It’s not always an easy decision to blacklist!
So how do you decide which guests you should blacklist and send out an alert to other Member accommodation providers? Sometimes the decision is clear cut, and you just know that the guest behaving badly is going to take their business disruptive behaviour to other providers. Those that threaten or indulge in violence, and/or are clearly participating in illicit substance use and abuse can head straight to a listing in the ALW platform without so much as a second thought. Once they’ve left the premises, and everybody is safe, blacklist away!
However, there are those guests that cause you to umm and ahh about whether to blacklist with a level of uncertainty. These might be marginal rogue behaviours that you might be struggling with when deciding to add their name and profile to the ALW platform. A noisy, rude guest, with TV/music blaring, no regard for other guests and leaves their accommodation in a mess on departure, might be an example. Do you blacklist or not?
A decision process that could be helpful in deciding whether to blacklist a guest who sits on the margins can be by asking yourself the following series of questions:
- Have staff had to spend extra time cleaning – an hour or more extra?
- Have staff had to use extra cleaning options (outside of their routine cleaning equipment and solutions) to clean and return the accommodation to a point of resale?
- Have you required the services of a specialist cleaner eg carpet cleaner, to be able to return the accommodation back to a point of resale?
- Is there a number of missing or broken inventory (including linen)? Outside of broken glass or plate for example! (accidents happen – keep it real)
- Is there any damage to the property or furniture that can not be attributed to fair wear & tear? Eg holes in walls, scrape marks on walls from luggage that can’t be cleaned off, broken chairs, fittings etc
- Has the accommodation needed to be offline, for any period beyond half a day, because of repairs/airing etc?
- Most importantly, would you have them stay at your accommodation again in the future?
If you have answered YES to at least two of the above questions 1-6, followed by a NO to question 7, the Rogue Guest warrants a blacklisting – if you wouldn’t have them back, let other Member providers know, so they don’t suffer the same grief and loses!
Categories that you can use to blacklist a Rogue Guest include the following:
- – Wilful damage of property
- – Illicit Substance
- – Theft
- – Threatening behaviour
- – Violence
- – Excessive mess on departure
- – Outstanding fees
- – Police callout/attended on site
- – Police incidence report filed
- – Credit card fraud
- – Breaks agreed to house rules
- – BOLO (Be on the lookout) – Police and ALW Admin only
ALW membership gives your guests the security in knowing that you are screening for and blocking out those Rogue Guests. As an ALW Member, you provide your better guests with better stays. Join now, a risk mitigation platform built by the industry for the industry. 
