Originally Posted by
C17PSGR
For example, are people receiving benefits calling the ambassador to book the hotel rather than doing it online? Is the ambassador automatically sending strawberries and chocolate to your room when he/she sees your reservation? Do you get charged for that?
My Ambassador usually sends a note to her team at each hotel to indicate what I like and need. That includes that I like strawberries and chocolates, most often when I stay at luxury hotels! (I don't think I've ever gotten those at anywhere but a luxury hotel!) Other hotels send me a bottle of wine or even a cheese tray (which I also love). But the hotel executes that--or misses. The StR Atlanta never gave me any welcome amenity at all. That, to me, is the fault of the hotel and not my Ambassador. Others might disagree, but I think I have a good sense of how it works! Yet that wasn't a big deal fo me at the StR Atlanta.
When the air con isn't preset to 67 F, however, there will be hell to pay!
Of course we don't get charged for that! That's just a nice welcome amenity--most often when I stay at luxury hotels. When I'm at the Sheraton Times Square, I have gotten a bottle of wine or even some fruit/nuts as a snack. It's all relative. But it's always a free gesture to welcome me.
I don't personally mind when a hotel forgets the welcome amenity, but I almost always appreciate them--just like the handwritten note from the Guest Relations Manager or GM. Some people get their panties in a twist when a hotel doesn't include those, but I just move on.
As with all things, I suspect your spending and relevance to that hotel might impact your welcome amenity. YMMV