GuestAlert.co.za launches to root out bad guests
16. Jan, 2010
2 Comments
For many in the hospitality industry there has been little form of protection from guests who behaved inappropriately, defaulted on payment, destroyed property or used establishments for illegal activities.
It is estimated that in 2008 over 9 million tourists visited South Africa’s shores and a further 14 million1 domestic tourists took their holidays in and around the country.
However, until recently there was no registry or listing for many hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, resorts and spas to run checks against potentially bad guests.
“Solnetech dealt with various clients within the hospitality industry and discovered that there was no means to protect the industry from bad guests who abuse the relationship,” says Joseph Brooks, Director of Solnetech, an innovative web application and design house that creates unique web based solution applications for various industries.
“This led us to conceptualise Guest Alert, a web based application tool that allows establishments to register the, ID and passport numbers of guests who have behaved badly, damaged property, failed payment or performed illegal activities on the premises. So far we have over 600 adverse listings on our database.
“The information on Guest Alert has been compiled by those within the hospitality industry who have has negative experiences with deviant guests. Guest Alert is a community of accommodation establishments that protect each other- it is a watchdog for the industry,” says Brooks.
The service is simple and easy to use: register online and complete the debit order form and submit to Guest Alert via fax or email. Once the information has been verified, users will receive notification of their service activation at a minimal monthly admin fee of R89 per month per user. Corporate packages are available and structured for larger guest houses, groups and hotel chains.
To use the information, simply type in the ID or passport number of the potential guest in question to see if they have been registered on the site, or users can register an offender.
“Depending on the nature of the guest offense the hotel or B&B etc. can then decide on the best course of action to take. The establishment can simply raise their deposit to compensate for potential damages or refuse accommodation- how they choose to use the information on Guest Alert is up to them,” says Brooks.
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
It is a great idea, but or small businesses like ours, not an economical proposition. Get your subscribers to populate your data base and then pay for it- not bad. In 6 years of business we have suffered abuse and damage only once, and with 600 listings the chances are that these guests would not have been listed