My name is Marshall Mills and I want to demystify and bring to light some things that travelers may not be aware of while traveling. We can plan all we want, but sometimes accidents happen or things don’t go as planned. It’s best to come with a plan and expect everything to not be perfect 100% of the time. As a hospitality employee, I’ve listed some travel advice and hope that this helps with putting things in perspective, and to better understand what is going on behind the scenes
Travel Advice From A Hospitality Employee
#1 Hotel Stays
If something goes wrong with your stay, your dining experience, or your activity, give the vendor a chance to make it right BEFORE you leave. Leaving a negative TripAdvisor, or Yelp review will just ensure your chances of getting any kind of compensation goes from 95% to 0%. People make mistakes. Give them a chance to make it right before leaving them a negative review which impacts their performance and business.
If you want an upgrade, asking at check-in probably won’t work. Leave a comment about a special occasion during the booking process. Hotels always upgrade people on the day of arrival to balance their inventory. If you show up with an attitude, you are more likely to get what you paid for.
#2 Restaurants
We have come to expect perfect service while in a restaurant. If your order is taking a long time to arrive, it’s often not the servers fault. It can be a combination of factors such as management, understaffing, or a backed up kitchen. The server does not run the restaurant. Give them the benefit of the doubt and be patient. Most servers will also apologize for long waits.
#3 At The Airport
Delayed flights are never fun. The airline does not want to be delayed as it can cost them tens of thousands of dollars in airport fines for being delayed for even just a few minutes. It also causes their guests’ attitudes to go sour. And trust me, NOBODY wants that! Delays are also caused by a combination of factors including; emergencies onboard, weather, taxi delays from the originating airport, or sometimes staff calling in sick. Incompetence isn’t generally one of the reasons for flight delays.
#4 On the Plane
Remember, the ground crew and the flight attendants are totally different people. The flight
attendants have ZERO control over which seats people are assigned in (unless you are in First Class). They have zero control as to the departure or landing of the flight. Their job is to ensure your safety first and foremost. If you have an issue where you were assigned, take it up with the gate crew or the airline afterward. The flight attendants WANT to help you, but remember, you’re just one of a hundred million people who give them the same story every day. You are far more likely to get anywhere with a flight attendant if you are nice and don’t bombard them with complaints and requests as you are boarding (which can also cause delays!).
If you want to get faster service and freebies, bring snacks for the in-flight crew when you get on the plane. Almost nobody does this. Flight attendants are accustomed to only getting negative feedback, rather than positive. Your generosity goes a long way. Be nice to the flight attendants, and you’ll get rewarded with faster service, and sometimes free drinks and food. If you received freebies in the past, don’t expect the same to happen on a future flight.
Your flight attendants are not your garbage collectors. If you have garbage you desperately want to get rid of, throw it in the trash bin in the bathroom.
Don’t let one hiccup ruin your vacation. It’s not worth it. We are all human after all!
Marshall Mills is the Revenue Analyst and Reservations Manager at Pan Pacific hotel group.