How to ensure a hotel performs on your wedding day

[Bjohn]

I've booked a posh hotel for our wedding day next year. My wife to be is from the area and the locals say good things about the hotel. Stupidly I did not look at tripadvisor before paying the �1000 deposit. Out of 97 reviews 47 are excellent and 9 are terrible with the rest ranging in between. Other than being overpriced which I knew before booking but the other main complaint is the poor management and service. I have already experienced their lack of returned phone calls and I'm starting to get a little concerned

Can anyone make any suggestions to ensure the management are staff are on top form for the day? We have about 80 guests of which 30% are travelling from abroad. I'd like it to go smoothly and I know my guests won't stand for poor service on the day and neither will I. I need to address this before the big day.

[andy-hughes]

Have you paid yet? Hopefully not, because i would be suspicious of any hotel that demanded payment in full for a service you have not received.

On the bright side, more than 50% of the reviews are excellent, which does suggest that things are done better more often than worse by a considerable degree.

You need to make it very clear in advance what you expect, and what the consequences will be if you don';t get it.

Arrange an appointment with the manager in charge of your reception. Explain that although they deal with dozens of weddings in a year, you are only going to deal with this one, so your interest in it is conserably higher than his.

Be nice and reasonable, but firm. make sure he understands that barring exceptional and unforseen circumstances, you will not countenance anything spoiling your day, and you are sure he feels the same, and wants to offer you a great day, and enhance his venue's reputation but ...

if you are subject to avoidable problems - sloppy service, bad food, what ever, then you will have to consider your position - but don;t be specific.

If, God forbid, things go wrong on the day - get hold of the manager - you will have ensured that he will be on site on the day, and advise him that if problems are not rectified to your satisfaction immediately you will be witholding 75% of the agreed fee.

You are legally able to do this. You write a formal letter advising that the event was 75% below reasonable expectations, and you are therefore offering 25% of the cocts which is what you feel the event was worth, and the hotel are welcome to sue you for the remainder.

By doing this, you are not refusing to pay - which is illegal, but disputing the value of your service - which is legal.

You should keep this card up your sleeve for issues on the day, and from the averages on Trip Advisor, it should not be necessary. <

[andy-hughes]

...

Don't panic - remember, everyone wants your day to succeed, and will be working to see that it does. It just helps your peace of mind to have a Plan B if things do go wrong.

Hope this helps.

[Bjohn]

Thanks for the tips - We haven't paid the full amount yet. Just the deposit. I will have a conversation with the manager and express my concerns and point him in the direction of the tripadvisor reviews.

I'm not sure we are able to pay after the wedding. I think the hotel expects full payment 2 weeks before the event.

Is this the normal thing to do or do most people pay after the wedding? If full payment is expected before and the service is not up to scratch I feel we may have very little recourse.

[mycats]

We paid our deposit then had to pay 90% more than 2 weeks before then had 2 weeks to pay last bit so yes it is normal. Try not to panic (hard I know when planning a wedding)
Next time you visit have a list of ALL your questions and concerns ready, why dont you look through the 'bad' reviews and make notes about what they said the problem was? ask about those things particularly. Just explain all your concerns.
Some people are never happy with anything so it might just be that
Best of luck for your wedding, ours was 4 1/2 months ago and the BEST day ever x

[Mr Veritas]

Bjohn,
Is it permissible to tell us which hotel it is.
We (as a family) have stayed in many hotels in the UK (for various family functions) so we may have been there.

Don't forget that the downside of Trip Advisor is that the reviews are (very) personal,so guests can let one small defect colour their judgement.

Personally only 9 terrible out of 97 doesn't strike me as that bad,the 41 in between just means that the hote didn't leave much of an impression either way (good or bad) on the reviewer.

[Bjohn]

I'd rather not give the hotel a bad wrap just YET! But thanks for the advice - the consensus does seem to say have a good, and frank conversation with the management is the best way forward.

You are right - most people do pick up on some small things. In my tripadvisor experience you really have to weigh up what is important and what is not. Service and poor management were highlighted and this is a big concern. Value for money was also highlighted but on this front we already know costs. Just trying to avoid some poor service surprises for the guests, some of whom will be spending a lot of money and travelling a long way to attend.

[Mr Veritas]

OK.
I agree about Trip Advisor.
When I was working I gave a customer service lecture to the staff,and I remember these words I found somewhere.

"A customer who experiences bad service will tell approx 20 people, a customer who experiences good service will only tell approx 5"

This is why Trip Advisor can be a little incorrect at times,because the bad service reports outnumber the good,even when the good MAY be as many,it's just that people don't feel inclined to be bothered to leave good feedback.
When they are happy they are contented.
When they are unhappy they want to do something about it!
LOL

[Bjohn]

Exactly

When I look at tripadvisor for any hotel I only look at the bad points - just to know what is really bad. I can automatically assume that the good ratings are just that - good!

I must admit I'm am guilty of only ever posting a review on tripadvisor if the hotel was poor. Hence any hotel that has a poor review must be taken seriously. I've seen 2 star hotels without a bad review - people obviously know they get what they pay for.

[kira000]

I have almost the exact same issue. Hotel for our wedding next year. �1000 deposit, Some bad reviews on T.A. I asked the wedding co-ordinator directly about it, and got some reassurance from that. However, i also searched the wedding sites, and every review of weddings at that venue was glowing. So thats the most important thing to me. Maybe do the same and see what other wedding people have to say about it as a venue.
From what i can tell, our venue probably puts a little too much emphasis on looking after wedding parties, so that other guests may feel they get a bit of a rough deal. So being the wedding party, i'm not that bothered!

[BertiWooster]

kira000

That compensation cheque will / has come in handy then