Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

A Holiday Inn attempts bribery to gain positive reviews

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

We have probably all seen signs in hotels and restaurants we have visited asking if we would be kind enough to recommend them on TripAdvisor or similar sites if we enjoyed our visit.

One Head for Points reader recently found that a Holiday Inn in San Francisco was stooping to outright bribery in order to get positive feedback on internal IHG surveys:

rsz_hiin

Yes, you got 1000 IHG Rewards Club points for scoring the hotel 10 out of 10.  That is a bribe of £4 – £5.

I know from conversations with IHG staff that the company takes the questionnaire scores very seriously – I’m not sure how seriously it takes attempts to game the system.

What is slightly concerning is that the leaflet implies that the hotel is told the score you give it (how else could they award the 1000 points?).  You may think you are making a confidential submission to Head Office but that is clearly not the case.


IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:

Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (49)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Ken says:

    I booked a hotel in Kampala on Booking.com earlier this year. After I had checked in Booking.com sent me an email asking how the check-in went. I indicated it was fine. Next morning at breakfast, the receptionist approached me to thank me for my fantastic review. I didn’t know what she was talking about until I remembered the smiley face I’d clicked on in Booking.com’s email. I was a bit concerned that they were aware of this so soon and could identify me. If I’d given them a bad check-in review who knows what would have gone in my breakfast. Poisoning is common in Uganda, I’m told!!

    • Peter K says:

      I booked a hotel for a week’s holiday in the Algarve via Expedia. Had the same type of email asking for a review of check-in the day after I arrived. I did not give it as was suspicious that it would be given straight to the hotel staff…seems I was right to do so!

      RE: TA. I’ve always found my trip advisor reviews have been published. Good, bad and downright ugly!

  • ElectroGoblin says:

    I think that none of these surveys are anonimous. I gave a poor rating on the satisfaction survey after my stay at Mercure Randburg (South Africa) just following the link received, not entering my email anywhere, and next day I was emailed by property manager to excuse themselves (but no points offered).

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.