So You Want My Feedback?- Episode 21
After a recent hotel stay, Jeff received a feedback request that seemed to offer a simple choice: leave a public review if you enjoyed your stay, or explain your concerns if you didn't. As it turned out, it wasn't nearly that straightforward.
A few days later, a completely separate guest survey from the hotel brand arrived.
In this episode, Jeff and Rich walk through both feedback experiences live, examining what worked, what didn't, and what they reveal about guest feedback, survey design, and the overall guest experience. Along the way, they discuss review requests, Net Promoter Score (NPS), question wording, and why the final guest touchpoint deserves the same thoughtful design as every other part of the guest experience.
About the Series
So You Want My Feedback? is an ongoing series that follows real guest feedback experiences Jeff and Rich receive during their own travels and everyday lives. They don't identify the hotel, brand, or survey provider because the goal isn't to criticize organizations—it's to identify what hospitality professionals can learn from each experience.
Each episode explores the complete guest feedback journey—from the initial invitation to the survey, review requests, follow-up communications, and everything in between. By walking through each experience live, Jeff and Rich examine how survey design, messaging, and follow-through shape both the guest experience and the quality of the feedback organizations ultimately receive.
While hospitality is the primary focus, the series occasionally examines customer feedback experiences from other industries.
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Want us to take a look at your feedback loop? 👉 https://www.guestinsight.com/book-a-free-discovery-session ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

So You Want My Feedback?- Episode 20
Can a simple haircut follow-up survey teach us something about customer feedback? Absolutely.
In this episode of So You Want My Feedback, we step outside the hospitality industry to review the follow-up email and survey from a regional hair salon. While the business isn’t a hotel or restaurant, the customer experience principles are exactly the same.
Jeff and Rich walk through the entire feedback journey—from the email invitation to the private survey and review request—and discuss what works, what could be improved, and why even well-designed feedback programs often miss opportunities because of small details.
Among the topics we discuss:
* The difference between public reviews and private feedback
* Why wording matters in survey invitations
* How businesses unintentionally reduce survey participation
* The importance of signing follow-up emails and making them feel personal * Missed opportunities to promote mobile apps
* A clean, responsive survey interface that gets many things right
* Why the feedback loop often receives less attention than other parts of the customer experience
Whether you work in hospitality, retail, personal services, healthcare, or any customer-facing business, this episode offers practical ideas you can apply to your own feedback process.
If you enjoy these real-world critiques, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of Feedback Matters and So You Want My Feedback, where we review actual customer surveys and feedback requests to help businesses create better customer experiences.

So You Want My Feedback?- Episode 19
What one small detail in a restaurant survey reveals about anonymity and guest feedback.
In this episode of So You Want My Feedback?, we review a restaurant survey sent after a recent dining experience—and quickly uncover a small detail that could have a big impact on the feedback it receives.
From how the survey frames its opening question to how it handles guest identity, we break down what works, what doesn’t, and what it may be doing to limit honest responses.
If you’re collecting guest feedback, this is a reminder that how you ask… matters just as much as what you ask.

When Guest Surveys Go Wrong: A Masterclass in "Worst Practices"
What happens when one of the world’s biggest hotel brands sends a guest survey that is confusing, repetitive, and mathematically impossible?
In this episode of "So You Want My Feedback", Jeff and Rich break down a recent post-stay survey from a major global hotel flagship that misses the mark at nearly every turn.In this episode, we discuss:
The "Zero Percent" Paradox: How a survey can tell you you've completed 0% of the task after you’ve already provided your primary rating.
The Yes/No Rating Trap: Why asking a guest to "rate" a binary event (like whether they were recognized as a loyalty member) is a fundamental design flaw.
The Missing Middle: The dangers of using a four-point scale that forces guests to be either positive or negative, with no room for a neutral middle ground.
Survey Fatigue & Redirection: The frustrating experience of being redirected to a second, unannounced "brand survey" just when you thought you were finished. Jeff also shares his experience using the hotel's digital key—one of the few highlights of the stay—and how the survey failed to capture that nuance effectively.
Key Takeaway: A survey is an extension of the guest experience. If the survey is "mailing it in," the guest feels it.
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction: A stay at a major global flagship
1:30 - The Email: Missing signatures and "Very Poor" scales
5:10 - The 0% Completion Metric frustration
9:20 - Rating a Yes/No question?
14:00 - The $2 Water Bottle Dilemma
18:30 - The "Secret" Second Survey
22:00 - Why Midpoints Matter in Scale Design
26:00 - Final Verdict: A "Shocking" Lack of Best Practices
 
About the Podcast: Feedback Matters by GuestInsight explores the world of guest experience, survey design, and actionable feedback. Hosted by Jeff Robbins and Rich Raffel, we draw on 25+ years of experience to help businesses elevate the guest journey.
About the Series: So You Want My Feedback is our ongoing look at how hotels and other hospitality brands handle guest feedback — from post-stay survey critique to full hotel survey review.
Each episode breaks down real examples, highlighting what works, what doesn’t, and what these choices reveal about guest feedback analysis, survey design, and the overall guest experience. And while hospitality is our focus, we occasionally review customer experience surveys from non-hospitality businesses as a point of comparison — because the contrast is often just as illuminating.

84% of hotel guests rely on online reviews when booking. Only 4% regularly post them.
So who is really shaping your hotel’s reputation?
In this episode of Feedback Matters, Jeff and Rich explore the results of GuestInsight’s December 2025 U.S. consumer survey of hotel guests — and uncover a major disconnect between how guests consume feedback and how they contribute it.
We discuss:
•Why 72% say surveys are important — but only 24% frequently complete them
•The persistent “ones and fives” polarity problem
•Why the “missing middle” rarely speaks up
•The friction behind low review participation
•Whether post-stay emails should match your hotel’s brand positioning
•What this means for response rates, reputation accuracy, and revenue
If most travelers rely on online reviews — but those reviews reflect only a tiny fraction of guests — are hotels being judged by a representative sample?
Watch to understand what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what hoteliers should be doing about it.
👉 Subscribe for more hospitality insights
👉 Visit guestinsight.com to learn more

So You Want My Feedback?- Episode 17
In this episode, we take a close look at a post-stay survey from a major international hotel brand. At first glance, it’s solid: clean layout, well-timed delivery, and even a personal touch — the general manager’s own signature. Someone’s taking ownership of the feedback process, and that’s great to see. But as we move through the survey, some interesting choices start to stand out — like the use of a 10-point scale without a midpoint, and a question about “experiencing the destination” that might leave even seasoned travelers scratching their heads. It’s a great example of how thoughtful design and confusing corporate templates can coexist — and why even a polished guest survey can still send mixed signals about what kind of feedback a hotel or brand really wants.  
Music licensed via Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/ #GuestFeedback #SurveyDesign #HospitalityMarketing #CustomerExperience #HotelSurveys #OnlineReviews #CXStrategy #HospitalityInsights #FeedbackMatters #ReviewManagement

In this episode, we take a look at something new for Feedback Matters — a patient feedback survey from a large medical practice.
At first glance, the request feels solid: it’s respectful, professional, and checks many of the right boxes. The email sets expectations clearly and frames the purpose as learning “what we do well and what we can do better.”
But as we walk through the actual survey, things start to break down. The process is long, redundant, and oddly impersonal — from the clunky date-of-birth validation to a request for the respondent’s name at the end.
The wording throughout feels clinical rather than patient-friendly, and the survey’s 5-point scale (ranging from “very poor” to “very good”) is surprisingly unbalanced. And then there’s the kicker: the “likelihood to recommend” question — a version of the Net Promoter Score — shoehorned into the middle of a medical visit survey, using labels that don’t even fit the question.
It’s an eye-opening example of how even well-intentioned feedback efforts can fall short when execution doesn’t match purpose — and when the survey experience itself starts to undermine the credibility of the data being collected.
Want to know what we think about your feedback loop? Book a free discovery call to find out! 👉 https://www.guestinsight.com/book-a-free-discovery-session 
 
Music licensed via Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/
#PatientExperience #FeedbackMatters #SurveyDesign #CustomerExperience #HealthcareFeedback #PatientSatisfaction #CXStrategy #OnlineSurveys #NetPromoterScore #GuestInsight

In this episode, we take a closer look at a guest feedback survey from a popular restaurant inside a major hotel. At first glance, it does a lot right — short, simple, on-brand. But as we talk through the guest flow, the copy choices, and the final ask, we started to notice some important gaps. The intent seems clear: it’s not really about feedback — it’s about driving reviews. The survey is built into a reservation platform, and everything about the structure points toward boosting public ratings, not improving guest experience. But here’s the twist: it’s not even doing that well. Despite all the nudging, the restaurant has barely any reviews on the page they push guests toward. It’s a revealing look at what happens when the purpose of a survey is misaligned — and when execution doesn’t support the outcome you’re aiming for. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ Want to know what we think about your feedback loop? Book a free discovery call to find out! 👉 https://www.guestinsight.com/book-a-free-discovery-session ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ Music licensed via Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/ #GuestFeedback #SurveyDesign #HospitalityMarketing #CustomerExperience #RestaurantReviews #OnlineReviews #CXStrategy #HospitalityInsights #YelpReviews #FeedbackMatters

Why “How Likely Are You to Recommend?” Might Be the Wrong Question In this mini-episode of Feedback Matters, Jeff and Rich tackle one of CX measurement's most sacred cows: the Net Promoter Score question.
👉 “How likely are you to recommend our hotel to a friend or family member?”
It sounds smart. It looks official. It’s everywhere.
But have you ever really thought about what it’s asking?
We dig into why this question often fails to deliver useful insight, especially in hospitality. From scale confusion to vague context, we make the case that it’s time to rethink how we measure guest loyalty.
This is just the beginning — in an upcoming episode, we’ll break down how NPS is actually calculated (and why that might be an even bigger problem).
🎧 Subscribe for more honest, practical insights about surveys, feedback, and the guest experience.
 #NetPromoterScore #GuestFeedback #SurveyDesign #HospitalityInsights #CustomerExperience #FeedbackMatters #CX

In this episode, Jeff and Rich review the guest feedback survey from a boutique hotel operated by one of the world’s largest hospitality brands. While the guest experience was exceptional, the survey left much to be desired—long, inconsistent, and surprisingly unpolished for such a well-run property and major hospitality brand. They explore why this happens more often than it should, and why the final touchpoint of the guest journey—the post-stay survey—should never feel like an afterthought.
Key Takeaways
Even top-tier hospitality brands can send poorly constructed surveys.
The guest survey is part of the guest experience—and it should feel that way.
Overly long, poorly constructed and edited surveys frustrate respondents.
A great guest experience deserves a strong finish.
The final impression you leave can shape how guests remember their stay.
Hotels of all sizes should treat feedback design with the same care as service delivery.
A better survey design leads to better data—and better guest satisfaction.
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Want to know what we think about your feedback loop? Book a free discovery call to find out! 👉  https://www.guestinsight.com/book-a-free-discovery-session
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Music licensed via Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/ 
#guestexperience #hospitalityindustry #hotelmanagement #guestsatisfaction #surveys #guestfeedback #cx #feedbackloop #feedback #customerfeedback #reviews #businessimprovement #customerexperience #OnlineReviews

In this episode, we take a look at the customer feedback loop of a regional furniture chain. Jeff and Rich get into the weeds on what turned out to be a confusing feedback process after a transaction. They reflect on the overall customer journey, including the delivery experience, and lament how businesses often don't pay the same attention to detail on their feedback loop as they do on other parts of the customer journey. Key Takeaways •The review process can often be confusing for customers. •Surveys and reviews serve different purposes and should be clearly distinguished. •Customers may not always receive the feedback requests they expect. •Businesses should prioritize collecting quality feedback to optimize customer experience. •Clear communication is essential in the feedback loop. •Feedback mechanisms should be user-friendly and accessible. •Improving feedback processes can lead to better business outcomes.
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Want to know what we think about your feedback loop?
Book a free discovery call to find out! 👉 https://bit.ly/4gPtkUv ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
#customerfeedback #cx #reviews #surveys #feedbackloop #feedback #businessimprovement #customerexperience

In this episode, we analyze the guest feedback requests from a non-traditional lodging experience—a short-term rental booked through a major platform. Jeff and Rich discuss the post-stay emails, the review prompts, the survey, and the differences between public reviews and private feedback channels.
Are platforms prioritizing better guest experiences or simply looking to boost ratings? We break down how hospitality businesses—both traditional and short-term—can optimize their surveys to collect more meaningful insights while still staying focused on online reputation.
Plus, we get into the legitimacy of "trading" mutual reviews, and the one simple change that could have made this guest feedback process much better.
Unlock the Full Potential of Your Guest Feedback 🔑✨ - Book A Free Consultation or Demo Today: https://www.guestinsight.com/who-we-are
#VoiceOfTheGuest #VoiceOfTheCustomer #GuestExperience #CustomerFeedback #ShortTermRentals #Hospitality #HotelManagement #CX #Surveys #VacationRentals #OnlineReviews #GuestSatisfaction #surveys

Unlock the Full Potential of Your Guest Feedback 🔑✨ - Book A Free Consultation or Demo Today: https://www.guestinsight.com/who-we-are
 
Join Jeff Robbins and Rich Raffel in this episode (#10 of the So You Want My Feedback series) as they analyze a real guest experience feedback request from a popular restaurant platform. Discover the pitfalls of relying solely on reviews, the missed opportunities for meaningful feedback, and the trade-offs businesses face when using reservation platforms for guest insights. Learn how restaurants can balance the need for reviews with actionable data to improve their operations. Don't miss this engaging discussion on the art and science of guest feedback!

In this episode, we get into a discussion of different motivations for sending guest experience surveys. It's a follow-up episode to episode 8 ( https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ixx38-171cffa ), in which we were less than impressed by the guest survey sent by a great boutique hotel. That episode may be found here: https://youtu.be/pm3HD8gTFuU Our "So You Want My Feedback?" series reviews the feedback requests from hotels, restaurants, retailers, and other businesses through the eyes of a guest or customer. We believe that if you are involved in a business that asks for feedback from guests or customers, you should regularly give feedback to businesses that you undoubtedly get feedback requests from during the course of your day-to-day routine (both personal & business). Why? You'll discover elements of feedback loops that resonate with you, those that don't, and how you might think of your own feedback "asks" as more of an evolving process, rather than a "set it and forget it" practice. After all, that survey request you send out is often the last point of contact in the guest experience transaction. #cx #survey #bestpractices #guestinsight #hospitality #hotelmanagement #hotelier #review #guestexperience
feedbackmatters.org

In this episode, we review the feedback "ask" from an independent boutique hotel. As the subtitle suggests, we found this survey to be disappointing. For a great property, their guest survey doesn't cover anything substantive or actionable.
 
#cx #survey #bestpractices #guestinsight #hospitality #hotelmanagement #hotelier #review #guestexperience
Our "So You Want My Feedback?" series reviews the feedback requests from hotels, restaurants, retailers, and other businesses through the eyes of a guest or customer.
We believe that if you are involved in a business that asks for feedback from guests or customers, you should regularly give feedback to businesses that you undoubtedly get feedback requests from during the course of your day-to-day routine (both personal & business).
Why? You'll discover elements of feedback loops that resonate with you, those that don't, and how you might think of your own feedback "asks" as more of an evolving process, rather than a "set it and forget it" practice. After all, that survey request you send out is often the last point of contact in the guest experience transaction.