“No.”
It’s certainly one of the dirtiest words in hospitality — and travelers could also be hearing it more nowadays.
The travel agency Discover Africa needed to say it when potential clients asked if their young son could ride a lion while on safari.
“Once we said no to riding a lion, the guest asked what other wild animals he could ride,” said Susan Swanepoel, a senior travel consultant at Discover Africa. “I reminded them that they were wild animals, and there was no possibility of this happening.”
Ultimately, she said, the travelers decided to not travel with the corporate, saying “they were going to go to India where their son would have the ability to ride a tiger.”
That is certainly one of the strangest requests that Swanepoel and her colleagues have fielded through the years. But there are plenty more.
There was the Japanese company that wanted Japanese food, prepared with Japanese ingredients by Japanese chefs, for some 6,000 guests for six weeks surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. (Swanepoel said the corporate she was working for on the time successfully pulled this one off.)
And the guest who wanted a latest, unopened jar of crunchy peanut butter present at every meal during an 18-day safari within the Kalahari Desert and Botswana.
Other asks are more maddening than logistically difficult. Just like the time a pair traveling with Discover Africa — who requested a feather pillow on the left side of the bed, and a foam pillow on the fitting — called at 10 p.m. to say the pillows had been mixed up.
“I asked in the event that they could swap the pillows themselves because it was late, and the housekeeping staff had already gone to bed,” said Swanepoel. “The reply was no. They wanted me to pay money for the camp manager to go to their tent to alter the pillows around for them.”
An uptick in unusual requests
Andre Van Kets, director and cofounder of Discover Africa, said there’s been an uptick in such requests, especially amongst people who find themselves latest to safari vacations.
“First-timers often have essentially the most unusual requests,” he said. “But that is okay. It’s our job to assist them understand what is feasible and what’s not.”
Social media also plays a task in ‘hyping up’ anything unusual.
Andre Van Kets
director and cofounder of Discover Africa
But inexperience is not the only reason some travelers have unrealistic expectations, he said.
“Social media also plays a task in ‘hyping up’ anything unusual,” he said, adding that viral posts often lack context explaining what they depict. “As a travel operator, it is vital to create realistic expectations. And sometimes that does mean saying ‘no.'”
Over-the-top requests — just like the Discover Africa client who asked to assist breed a white rhino — may, partially, be an unlucky side effect of the travel industry’s success in providing flawless, end-to-end experiences. Sarcastically, excellent service could have worsened a growing sense of traveler entitlement.
The result will be cyclical: The more travelers are given, the more they need.
The ‘old code of conduct’
Yngvar Stray, the overall manager of the luxurious hotel Capella Singapore told CNBC that in the luxurious hotel industry, the “old concierge code of conduct” is to say yes even before knowing the query.
“So long as it’s legal and morally correct,” he added.
“As a travel operator, it is vital to create realistic expectations. And sometimes that does mean saying ‘no,'” said Discover Africa’s Andre Van Kets.
Source: Discover Africa
When requests violate laws or company safety rules, they’re easier to reject. Plus, there could also be other ways to achieve the specified consequence, said Van Kets.
“For instance, if a traveler desires to see a wild rhino up-close. We simply cannot offer that to anyone in every safari destination. It’s just too dangerous,” he said.
“But in certain parks, at certain times of 12 months, we will arrange for guests to affix a wildlife vet in a helicopter-based rhino-darting conservation exercise.”
Other reasons corporations are saying ‘no’
Changes made within the name of progress — sustainability, safety, health, animal welfare and more — also get pushback from travelers who lament the “latest way” of doing things.
From an eco-resort knocked for not having air-con in the lavatory to banning single-use plastics in airports and hotels, some travelers complain concerning the very changes that others demand, leaving the hospitality industry in a seemingly no-win situation.
Van Kets said his company encountered resistance after it limited its safaris to “authentic wildlife settings,” which it defines as areas where predator and prey roam freely without fences separating them. That meant safari parks and animal sanctuaries, which he said “are really just glamorized, large-scale zoos,” were out, he said.
“If guests have limited time or budgets, and demand on visiting these facilities, then it’s their selection to achieve this,” he said. But “keeping the ‘real thing’ alive and well for future generations, is what we’re all about.”
Cities are spurning travelers too — in some instances, tons of of 1000’s of them. In arguably certainly one of the largest rejections of the 12 months, authorities in Amsterdam launched a “discouragement campaign” in March with a message aimed mostly at young male travelers coming to town to party: “Stay Away.”
Fewer services, higher rates
Some travelers are learning requests, once considered standard, are being cut due to staffing shortages within the industry.
Kristen Graff said housekeeping didn’t clean her room once during a three-day stay in a Los Angeles hotel this January. She said she later learned cleansing was available — if she booked it.
She said she understood the issue to a level, but “it isn’t like I’m paying cheaper rates.”
In other instances, travelers are revisiting hotels they stayed in before the pandemic, only to comprehend perks that after got here standard with bookings have now vanished.
In response to Expedia Group’s Traveler Value Index 2023, about 82% of the industry think consumers are understanding of limitations like these. Nevertheless, it’s likely that customer loyalty is taking successful, said Cheryl Miller, the chief marketing officer for Expedia for Business.
“Ultimately, it comes right down to the person traveler and their expectations,” she said. “Nevertheless, it is vital to do not forget that customer support is just not nearly meeting expectations. It is also about exceeding them.”
