A message from the hotel lobby at 11pm
The client has arrived. The room is not the sea view they booked, or the transfer did not turn up, or the pool is closed for works, or the hotel says it has no record of the dietary request. They message you on WhatsApp, with photos, late at night. You contact the supplier's emergency line or the tour operator's out-of-hours team, and reply to the client. More messages follow over the next two days.
When the client gets home, they want to know what compensation, if any, they are due. You scroll through chats and emails to reconstruct what happened. The supplier's version differs. Your notes are a few lines on your phone.
Why in-trip issues are hard to manage
- Problems arrive on any channel, often out of hours.
- The supplier has to be told quickly, by their route, not just by you replying to the client.
- Evidence, such as photos and times, sits in chats.
- Several people may be involved: operator rep, hotel, transfer company.
- The follow-up after the trip depends on a clear record, which rarely exists.
Many suppliers' terms expect problems to be reported during the stay, through particular routes. Getting the client to report it properly, and doing so yourself, matters for how the issue can be resolved later, though what the client is entitled to is for the terms and your advisers to determine.
What an unrecorded issue costs
A resolution in resort is far better for the client than a claim afterwards, and it depends on the supplier hearing quickly. A dispute after the trip, with no clear record, drags on and can turn into a poor review of you even when the supplier was at fault. And evenings on your phone during a client's holiday leave you drained.
An issue log from first message to follow-up
- When a client reports a problem on any channel, you open an issue on their booking in one tap. Photos and messages are attached from the conversation.
- The issue records the component affected, the supplier, the time reported and the client's description.
- The supplier's reporting route for that component is shown, such as the operator's in-resort rep or out-of-hours line, and you record each contact and their response.
- The client receives a short confirmation of what has been reported and to whom, and is reminded of any step they need to take themselves under the supplier's process.
- Issues remain open until resolved in resort or marked for follow-up after return.
- When the client returns, the welcome home follow-up includes the issue, and you have the full record for any discussion with the supplier.
| Issue record field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Time first reported | Shows promptness to supplier |
| Evidence attached | Photos and messages in one place |
| Supplier contacts and replies | Clear account of what was done |
| Client steps advised | Record of guidance given |
| Outcome | Resolved in resort or follow-up |
A clear record when the client gets home
During the trip, you know what has been reported, to whom, and what is outstanding. The client knows you have acted. After the trip, the record makes discussions with suppliers clearer and fairer, and the client sees that you followed through.
Consider a family whose transfer does not arrive. They message you from the airport with a photo of the empty meeting point. You open an issue, call the transfer company's emergency number, record their response and advise the family to keep receipts if they take a taxi, as the supplier's process requires. The next day, the issue shows the transfer company's reply, and when the family returns, you pick up the conversation about a refund with the complete record in front of you.
Is this how in-trip problems land on you?
- Clients message you from abroad at all hours on WhatsApp.
- You contact suppliers from your phone with no record kept.
- Photos and evidence are scattered across chats.
- After-trip disputes rely on memory and scrolling.
- You are not always sure the supplier was told through the right route.