U.K. media outlets are buzzing about a cleanliness study of budget hotel rooms. According to undercover research conducted by “Which? Holiday” magazine as reported by the BBC and others, several London and Manchester hotels had poor levels of cleanliness. The report names names: Among the poor performers (garnering such prestigious awards as Dirtiest Toilet) were Ibis and Travelodge.
Statements released by the brands argued that the level of uncleanliness did not pose health risks, but the companies would be investigating the claims.
What a nightmare.
In a time when hotels are fighting to justify rates, this kind of bad publicity is enough to destroy a property’s reputation—and the public relations clean-up (ahem) will be long and arduous. It seems a good play to issue comments up front and acknowledge the claims rather than deny comment.
So, let this be a lesson to those who weren’t scrutinized in the Which? story. Whether the bad press is justified or not, it’s always good to be prepared for the worst. If your organization does not have a designated person to answer media inquiries, designate someone now. And every employee should know how to handle an inquisitive journalist’s phone call: who to defer to, when to decline comment, et cetera.
It seems like just yesterday that U.S. hotels were defending themselves against the great dirty glass scandal—history repeats itself, no doubt!
This great example of quick damage control on the part of Ibis and Travelodge just happens to comes on the heels of the debut of a new columnist at Hotel News Now. We welcome to the family Rich Roberts, a public relations expert, who brings you the ideas and best practices for making the most of media at the local and corporate levels. Roberts’ monthly column debuts today on HotelNewsNow.com: “Six ways to polish your image.”