Originally Posted by bhrubin

I think we too often may be mixing up hotel quality of experience with Ambassador levels of service. The latest mentions of both subpar and/or good experiences at W hotels go to this point.

A fabulous Ambassador doesn't preclude that some hotel stays won't be good. My Ambassador is amazing, and yet I had subpar service at the W Boston, StR Washington, and StR Dubai. One doesn't necessarily have much to do with the other. Those hotels had issues. My Ambassador doesn't.

My stays at the W Los Angeles, W Bogota, W San Francisco, and W Seattle have been wonderful. That's because they are better managed W hotels, not because my Ambassador was any better or worse.

Ambassadors work with their hotel teams to try and improve and elevate our experiences. But any team is only as strong as its weakest link. That far more often reveals the weakness of the hotel team rather than the Ambassador team when it comes to the quality of our hotel stays.

Ambassador "status" is about having your Ambassador to assist you and help you--and does not and cannot guarantee better hotel experiences because the hotels execute differently. There are always going to be some hotels that are better than others, even within the same brand--because some hotels simply execute better than others. Better hotels are better precisely because they are better managed and better execute good service and better train their staff. Ambassadors can't change this fact. Better hotels will be more likely to execute the wishes of a good Ambassador; poorer hotels will be less likely to execute the wishes of the same good Ambassador. The actual experience at any hotel has much more to do with the quality of the hotel than that of the Ambassador.

Ambassador status doesn't guarantee a spectacular hotel stay any more than staying at a St Regis does; it merely improves your chances that arrangements and some forms of hotel service may be elevated. There are better and worse St Regis hotels, there are better and worse Luxury Collection hotels, there are better and worse W hotels, there are better and worse Le Méridien and Westin and Sheraton hotels, etc. For perspective, there also are better and worse Peninsula hotels, better and worse Four Seasons hotels, better and worse Amanresorts, better and worse Mandarin Oriental hotels, etc.

Having an Ambassador can elevate one's Starwood experience. But it isn't guaranteed at every hotel. If you stay at a subpar hotel within any brand, you still are likely to have a subpar experience even with Ambassador status. That's just common sense.