Originally Posted by
zerolife
Gotta disagree with you.
I've stayed at a number of "cheap" local hotels in China as well as other Asian countries and most will beat a Sheraton or Marriott in NA in terms of services. Language barrier is often a big issue and there limited vacabs may sometimes make them sound rude but once they understand what you want they will often go beyond their job description to help you.
Also, in China at least, hotel workers, including those at major western brands, are actually making a lot less than average salary. Training and culture is what makes them more service focused rather than coffee break focused.
I would disagree about the service levels at Chinese owned hotels in China. In four-star hotels in first tier cities and with an educated local Chinese speaker, I experienced the following:
Refusal to call a taxi to go to airport or do anything to get a cab. They said it wasn't one of the services the hotel offered.
Refusal to place a collect call, including after the Chinese speaker explained as well as using both western and Chinese terms for this.
Huge delays in delivering incoming faxes that were clearly labeled with my name and room number. No apology after we had to track down the fax ourselves by asking many different hotel employees in various departments.
Horrible horrible hygiene in full view of guests at breakfast.