The Ethic Responsibility of Hotels Under Construction/Renovation

The travel industry is an unusual industry, not only do we sell products and services but we also, especially resorts, deal in the fragile concept of people's dreams and fantasies. For some a holiday, whether they travel thousands of miles or only a few, may happen only once in a lifetime, for others it may be once a year or more frequent. No matter how often someone travels they already have an idea of how they want their holiday to go, what they are expecting from the resort, destination and its people.

So what happens when these dreams and hopes are not met? What happens when the guests arrive at a resort only to find it under renovation, with hammering, drilling beating out the sounds of birds singing and waves lapping on the shore. Is it sufficient for the hotel or its management company to inform its partners that sell and promote the hotel - what happens if that message does not get heard or understood? Is it right for a hotel to simply lower its room rates and hope that the selling agent has informed guests of the extent of the work being carried out? These are important questions which effect resorts and holiday destinations far more than city hotels where renovation is easier to hide and relaxation may not be a guests priority.

There are some things the hotels can do, they could insist on contacting every customer directly at the time of booking to ensure they know that the hotel is under renovation and explain exactly what they can expect from the hotel, without putting any spin on the message being given. For example we recently stayed at a resort which we had no idea was under renovation, we were told by hotel staff that the loud renovation work (hammering and drilling) is only carried out between 8am and 6pm through the hotel's public areas and between 8am and 8pm in the lobby area, but even at 11pm you could walk out onto your room balcony and hear someone banging away with a hammer.

So who is responsible? Is it down to the management company to have a set of guidelines that they stick to and if so what are these guidelines and how are they enforced? Should it be the owners decision whether to remain open or not? What happens to the staff if the resort does close?

Many hotels conduct their renovation work in their quietest time, the low season, but this poses two problems. One problem with this, is that travel is changing, and a traditional low season where the hotels may have been almost empty are fast merging into one long high season with hotels enjoying a large number of guests year round. Another problem is that the low season often coincides with bad weather such as rain etc. which effects the amount of work that can be done in open areas.

It is all well and good to offer those that complain an option of moving to another hotel at no extra cost, but what if the alternatives are full, and even if they aren't, the damage to the hotel's reputation and quite often the brand will already have been done, not to mention the guests dream of a trouble free holiday. What of those that don't know they can complain or are simply too shy to do so. One hotel we spoke to, which was under heavy renovation said that less than 1% of guests make a formal complaint and other guests with lesser complaints were offered a free meal or half board. Is that really sufficient, are we, the hotels, their owners, management companies and agents, really doing enough to ensure that the dream vacation our guests desire is a reality and does not just remain a dream?

More to come on this subject as we put these questions to some major International hotel companies. If you have any opinions on this subject please do send us an email.