jemmazee

I was in CA during the recent "San Diego Blackout" that resulted in power outages in AZ, CA, Mexico, etc. I wasn't entirely pleased by the way the hotel where we were staying reacted to the situation, and am wondering what other FTs expectations would be in an non-emergency power outage - especially a higher-end resort hotel. I know during a hurricane or other natural disaster, I would just be happy to have a roof over my head, but in this case, I would have thought the hotel would try to do everything they could to ensure guests still had a positive experience, despite the lights being out.

Power went off around 3:35 - we were at the pool, where the waitstaff there must have known about it but they didn't communicate the situation to the guests, or at least to this guest and my +1. So, at 6:00 pm when we started to head back to our room, we found an elevator that didn't work and hallways that seemed sort of dim. On our way up the stairs to the 6th floor, we flagged down a maintenance man and he told us the power was out. Shouldn't the staff have notified the guests by the pool so they could consider their arrangements for the rest of the day and have the opportunity to use the daylight to their advantage?

Some other notes from the next 8 or so hours without power:
- No effort was made by the hotel to communicate the situation to guests - when I asked what was happening at the concierge desk, I was told that they had no idea since their phones weren't working. Really? Nobody had a cell phone to call SPG corporate or an off-site manager so they could stay on top of the situation? It seems that they should have made an attempt to provide information to guests who were far from home and in the dark.
- When I asked what the plan for the evening was if power wasn't restored before sunset, I was told that I had a flashlight in my room. That's it. I'm not sure what more I expected, but maybe a little more effort to help us make the most out of the evening?
- When I asked if the on-site restaurant where we had reservations would be serving, I was told by the front desk "as far as I know." I ended up calling the restaurant myself from my dark room and was told they were cancelling service.
- Turn down service was cancelled - maybe they could have replaced wet towels and at least checked in on people who were sitting in their rooms in a dark hotel to see if anybody needed anything?
- No A/C, so rooms were pretty warm by the time the sun went down, but there was nobody even offering additional water in the lobby. (I think back to a time when I was in a black-out at a basic airport hotel in PHX and for the couple hours the power was out, there was somebody standing in the lobby handing out water and checking with guests as they walked through the lobby.)
- On that note, we walked through the lobby several time during the course of the evening and not one single hotel employee checked in on us and asked if we were OK. They were gathered in little groups behind the front desk and concierge desk, but not one person made a proactive effort to offer assistance.
- Power came on around 11:30 p.m. - then at 6:00ish the next morning the fire alarm came on, lasting several minutes. I think it turned off and then turned back on again, and then finally off. OK, I get that systems were coming back on-line, but somehow we managed to check-out that day without one person mentioning the alarm and apologizing for the early morning disturbance.

Am I silly to think that they could have done more to make the stay more pleasant, despite the unfortunate circumstances? I think it would have made me feel much better if there was a note under my door in the morning thanking me for my patience and apologizing for the alarm or noting that they were sorry that I missed the opportunity to dine at their fancy restaurant because of the power outage or an invitation to have a drink at the bar when the lights were out that evening. But overall, the staff seemed more interested in telling me it wasn't their fault, then trying to help guests salvage their stay. There was certainly nothing egregious about their actions, but it certainly gave me pause when I got the "Thanks for staying email" from them last week saying "We hope your experience at The St. Regis Monarch Beach was beyond expectation." Because it really wasn't.

Maybe it's a regional thing and people in southern CA are just more used to random black-outs? Or maybe I'm just too picky?

(I'm posting here and not the SPG forum since I'm interested in more general reactions to the situation than about this hotel in particular.)

wharvey

First, hello to a fellow Rhode Islander.

I would probably give them a break at this time... sure they were surprised at the blackout... and were doing their best to just keep things manageable.

As long as they did not refuse any reasonable requests, I would just chalk this up to a random bad uncontrollable experience.

erik123

During the great NY blackout many people had to sleep in the lobby for 1 or 2 days as doors couldn't be opened with key cards.

cordelli

I think you are way too picky.

None of those things would have been an issue for me,

QueenOfCoach

Hey, at least you got a flashlight. I was in a hotel in Galicia, Spain, when the power went out only in the hotel. They did not even give us flashlights.

B747-437B

Maybe I've been traveling in the third world too much, but what kind of hotel doesn't have at least one level of backup generators?

Most hotels I stay at in Africa advertise at least 2 backup generators (so that there is seamless cutover if/when the diesel has to be topped up). Even the ratty 2* dumps have a generator.

I would have gone absolutely ballistic if they were not able to provide basic electricity for longer than about 30 seconds. I've complained in the past about 30 second delays switching from mains to generator (hotel claimed their UPS had failed), so I can't even imagine not having power in a hotel for 8 hours. Absolutely unacceptable.

cbn42

Frankly, I think you're being far too demanding. They had no way of knowing whether the power was going to be out for 20 minutes or 20 hours, so there wasn't really much to communicate to you. They gave you a flashlight, and there were staff available if you needed anything. Maybe I'm used to staying at cheap places, but I'm not really sure what more you wanted, and in some cases you admitted that you aren't sure either.

Ted S

I've never asked but I would be truly shocked if the typical hotel in San Diego has a generator on critical standby. This outage was for all intensive purposes a disaster... The result of a whole bunch of crazy factors and something that hasn't happened before, or close to it.

Investing in this sort of infrastructure is unneeded in the area and far more costly than a few free nights every couple decades.

That said, you've added a criteria to my search for future regional hotels.

As for the topic at large, properties should certainly be prepped for an emergency... flashlights, ways to access rooms, sweeps of rooms for people stuck / unable to make it down the stairs, food & water options but like with an earthquake, flood, etc, it's about keeping things going, not running the A/C.

magsmeplease

Sorry, I agree with the others that you are being a little too demanding in this situation.

jemmazee

I appreciate the feedback, and I think the general sense that I should just move on is right ... it's certainly true, though, that my unhappiness with the situation is related to the fact that the hotel is in the $500/night category and not the $100/night category, because without the services and the activities and the comfort that I realize now is dependent on electricity, we may as well have been staying anywhere (and saved the $400!)

And I think I will start traveling with a headlamp from now on just in case!

FLgrr

Some of this is reasonable. There should have been some information provided - like a DEFINITE yes or no if the restaurants were serving, maybe a manager in the lobby to talk to people. Hospitality is not just a room key and a bed. Yes, it is an emergency, unknown situation, but what else to these employees have to do?

The manager, or even an assigned staff member, should have been posted near the stairs even to assist people and answer questions. Was it just at the property or the entire state - the guest wont know and the TV wont work.

No one can print a few notes to hang up, so try to think CUSTOMER SERVICE. What does the guest need to know that they can't find out.

A flashlight is a decent touch!! But it sounds like someone forgot communication and to think a little in advance what questions people may ask. If it was isolated to the property, staff might have been busy. Since it was widespread, staff should have gotten their heads together, if not had some known questions in advance, ready to be answered.

The front desk should have known about the restaurants immediately. Some clean, fresh towels put somewhere on each floor could have made it more comfortable.

The team at this property should have really thought in advance what answers need to be provided in advance and been prepared with definitive answers. Even if it was an earthquake, the plan would be what? Flashlight in every room? check the building? Go Hide? No, then see if the restaurants can function and inquire with the neighborhood to see what is open and working for comfort, and maybe think what a guest might need - towels, food, water.

An answer might be 'we have not found any restaurants open in the area and are continuing to search', not 'I don't know'.

slawecki

i don't know what level one of backup generators be.

downtown dc lost power a few years ago. within the first day, the larger hotels had power back. the generators were brought in from the entire eastern seaboard. we had dinner at 24th and m. each of the 3 big hotels had 3 generator semi trailers parked on the sidewalk in front of each hotel the wiring cables going into the hotels were about 6" in diameter.

do you really expect each hotel to buy and maintain a couple million dollars equipment for a once every 30 year event?

i have been in 3rd world where the generators went down for days at a time. recall once when people took the buckets we were using to get water to flush the toilets.

do all you people complaining have adequate generator at your domicile for when the power goes out??(i do, i have 10kva set up)

also, "communicating" with a thousand guests is not as easy as it sounds when one is on the sidelines.

vicarious_MR'er

To do what? Hunt for food? Build yourself a bivouac? I am not sure what difference it makes, to be honest. I think you're exaggerating. Besides, isn't sitting by the pool "having a positive experience" in the hotel?

Not to sound rude, but do you not have a cell phone, too? I am in Boston, and I saw info about the blackout on all the major national news sites. You could either have surfed to that info on your phone or called someone back hoe to look it up for you. That would get you exactly the same information you expect someone else to provide.

Let me ask you this: what does the hotel do to "help you make the most of the evening" when the power is on? Why are they responsible for keeping you busy?

Sometimes plans change. "As far as I know" is a fair answer.

Unless this hotel is a 22-story high-rise, you also could have gone down to fetch these items. If a hotel doesn't check on you to see if you need anything when the power is on, why do they need to become your mommy when the power is out?

Sinks still work when the power is out.

I really don't understand what assistance is required. Assuming the hallways were lit adequately to provide for safe passage around hotel grounds and there was no apparent threat to the safety of guests, what exactly do you expect people to do?

I'm pretty sure they did the best they could or darn near close to it. I am sure they had a lot going on.

Yes.

That's because it wasn't their fault. Yes, they could have put forth a bunch of platitudes, but at the end of the day, a major blackout is an emergency situation. They provided for your safety, and I am sure that if the blackout had extended for an exceptional amount of time they would have provided or helped you secure food and drink, but wasn't the blackout a grand total of about 8 hours or so? I mean, "salvage your stay"? Really?

Ding ding

B747-437B

Yes. Generators at both home and office. But no UPS at home and only a single 15-minute UPS at the office.

As I said to begin with though, I've been living and working in the third world for too long. This is standard stuff here.

jimchic

I worked in the hotel industry for a number of years, so while not an expert, I can offer what I was trained to do.

Here's the problem: it was a blackout.....not a disaster.

No one knew how long it was going to last, nor at the time that it happened did anyone likely realize how widespread the issue was.

In terms of a blackout procedure...what could the hotel do?

• They can't make or print any signs.
• They can't call rooms
• They can't use a "call all" loudspeaker\intercom
• They most likely do not have a hard copy of who is actually staying in the hotel at that given moment = no turndown service.
• No elevators.
• Routine food supplies that are non-perishable (bottled water) may be withheld at first, because if something were to happen to the water supply they may actually NEED that water.
• No Electricity = no laundry = no towels. With no foreknowledge of how long the blackout would last, they can't afford to squander their supplies for the sake of an extra towel for the evening.
• No Electricity = can't cook (they can't see what they are cooking).

My management company taught us...all supplies were to be locked down and non-essential staff to be sent home.

We did have a backup generator for emergency lights (which you said were working) and for public space heat (not A\C). You can live with no A\C, but in the NE you could have a problem in the winter with no heat.

However, we were told to be available to answer questions. I bet though, in this scenario...they probably did not have any answers that would have been satisfactory.

Were your expectations not met. Sure, I agree.

If I were the hotel manager, would any of the behavior you reported been worthy enough for me to discipline anyone? No.

The most I would do is remind everyone that during "stressful events" they need to take care to be aware of the sensitivity of the guests....even if there was nothing to be done. So in effect, I would made sure that they understood to listen to the guest and apologize for things beyond their control.