“NO.”
It’s certainly one of the dirtiest words in hospitality – and travelers could also be hearing it more and more.
Travel agency Discover Africa had to say this when potential customers asked if their baby boy could ride a lion on a safari.
“Once we refused to ride a lion, the guest asked what other wild animals he could ride,” said Susan Swanepoel, a senior consultant for the lion. Discover Africa. “I reminded them that they are wild animals and there’s no way.”
Ultimately, she said, the travelers decided not to travel with the corporate, saying they were “going to India where their son will have the ability to ride a tiger.”
That is certainly one of the strangest requests Swanepoel and her associates have made through the years. But there are many more.
A Japanese company needed Japanese food, prepared with Japanese ingredients by Japanese chefs, for about 6,000 guests for six weeks across the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. (Swanepoel said the corporate she worked for on the time successfully accomplished the job.)
And the guy who wanted a latest, unopened jar of crunchy peanut butter with every meal on an 18-day safari within the Kalahari Desert and Botswana.
Other questions are more annoying than logistically difficult. For instance, a pair traveling with Discover Africa – who requested a feather pillow on the left side of the bed and a foam pillow on the appropriate – called at 10pm to say the pillows had been mixed up.
“I asked in the event that they could replace the pillows themselves because it was late and the cleansing staff had already gone to bed,” said Swanepoel. “The reply was no. They wanted me to contact the camp manager to go to their tent and change their pillows.”
A rise within the number of bizarre requests
Andre Van Kets, director and co-founder of Discover Africa, said that such requests are increasing, especially amongst individuals who are just starting their adventure with safaris.
“First timers often have probably the most unusual requests,” he said. “But that is okay. Our job is to help them understand what’s possible and what’s not.”
Social media also plays a job in “turning it up” for anything unusual.
Andre Van Kets
director and co-founder of Discover Africa
Nevertheless, he said inexperience will not be the one reason some travelers have unrealistic expectations.
“Social media also plays a job in ‘turning up’ something extraordinary,” he said, adding that viral posts often lack context to explain what they are depicting. “As a travel operator, it is vital to create realistic expectations. Sometimes meaning saying no.
Excessive requests – equivalent to a Discover Africa customer who asked for help breeding a white rhino – may partly be an unlucky side effect of the tourism industry’s success in providing flawless, comprehensive experiences. Sarcastically, excellent service can have worsened travelers’ growing sense of entitlement.
The result may be cyclical: the more travelers get, the more they need.
“The Old Code of Conduct”
Yngvar Stray, general manager of luxury hotel Capella Singapore, told CNBC that in the luxurious hotel industry, the “old code of conduct for the concierge” says “yes” even before answering the query.
“So long as it’s legal and morally correct,” he added.
“As a travel operator, it is amazingly necessary to create realistic expectations. Sometimes meaning saying no, said Andre Van Kets of Discover Africa.
source: Discover Africa
When requests violate the law or company security policies, they are easier to decline. As well as, there could also be other ways to achieve the specified result, Van Kets said.
“For instance, if a traveler wants to see a wild rhino up close, we just cannot offer that to anyone at every safari site. It’s just too dangerous,” he said.
“Nevertheless, in some parks, at certain times of the yr, we are able to arrange for guests to join a wildlife veterinarian in a helicopter rhino conservation exercise.”
Other the reason why companies say no
Changes made within the name of progress – sustainability, safety, health, animal welfare and more – are met with rejection from travelers who lament the “latest way” of doing things.
From an eco-resort knocked for no air-con in the toilet to the banning of single-use plastics in airports and hotels, some travelers are complaining in regards to the changes others are calling for, leaving the hospitality industry in a seemingly hopeless situation.
Van Kets said his company faced resistance after it limited its safaris to “authentic wilderness sites,” which it defines as areas where predator and prey roam freely without fences separating them. This meant safari parks and animal sanctuaries, which he said “are just beautified, large zoos,” were excluded, he said.
“If guests are on a limited time or budget and insist on visiting these facilities, that is their selection,” he said. But “keeping the ‘real thing’ alive and well for future generations is what we’re all about.”
Cities are also rejecting travelers – in some cases lots of of 1000’s of them. In arguably certainly one of the largest rejections of the yr, authorities in Amsterdam launched “dissuasive campaignin March with a message mainly aimed toward young male travelers coming to the town for the party: “Stay away.”
Fewer services, higher rates
The demands of some travelers, once considered standard, are being reduced due to staffing shortages within the industry.
Kristen Graff said housekeeping didn’t clean her room once during a three-day stay at a Los Angeles hotel in January this yr. She said she discovered later that housekeeping was available – if she booked it.
She said she understood the issue to some extent, but “it isn’t like I’m paying cheaper rates.”
In other cases, travelers are revisiting the hotels where they stayed before the pandemic, only to realize that the perks that used to be standard when booking have now disappeared.
According to Expedia Group Traveler Value Index 2023, roughly 82% of industry representatives consider that buyers understand such restrictions. Nevertheless, it’s likely that customer loyalty will suffer, said Cheryl Miller, director of selling for Expedia for Business.
“Ultimately, all of it comes down to the person traveler and their expectations,” she said. “Nevertheless, it is crucial to keep in mind that customer support will not be nearly meeting expectations. It is also about transcending them.”