Starwood Preferred Guest - Can SPG fire the hotel manager for a price mistake

In Nov last year, I was looking for a deal for a hotel in Jaipur,India and I found an incredible price for a jr. suite in one of the spg hotel in Jaipur, I immediate booked for 2 rooms for 2 nights for my stay in Mid Jan. Because the price was very low I sent in an email to the manager asking him taxes on the price, the manager replied back confirming my reservation and also that the tax were included.

At the time of my stay - I have a rough day reaching Jaipur by road, almost about mid-night - very tired, hungry and with 2 young kids. The manager at the property was nice enough to let me know that we were upgraded to one of the best room in the property BUT I WAS PAYING RACK RATE OF THE UPGRADED ROOM.

I politely refused - I would be happy enough to say the room I had booked (jr. suite) at the reservation rates. The Manager along with some of its staff started all this stuff that I would have to pay the rack rate for any room I check in to.. the rated they had reserved me for was a price mistake by the manager and he would loose his job if he honored the initial reservation. we had this one hour discussion in lobby before finally the manager honored the initial rates. This was really a very bad experience I had.. I had to wait in the lobby at about mid-night for a reservation I had done 2 months prior. however I wonder if SPG would have really fired the manager for his job.

SPG has no role in human resources decisions at the hotel level. Keep in mind that the majority of Starwood hotels are independently owned and are managed by their own organizations.

The management style of a hotel in, say, Sacramento, would likely differ substantially from that of, say, Stockholm.

I can't fathom any solid GM of a hotel being fired for something as miniscule as a single price error on a reservation -- good grief. However, I don't know anything about the organization that owns that hotel or what they're like to work with. Plus, it's in India, so who knows.

Regardless, it's not really an SPG issue.

...however I wonder if SPG would have really fired the manager for his job.

My apologies for the rate confusion. Was this in reference to a stay at Le Meridien or the Sheraton? Have you contacted Corporate Customer Service about it?

This is just my humble opinion, but I doubt seriously that the frequent stay program for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has that kind of spiff. It's much more likely that the hotel manager may have faced disciplinary action from the hotel's owners rather than Starwood Preferred Guest, but I agree with sbtinme...unless this manager has proven to be unreliable in the past, I can't see one, isolated rate mistake leading to such a consequence, but then neither am I that familiar with Indian business culture. YMMV.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

This was at Le Meridien. I did not contact anyone as I was feeling sorry if the Manager would have been fired from his job. just that, it was a really bad experience and at a very worng time. I had read post about rate scam at some small hotels in India but never expected this at SPG's.
anyways for those who are looking for a good hotel in Jaipur, Le Meridien is a very beautiful property - the only drawback is that is 25 kms outside the city so make sure you have your own transportations. The villas are awesome at this property.

This was at Le Meridien. I did not contact anyone as I was feeling sorry if the Manager would have been fired from his job. just that, it was a really bad experience and at a very worng time. I had read post about rate scam at some small hotels in India but never expected this at SPG's...

Frankly, I would report this incident to Corporate Customer Service. The Le Meridien property there is managed by Starwood and I'm sure the company would be appreciative of knowing about this story regardless of what it may ultimately mean for the hotel manager. I mean, if this person is incompetent, then he should be held accountable. If he isn't, and this is an isolated incident, I can't imagine the company firing him because of this one mistake.

You can reach them via email at customercare@starwoodhotels.com. Your choice, though.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com