Begging for upgrades
 

I'm fed up of begging for upgrades at some Accor hotels that simply don't follow the rules. Even when the rooms are available to book on the app at check in, it was the hotel policy to 1) deny the upgrade and say they are full, then 2) offer the upgrade for a charge. Only when I asked for the GM did they buckle. If a Platinum member gets treated like this then how would Gold members be treated?! Actually I was even told initially that I had been given an upgrade and I had to show my room type on my phone to prove I hadn't! What can Accor concierge do to follow up on these hotels? They are basically making me move further away from Accor. I got treated better as a basic member in Starwood! The hotel was Novotel London West. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Thanks.

Being informed that an upgrade isn't available despite the app saying upgrade room types are available isn't uncommon in my experience especially with European hotels. I've heard various excuses, mostly a variation of "the Accor.com inventory is not accurate".

Not being available but available if you pay takes non compliance with Le Club benefits to a new and at face value outrageous low.

Would be helpful to hear from Amy whether only available if you pay is an acceptable interpretation of "subject to availability at check in" of Accor Le Club standards by this hotel.

Upgrades are subject to availability and all regular contributors here know that. When a hotel is truly full and an upgrade isn't possible how the hotel handles it makes a huge difference. An acknowledgement of Le Club Status followed by a genuine expression of regret that an upgrade cannot be offered keeps me a satisfied guest.

When hotels simply avoid any mention of an upgrade, require guests to take the initiative and ask (beg) or as appears here are simply evasive if not dishonest then the whole relationship between guest and hotelier is significantly damaged before the stay has begun. Why some hotels don't seem to understand this and train staff accordingly beggars believe.

This is truly one of the biggest problem with Accor hotels and LCAH/Platinums or Gold.
What I have also faced several times is when they tell you you've been upgraded to X room type and you say them...well....that's the room type I have booked :rolleyes: Oh really ?? well...sorry we are full so no upgrade possible :mad:

I agree with all that and the way Hilton handles it is way better: the app usually reflect the upgrade the day before or the same day as the arrival. OLCI and it is done.

That being said, I also had the excuse of "the Accor.com inventory is not accurate" and in one case the receptionist showed me his computer with the interface and it was indeed full despite the app showing availability. So it seems that it is a possible scenario, though I acknowledge this is also mostly use as an easy excuse to escape their responsabilities to provide benefits.

I think that all of us have had the same experience at some point or another.

I sometimes push for an upgrade and sometimes just forget about it depending on the staff and the reason for the stay. I have had the "we are full" excuse once before when seeing availability online, and basically been told to leave them alone.

In any case I make sure that I provide feedback to the hotel/accor via the survey request after a stay and point out if they have been good or bad regarding the platinum benefits (and sometimes receive feedback from the hotel directly). I would like to believe that the good and bad feedback is used somehow to improve customer experience...

It also is worth while to check the hotels actual website ( normally a franchise will have a dedicated website to it's hotel ) .... that way they can not just blame Accor ...

And when you do, search for two rooms of the same type so they cannot use "the room is under maintenance" excuse that they did when we tried to upgrade at Sofitel Nusa Dua.

As I arrive at MGallery L'échiquier Opera Paris, although there was a pro-active upgrade from classic to superior (in practice it's 20m2 rather than 18m2), I'm having difficulty getting a late check out. I know it's subject to availability which is fine but the hotel policy is that's it's free until 2 pm (seems to be for any status level) but I thought for Platinum it was 4 pm? The receptionist already had to check with management for the 2 pm policy but when I mentioned that it should be 4 pm for Plats she said she'd check again. So the begging continues! I wouldn't normally push this but my flight is at 930 pm so a 4 pm check out would really make a difference before 2 x 8 hour flights! I just wonder really what the value of remaining Platinum is when it's consistently difficult to get the benefits, especially in Paris, the heart of Accor!

I also wonder why Accor doesn't upgrade Plats to "best room available" even if except suites because it seems there's very little difference between Gold and Platinum and it wouldn't have cost this hotel to upgrade me to deluxe - another extra 2m2 or even a junior suite at a whopping extra 6m2 compared to the upgraded superior room. It all seems a bit stingy! Even the welcome gift didn't mention Platinum - I think they are given to everyone as it mentioned it was my first time at the hotel. It was five tiny Madeleine's in a bag the size of my hand! Anyway, the late check out is the most important thing to beg for!

At Sofitel Brussels Europe, I got a welcome letter mentioning my Gold level even though I was Platinum... I think some hotel are just using a standard welcome letter...

I even paid extra for a late checkout of 5PM at Novotel Szczecin as I had an evening flight back from a crummy regional airport with no lounge or facilities (SZZ). I have Gold status but know from experience that doesn't mean a lot at Accor, so I figured if I paid hard cash there won't need to be any begging or refusals.

I mentioned the late checkout to the FD staff so that they wouldn't try turfing me out of my room around midday. However, I forgot that this was Accor. Even though the staff had originally acknowledged my late checkout, at 12PM housekeeping were banging on the door. I explained the situation to the maid (I speak Polish but these days Ukrainian is likely to be their native language) but half an hour later later there was a call from FD demanding to know (in quite strident terms) why I hadn't already vacated.

By this time I was pretty p****ed off so I went downstairs to show my receipt for the late checkout. The girl at the desk at first tried to claim that I hadn't informed anyone so it was actually my fault - it was almost like she was expecting me to apologise for the inconvenience. Only after I threatened to escalate the matter if my late checkout wasn't honoured did she grudgingly accept that I did in fact have the right to stay until 5PM. The expression on her face when she realised I really did have late checkout was like I'd cancelled her birthday party.

The FD staff had a major attitude problem the whole time I was there.

Dear members,

Your feedback is important to us, so that we can target the hotels which need to improve their quality standards to fit the ones that AccorHotels Group require.

Sometimes, hotels are doing things their own way and differently from what the group standard requires. We can only be informed of it and try to find solutions thanks to your feedbacks shared with the client services. They are the ones that have access to your booking history, and who can thanks to it identify the hotel and the stay that would have been a disappointment for you so that we can work on making sure you won't be disappointed by this hotel anymore.

Kind regards,
Amy

Finally, I got 2 pm rather than 4 pm, which always seems to be hotel policy here, irrespective of status. All room types are still available to be booked on the Accor app. However, when I questioned this he said they always oversell the lowest categories to make sure they are full??? I know airlines do this but I would have thought it'd be difficult for hotels. Anyway, with swollen gums and another course of antibiotics needed, it would have been one of those times when 4 pm would have been really appreciated. Nevermind!

As I fly back to Asia tonight and continue with another 8 nights in Accor hotels, I should finish on a positive note. Novotel Manila Araneta Centre - confirmed upgrade from lowest category to Executive room. And lovely Ms. Serania at Sofitel Philippines Plaza has also confirmed my preference to be on the same floor as the lounge. Accor is mostly wonderful in Asia but pretty poor in Europe. Accor should encourage an expansion plan with a good choice of hotels in Europe with Executive Lounges to really make the top tier experience worth it in Europe, or at least offer breakfast and a cocktail hour in the bar.

tbf this has also happened to me at Hilton.

Amy - a quick point about contacting Client Services. I actually did that but then I was told to contact Accor Plus! I then told Client Services to actually take responsibility for the complaint and said that I don't have time to keep getting passed around on a wild goose chase! So they simply forwarded my complaint / feedback to Accor Plus. Why didn't they just do that in the first place? I feel that customer service for Accor Plus and Accor needs to be integrated. It was 3 days ago but it was the weekend. I'll see if I get a response.

Actually what Accor also needs to do is to integrate the social media teams with the customer service team. Contacting the company on Twitter, FB or indeed here on FT should not be different than picking up the phone.