One lucky individual has, this week, packed their case ready to embark on a business trip with a difference, as they head off around the globe in their new role as the ebookers.com Hotel Inspector. Farrah Chaudhry from Birmingham was selected out of over 100 applicants, after successfully completing a three stage interview process which included a written application, a short telephone interview and a face-to-face interview which tested her written and presentation skills. She has been tasked with travelling around the world on a three week 35,000 mile business trip, taking in four continents, 11 countries and a variety of hotels to review different lodgings in her quest to find the World’s best hotel.
When many Brits will be setting off for a week-long holiday in the sun, twenty nine year old Farrah, a Trainer with a passion for writing, will be departing the UK on the 16th August for her three week assignment on behalf of one of Europe’s leading online travel agents, ebookers.com.
Last month, hundreds of people cast their votes on the ebookers.com website to determine which worldwide destinations had the best hotels and would make it onto Farrah’s review itinerary.
On her trip, Farrah will be rating beach huts in Penang, luxury lodgings in Dubai and business bases in Paris. Working with Fiona Duncan of HotelGuru.com to ensure each hotel is reviewed fairly and correctly, Farrah will be meticulously investigating each and every element of the hotels that she visits, rating them on:
• Overall experience e.g. location, cleanliness, value for money
• Service e.g. friendliness of staff, languages spoken, swiftness of service
• Room e.g. crispness of sheets, ventilation, comfort of bed
• Bathroom e.g. fluffiness of travels, effectiveness of hairdryer, quality of toilet paper
• Restaurant/bar/room service e.g. comfort of seating, use of organic ingredients, decor
Along the way, Farrah will be blogging and tweeting about her experiences, providing photography, hotel reviews and video footage to include interviews with hotel staff and customers. The public will be able to follow her business trip via the Hotel Inspector blog http://www.ebookers.com/travel-blog/.
Comments Steven Rice, Head off Offline Marketing for ebookers UK, France and Ireland: “Choosing the right hotel, be it for business or pleasure, can be a difficult and stressful job. So with this in mind we wanted to employ someone to determine objectively and frankly which one truly is the World’s ultimate hotel, based on a strict set of criteria. It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it and unfortunately we can’t all go so we’ll have to let Farrah do it for us. We’re all looking forward to reading her reviews along the way and uncovering the quirks and qualities of different hotels around the globe.”
Farrah Chaudhry, the ebookers.com Hotel Inspector comments: “When I saw the job advertised I just knew that I had to apply as it really is a dream position for me. I have a real passion for both hotels and writing and to combine them both in a professional role is really exciting for me.”
“I know that it is going to be a testing few weeks as I am visiting a number of hotels and countries in a relatively short period of time, but I can’t wait to start reviewing the hotels. It doesn’t matter whether it is a three star or a five star accommodation, I will be weighing up the pros and cons and going the extra mile to give ebookers customers an unbiased and informed review of each and every lodging. Be sure to follow me on the blog and of course, if you have any suggestions for where I can visit on the trip, send me a tweet!”
