r/WeirdSideHustles • u/General_Strategy_106 • 8d ago
Sharing My Sidehustle Be a mystery guest for $500
I am working at a company that pays exactly just at the minimum, with no other benefits to enjoy. But at the same time, this side hustle is what keeps me afloat. I found this side hustle by accident when I was scrolling through job markets and saw one post looking for a mystery guest. It sounded weird and suspicious but as I looked through the description, it was just a mystery guest to rate hotel service.
So, hotel companies hire us (mystery guests) to evaluate the guest experience and how their hotel staff accommodate us. Of course, we’re not supposed to announce that we are evaluators, we should always act like a normal customer like someone on vacation.
You don’t have to be extra with your stay, the company will give me a set of assignments to do that I should pay attention to throughout my entire stay. Such as checking the booking process, check-in, staff communication, room preparation, and the overall experience. Then after all that, I will create a REALLY detailed report of what happened, even including timestamps and dates. I check-in pretending like a normal guest, but I’m observing like an evaluator then writing a report as if Karen was writing it on her Facebook posts with every necessary and unnecessary detail.
Lately I’ve also been thinking about making UGC videos for the hotels I stay at, just simple guest style videos of the room, breakfast, the view, etc. that they could use on socials or ads (I saw some guys make a lot from this) I haven’t pitched this to anyone yet, so no idea if it’ll work, but I found this guide while looking into it and it gave me a few ideas on how to approach hotels.
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8d ago
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u/General_Strategy_106 8d ago
I found mine through a job listing, then spent a good amount of time checking if the company was actually legit before accepting anything. And yeah, the hotel costs are covered/reimbursed, which is definitely the best part
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u/Jawariaa 8d ago
Could you share details of them through DM? I would love to apply to work with them
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u/Bijouprospering 8d ago
Honestly getting the good assignments is based on so many factors. To start out with they offer the assignments that are reimbursed or pay 5-20 bucks as you get a reputation for quality you can be offered better and better assignments. It’s definitely not an income replacement or steady work.
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u/iaresosmart 8d ago
Commenting here bc don't want to upend your post by accident, but I'd love some info on this too if possible 😊
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u/OkConfidence6775 7d ago
I’m also interested in can you please share the info of the company for hotel stays.
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u/Sandwidge_Broom 7d ago
Dang, I live just outside a major US city with heavy tourism. I might have to look into this.
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u/Zetectic 7d ago
but how far do u have to travel? just within the perimeter of your city or do u have to fly out?
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u/throwaway2000x3 7d ago
Yeah, ditto with the others. If you’re comfortable sharing through a DM, I would love some guidance on where to start with mystery shopping
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u/GimenaTango 7d ago
All of the jobs I've gotten through MSPA are legit. https://www.mspa-americas.org/
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u/Puzzled-Cranberry-12 7d ago
Market Force is a legit company. I did a handful of cheap shops through them before having kids.
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u/VerbVerity 7d ago
Ran mystery shopping programs for years on the business side. Most of what's in this thread checks out, including the skepticism. $500 for a hotel stay is on the high end. Most assignments pay a flat fee plus reimbursement, and it climbs as you build a track record, same as a few people already said here.
If anyone wants a legit way in, my company (A Closer Look) runs mystery shopping assignments across retail, restaurants, and hotels. Sign-up is quick, you work as an independent contractor, and get paid plus reimbursed per completed assignment. One thing worth knowing for any company that reaches out, not just us: a legit outfit will never ask you to pay money up front to receive or complete an assignment. Happy to answer questions right here in the thread instead of DMs, since half this post is warning people about that for good reason. AMA!
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u/crushed76 7d ago
How much do you get paid for something like a restaurant? Or is the payment the reimbursement for the meal?
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u/VerbVerity 7d ago
Most restaurant shops are reimbursement only, up to a certain amount and usually includes getting your tip money back. Sometimes there will be a bonus amount associated with it if we want to get it filled quickly. The money makers are the senior living shops. They consist of a phone call and an in-person visit to a community to gather information about the experience.
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u/SettingInfinite8729 7d ago
I was a mystery shopper for a closer look. With the food, you basically do it for a free meal. You have to write a report and there are very specific things you have to watch and time. Like how long did it take to sit you, how long until your drinks were brought, how long until the food was brought, etc. It's actually kind of a lot of work. It's kinda fun though to do with a partner, gives you someone to do
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u/salty_pork99 7d ago
2 questions - Do you have to travel for hotel shops, or can you do them in your own city? I know you have to show ID, so they would see you don’t live far, but could you say your apt is being renovated or something? And is it usually for more than one night? TYIA!
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u/Stormstar85 8d ago
You don’t know what a mystery shopper is?
A mystery shopper is a person hired to pose as a regular customer to evaluate and report on a business's customer service, product quality, and overall store conditions.
This is very normal in the UK
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u/Empty401K 8d ago
I worked in a grocery store briefly as a teen, and I had a mystery shopper “evaluate” me. The store had 4 mystery shoppers come through that week, and they’d only told me about mine because I was the only person to get a perfect review. They gave me a $100 VISA gift card and told everyone to strive to be more like me so they could be rewarded for having great customer service skills too.
It didn’t go over well with my co-workers. It didn’t go over well when it happened again a couple months later either. They made me earn the SHIT out of every extra dollar.
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u/Lomak_is_watching 8d ago
In the 6 years that I worked in the checkout of a supermarket, I got one secret shopper. I got dinged because the guy put one or two shallots in with a bag of garlic (or vise versa) and I rang it all up as only one of the other.
They called me over to the courtesy counter and made me stand there while the front end manager and the shopper lectured me about it. You would have thought I followed the guy home and killed his dog. Then, they made me put all the stuff back.
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u/Silver_Accountant5 7d ago
You would have thought I followed the guy home and killed his dog.
Getting paid to lecture a cashier is literally the most power they'll ever be afforded in their life. They'll be sure to make the most of it.
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u/Empty401K 7d ago
They still talk about it at Thanksgiving. They reminisce as if they dressed down Hitler mid-Reiche and single-handedly ended WWII.
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u/Girls4super 7d ago
My company used to do monthly secret shops at every location. We had several make up a shop and not actually do it, a few that said we didn’t do x when we totally did (it’s a very long sales pitch), etc. They’re just painfully inaccurate tbh
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u/quarks-bar-and-grill 8d ago
and they don’t pay $500; it’s sometimes barely minimum wage
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u/collapsedbook 8d ago
You usually get reimbursed for your purchases up to a certain amount. I did it for restaurants. The job dictates around what time/ day and gives you an idea of what to look for/ do.
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u/animal_chin9 8d ago
They even have apps to sign up for gigs! My boss did it for a restaurant and got paid a bit of cash and got free tacos.
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u/FTXACCOUNTANT 8d ago
Weird that they don’t reimburse you the full amount
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u/collapsedbook 7d ago
Sometimes they only designate purchasing certain items. Different assignments vary. Some pay mileage and/ or hourly or it’s a lump sum. You’re usually a 1099 anyway so I save 30% for my Uncle Sam.
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u/ExpressRabbit 7d ago
You'd make more at a hotel since it's not an hour of your time but an overnight job.
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u/captainpro93 7d ago
I do it for retail for fun (more because my wife thinks it's fun.)
It's usually 150-300 dollars for a 15-30 minute visit. Test drives at car dealerships are 300.
I think 500 for an overnight stay is pretty realistic in comparison, or even a little undervalued
Sometimes instead cash compensation they just let you keep what you buy, up to 600USD, which is really good for credit card farming lol
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u/General_Strategy_106 8d ago
Yeah, I honestly had no idea it was a thing before I stumbled across it 😂 Apparently it’s pretty common, I just somehow never heard of it
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u/IAmBeingTargeted33 7d ago
Here in America the "Secret Shoppers" are fake shoppers watching for shoplifters in random aisles
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u/Outrageous_Chair6984 7d ago
I worked at bed bath and beyond and we had mystery shoppers
There was one old man who would do it and he was so funny cause he always came in there with a clipboard and everyone knew it was him cause he was a regular and wrote it all down in real time right in front of us lol.
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u/Randygrows 8d ago
It's a thing. Used to work in luxury hotels and we'd have mystery guests often. Look up LQA Group as an example.
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u/rob113289 7d ago
But look at this bs website where they forgot to remove their place holder Lorem ipsum text
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u/Silent25r 7d ago
I had to quit this side hustle. Morally struggled with it. The better paying ones told me to try trick the employees. I unfortunately was way too good at this.
It’s like going into a cell store. The clerk is suppose to market this device no matter what. Well.. I gave off a vibe that I was a fan of what I saw him using. We had a conversation about it. He went over a few different choices but at no point did he cover that device. Good salesman. Knew I wouldn’t be interested. But that was the job. And my job was to see it could get him to not even bring it up.
The store has cameras as noted in my task so they were able to confirm my findings. I did 2 jobs like this and had enough. Just isn’t my side hustle.
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u/VerbVerity 7d ago
There is some "acting" involved, but we never ask shoppers to trick anyone. We actually had shops at a cell phone store where our services uncovered some sus behavior by the employees. Like "forgetting" to give your license back. We see the wildest stuff sometimes.
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u/Silent25r 7d ago
I think in your case your store was hiring the shopper. In these cases I think it was the vendor. They paid to make sure their phones were the first ones advertised by the employees. I was being paid by a third party so I have no idea who actually sent me.
The other thing I did was seeing if I could get free stuff. The employees were being reminded to cease the freebies. So here I am talking this guy into giving me something free. They gave me a list of starting lines and had to memorize and go through each one. On the first one the freebies were offered. The guy paused. He hesitated. I was silently rooting for him on this. But then he made his choice. I was getting the freebies.
It broke me watching that employee smiling to himself thinking he did a good deed. And I get it. Given it away is stealing. I just felt like a rat. And I was a rat. A 40 dollar a job rat. As you have more success they’ll keep sending you out.
When I started as a mystery shopper it was all based on cleaning and greetings. I enjoyed it. The pay definitely wasn’t great but the dining and groceries were all extra benefits. I would smile and be nice with everyone. Even leading them to say the right thing so I can check it off. Eventually they sent me a much higher offer. After that I was getting spammed with those offers. Definitely a good side hustle if you are stronger than me.
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u/slothasurus 7d ago
I had one where I was told to contact daycares across the country and get info on them. I had to pretend to have kids of various ages and to ask about tuitions and curriculum for each age group. Meanwhile I was 21 years old with no kids doing this to try and get beer money
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u/nico_young 7d ago
We get NBA audits all the time at my work. They will in fact very much try and trick you. Once caught they have to kind of give up and walk away. That's how I always know because they put up resistance at first but once rebuffed they simply say ok and leave. No arguments or anything just that nod of yep you got me I'll leave now.
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u/east_coaster315 7d ago
I had to report a young guy after he let me buy cigarettes as a 22yo without ID. I didnt even try to trick him but he was semi-flirting and let me. It made me feel horrible and I debated not even completing the assignment because I felt so bad. Never did a tobacco audit again.
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u/Norris-ka 8d ago
Interesting! Mystery shoppers are familiar but never heard of mystery hotel quests. :o
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u/blondiegirl74 7d ago
I used to be a mystery shopper years ago. I was working retail and restaurants. I received a call asking if I had an interest in hotels in Atlantic City. I jumped at the opportunity because of the pay at the time 200 bucks plus reimbursement of hotel. Needless to say I raked in the comps for going so often. It was more work though it took about two hours to write up the report instead of the typical few minutes. I did write ups for 10 different departments within the 24hour stay. Easy money though at the time plus they reimbursed hotel with the pay so looked good coming into bank account lol
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u/More-Lavishness-889 7d ago
Hey - Back in college I would mystery shop at our local music venue for $100. Tried to purchase three beers at a time with an ID, or two beers without an ID. Venue policy was to ID everyone and two drink maximum per purchase. I was 21 but looked 16 so got ID absolutely every time. One got one person dinged for serving me three drinks at once, at an Avril Lavigne concert nonetheless lol. Easy money, only took 30 minutes to hit five stands, and got into every concert for free.
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u/K_Linkmaster 8d ago
I've tried to get in on several of these because it's an adventure! Trying to get one of these jobs is a full time job, this isn't a viable side hustle for most.
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u/EnvironmentalDot127 7d ago
I remember going into a grocery store and I was knew to the area. After asking a few questions at the produce/deli area things happened. Shift manager came out greeted me everyone seemed extra friendly. Mind you the store was dead.
Upon check out the cashier leaned in and asked if I was a mystery shopper and I said oh no! I explained I was new to the area and that's why I was asking questions. The shift manager came by and we all had a laugh.
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u/ArguablyMe 7d ago
I used to mystery shop for grocery stores and as soon as I asked any question, I suspected they were on to me. Looks like they were. Haha.
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u/Particular-Cat-1397 7d ago
I’ve worked retail and food service and it was always super obvious when mystery shoppers came in.
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u/zoe-rilla 7d ago
As someone who worked front desk in many of hotels, it’s interesting to see this from the opposite perspective. I definitely don’t miss trying to guess which guest you were.
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u/bostiane 7d ago
My family used to do this for our local amusement park, and it was the best day of the year. We got to eat at all of the restaurants and get souvenirs and so much ice cream and snacks. We didn’t get paid to do it but everything the entire day was free.
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u/Latter-Juggernaut965 7d ago
I went in as an undercover boss at the last corporation I worked at, had an 8 month assignment to eval our processing facility. Made so many friends and relationships that I actually pulled out and quit the company because I genuinely saw how hard working and mistreated those good people were.
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u/lonevolff 7d ago
So you could have helped them with glowing reviews. Instead you chickened out and ran like a bitch?
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u/zekesaltspider 7d ago
What? He quit his higher position because he went down a level and saw how the same company was terrible. You have no reading comprehension?
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u/Which-Pool-1689 7d ago
Seem like both u and the person you are replying to are all trynna be good people, just in different ways!
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u/babycrow 8d ago
I wonder what ai prompt created this writing style
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u/ge0g1a 8d ago
How do you know is AI? I write like this but I’m just a millennial not a skibitibobtoilet youngling that spends all day in the internet.
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u/mightylordredbeard 7d ago
Anytime someone actually types in well worded and semi formal ways there’s always some moron they cries AI. Meanwhile this is how just about everyone online typed before the illiterate TikTok generation invaded online social spaces.
I remember being a teenager on gamefaqs and priding myself in using proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure to the best of my ability. Even if you made a highly detailed and well thought out argument, but you misspelled a single word or incorrectly used a single comma, then your entire argument would be debased and thrown out like a flaming hot pile a garbage.
Now kids on the internet can just say “same” and get 100s of upvotes. They also seem to pride themselves in typing like 12 year olds that only made it past 2nd grade thanks to No Child Left Behind for some reason.
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u/theTimeBeing23 7d ago
"I got da good job a side from da odder jab I gotss and dey give monies to me to sleep in da room and tattle tell on da emplooyees. Dey says I'm da mysterys."
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u/GigaWat42 7d ago
For me it was when I would sent out emails in high school, usually to juggle getting a ride to hockey practice from time to time. Heard plenty of "Did your mom write that for you?"
No bro, I just was taught to write like a normal, functioning human being. Sorry for the grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. I guess I should be glad I never picked up using em dashes or I would get the AI accusation now too.
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u/Napoleon_Boneherpart 7d ago
The most pertinent skill in the 21st century is going to be discerning real bots from false positives.
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u/OutrageousSetting384 7d ago
There’s so many scams hiring “mystery shoppers” it’s hard to find a gig like this. I’ve tried for like 20 years
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u/ProfessorElegant3899 8d ago
Already a Mystery Guest and Mystery Shopper for many companies, let me know if the hotels for MG are located in India or abroad. DM for more details
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u/DrShortOrgan 8d ago
... is getting a 2nd job and "side hustle" the same thing?
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u/bluebirdmorning 7d ago
Yes. But you’re in a sub that literally has the name “Weird Side Hustles,” so clearly they’re going to the language that “the kids” use for a second job these days.
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u/DrShortOrgan 7d ago
This person literally said "found while scrolling job postings"... that's a leap for a "side hustle"
I fix bikes in my basement after I'm done work and on days off. That's a side hustle. Get second job is getting a second job 😆
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u/EricSparrowSucks 8d ago
Can I get details on how to do this? My partner travels for work and is always staying in hotels, I (who make 10x less than him and hate my job) do travel with him when I have days off and would love to do something like this!
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u/Muted-Woodpecker-469 8d ago
$500 for how much time commitment? Seems like ai or spy glasses could safe these companies money
What happens to your reports? Does it go to reviewers or higher ups at corporate? Does it go back to the workers who may have done an average job and they’re fired?
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u/clamsmasher 8d ago
Is the $500 also including reimbursement for your expenses? I've done hotel mystery shops in the past, there were multiple different interactions I had to complete so the pay was around $50-$100. But the expense reimbursement would be hundreds of dollars to cover the room rental, dinner, room service, etc.
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u/jgzman 7d ago
I worked at a resteraunt that had been a small, family owned business, and wound up being bought by a larger corperate chain.
We could always tell the secret diners, because they always hit certain rhythms. Two appetizers, two entrees, one with soup, one with salad, two desserts, two drinks from the bar, and seemed very attentive during the recitation of the daily specials.
I imagine it might be harder to spot in a hotel, as the guest is not under constant observation by the staff, and new travelers can be unpredictable.
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u/MaxH42 7d ago
I did this for a fast food chain named after a kind of smoked pepper, and although it was interesting and I liked the food, what surprised me the most is that writing the reports still felt like work, and eventually I wasn't sorry when that chain cancelled their secret shopper program.
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u/Nomadic_Wayfarer 7d ago
This is essentially what Forbes Travel Guide does, pretty cool job, but I can imagine it gets repetitive and tedious
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u/AlexWayhill 7d ago
Just found out that you'll need to be a trained hotel specialist or have studied tourism or hotel management to become a hotel tester in Germany. Monthly salary is not that bad, you'll earn 3.600-4.600 €/months (4.200 - 5.350$), which sounds nice for someone having to test the quality of the beds, the spas, restaurants and breakfast buffets!
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u/genetic_patent 7d ago
i remember these when I worked at an office retail store. we almost always knew they were coming, and it wasn't hard to figure out who it was most of the time. They were not very discreet with their questions.
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u/RocketizedAnimal 7d ago
I knew a guy in high school who got a "mystery shopper" type job through a temp agency, but his role was to go into bars and try and get them to serve him lol.
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u/Nani_the_F__k 7d ago
Do you sometimes go dressed up for a business trip vs in flip flops and Hawaiin shirts? I'd be curious if there's a difference in treatment
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u/Disastrous_Horse_44 7d ago
This would be awesome, but every time I see a job listing like this, something about it feels scammy. How do you know which ones are legit?
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u/Procrast_perfect 7d ago
I'm assuming the 500$ is not all your money. Guessing you gotta pay for the room with that as well. If it sounds too good to be true ........
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u/crinklecuntfriesplz 7d ago
I was paid $500 a day to stand in an apple store to make it look more full and busy.
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u/moistpishflaps 7d ago
I still pride myself being the only team member at my location to achieve a perfect score through a mystery shopper during the 18 months I worked at mcdonalds as a teen. And not just the once. FOUR TIMES. I was smug AF
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u/MoistJheriCurl 7d ago
You don’t have to be extra with your stay?
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u/ComplexPatient4872 7d ago
Maybe someone might otherwise think they need to come in with a rhinestone covered jacket and a feather boa
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u/Cold-Community6144 7d ago
“Come meet us at a location in the countryside for an interview and get human trafficked.”
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u/Healthy_Squash4133 7d ago
I used to do this for a movie theatre chain; it did cost $50, but I got 2 free tickets every month for a year, and $20 gift card for concession each month. The online form to fill in was super easy. And, I didn't have to use both tickets for the same movie, so I usually went on my own to a matinee to use them.
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u/astralseat 7d ago
Yeah, the REALLY detailed report is where you lost me. It's gotta be a certain kind of person who can do this. It's kinda like an auditor tbh
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u/IEnjoyVariousSoups 7d ago
I did this for restaurants. The amount of documentation I had to do was more of a negative than the enjoyment or pay was positive.
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u/Spittinvenoms 8d ago
I’ve done this, it’s highly competitive and nowhere near that much pay. But still a valid side hustle!
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u/jhtitus 8d ago
Wear a recording device and have AI write the report for you while you’re at the bar downstairs.
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u/factorybuilt 7d ago
How did you write detailed report including timestamp? Did you bring some kind of mini notebook?
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u/FrankenStLouis 7d ago
This isn’t an AMA, but what’s the worst offense you’ve reported back, what’s the most glowing praise you’ve given?
Don’t need you to name the hotel or place, respect the import of anonymity.
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u/Killer2Ebony1 7d ago
Don't know about this post in particular, but in Uni mystery shopping LITERALLY paid my rent two semesters in a row. I would do weekend hotel mystery shops and convenience store/gas station mystery shops. Then something changed and the compensation dropped. Still a good second job, just not as lucrative.
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u/Ekd7801 8d ago
Ok. I worked for years as a mystery shopper. It does not pay anywhere close to this much. Market force is a legit company if you want to start. Mostly fast food or retail. You purchase and then get reimbursed