I agree that it's cultural. America in general is not a services oriented society. A lot of foreign visitors can't figure out why, but a lot of people working at hotels are doing so not as a career but as a means to a different career. Front desk agents get paid $10 an hour and are mostly college students or young people trying to figure out a career path. I think in other countries things are different. Hospitality is a career in some places but generally it's a means to an end here. The career people are behind the scenes in things like meetings and group sales. The front-line people are either trying to get behind the scenes or trying to make some money to move on.

It's the same in restaurants. In France, being a server is a career thing. Here's it's high school and college kids paying for ipods, school, clothes, etc.

You can't expect the same level of service from people just passing through as you can from career people.

Take the reviews of the NCL America boats into consideration. They're staffed with Americans (mostly 20-something kids) working temporarily for fun on the ship. The service reviews for those vs the ships with international flagships are telling.

Basically, you can't expect to come to America and expect the same level of service. It's not the cultural norm here, especially when said service is being provided by a 21 year-old college sophmore who is simply doing the job to pay for school. And I do think Hyatt in general is at least equal to Starwood in terms of service and above Marriott and Hilton.