7 Best Ways to Effectively Complain About a Hotel Issue

When you book a hotel, you expect a smooth check-in and a pleasant stay. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Many guests report experiencing issues during their hotel stays. When these issues arise, it can be frustrating not knowing how to or to whom to address them.

This article discusses the best ways to effectively handle and resolve hotel complaints.

Key Insights

• The most common hotel complaints include poor customer service, cleanliness issues, amenities issues, and billing errors, among other issues. 
• You have several options to complain about hotels and seek assistance with your issue resolution. You can communicate with the front desk staff or a manager on duty, contact the corporate office, and your booking agent. 
• Complaining about issues during your stay may incentivize the hotel to resolve issues immediately and improve your stay.

Most Common Hotel Complaints

Hotel complaints can serve as a basis for improvement of service and customer loyalty. Below you will find a list of the most frequent complaints in the hospitality industry.

There are 32816 US-based hotel reviews on PissedConsumers, and here are the most common complaints: 

• Poor customer service or rude employees - 21%
• Billing issues - 12%
• Poor amenities (including issues with pool, internet, gym, etc) - 11% 
• Cleanliness issues - 8%
• Insects or pests in hotel - 7%
• Bad smell - 5%
• Poor room maintenance - 5%

These are the basic reasons making visitors feel frustrated about their hotel stay and give sufficient grounds for complaints. One question still remains undetermined – how to complain about the hotel in a proper way. We’ll try to answer it in detail.

Complain to Hotel Staff Representatives

Your first stop for hotel complaints should be with the hotel staff and management. Here are the steps to take:

1. Seek assistance from the front desk staff. Most issues can be resolved easily and promptly if you approach the staff at the front desk. Don’t wait until checkout or later, report to the front desk as soon as the issue arises. Stay calm and explain the problem clearly. Also, let them know what resolution you are seeking, e.g., room change, compensation, or repair.
2. Contact the manager on duty. If the front desk staff is not able to resolve the issue, ask to speak to the manager on duty. Typically, managers have more authority and discretion to handle serious problems. Calmly and clearly explain the issue to them and request your preferred solution. Do not hurl insults or blame the front desk staff or the manager.
3. Contact the regional manager or alternate senior executive. If the issue is still unresolved, request contact information for the general or regional manager. Once again, explain the problem and your expectations in a fair and realistic way. Document all interactions, names, and agreements, and take photos if needed.

Complaint to Corporate Office

A complaint to the front desk or individual hotel management can be rejected as well. Document all conversations with hotel staff representatives, and write down contacts and names of persons whom you have made any agreements with. Pictures snapped with your smartphone are also good proof for cases when a problem is not settled within agreed timescales. 

If you fail to arrive at a consensus with hotel staff representatives, you can complain about hotel stay to the corporate office. Send an email, a hotel complaint letter, or call to their customer service department. To find the necessary contact information, search the hotel’s website or look for the contacts for the necessary hotel on the customer service page on PissedConsumer.com. 

For some companies listed on the site, customers may be able to use a paid feature to “Skip the Hold”. With this service, our representative will handle the automated phone call features and pass the call to the customer once contact with a human has been established.

Reaching Out to the Booking Agency

You can also complain about hotel service, staff, or accommodations to an agency, firm, or online services (like TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Expedia etc.) who booked a hotel room for you. Talk to a customer service representative and describe the situation in detail. Provide compelling evidence, for instance, pictures, contacts of hotel managers, transactions and receipts. Booking agencies deal with complaints and can make things happen.

Share Your Concerns Publicly

If you have still not received an appropriate response – and even if you have – you can share your concerns about a particular hotel publicly through review sites or on social media. This may generate action on the part of the hotel. But in all cases, when you write customer reviews, you will certainly let other consumers know what to expect at the hotel in question.

For example, in review #6558043, one customer shared their experience with Comfort Inn and had the issue resolved shortly after posting the review. They originally wrote:

I was there. I had to put down a deposit and was told I would get it back. Its no longer pending and I have not received any payments.

Two weeks later, they update the review saying,

Company fixed the issue and I have been provided with apology. Every thing was handled in a respectful manner.

Contact Consumer Experts

There are many consumer experts ready to help you. These experts can offer additional insight when troubles arise, especially if they have experience in the industry in question. They may provide information about how to proceed with your hotel complaints.

There are also online consumer communities like the PissedConsumer Club, where you can look for advice from experts, support from fellow consumers, and find helpful information. 

Get in Touch With Regulatory Bodies

You can file a hotel complaint to police or health departments if it refers to health and safety issues. There are also state consumer protection offices that may assist customers with safety or financial concerns following a bad hotel stay. 

The specific organizations that may be helpful will vary by state but may include health departments, and the Office of the Attorney General in your state. Based on your complaint the appropriate regulatory body can initiate an inspection. It is a real opportunity to have all the demands stated in your complaint satisfied.

Effectively Resolving Hotel Complaints

If you’re unhappy with your hotel stay, it is important to advocate for yourself. The key is to communicate your issue clearly and respectfully to the right people.

Start by reporting the issue to the front desk as soon as it arises. If it’s not resolved, escalate to the manager, then the regional or corporate office if needed. You can also contact your booking agency or consumer advocates for help. If all else fails, report the hotel to a regulatory body and share your experience on review sites to inform other customers and help them avoid travel scams.

What has been your experience with resolving hotel complaints? Write a review on PissedConsumer.com.