CHE Hotel Group is launching a 100 per cent satisfaction guarantee scheme across its UK portfolio.

Under the new marketing initiative, individual staff members will be able to exercise their own discretion in dealing with customer complaints on the spot, in place of the more customary approach of referring clients to a faceless customer service department.

If a guest is not satisfied with any aspect of their stay, and the situation cannot be corrected to the customer’s satisfaction, they will not be charged for that element.

On arrival, all guests will receive a personal note from the hotel’s general manager explaining the 100 per cent satisfaction guarantee initiative.

Chief executive Michael Prager said: “I believe that we are among the first few hotel groups to adopt this customer-centric approach. A customer whose complaint is handled promptly, effectively and to their satisfaction is more than 80 per cent more likely to return and stay with us again.”

Marketing director Tom Struzzi added: “Word of mouth is a valuable factor in any industry. Bearing in mind the principle that a dissatisfied customer tells 12 other people about a bad experience, while a satisfied one tells just eight, this initiative not only makes sense for the customer, but makes good business sense too.”

CHE Hotel Group, which trades as Choice Hotels Europe, operates 60 hotels in the UK, France, Germany and Belgium, as well as 72 franchise properties in the UK and Ireland.