPERIENCES... DOES THAT RING A BELL?
Rooms "with sea views" where the smell of saltpetre
Another of the most repeated complaints, detailed from
doesn't even reach, hotels "on the beach" where you
the OCU, is related to the inconvenience and noise in the
need a car to get to the sand, unexpected guests
rooms.
who share the room with you (insects, humidity), allinclusive rates where you have to pay for any extra
The FACUA sent the figures of its annual report for 2017,
services. These are just a few examples of misleading
which included a total of 6,204 complaints in the leisure
advertising
and tourism sector and 23,722 queries in this same area.
that
can
be
found
among
the
most
common consumer complaints.
Miguel Ă ngel Serrano, member of the legal team and manager of Facua explains that, as is the case with the
From the OCU they indicate that they do not have
OCU, the majority of complaints in the hotel and catering
official count figures regarding the consultations and
sector
complaints they receive in this section but, without a
periods.
second's
complaints focus on the fact that "the service provided or
hesitation,
advertising"
is
the
they most
confirm common
that
"misleading
cause
for
are
concentrated
He
also
in
explains
the that
summer the
and
vast
holiday
majority
of
these
the conditions of the room do not correspond to what has
protests. "In general", they say, the vast majority of
been contracted or, on occasion, quite frequently", he
queries and complaints refer to the fact that what
points out, "there are also problems when it comes to
users find when they arrive at the accommodation
cancelling
does not correspond to what was advertised in the
provide for this possibility", he continues, "our members
offer. Be it the type of accommodation, its location,
often
the services included in the service, etc"
that they can get their money back".
a
reservation,
encounter
problems
even
with
though
these
the
conditions
cancellations
so
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WHICH ARE THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINTS? As the number of tourists is increasing, so are doing the complaints and claims that they have. The following table shows the most common problems that can cause clients to have a bad experience, as well as possible solutions:
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Every hotel has a regulation, according to which they can When you make a reservation, the hotel
demand an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage
requires a deposit. Is that correct?
of the total of the reservation or to the price of a certain number of days of which we are going to be accommodated.
Depending on the number of days before the cancellation, the hotel can keep a proportional part of the deposit or even all of it. Some hotels or reservation websites may refund the total price of the room if we have already paid for it, although this I am forced to cancel my reservation.
condition is also subject to particular conditions regarding the
Am I entitled to a refund of part of the
number of days remaining to the date of entry to the hotel. In
amount?
order to be sure that we can recover our money invested in the reservation, a travel cancellation insurance would cover 100% of the expenses not enjoyed by contracting hotels, flights or excursions, always according to the conditions set out in the policy.
We would be faced with a case of overbooking when more places have been sold than they can offer us. If we cannot stay at the hotel booked for this reason, the regional laws oblige
the
hotel
to
provide
us
with
accommodation
in
an
establishment in the same area, of equal or higher category, and under similar conditions to those agreed. In addition, we On arrival at the hotel I am informed
are entitled to be covered for travel expenses until the final
that
accommodation,
the
occupied.
room
we
have
booked
is
price
difference
if
any,
and
any
other
expenses until we are definitively lodged. If we do not accept the change of hotel, we will be entitled to the corresponding reimbursement for breach of contract and to receive a free place
on
a
means
of
transport
to
return
to
the
place
of
departure. Having a travel insurance will allow us to reimburse expenses for the change of hotels or apartments to a lower category than originally planned.
3
The hotel is obliged to inform which is its category and to clearly specify basic information such as location or contact details, characteristics of the room and of the facilities and services provided which are included in our reservation. It is very important to keep it for future claims. I discover that the real characteristics are
very
different
from
those
I
was
 In general, you can only complain about contracted services that have not been provided or that do not exist. If any of
informed about.
them cannot be offered by the hotel normally, the hotel must communicate this at the time of booking, either directly or through an agency. Because of this loss of services they should offer us a reduction in price. If they did not inform us properly, it is necessary to claim for compensation.
Let us know in advance that hotels are not responsible for the loss or theft of items within their facilities. However, if we believe that our room has been robbed, it is essential that we make a claim at the reception desk, in case internally they decide to study it and talk to their employees. IÂ suffer a robbery in the room or in the safe of the hotel.
 With regard to losses of what we have in th safe, the hotel will only take charge of the valuable objects or mone deposited there if a declaration of the value of the objects has been previously made, and this has been recognised and signed by both the hotel and us. However, we can always go to the police to make a complaint if the hotel is not successful in our claim.
If the accident has occurred due to negligence or failure to I am forced to cancel my reservation. Am I entitled to a refund of part of the amount?
comply
with
the
hotel's
safety
measures,
we
can
claim
compensation for damages through the claims book, or by handing in a letter at the reception desk with the stamp and signature attesting that it has been received along with the rest of the necessary documentation.
We
should
be
aware
that
any
advertising,
description
and
information of services that do not conform to the truth and that On arrival at the hotel I am informed that
the
occupied.
room
we
have
booked
is
may
lead
to
deception
or
confusion
is
considered
a
serious consumer offence and that we are entitled to make a complaint. To do so, we will ask the hotel for a complaint form, where we will record our complaint, and we will present a copy of this form to the consumer office of the Autonomous Community
where
documentation
the
showing
hotel that
is
located,
the
service
together offered
with is
free
the of
charge.
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HOW DO TOURISTS MANAGE COMPLAINTS AND CLAIMS? Due to the great increase in the number of hotel and tourist establishments, there are more and more complaints of a very diverse nature, and like the sources that give rise to this type of problem, the means used to try to resolve them are also varied:
Official websites to help consumers and users:
Complaints (addressed
https://www.facua.org/tudenuncia.php
in to
social
networks,
companies)
both
and
direct indirect
(published on personal walls):
https://www.ocu.org/reclamar
Public videos on social networks:
5
Opinions on pages specially designed for this
News:
purpose:
However, this medium is not chosen by the users, but rather
can
be
procedure
defined
as
(complaints
an
and
echo
of
claims)
this due
type to
of the
magnitude reached by the problems raised as well as, on
many
occasions,
by
the
very
different
solutions
presented in some cases.
According to a study carried out by Porter Novelli, a communication consultant, through its specialized area in digital communication, 21% of the queries or complaints
on
the
social
networks
of
the
hotels
analyzed did not receive a response in the public domain. Of these, 90% were queries and 10% were complaints.
Another
key
channelling
aspect of
observed
responses.
In
in
the
study
general
is
the
terms,
the
chains refer queries or complaints to an email (27%) or remain in the channel chosen by the customer to respond (23%). They also referred to the web (12%), especially when the queries were related to offers or promotions, and only 4% were directed to the telephone. In most of the latter cases it was to handle specific queries about a particular hotel of one of the companies.
Finally, it is worth noting that none of these five chains have exclusive customer service profiles on social
networks
to
manage
their
doubts
and
queries. This type of information is diluted among the
rest
of
advertising
the and
comments user
linked
opinions
on
to
their
marketing, corporate
profiles on Twitter and Facebook.
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WHICH ARE THE SOLUTIONS? As far as all tourists are concerned, as consumers
However, to avoid this type of problem, Facua and
and users, if we experience any kind of problem, we
OCU agree on the importance of reading carefully
must complain on the spot, and this is recorded for
what is contracted, the conditions under which the
when
holidays are contracted and the services included to
they
appropriate,
return.
In
whenever
addition, possible,
it to
would approach
be a
avoid future problems.
consumer office or a local association for advice. Checking the reliability of the online platform or The importance of complaining on the spot lies in the
the
possibility of presenting evidence of the incident in
contracted is the following recommendation.
agency
where
a
hotel
service
or
a
trip
is
question which may be key to being right. The OCU also reminds us that if a reservation is As consumers and users, we must be very careful at
cancelled
all times. We must not tolerate any internal complaint
companies charge penalties, so it is important to
sheets or suggestion sheets: we must only accept
plan the dates well.
official
complaint
sheets,
always
accompanied
less
than
15
days
in
advance
many
by
two copies: one to be sent to the consumer bodies,
Always use secure payment gateways with https
and another for the establishment.
protocol.
In
order
to
carry
out
this
type
of
procedure
Another aspect that the OCU reminds us is that
satisfactorily, we must always take into account the
the combined trips in which a minimum of one
law which, at national level, recognises our rights as
night
consumers and users:
guarantees.
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2007/11/30/p dfs/A49181-49215.pdf
in
a
hotel
is
contracted
have
more
If you have been a victim of a fraud, both the OCU
and
Facua
recommend
that
you
make
a
complaint immediately and, in the event of a false purchase or reservation, always report it to the Civil Guard or police.
Finally, a solution that all hotel companies should consider with regard to the quality of the customer service they provide on social networks would be to have a specific channel that allows companies to anticipate possible doubts or regular queries and proactively offer information of interest, whether tutorials or advice. Likewise, this channel would allow all queries and complaints to be channelled, instead of being blurred in the companies' different corporate profiles mixed with other content, which would make it easier to manage them better and reduce response times, a key aspect in offering a differential customer service experience on social networks.
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WEBGRAPHY https://tur43.es/general/reclamaciones-hoteleras-como-y-por-que-se-quejan-los-huespedes.html https://www.hosteltur.com/tag/reclamaciones https://www.hosteltur.com/125660_quejas-consumidores-servicios-turisticos-suben-10.html https://www.hotelgest.com/gestion-de-reservas/reclamaciones-mas-comunes-en-hoteles/ https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2958739/0/quejas-sindica-barcelona-turismo/ http://www.turiscom.org/articulo/estudios-e-informes/metodo-mas-eficiente-gestion-quejasturismo/20160114181706001504.html http://www.nexotur.com/noticia/103880/NEXOTUR/Tiempo-de-reserva-y-mala-gestion-quejasmas-comunes.html https://elpais.com/economia/2020-04-15/aerolineas-y-agencias-de-viajes-encabezan-las-quejasde-los-consumidores-por-la-crisis-del-coronavirus.html https://www.consumoresponde.es/temas/establecimientos_hoteleros
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