Why don’t hotels check rooms nowadays? What should I do if something is lost?

In recent years, many people have found that checking out of a hotel has become very simple. Just go to the front desk and return the room card, and the check-out is complete. There is no longer a need to pay a deposit before check-in and wait in line for room inspection and deposit refund when checking out.

So why don’t hotels collect deposits for room inspections anymore? What if something is lost or damaged in a hotel?

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It is more cost-effective for the hotel not to check the room

In fact, if a hotel does not check rooms, it is first and foremost a "financial consideration".

1

The price of damaged items is not enough to cover the cost of hiring people

Whether collecting or refunding the deposit in the form of cash or bank card pre-authorization, it requires manpower costs.

For example, a report in 2023 mentioned that a hotel near West Lake in Hangzhou had about 200 batches of tourists arriving and leaving every day during the summer vacation. For the hotel front desk, just the step of collecting and returning the deposit takes up several hours of work every day.

In addition to collecting and returning deposits, if there is a room inspection step before check-out, the hotel also needs to arrange special manpower for this step, which will increase labor costs.

Things that are easily taken away from hotels are not of high value. For example, towels, mouthwash cups, bath towels, etc. are all low-priced items. Although items such as TVs and coffee tables are more expensive, in the modern society where surveillance and cameras are prevalent, it is impossible for anyone to really take them out.

In addition , with the development of society, the public's awareness has greatly increased, and the damage and theft rates have also greatly decreased. When staying in a hotel, few people will deliberately damage or steal hotel items.

Since the costs of lost or damaged items have been reduced, it would be uneconomical for the hotel to continue to arrange special personnel to check rooms under such circumstances.

Moreover, water, tea bags, and even drinks and snacks are now free in many hotels. Even items that need to be paid for in the room no longer need to be manually counted as in the past. Many hotel rooms use "mini vending machines" like the one shown below, where you can just scan the code to pay for something.

Many hotels also place vending machines in the hotel lobby to meet the common purchasing needs of guests. All of these make the room inspection step unnecessary.

2

Good reputation brings great development

With the development of OTA platforms (Online Travel Agency), which are online hotel, travel, ticketing and other reservation system platforms, most people will book hotels online before traveling. This way of booking hotels makes the hotel's reputation and praise rate also very important.

The move of not requiring deposits and room inspections will give guests a sense of trust, which in itself can increase their favorability. Moreover, in the case that most hotels do not require room inspections, people will quickly adapt to this model. Once a hotel requires deposits and room inspections, it will inevitably reduce the user experience and affect the hotel's rating.

A 2019 study found that 68% of users refer to other users’ reviews when booking hotels online, and 90% of them are influenced by these reviews. Moreover, even if a hotel’s overall reviews are positive, if the two most recent reviews are negative, the user’s willingness to book will decrease.

In 2022, a study specifically on the relationship between online word-of-mouth and user spending also found that negative reviews such as 1-star bad reviews have a greater impact on user decisions than positive reviews such as 5-star good reviews. Therefore, businesses need to try their best to avoid low-scoring reviews.

In addition, room inspections are bound to take up some time and bring a series of risks. For example, if room inspections affect guests' ability to catch trains or flights, it is unnecessary.

There are also many guests who check out close to the check-out deadline. If the check-out time exceeds the specified time due to room checking one by one, unnecessary disputes may arise.

As long as the room inspection is removed, these problems will no longer exist. Canceling the steps of collecting deposits and room inspections has actually improved the hotel's positive reviews.

Also in an interview with The Paper in 2023, the manager of a Wuhan express hotel said that after the hotel implemented the deposit-free and room-check-free policy, the customer praise rate increased by 5%. These increased praise rates may affect the hotel's future revenue and usher in new development for the hotel industry.

Therefore, whether from the perspective of saving labor costs or increasing future profits, it is very wise to eliminate the step of ward rounds, which has "high cost and low profit" or even "high cost and negative profit".

Real-name registration makes damage traceable

If hotels no longer need to conduct room inspections, what should we do if a guest deliberately damages a high-value item, such as a broken TV? We don't have to worry about it for the hotel. The real-name system + big data will make it impossible for bad people to escape.

From logging into the hotel booking platform, to paying the hotel fee online, to registering with real name at the front desk when checking in, every step will leave a traceable record. If the guest really damages the hotel's high-value items, the hotel can easily find the guest to communicate. If necessary, the hotel can also directly call the police.

Moreover, with the construction of the social credit system, these bad records may also affect personal credit and bring unnecessary trouble.

In July 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the "Opinions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Implementing the "Credit+" Project in the Cultural and Tourism Market (Draft for Public Comments)" to promote the credit economy and improve the credit management system. It advocates credit consumption such as "pay later" and "deposit reduction".

Therefore, the exemption of room inspection when staying in a hotel is not only based on the hotel's need to increase revenue, but also based on the fact that society has developed to a certain stage and people's quality has generally improved. It is a manifestation of social progress.

References

[1] https://m.thepaper.cn/kuaibao_detail.jsp?contid=24354157&from=kuaibao

[2] Gellerstedt M, Arvemo T. The impact of word of mouth when booking a hotel: could a good friend's opinion outweigh the online majority?[J]. Information Technology & Tourism, 2019, 21(3): 289-311.

[3] Kato T. Rating valence versus rating distribution: perceived helpfulness of word of mouth in e-commerce[J]. SN Business & Economics, 2022, 2(11): 162.

[4] Ye Q, Law R, Gu B (2009) The impact of online user reviews on hotel room sales. Int J Hosp Manag 28(1):180–182

[5] https://zwgk.mct.gov.cn/zfxxgkml/zcfg/zcjd/202307/t20230731_946295.html

[6] https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/hotel-checkout-front-desk-room-key-app/

Planning and production

Author: Science Scraps Popular Science Creation Team

Reviewer: Luo Hongsen, Dean of the Institute of Public Safety and Emergency Response, Sichuan Normal University

Planning丨Yinuo

Editor: Yinuo

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin