Travel Tip 56

What to do when a hotel is bad.

My room at Casa del Sol in Aguas Calientes, Peru was great but the service was not.

5 tips for what to do when a hotel is bad.

Travel long enough, and odds are you’ll experience a problem at a hotel. Here’s what to do when something goes wrong.

(Today is a rerun because I’m away this week, reporting on the Virgin of Carmen Festival in Paucartambo, Peru).

1. Is the problem fixable or not?

Assess if the hotel can reasonably fix the problem. Missing towels, toiletries and remote controls that don’t work should be a quick fix. Broken shades, leaky faucets and stained sheets are fixable, but take long enough that the hotel should move you to another room. Loud bars nearby or rooms that are not what you booked might not be fixable. Consider if you have the time and energy to ask for a refund and go find another hotel.

Free spa treatments

The service wasn’t good at Casa del Sol but a free spa treatment meant that I still left happy.

2. Decide what do you want the solution to be.

Before you take the problem to hotel staff or management, think about what you want. Would moving to a different room make you happy? An upgrade to a better room? A free meal at a restaurant or free spa service? If you can tell hotel staff what would fix the problem, then they don’t have to guess what might work for you.

Sometimes it’s my mistake

I was surprised by how tiny this room was in Medellín, Colombia but when I checked the reservation details I realized that I hadn’t paid attention to the room size. I got exactly what I had booked.

3. Communicate effectively with hotel management.

No matter how upset you are, it’s best to keep an even tone and try to speak calmly. You can certainly say that you’re angry or upset but try not to act like it. Consider who should hear the complaint. Most of the time the front desk staff can handle problems but if it’s something big then it should go directly to management. If you have an email address for hotel admin, consider first speaking to the front desk staff and then emailing admin what the problem is and if the staff already fixed it or not.

4. Address the problem asap.

Take a good look around the room when you first get there, because that’s the best moment to ask for changes or fixes. If you’ve spent a couple days in a room, then tell the hotel staff that it’s unacceptable, they’re likely to question you. You accepted it for two days already, so why complain now?

“Breakfast is included”

The Patagonia Hotel in Punta Arenas, Chile advertises that breakfast is brought to your room. It turned out to be a basket with two hard rolls, a dry donut, slimy ham, and mushy cherries. I had a kitchenette but no coffee.

5. Document the problem.

Take photos with your phone and email them to hotel management. If the problem isn’t visible, try to document some sort of evidence, even if that’s just the email you send.

I book hotels through Booking.com and choose hotels that don’t require a deposit ahead of time. I pay upon arrival. That way, if the place isn’t as described or I can tell as I check in that I don’t want to stay there, I haven’t lost a deposit. If I’m not sure about a place, I ask to see the room before I check in and pay.

Problems happen, even at the best hotels.

Unless the problem is particularly egregious, try to give the hotel the benefit of the doubt. People make mistakes and problems that a hotel can fix should be regarded as opportunities for a hotel to show you how well they can deal with issues. You might get an upgrade or something free that will ultimately make you like the hotel even more than you would have if nothing had gone wrong 

The hotel room isn’t everything

So, my room was loud at Arakur Resort. The outdoor heated infinity pool, excellent food and beautiful hiking trails more than made up for it!

Try to not let the problem ruin your trip.

Accommodation is just one of many things that can go wrong on a trip. It’s not worth fixating on a problem at a hotel at the expense of not enjoying the rest of your trip. In most cases, the best thing is to ask the hotel staff to fix the problem, then go enjoy the place you’re visiting.

The Saqras represent devils at the Festival of the Virgin of Carmen in Paucartambo, Peru.

Blog

Paucartambo Festival of the Virgin of Carmen

This week I’m back in Paucartambo for my second Festival of the Virgin of Carmen with the Saqras. Here’s my blog from last year, as I was getting to know the Saqras for the first time. This year I’ll be writing about them for Ori Magazine and I couldn’t be more excited!

I don’t have an article for you this week since I’m in Paucartambo all week (July 14-20).