Irish Hotels not responding to emails.

W

WaterWater

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We have decided to take an Irish Hotel break in May. To date I have sent 4 email enquiries through the various hotel's website enquiry forms. Two to Donegal, one to Wicklow and one to Wexford.
The two Donegal hotels responded but only after I had re-sent an email not through their website enquiry form but by regular email. Apparently my email sent through the website went in to their spam? How can an enquiry sent through a company website go in to spam?

Anyhow, to date (4 days) ago the hotel in Wicklow has sent me a standard reply saying that someone would contact me soon. Still waiting.

The hotel in Wexford has responde but completly ignored the actual question I was asking. I immediately responded and re-asked my original question. That was 3 days ago and still no response.

All of these hotels have "special offers" to tempt enquiries but then they have nobody overseeing those responses that are coming in through their website.
Is it just me or have other people experienced similar apathy?
 
I don't think it is just you, and I would add that it goes beyond just the hotel industry. Basically I have given up sending email inquiries to anything but the larger hotel groups as it has been the exception that I have received a timely reply. I once got a reply 4 months (!?!?!) after sending it and the reply was written as if I had just sent the mail. I decided to ring the person that sent the mail, and they were none too happy that I pointed out the obvious. Needless to say, the particular hotel has since gone out of business.
 
Chris;1153085Basically I have given up sending email inquiries[/QUOTE said:
+1. Emails like that end up in the ether. Better to ring for the information but book online.
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From my experience of working in a hotel I would definitely say never ever send to an info@ or enquiries@ address, there would be hundreds of emails a day, including tons of spam. I don't think people deliberately ignore them, either they are just not spotted or it's assumed someone else is checking them. To be fair to the hotel I worked in the website also had direct emails for named management, but most don't and I would say always ring and get a name of someone.
 
I recently contacted an Irish Hotel and received a reply but not to the question that I had asked so I responded back. Days went past and still no reply to my follow up. I sent a couple more "reminders". Still no reply. I finally rang the hotel and I was told that the person who had originally responded was on a few days off.
My email was sent to the Hotel but somehow became the property of one individual rather than the hotels responsibility. Surely if it is to the hotel's own reservations department and not an individuals own email address then it should have been dealt with by the reservations department.
 
liaconn said:
That's the private sector for you !!
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I was just thinking the same thing myself. Can you imagine how much better run hotels would be in the public sector? We could even have a new quango creating much needed jobs. Maybe someone should suggesting this "Nationalisation of the hotel sector" to Labour.
 
Sorry, they wouldn't last a day in the Public Service with that backward attitude!
 
liaconn said:
Sorry, they wouldn't last a day in the Public Service with that backward attitude!
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Exactly. In the public sector, there would be one person to open the e-mail, another to read it, someone else will draft a reply and finally a supervisor to send the reply!
 
Sunny said:
Exactly. In the public sector, there would be one person to open the e-mail, another to read it, someone else will draft a reply and finally a supervisor to send the reply!
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and all getting more money through incremements for doing the same work as the previous year
 
Why email OP, they'll answer you if you call and check availability.
And you can test your haggling skills, always haggle with hotels, there is nearly always a better rate

Firefly said:
+1. Emails like that end up in the ether. Better to ring for the information but book online.
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+1 to this.
And if you can't haggle the receptionist down then often the best deals are online
There are times when sending emails is a good way to get information. Dealing with hotels is not of them

There is someone there 24/7 to answer calls so no need to email at all
Ok, the night porter might not be able to take reservations but during the day they will
And when I worked in hotels you answered by third ring or got a bollocking!
 
Well I have been trying to get someone in a Best Western Hotel in Ireland to respond to an email without much success at the moment. I wonder is it worse when trying to deal with a "branded" hotel.
 
I sent 5 emails to the Woodenbridge Hotel in Avoca, Wicklow to enquire about a possible booking for 9 people who were coming over from Holland to visit the area. They had contacted me via the Dublin forum of Tripadvisor looking for information. I sent a query via their enquiry form on their website and also an independent email. I never received one response. This hotel is almost begging people to stay with them yet they have nobody dealing with their website enquiries or answering their emails.
In the end I recommended to the travellers a different hotel.
 
liaconn said:
That's the private sector for you !!
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Indeed it is. Badly run, ineffective, organisations close down rapidly and the staff lose their jobs.

While in the public sector, they'd probably all go on a prolongued sickie, to get over the hassle of dealing with paying customers.

:)

Must dash now - my flexi is almost built up for the day
 
Sunny said:
Exactly. In the public sector, there would be one person to open the e-mail, another to read it, someone else will draft a reply and finally a supervisor to send the reply!
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You forgot the junior supervisor to check the reply and the Head of Division to sign the reply. Jeeze Sunny, no wonder the Private Sector is in such a mess.
 
liaconn said:
You forgot the junior supervisor to check the reply and the Head of Division to sign the reply. Jeeze Sunny, no wonder the Private Sector is in such a mess.
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You need to multiply each of these positions by 3 - one extra person in case the main person is sick/shopping in Newry and a 3rd person to cover the flexi-time.

Wow...I make that 9 people plus the supervisor. That's 10 people off the dole straight away and a massive net gain to the economy...think we're onto something her people....
 
Actually, multiply it by 5. There will be bound to be someone off cashing their cheque for half a day and someone else on their Christmas/Easter/Halloween shopping leave. I read all about it in the Sindo every week.
 
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