Tour operators and guests alike are limited in the number of hotels that they can offer and book. Tour operators’ budgets have got even tighter as competition has increased. Hardly any tour operators can now afford to have every single hotel checked by their own experts.
Often, they have to take hoteliers themselves at their word. However, there are bad apples who exaggerate the service they offer. This means that guests travel to the hotel with inflated expectations, which then cannot be met.
It is very expensive for tour operators and travel agents to handle guests’ complaints. Travel agents generally find it unpleasant to talk to dissatisfied guests, as these guests frequently express their displeasure vocally and emotionally. If that weren't enough, agents often have to grant price reductions after the fact to avoid the matter ending up in court. This all costs money and causes stress, and certainly doesn't help improve the culture within the travel company in question.
In fact, hotels that are the subject of guests’ complaints often provide nothing in the way of reimbursement, or only do so if the hotel is still offered by the agent. And what travel agent wants to offer hotels that cause them nothing but strife and expense, and even affect their own company's image negatively? It’s rather doubtful that a guest would book their next holiday through a travel agent with whom they've had bad experiences in the past, even if the travel agent had paid them compensation.
When tour operators and travel agents offer or recommend an International Guest Certified Hotel, they can do this with a clear conscience and work on the assumption that this hotel will live up to its promises. This improves guests’ trust in the travel company in question, and their employees will take more joy in coming to work as they know their first task won’t involve placating dissatisfied guests. The time employees previously spent on handling complaints can be used more productively in the future.
It's critically important that travel agents and tour operators can maintain a positive image.
Tour operators who want to err on the side of caution in the future will prefer to recommend International Guest Certified Hotels for the sake of saving time, money and stress.