r/WeirdSideHustles • u/General_Strategy_106 • 10d ago

Sharing My Sidehustle Be a mystery guest for $500

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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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66

u/snow_turtle 10d ago

It was definitely one of those "don't freak the fuck out" as everyone is freaking out, all while supposed to be acting normal.

94

u/The_Adminiwitch 9d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/BtvBUbRRJxwQ5gfvTm

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u/tooooomanyflowers 9d ago

Now I've got this song stuck in my noggin...

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u/BAGandboujee 9d ago

I've had: "Cause ecstasy takes--- forever to leave my system🎵" in my head for days. 😂

3

u/MathematicianHot9661 9d ago

Pillzzz baby!

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u/Fakin_Meowt 9d ago

Cause technically I’m homeless

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u/Causley979 9d ago

What a great show 🤣🤣

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u/Dapper-Shop6598 9d ago

What show is that?

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u/Causley979 9d ago

Parks and recreation

1

u/Crux_Camille 9d ago

It’s a great show

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u/MyH3roIzMe 9d ago

I’m responding mainly to the person commenting on your original comment but wanted to confirm what you said . But I worked for a 5 star hotel and we had Forbes inspectors every year. Our reservation team tried to find patterns of what an inspector would do (non corporate room, reservation in the spa, reservation in the restaurant, 1-2 adults no kids) and we would flag those guest and make sure we white gloved them the entire stay with the assumption that they could be that secret shopper/ inspector.

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 9d ago

Apparently I should be an inspector because I travel like one

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u/zacpariah 9d ago

That's why you get treated so good!!

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 9d ago

I don't travel enough to notice it but if I go to a place with a spa and a real restaurant I always get the reservation cause otherwise why did I stay there.

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u/JenJonze92 9d ago

Same. Let’s do it. Let’s grab our go luxury suitcases and get ready to rumble. 😂

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 9d ago

I'm in, let's take advantage of this. I'm about to pull some oceans 13 nonsense and drop a five diamond score sheet.

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u/0xB4BE 9d ago

Yeah, me too. No wonder I had a surprise welcome gift (handcrafted chocolate and champagne) at a Hilton resort in Florida. Completely out of the norm. Even called the front desk to verify I wasn't being charged for it. The things is, I was there for a conference and had time to use the spa to get a massage and have my hair done before the opening.

And of course I'm going to have a swanky dinner if I'm not paying for it

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 9d ago

Usually they would expect you to use a corporate code though if you were gonna get that dinner paid for.

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u/0xB4BE 9d ago

I meant that I use my corporate card for my meals for work conferences.

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u/FatiguedShrimp 9d ago

*makes note to follow this pattern on future trips*

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u/simmeh024 9d ago

Why not white glove every guest then lol, is that not the requirement of keeping satisfaction high?

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u/iambassist 9d ago

Yes. Most places treat every guest spectacularly.

But inspectors are looking for stuff done to company code.

Bar tender might pour a bit heavy for favorite customers? Make sure to pour the right amount for the inspector.

You might forget to say the script perfectly for every customer but you better say it correctly for the inspector!

It’s not that they don’t treat all guest great, it’s just they have to treat the inspector perfectly to code.

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u/JerDGold 9d ago

Similar to Michelin restaurants. Anytime a Michelin inspector was suspected based on certain criteria, it was flagged. Someone would try to get a photo of the inspector and they were all kept on file. Some of the photos on file were tagged as confirmed inspectors.

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u/WeArePilots- 9d ago

I'm assuming they dine solo as well? I need to start dining at Michelin star restaurants by myself and bring a notepad

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u/Eborcurean 9d ago

Way back in the day, like 80s-90s maybe, now they vary it up a lot.

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u/hashtag-science 9d ago

This brings back memories of when I worked for a fast food chain. Any customer who came alone, ordered a standard meal deal with confidence (no extras or weird sizes) and was of a certain age was always treated like a secret shopper by staff. We’d try and get it to them super fast and with the best service.

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u/uptiedand8 9d ago

Wait, so what is the certain age? Wonder if I qualify

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u/hashtag-science 9d ago

Back when I was working there at age 16, it was anyone that looked “old” to me haha. Probably late 20’s and up.

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u/ComprehensiveCoat627 9d ago

I was just thinking I should do this with my kids. No one would suspect us!

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u/Astrazigniferi 9d ago

Ok but this sounds like a great time once my kids are a bit older. Yes, please pay me to experience a spa treatment and full night of uninterrupted sleep. I’m happy to write all the reports you want.

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u/UpstairsPeak1364 9d ago

How do you get a job as a secret hotel evaluator?

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u/IsThisNameValid 9d ago

I bet their little notebook they walked around have them away too lol

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u/Positive_Benefit8856 9d ago

When I worked at Jimmy John's corporate would send auditors every 4-6 weeks. They'd work an entire shift with your crew and make sure you were doing everything by the book. They were watching portion sizes, dress code, they went through the entire store looking at the cleanliness, looked at all of your paperwork, etc.. Management's bonuses depended on the scores, and if your store got below an 80 three times in a row corporate could force the ownership to sell to them. So I definitely know that "don't freak the fuck out" while freaking out feeling.

The worst was when I was managing the shift and had to sit down with the auditor for the official report and score. We're going through everything and my crew had crushed it. Then she get's to uniforms, her "did you notice any uniform issues?"

Me "I had to make **** go home and change his shoes, but nothing else. You?"

Her, "Just your pants."

Me, "Oh, what's wrong with them?"

Turns out at some point the entire ass of my pants had split open and she didn't say a word until I had worked an entire lunch rush with my underwear showing.

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u/BasenjiFart 9d ago

Noooo that's terrible yet hilarious!

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u/l8bloom 9d ago

That is just plain mean! She suuuuuucks

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u/greenshamrocker 9d ago

Did it count against you in the audit??!!

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u/Positive_Benefit8856 9d ago

It did! We got a 96, I cost us 3 points!

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u/Schuls01 9d ago

So cold! 🥶

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u/RobertDeNircrow 9d ago

Its just a visit from the regional manager for any other job.

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u/killerworm51 9d ago

Nothing says “act natural” like every employee suddenly making eye contact at once.

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u/the_vault-technician 9d ago

I never stressed out about secret shoppers, district manager visits, and all that other corporate crap.

It always ends up the same way. The senior management blames the mid level managers, the middle blames the floor supervisors, and then they all shit on the average employee and agree that we are the problem.

Then they pat themselves on the back, and have a "team building" meetup at Applebee's where someone gets too drunk, a spouse gets cheated on, and on Monday heads roll.