Here ya go...

Mr. Scott Miller
President
Hyatt Corporation
200 West Madison
Chicago, IL 60606

Dear Mr. Miller:

I am writing directly to you to make you aware and express my dissatisfaction over the Park Hyatt Johannesburg’s response to an incident involving the theft of my laptop computer from my hotel room. I understand you are a busy person, so feel free to pass along this letter to the appropriate people in your organization who can investigate this matter further.

First, let me reveal to you that I am a big fan of Hyatt hotels, and stay frequently at your properties (Gold Passport XXXXXXXX). My job as a strategy and finance consultant and academic takes me on the road over a hundred nights a year, mostly outside the US. I have a choice of hotels where to stay, but I try to stay at Hyatt hotels whenever possible. As a matter of fact, my favorite hotel in the entire world is the Park Hyatt Tokyo, and I go out of my way to stay there when I am in Tokyo, although other hotels of equal caliber (in particular the new Four Seasons in Marunouchi) are more convenient for business.

I stayed at the Park Hyatt Johannesburg from the XX through the XX of October of this year, for a total of 13 nights. I chose the Park Hyatt because of my previous good experiences with the Hyatt brand, and because it is convenient to my office in Johannesburg. I have to say that the Park Hyatt Johannesburg is not worthy of the Park Hyatt brand. Some comments purely for your information:
l The rooms were nice and pleasant enough, but nothing to write home about. The shower leaked into the bathroom, and the toilet plunger broke on the 4th day. It took them three days to fix it.
l The service was noticeably erratic, ranging from reasonable (the front desk) to absolutely horrendous (the café in the lobby, where it would take them 30 minutes to tell you that they were out of a particular item.) In particular, the room service (maid service, turndown service, and room service) was inconsistent and unpredictable, both with regards to timing (sometimes room turned down at 7:00 PM, sometimes at 9:00 PM, sometimes not at all), and quality (ice bucket sometimes filled, sometimes not, soaps and shampoos replaced on a random basis.)

Now, the incident that marks this place as one of my most disappointing experiences at any hotel, much less a Park Hyatt, happened on the 13th day of my stay, on the XX of October, at approximately 20:30. The timeline of events (from the best of my recollection) is as follows:
1. I was in my room (room XXXX), working on my laptop computer, when, at approximately 20:30, the turndown service maid asked to come in. I let the maid in and went down to the lobby to check on some tours my wife and mother were arranging (they had arrived that day on vacation.) I usually hide my computer from view, but since I was only going downstairs for a minute and then return to the room to continue working, I left it on the desk, with an obstructed view from the outside.
2. When I returned to my room, no more than 10-15 minutes later, I entered my room and immediately noticed my computer was missing. I went outside to look for the maid, who was now servicing the room across the hall. I explained to her what happened. She then went to my room and called security, which appeared a few minutes later.
3. Security proceeded to carry out a cursory investigation. They promised they would look at the electronic room key log (to see who had entered the room in my absence) and at the videotapes of the closed circuit cameras placed around the hotel.
4. Later that night, Security showed me the room key log, which indicated that nobody, except the maid and myself, had entered my room in the period in question. It all pointed to the computer being stolen while the maid was in the room. Whether the maid was involved, or whether someone entered the open room while the maid was in the bathroom cleaning up, I do not know.
5. The next day, I met with Clement Hudson, the Security Manager of the hotel, who informed me that their investigation was continuing. At this point, I filed an incident report (Number XXXXXXXXX, copy attached) with the hotel. That night, I received a letter from Mr. Hudson (copy attached) informing me that their investigation was ongoing.
6. Upon checkout on the XXX, I was approached by Walter Gag, the Director of Rooms. He informed me that the hotel’s investigation was, once again, “continuing”, and that their videotapes had not picked up anything suspicious. At this point, I brought up the fact that although I had no real right to ask them to replace my $3,000 laptop (I understand the usual disclaimers about personal property in hotels), I had some of my work that had not been backed-up, would be inconvenienced by the lack of computer since I was going to be on the trip for a week afterwards, and it would be difficult to really get much work done efficiently. I did hold them partially responsible for the loss, since it had happened when the maid was in the room. I asked Mr. Gag for compensation for my extreme inconvenience (e.g. a discount on the room rates, Gold Passport miles, his choice), which he refused without much remorse. He did promise me to send me another letter with the results of their investigation.
7. I moved on to Cape Town, where I received a fax from Mr. Gag (copy attached), informing me that their investigation was complete, and that there was not much else to do.
I find the way I was treated by the staff at the Park Hyatt Johannesburg after the theft of my laptop (in particular by Mr. Gag) to be completely out of line with the expectations I had for a Park Hyatt property. In particular, I note the following:
l I am stunned that at a place of the supposed caliber of the Park Hyatt, and in Johannesburg, a city with a reputation for crime, maids leave the door open when servicing the rooms. In my thirteen nights, I saw this in multiple occasions. This strikes me as particularly bad operating policy, which can only make incidents like these more likely.
l It was clear, from their actions and demeanor, that the Security detail was not exactly the finest in the land. They proceeded to carry out a cursory search of the area, including the maid’s cart. At no point did they ask me what kind or brand of computer it was, and seemed to be at a loss on what to do in such a situation. It took them over 24 hours to examine the camera tapes for suspicious activity.
l Mr. Hudson, the Security Manager, was not on duty the night of the incident. It turns out that Mr. Hudson is not an employee of the hotel, but a contractor, who oversees security operations. Perhaps this might explain the poor security services and general incompetence shown by the security staff I with whom I interacted.
l The hotel did not file a police report. I had to spend the better part of a morning at the police station filing one myself in order to begin insurance claims on my computer.
l Mr. Gag and the rest of the staff did not seem particularly concerned about the incident, or felt that any restitution or sincere apology was due. At no point in the letters do the words “apology” or “sorry” appear anywhere. In particular, the last letter, faxed to me in Cape Town, says (and I quote!) “we regret to inform you that there is nothing conclusive to support a charge of theft.” Therefore, I gather that someone just borrowed my computer, and intends to return it, or perhaps I stole it myself. I find this insinuation insulting to the extreme, and completely unprofessional.

Mr. Miller, I hope that you have read this far to see the extent of my displeasure with the Park Hyatt Johannesburg. I hope this is an anomaly at Hyatt Hotels, and that the necessary actions by your office can be taken to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents in the future at this property.

Although my principal objective in writing this long letter is to bring my experiences to your attention, if you or your staff see it fitting to offer some kind of compensation for my troubles, (e.g. provide a refund or discount on my lodging bill there, or a meaningful and material number of Gold Passport points), I will not turn down such an offer, and would consider it a measure of goodwill on your part after such an unfortunate incident.

Sincerely,

Pickles



[This message has been edited by Pickles (edited 12-17-2002).]