Starwood Preferred Guest - Platinum Amenity - Process Improvement Idea

William --

I'd like to drop this idea in the suggestion bin --

I find myself chasing down missing Platinum amenity points at least once per month. Is there a way to improve the process around this? For instance, a Platinum guest could specify in their online profile that they wish to consistently receive the "points amenity" and the points will automatically credit via the system like the 50% elite member bonus for each stay? For those guests that continue to make the amenity choice at check-in, then the current process could remain the same.

Under the current system, the reliance is placed on the hotel to input the amenity preference and it takes a significant amount of time on the guest side and the SPG side to hunt down missing points. A change like this would streamline the process and reduce customer service requests (hint: think cost savings and customer service improvement!). The current backlog at Program Services is several weeks to get missing points posted. Alleviating the missing amenity points requests could make a dent in their workload.

Thanks,
Mike

For what it is worth, I tend to chase down the missing Platinum 500 Thank You amenity points during the first and third week of the month stays. I don't know if others have the same problem.

I DO THINK that this is a WONDERFUL idea!!! It would save beaucoup $$$ because it has to be taking a lot of man hours to search for this points if it does not happen automatically. SPG talks to the hotel who talks to SPG , etc, etc, etc,

William, would this be something that SPG is willing to consider?

Sure. We consider a lot of things you guys send our way, whether we acknowledge it or not.

I'm just not certain if it can made into reality, however. ;) Regardless, I'll be glad to put it where it needs to be seen.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

since most hotels tell me that only less than 1% take something other than the points. Even more can be saved if automatically Plats get the pts and all one needs to do if they dont want the pts is to make it known when checking-in.
it would also speed up the check-in process.

less than 1% take something other than the points.

No surprise there. 500 pts, or a bowl of fruit? I stay at some 4pt Sheratons that are cat 1, so I need to redeem only 2000 pts for a night's stay. So, four plt amenities worth of points = 1 free night, or I could have 4 bowls of fruit.

I have also heard that almost each and every Platinum guest selects the points as well -- like 99%. You might want to consider amending the choice in the amenity program to reflect the overwhelming preference - the points - and just forget about the other options. Then, you could easily make the extra points post automatically with each stay by changing the computer algorithm to reflect elite bonus of 50% +500 pt for Plats.

Given the hassles of chasing down the missing points, I fret at the idea of trying to resolve the mis-billings that must result from selecting one of the other amenity options. For instance, I can only imagine the hassle of getting the cost of the mis-billed in-room movies removed from my hotel bill. Or even worse, getting incorrect mini-bar fees credited back, assuming one were to select that amenity option.

Although the concept of having a choice of amenity sounds good from a marketing standpoint, it is an operational mess in practice.

. . . Although the concept of having a choice of amenity sounds good from a marketing standpoint, it is an operational mess in practice.

And, if anything close to the 99% figure is correct, it's also of little value to the vast majority of customers, which therefore makes it of little value from a marketing perspective as well.


Edited to add: I agree this is appears to be an excellent idea, from all perspectives. I hope Justin and the Guru's give it some serious consideration.

It would seem that if you made the other choices "instant awards" that happened to cost 250/500 Starpoints each, then the situation would be a wash for everybody except the very rare Platinum that has less than 500 points in their account. If you want something other than the points, take the 500 points anyway and buy something with them. But give the guest the choice of instant awards at check-in to make that 1% happy.

i would think this suggestion would be a no-brainer. but, i guess nothing is a no-brainer when the web "guru" needs to be counted upon. :D

And, if anything close to the 99% figure is correct, it's also of little value to the vast majority of customers, which therefore makes it of little value from a marketing perspective as well.


Not true that it's of little value. Only PLT get this bonus, not gold or less.
And with dozen of stays per year to get plt (ignoring the 50 nights method, for now), thousands of points accrue to each PLT from the amenity. These bonus miles are good for extra free nights, even selecting a cat 5 hotel.

Not true that it's of little value. Only PLT get this bonus, not gold or less.
And with dozen of stays per year to get plt (ignoring the 50 nights method, for now), thousands of points accrue to each PLT from the amenity. These bonus miles are good for extra free nights, even selecting a cat 5 hotel.
I couldn't agree more...I am usually only stay one night in a hotel then on to the next town...My SPG account usually looks like 36 stays 37 nights :D ....36 stays x 375 (I usually mix it up between 4 points and Westin/Sheratons) = 13,500 points....very nice! If they were all 500 = 18,000 points, that's almost 3 nights at the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago....I can almost taste the Garrett's popcorn now as I head back to my room, arms full of bags on our annual Christmas shopping trip....but I digress!!! ;)

I know nothing about the arrangement for a property to credit amenity points. I do notice that myamenity points are not posted at least a third of the time, although the points are properly duly selected at check-in, and standard stay credit appears in my account. Because of this behavior, there is the appearance of reluctance on the part of the properties to credit the amenity points. Whether this is truly the case I have no way of knowing, but the appearance and behavior certainly lends such an impression. I'll go out on a limb then and assume that the property somehow benefits from not registering the amenity points.

From the customer's perspective, this necessitates constant account monitoring, ongoing contact with SPG customer service to request the missing amenity points, and ongoing monitoring after that to ensure that customer service does indeed post those points. About half the time this does not happen, and repeated contacts with customer service are necessary.

Combine that with say a couple stays per week, week after week, and it becomes difficult for a loyal customer to track and monitor due amenity points.

My proposal is a very simple one: if a property does not post the amenity points at the same time the regular stay credit is given, the property is then on the line to pay DOUBLE the amenity points. This should clear up any 'training' issues, or whatever excuse there is for the points not posting promptly.

The bottom line is, who is responsible for making sure the automatic points post automatically? I'll go out on a limb again and say it's the property's responsibility. It certainly isn't the customer's, assuming proper selection, yet it's the customer who pays the burden of monitoring and notifying. Why shouldn't the responsible party pay for the beleagured customer's pain, rather than putting all the burden on the customer?

Not true that it's of little value. Only PLT get this bonus, not gold or less.
And with dozen of stays per year to get plt (ignoring the 50 nights method, for now), thousands of points accrue to each PLT from the amenity. These bonus miles are good for extra free nights, even selecting a cat 5 hotel.
I think you misread the post you are responding to!

The poster certainly meant that "having a choice of amenity" was of little value. (Go back and see the quote that was included in their post.) They certainly DID NOT mean that 500 points have little value!

I think you misread the post you are responding to!

The poster certainly meant that "having a choice of amenity" was of little value. (Go back and see the quote that was included in their post.) They certainly DID NOT mean that 500 points have little value!

Kathy, you are correct. I did misread. Actually, I under-read, as I didn't read the quote that AZ was replying to.

My appologies to "AZ Travels the World".