Starwood Preferred Guest - Compensation

I stayed at a *wood property in NJ last night, and they failed to make either of my two requested wakeup calls. On a different timezone, I overslept and missed a presentation I was due to make, causing great consternation all around. I'm going to pay for it to be sure.

The thing I'm wondering is if I should expect some compensation from the hotel. They asked if I wanted a wakeup call when I checked in and wrote it on a clipboard with a bunch of others. I called to complain when I finally woke up but had no time to do anything more than that because I had to get going. They claimed the front desk manager will call me tommorrow . . . we'll see. Any suggestions on what I should ask for, if anything? I'm thinking some points, comped room, both.

I stayed at a *wood property in NJ last night, and they failed to make either of my two requested wakeup calls. On a different timezone, I overslept and missed a presentation I was due to make, causing great consternation all around. I'm going to pay for it to be sure.

The thing I'm wondering is if I should expect some compensation from the hotel. They asked if I wanted a wakeup call when I checked in and wrote it on a clipboard with a bunch of others. I called to complain when I finally woke up but had no time to do anything more than that because I had to get going. They claimed the front desk manager will call me tommorrow . . . we'll see. Any suggestions on what I should ask for, if anything? I'm thinking some points, comped room, both.

Its unfortunate you missed a presentation, however, If you do a search, you'll see that most folks feel you should have a "backup" for wakeup calls in place as automated/human wakeup calls CANNOT be relied upon.

I never rely on the above mentioned systems I use my PDA and many other shere have noted they use travel clocks/cell phones or some other device.

I know you feel like you asked for a service and it wasn't given, but I personally I don't think you aren't owed anything.

I do think you should mention it ASAP to the Manager on Duty, but I wouldn't ask for points or monetary compensation.

Any suggestions on what I should ask for, if anything?
How about an apology and a promise that they will try to improve their practice?

Otherwise, I agree with Cheap Elite.

sue'em

Promptly file it under "Lesson learned the hard way"! I learned it many years ago the hard way.

I disagree. Why should a hotel offer wake up calls if they don't plan on providing the service. Since you signed up for the service and they obviously didn't come through, I think you are justified in asking for compensation. Now what that would be is negotiable.

Its unfortunate you missed a presentation, however, If you do a search, you'll see that most folks feel you should have a "backup" for wakeup calls in place as automated/human wakeup calls CANNOT be relied upon.

I never rely on the above mentioned systems I use my PDA and many other shere have noted they use travel clocks/cell phones or some other device.

I know you feel like you asked for a service and it wasn't given, but I personally I don't think you are owed anything.

I do think you should mention it ASAP to the Manager on Duty, but I wouldn't ask for points or monetary compensation.

I typically do have a backup, but I guess I've gotten complacent over the last couple of years. I do know better, to be sure. But the fact that I failed to plan for their failure does not mean that they did not fail. It's a rookie mistake for a hotel and completely unacceptable. We'll see what they say.

I don't really disagree with you altogether. The hotels should be held accountable. I just don't think that it's worth very much compensation. 500 points, maybe?

One of the problems that I have with agreeing to a wake up call is that it's truly possible to sleep right through one or to never remember answering the call and going back to sleep. I'm not saying those are factors in your case, but I know people that have such sleep patterns.

When I used to go to a Club Med on the west coast of Mexico, they came and knocked on your door if you asked for a wakeup call. They'd keep knocking until you came to your door and signed the list saying that they'd been there to wake you up.

I use my cell phone's alarm most of the time. I also have a travel alarm clock that sets itself in most of North America, but I don't use it much anymore. If I use a hotel's wakeup call service, it's almost always as my backup plan.

While staying at the W Montreal, they missed my wake-up call and offered me 3,000 points in compensation.

The thing I'm wondering is if I should expect some compensation from the hotel. No

The thing I'm wondering is if I should expect some compensation from the hotel.

It can't hurt to ask. At least you are letting the hotel know that they are not doing their job properly.

I had a similar situation at a Hilton in College Station, Texas, a few years ago.

I got my wake-up call but it came one hour late. I missed breakfast and was late for my conference.

When I was checking out, I complained to the clerk who told me "We've had that problem since they switched daylight savings time. I thought they had fixed it by now." So, apparently the staff knew there was a problem, but did not let the guests know.

I sent a letter of complaint (via snail-mail) to the hotel General Manager. In return I received a letter of apology and a certificate good for one free night at the hotel.

YMMV.

Bob

It's reasonable to believe that if the hotel offers a wake up call service you do not need to have a back up in place.
In your case you can take it one step further, they even offered it to you at check-in.

If the reason that you were staying at the hotel is because of your (missed) presentation then it's certainly reasonable to ask for the night to be comp'd.
Afterall, if you didn't need to give a presentation you never would have been staying at their hotel.

Most hotels have clock radios or alarm clocks built into the TV. I always use them as a back-up.

I am hard of hearing and normal travel alarms are useless. A hotel clock radio set to very loud works well. My new Blackberry 8700c has a loud alarm. I may just set it for tone and vibrate and take it to bed with me.

Also, I never leave wake up information with the front desk. I always call down from the room. I feel safer that way. Sometimes I will call back later and ask for a back up call 15 minutes later. Because of my hearing problems, I am a bit paranoid about wake up calls.

As for compensation, ask. Starwood is pretty good at offering points. A minimum night's stay is 2,000 to 3,000 points so that seems about the right level of ask.

It's reasonable to believe that if the hotel offers a wake up call service you do not need to have a back up in place. If I went about my job assuming everything would work so I needed to have no backup plans, I'd be quickly fired. Many others would also. Personally, I make sure backups are in place when I have critical events like this.

No

Agreed. Let it go. Back up next time. Case closed.

I typically do have a backup, but I guess I've gotten complacent over the last couple of years. I do know better, to be sure. But the fact that I failed to plan for their failure does not mean that they did not fail. It's a rookie mistake for a hotel and completely unacceptable. We'll see what they say.


IMHO, you also made a rookie mistake that no seasoned-traveller would ever make - failing to set your own wake up alarm. I hate to sound harsh, but this is what complacency gets you. I always use my celphone alarm, even if I request a wake-up call, just to be safe. Having said that, I do agree that the hotel did fail you by not making the wake up call, but honestly; I see this as a 50/50 comparative liability situation.

I've neved used a wake-up call. 99% of hotel rooms have alarm clocks. They work just fine.

A quality hotel is obligated to get the wake-up call right. Many hotels have automated this and if not, it's one of the major things they need to get right. If they back-up that they have no record of it and you didn't sleep through it, then you should get the night free. Or a few thousand Starwood points if your company is paying for it and that's what you'd prefer. It's totally unacceptable for a hotel to not provide one if you've asked.

That being said, you should have a back-up, but often I don't

I think my fellow FTers have it wrong in this case. Yes, it was a rookie mistake not having a back-up plan. I think they we have forgotten that at one time, we were all rookies. Hotels rent to rookies as well as seasoned world travelers.

If a hotel offers a wake-up call as a regular service, then the hotel should be held accountable

As far as compensation goes, that's a harder one.

I rely on the Hotels Wake-up call. I can and do sleep thru a reg alarm clock or radio alarm. As of yet I have never slept thru a Telephone Wake-up Call.

I have had numerous times where the Call didnt come, Once due to the fact that the Both phones in the room were Dead (I asked for the call at check-in and being that I was checking in late at night had no reason to use the phones, Yes I Now check them each and every time to make sure theres a line and they are working) The night was comped and got all the SPG Pts as if it wasnt, was also told if I missed my flight to send them the bill for any additional $$ that I needed to pay .

Other times its also been comped with different Chains , especially when the mgr said I slept thru it and then called me back when he actually checked the record log and found for some unexplained reason that my room was on the hard copy list but that my room # wasnt entered into the computer system. Thusly no call was ever made, free night as well as being told the next time I stay with them my 1st night will be comped as well, got the stay credit and points with HH.

Compensation is surely due if the Hotel doesnt follow thru and You dont receive the call. Id say Max at the night being Comped. More then that I wouldnt count on, but Ive been offered extras. If you miss a meeting or flight dont expect to get $$$ compensation for that, no matter the loss Id say the room being Comped is the max to expect, although I did ask once for what it was going to cost me for returning the car rental back what was going to be an extra day over my original period. they werent too happy but I did show them the contract and told them You just offered me a $50 Cab ride to the Airport the extra day was $22. 2 mins later the $22 was in my hands.

If its reasonable they will work with You, but start demanding Hundreds or Thousands of $$$ for missed engagements , appointments, sales etc you might as well Whistle Dixie, just look at it as if you were ATCed which is out of the Airlines hands.

Only time this ever happened to me was at a Sheraton Casino/Resort in AZ and they ponied up 7,500 star points. Guess I was exceedingly lucky.

IMHO, you also made a rookie mistake that no seasoned-traveller would ever make ...

Hmmm...I always thought the "H" in that was "humble." :p

total rookie mistake on the op

if its important, you can't trust the hotel on the wake-up call

This is why I always travel with my own little battery-operated alarm clock.

When I worked the front desk at a *wood property several years ago, I'd say 95% of the "I never got my wake-up calls" were bogus. How did I know? Our wake-up call system (not sure if it is a corporate standard or not) logged when it made the call and if it was picked-up or not.

I think only once or twice did we print out the report to show it to the guest (we weren't in the "you're wrong" business) and if it went that far, the guest would usually make a claim of "the automated report is wrong." What can you do / say when logic fails?

What invariably happens is people pick-up after a ring, hang it up immediately, and then fall back asleep and because there isn't a "snooze" function on the wake-up call, they don't get another alarm in 10 minutes.

Did we ever offer compensation to guests who missed their wake-ups? No. Unless we knew we screwed up (which did happen. The system is only as good as the person who inputs the data).

Usually we left it with: Dear Guest, we are very sorry for this inconvenience. Please accept our sincere apology and we will make sure the next time you choose to stay with us, you will have an accurate wake-up call. And that was that.

Edited to read: In all fairness though I have been burned by not getting a wake-up call before by a Sheraton. Had an unexpected layover so I didn't have my alarm clock and I had to switch rooms in the middle of the night because of a plumbing problem. Forgot to reset the alarm and the front desk didn't have the foresight to transfer over my wake-up. "Stuff" happens when you travel, what can you do?

If I went about my job assuming everything would work so I needed to have no backup plans, I'd be quickly fired. Many others would also. Personally, I make sure backups are in place when I have critical events like this.

I wholehartedly agree! Sure mistakes happen, but people need to take responsibility for their mistakes when they do. I'm sorry for the OP's situation, but thank him for sharing it with us as another reminder to do/have a BACK UP!

Just as an FYI, I would be calling Corporate Customer Service and lodging a formal complaint if I were put in the OP's position. You can reach them at 800-328-6242.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

I don't really disagree with you altogether. The hotels should be held accountable. I just don't think that it's worth very much compensation. 500 points, maybe?

One of the problems that I have with agreeing to a wake up call is that it's truly possible to sleep right through one or to never remember answering the call and going back to sleep. I'm not saying those are factors in your case, but I know people that have such sleep patterns.

When I used to go to a Club Med on the west coast of Mexico, they came and knocked on your door if you asked for a wakeup call. They'd keep knocking until you came to your door and signed the list saying that they'd been there to wake you up.

I use my cell phone's alarm most of the time. I also have a travel alarm clock that sets itself in most of North America, but I don't use it much anymore. If I use a hotel's wakeup call service, it's almost always as my backup plan.

The person who answered service express told me that they had not made a wakeup call (calls, actually, I was offered and accepted two).

IMHO, you also made a rookie mistake that no seasoned-traveller would ever make - failing to set your own wake up alarm. I hate to sound harsh, but this is what complacency gets you. I always use my celphone alarm, even if I request a wake-up call, just to be safe. Having said that, I do agree that the hotel did fail you by not making the wake up call, but honestly; I see this as a 50/50 comparative liability situation.

What does "50/50 comparative liability" mean? Didn't run across that one in law school.

I've been thinking about this a bit more and I really don't agree that they're not to blame here. I checked in and was offered a wake up call. The woman at the front desk wrote it down on a clipboard along with several others that were already there. They admitted that failed to make the call, but did not have any explanation as to why.

If you want to get technical, the issue is reasonable reliance. Is it wise to rely solely on a hotel wakeup call? No. Is it reasonable? Sure.

What does "50/50 comparative liability" mean? Didn't run across that one in law school.



Some states don't allow the P to recover from D unless D is more than 50% at fault.

Just as an FYI, I would be calling Corporate Customer Service and lodging a formal complaint if I were put in the OP's position. You can reach them at 800-328-6242.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

When I called "service express" in the morning to complain they were very apologetic. They then asked for a number where the front desk manager could reach me. I gave them a number. Two days later I haven't received a call. If you're not going to call, don't say you will. They would be much better off simply not calling than promising and failing (again).

BTW, it was the Westin in Morristown.

When I called "service express" in the morning to complain they were very apologetic. They then asked for a number where the front desk manager could reach me. I gave them a number. Two days later I haven't received a call. If you're not going to call, don't say you will. They would be much better off simply not calling than promising and failing (again).

BTW, it was the Westin in Morristown.

Just another reason to call Corporate Customer Service, IMHO. ;)

Good luck!

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

Some states don't allow the P to recover from D unless D is more than 50% at fault.

Comparative negligence. If we want to put it into a legal framework I don't think the challenge would be finding liability. The problem could be damages. I might be able to claim for extra costs incurred from missing a flight or something, but good luck with anything more than that.

Anyway, I'm not interested in all the legal nonsense. I left the law behind long ago.

I rely on the Hotels Wake-up call. I can and do sleep thru a reg alarm clock or radio alarm. As of yet I have never slept thru a Telephone Wake-up Call.

I have had numerous times where the Call didnt come, Once due to the fact that the Both phones in the room were Dead (I asked for the call at check-in and being that I was checking in late at night had no reason to use the phones, Yes I Now check them each and every time to make sure theres a line and they are working) The night was comped and got all the SPG Pts as if it wasnt, was also told if I missed my flight to send them the bill for any additional $$ that I needed to pay .

Other times its also been comped with different Chains , especially when the mgr said I slept thru it and then called me back when he actually checked the record log and found for some unexplained reason that my room was on the hard copy list but that my room # wasnt entered into the computer system. Thusly no call was ever made, free night as well as being told the next time I stay with them my 1st night will be comped as well, got the stay credit and points with HH.

Compensation is surely due if the Hotel doesnt follow thru and You dont receive the call. Id say Max at the night being Comped. More then that I wouldnt count on, but Ive been offered extras. If you miss a meeting or flight dont expect to get $$$ compensation for that, no matter the loss Id say the room being Comped is the max to expect, although I did ask once for what it was going to cost me for returning the car rental back what was going to be an extra day over my original period. they werent too happy but I did show them the contract and told them You just offered me a $50 Cab ride to the Airport the extra day was $22. 2 mins later the $22 was in my hands.

If its reasonable they will work with You, but start demanding Hundreds or Thousands of $$$ for missed engagements , appointments, sales etc you might as well Whistle Dixie, just look at it as if you were ATCed which is out of the Airlines hands.

That's an excellent point. When I'm way off in time zones or not able to sleep for long I have slept through various sorts of alarms. I have not yet slept through a wake up call. And typically these days the hotel offers a follow up call. When I stay in Asia it seems there is an automated call and then a person calls a few minutes later (I guess to back up the automated system).

I certainly don't expect thousands of dollars or anything like that. I guess I do expect to have the room comped given their mistake.

Yeah.....I think many of us have learned the hard way. I've asked for two wake up calls. Other times I have set the alarm clock or the TV's alarm system. But, if there is a power outage, nothing is going to work.

I also have used my cell phone's alarm or, when something very important, had someone if an earlier time zone give me a call. And even those can fail.

Nothing is guaranteed anymore.

Except......many years ago, I remember a guy being interviewed years ago. He said that he was ticked off at his hotel for not giving him a wake-up call, because he missed his flight. Then, he heard the news that the flight he should have been on crashed! :eek:

This is why I always travel with my own little battery-operated alarm clock.

When I worked the front desk at a *wood property several years ago, I'd say 95% of the "I never got my wake-up calls" were bogus. How did I know? Our wake-up call system (not sure if it is a corporate standard or not) logged when it made the call and if it was picked-up or not.

I think only once or twice did we print out the report to show it to the guest (we weren't in the "you're wrong" business) and if it went that far, the guest would usually make a claim of "the automated report is wrong." What can you do / say when logic fails?

What invariably happens is people pick-up after a ring, hang it up immediately, and then fall back asleep and because there isn't a "snooze" function on the wake-up call, they don't get another alarm in 10 minutes.

Did we ever offer compensation to guests who missed their wake-ups? No. Unless we knew we screwed up (which did happen. The system is only as good as the person who inputs the data).

Usually we left it with: Dear Guest, we are very sorry for this inconvenience. Please accept our sincere apology and we will make sure the next time you choose to stay with us, you will have an accurate wake-up call. And that was that.

Edited to read: In all fairness though I have been burned by not getting a wake-up call before by a Sheraton. Had an unexpected layover so I didn't have my alarm clock and I had to switch rooms in the middle of the night because of a plumbing problem. Forgot to reset the alarm and the front desk didn't have the foresight to transfer over my wake-up. "Stuff" happens when you travel, what can you do?

In response to what I can do so such a response to a hotel, I can leave it with: Dear Hotel, I am very sorry you are incapable of managing to execute something so simple as a wakeup call, and unwilling to provide any compensation for the consequences of your failure. I will make sure to apprise your corporate masters of your customer service skills and I look forward to staying at one of your competitors when I am next in the area.

In response to what I can do so such a response to a hotel, I can leave it with: Dear Hotel, I am very sorry you are incapable of managing to execute something so simple as a wakeup call, and unwilling to provide any compensation for the consequences of your failure. I will make sure to apprise your corporate masters of your customer service skills and I look forward to staying at one of your competitors when I am next in the area.

Thanks for making me chuckle :D

Thanks for making me chuckle :D

That is a great one! I wish I had that off the tip of my tongue as I stood at checkout at Le Meridien Changi last week and told them 'Gee, Glad I didn't rely on the wake up call' - 'oh...' was the only reaction/response - it was clear to me from that that their customer skills were not going to 'grow' that moment, and my energy would be wasted.

:confused:

In response to what I can do so such a response to a hotel, I can leave it with: Dear Hotel, I am very sorry you are incapable of managing to execute something so simple as a wakeup call, and unwilling to provide any compensation for the consequences of your failure. I will make sure to apprise your corporate masters of your customer service skills and I look forward to staying at one of your competitors when I am next in the area.

I suppose I should reitterate that I didn't write that post as a Starwood employee, and am not currently employed by Starwood or a franchise.

With that being said, we always treated our guests with the utmost respect and dignity and subscribed to the adage of "the guest is always right." However, the guest is not always right. And we knew it. (And guests knew it too.)

If someone demanded compensation for something that wasn't the hotel's fault (i.e. oversleeping) we handled it on a case by case basis. This is where being a front desk employee is extremely challenging. On one hand you're empowered to do something on the spot to deliver an exceptional guest experience, but you're also challenged with the fact that the reality is that the guest is entitled to nothing (remember, we were equipped with undeniable proof).

Which is why we tried to remedy the situation with a sincere apology. It worked for most, but not all.

And, if you'll re-read my original post, we did offer compensation on the spot when we realized we goofed.

I suppose I should reitterate that I didn't write that post as a Starwood employee, and am not currently employed by Starwood or a franchise.

With that being said, we always treated our guests with the utmost respect and dignity and subscribed to the adage of "the guest is always right." However, the guest is not always right. And we knew it. (And guests knew it too.)

If someone demanded compensation for something that wasn't the hotel's fault (i.e. oversleeping) we handled it on a case by case basis. This is where being a front desk employee is extremely challenging. On one hand you're empowered to do something on the spot to deliver an exceptional guest experience, but you're also challenged with the fact that the reality is that the guest is entitled to nothing (remember, we were equipped with undeniable proof).

Which is why we tried to remedy the situation with a sincere apology. It worked for most, but not all.

And, if you'll re-read my original post, we did offer compensation on the spot when we realized we goofed.

As I stated in a prior post on this thread , I fell victum a number of times to No Wake-Call and not for sleeping thru it. I felt each time that it was handled properly Hopefully Not cause of my Status with each of the 3 Chains where they took place.

I would Hope that each time a person lodges a complaint be it this or whatever , that the Staff doesnt fall into the "It had to be your fault" Mode, rather than look into each complaint. I felt that was what I was getting from the Hotel (not SPG) that I was in in Maryland, but when the mgr called me to apologize since he checked into it and saw that my room# was never put into the computer and admitted so, I told myself and Him that when I next have to be in the area I will be back at this Hotel, simply cause they dont sweep things under the rug and do care.

On the other side Im Positive that there are many people out there trying to figure out how to scam a Hotel and get the room comped, and I dont blame any Hotel for trying to prevent that from occurring. I had a work mate that use to travel with her pet 'dead bugs'. At a favorite and good Hotel to me when I checked in and got my Up not cause of Status but from staying there, I sort of asked what he was going to do with a customer who is gonna find dead bugs all over room when she wakes up in the morning. I didnt say who it will be, but he got the drift. Short of it, he was on as she was checking out and complained, he simply gave me the Eye, and told her he was very sorry that it happened and told her how last week the same thing occurred and he simply called in the Health Dept and they proved to him that the bugs were brought into the room and were not from the area. He then told her he sent the customer the bill for that night he had comped along with a bill for $3500 for services rendered that the health Dept charged him. And he was more then willing to comp her the room but if the report comes back that the bugs were planted that she can expect a similiar bill or (to let her off) said You can pay the bill and if we have a reoccurance within the next 2 nights he will refund the $$. She said that would be fine, as far as I know she stopped that Scam, unfortunately Im sure she came up with another.

While staying at the W Montreal, they missed my wake-up call and offered me 3,000 points in compensation.

After a hard night on the town in San Francisco I missed my flight by 3 hours the next morning. I went down to yell at the person working the front desk at the W and she told me they called 3 times and also sent security up to pound on the door!