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It costs a lot of money to stay in a nice hotel and go on vacation. A bad hotel can ruin an otherwise great trip and thus, it’s good for hospitality industries to offer their best for them to get good reviews online and attract more customers.
As Christmas holiday just being around the corner, more guests are expected to tour places of happiness and they are mostly relying on google reviews to make a decision on where they will spend their holiday.
However, there are several instances in the hotel industry where customers have been treated to a rude disappointment, dissatisfaction or ill treatment generally. Well, nothing is as bad as a disappointed customer.
The sure thing they carry is never to come back and will surely tell their friends and families of the terrible ordeal lest for the rational mind who would accept an apology.
English point Marina hotel at the Kenyan Coast is isn’t exactly five stars but four star, but guests still expect a certain level of hospitality and cleanliness. Unfortunately, complaints are all too frequent at the hotel review segment on their google account.
The 4-acre ocean view, multi-million-dollar marina resort features a 26-room hotel, conferencing facility, a roof-top restaurant, a casino, swimming pool, 96 serviced apartments – including 8 penthouses – seafront restaurant, gym and spa, as well as a boardwalk with retail outlets, water-sports centre and fully-serviced 88-berth marina.
English Point Marina is owned by two brothers Al Noor and Amny Kanji during the launch in January 2016 promised to put Kenya on the map of the luxury yacht market while the investment was set to open up Kenya to the high-end international ocean traveler.
English Point Marina owner Alnoor Kanji during the past media interview said on the African continent hotels with marinas can only be found in South Africa, Egypt and the Seychelles.He promised to offer the best to attract business.
“We want to turn Mombasa into a tourism hub such as Monte Carlo in Monaco which attracts large number of super-yachts owned by global billionaires,” he said.
Apart from the parking of the yachts, he said the marina would provide water, electricity, refueling facilities and waste disposal.
“Yachts are like small hotels as they have rooms, kitchen, lounge, air conditioners among other amenities tailored to serve well-off people,” he said.
Mr Kanji said he had entered into a 10-year contract with ONYX to manage the hotel with the aim of raising the tourism establishment standards.
But taking a look at hotel, it like the management has forgotten to actualize some of the promises they made during the launch in 2016.
The guest’s reviews are something that should worry as most guests depends on reviews from google to decide on their next vacation.
The reviews on google about the hotel is a truly frightening experience that might cost them a dip in profit as Christmas holiday kick in.
He is sample of the worst review for the hotel
One guest complained that “from the entry I just realized cleanness is not the thing here. Litter everywhere, even the room was not that clean, the bedsheets were dirty. The place is stinking. I feel like I just wasted my money,”
Another guest wrote: My major concern is just about handling around the pool…the swimming pool attendant should understand that we came to the hotel cz of swimming regulating our time there. should not be an issue
Another guest wrote: Prices are high but the apartments have a great view. But there is impunitive, careless attitude during the reception, which is not good 😢
One another guest wrote: The food was good but portions were WAY TOO small for the money. Service was terrible. Waiter could not answer ONE question that we asked. Managers just gave us blank stares and glared at us when the complaint was made.
Another guest identified as Mark Daniels posted: Development looking shabby, paint flaking off the walls etc. Gardens look great though. Apartments were not clean, mould in the bathrooms and stains on the carpets. Back to the Tamarind!
The hotel responded: Dear Mark,
Greetings from English Point Marina. Thank you so much for visiting us. Your comments are noted. I will take it up with our management and see how we can address them. I hope you will come again for a renewed experience. Keep safe and take care.
Best Wishes,
Saima Bakhrani
Another posted: Our stay here was a nightmare! We had to book a different hotel a day after checking in! The services offered don’t meet the standards.
Hotel responded: Dear Cheryl,
Greetings from Hotel English Point Marina.
Thank you for visiting us and for taking time to share your review. We are disheartened to know about your experience and would have really appreciated if you would have spoken to us while you were there. It would have been nice to have been told what the exact issue and we would have gone out of our way to resolve it to enable you have a smooth and happy stay. We operate by prescribed standards but are happy to make exceptions for our guests.
We hope you will give us another opportunity by visiting us again and allowing us a chance to make it up to you. In the meantime, keep safe and take care.
Warm Wishes,
Saima Bakhrani
Sarah Nelly posted:
The room was not clean on the first day very staff
Toilet water not clean
Breakfast confirmation of late comers and no time extension if you go there by …
Response from the hotel
Dear Sarah,
Greetings from EnglishPoint Marina. Thank you so much for visiting us and for taking time to share your review. We truly appreciate your feedback. Please allow me to explain the reasons behind your concerns. We are an eco-hotel and thus recycle all our resources, water included.
The water we use in our toilet, only for flushing, is water that’s been recycled from our gardens. We don’t agree with the concept of flushing away 5 to10 litres, with each flush, of fresh clean water that can be used for so many more useful things. But the water that we use in our showers and taps is very pure and very clean which has been processed through our bio-digesters and certified by the local authorities. We have incorporated every initiative of going green into our operations. That’s the reason why we have been awarded with Vision 2030 certification. As for the breakfast, we start serving breakfast at 6am and end at 10am. Did you know that it is harmful to eat food that’s stayed for too long on the buffet? We care about the safety of our guests and therefore we ensure we abide by all the quality standards laid down by the hospitality industry. Now that you’ve understood our efforts towards your safety and environment conversation, we hope you will be back for a renewed English Point experience. See you soon. Keep safe and take care.
Best Wishes,
Saima Bakhrani
The study, “Online Reputation Management: Estimating the Impact of Management Responses on Consumer Reviews,” by researchers from the University of Southern California and Boston University found that online ratings increase not because consumers are more satisfied with the business but because unsatisfied customers are less likely to post groundless negative comments.
“After hotels respond to reviews, they receive fewer negative reviews,” said Davide Proserpio, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and an author of the study.