PortlySpartacus

I'm hearing similar experiences with Hyatt's new all inclusive in Jamaica. Delayed opening date and poor communication with guests being affected. I think Hyatt needs some form of auto notification system followed by timely personal follow up.

kv99

I ended up staying at the Andaz this past week. it was a little bit inconvenient but i'd been wanting to try it anyway and it is frankly a really nice hotel -- i'd say objectively nicer than the Churchill. the breakfast room in particular is really beautiful.

I managed to find a competent rep at Central Res eventually (the first guy i spoke with was a real clown) and she gave me some goodwill points for the inconvenience since i had to stay at the Andaz and she offered to relocate me closer to Portman Sq for my mid-December reservation if needed once they figured out what was going on with the hotel.

now, however, they've simply cancelled the Dec reservation without an alternate booking (even at the Andaz, which does have space on the days in question) so not sure what's going on.

while i think some people are being a little harsh in their expectations of compensation, etc., i do think that it is a reasonable expectation to be relocated in a comparable hotel in the same neighborhood. Regardless of how competent or incompetent the Churchill staff is, Hyatt central reservations should be taking care of this in a systematic way and should either have the capacity to handle this or use surge staff if needed...

for what it's worth, in my experience, no one else is any better at handling situations like this, and at least with Hyatt, even if they mess it up at first, i have confidence that they'll ultimately make it right.

kv99

i disagree. Liverpool St and Portman Square are not the same thing. they need to find hotels that are located nearby and of the same quality.

RichardInSF

I was expressing an opinion about how a hotel that calls itself a 5-star luxury hotel on its webpage should treat its guests.

And as has already has been pointed out, this industry calls what it does the hospitality business. It is precisely in unusual situations that this gets tested.

iluv2fly

Had I not read about this on FT, I would never have known about it.

I stay at this hotel (paid stays) a minimum of five times a year. I received no communication about this (my stay was on Wednesday).

I called Sunday and asked them about it, they said that they would get back to me via email or phone by Wednesday. Huh? I arrive on Wednesday. Would love to know where to go from the airport.

Called back a day later to see what was going on and they were really surprised that I was not contacted.

They told me I was booked at the Andaz. Not acceptable for me (location). I told them to forget it and I would take care of it myself. They did throw me some points more for the lack of communication than the inconvenience, it seemed.

OsakaWino

Totally agree with that sentiment.

And it seems like both The Churchill and Hyatt are doing a very mixed job here. Some people are getting contacted while others are not.

If what everyone has posted here is true, then some are getting reservations at a nearby hotel of their choice at the same rate plus plenty of points, others are merely getting automatically sent to the Andaz, and others have simply had their reservations cancelled and been told to fend for themselves.

In messy situations like this, with some guests getting special treatment and others getting the shaft, I always wonder why the difference.

Is it who you are? Or who you know? Or who you talk to? Or just totally random?

price123

It seems that changes to reservations are mostly being made by central reservations. As a datapoint, we are known on FT to be fans of the hotel, we have now organised 3 events there and have stayed more times than I can count. On our last arrival, we were greeted by genuine warmth (hugs etc) from at least 5 staff and we are given some kind of special treatment on every stay (free upgrade to suite if available or enhanced welcome amenity, gluten-free bread, goat's cheese and duck eggs in lounge). However, we have not been contacted re. our next reservation when the hotel is closed. I have proactively sought out options with my usual contact at the hotel and have been told that there are many hotels in the area that would be an option or that we can book ourselves elsewhere and be compensated up to "a reasonable amount." However, no email has yet arrived giving us option, as we were told to expect.

I see this simply as the hotel being overwhelmed and not knowing exactly what will happen at present. I have a few weeks until the stay, so am not top of the list and I know that there will be many discussions between management and owner about what is allowed to happen (not individual guests but generally how much will they compensate and for how long). Did I expect to receive an email within 48 hours of my contact with options? Yes. Am I annoyed by not receiving one? Not at all - this is a difficult situation.

RichardInSF

Anything new? It's about time for them to give us more news, I'd think but so far the website has not been updated.

SethLevy

Received just this evening relating to my last reservation on December 31 (for 3 nights - which I had already reached agreement with the hotel regarding alternate accommodations). I assume I received this as the reservation was still showing as active in their system. I think the email speaks for itself as to how the hotel is handling this matter.

Dear guest, (and yes, the email said guest)

Early morning on Saturday 22 November, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, experienced a gas explosion in the hotel's basement. No guests were injured, but some hotel colleagues sustained injuries, four of whom were treated at area hospitals. One colleague remains hospitalised with non-life threatening injuries.

Due to this situation the hotel is currently closed for the foreseeable future and your reservation has regrettably been cancelled.

For Guests With Upcoming Reservations through to 1st February 2015:
Guests may cancel at no charge, including those on the Advance Purchase Rate. The hotel will make every effort where possible to assist Guests with alternative arrangements if requested. We also kindly suggest that you contact your travel planner or agency for assistance as they will have been informed of this situation.

Because many of the city's hotels are already sold out for 31st December, 2014, we are regretfully unable to assist with alternative arrangements for that evening.

Guests with any questions - please kindly call +1 866-816-3868, +1 402-593-5053 or tweet @HyattConcierge.

We apologise most sincerely for the inconvenience this has, and will continue to cause.

With kind regards and best wishes,

General Manager (the email had his name, but I deleted it)

PortlySpartacus

Call Hyatt, have them comp you points to make up for you having to reserve another hotel. Reports are showing London 60% booked for Dec 31. Rates at other hotels are jacked up because of the date. Hyatt should comp you points to help offset. I checked other hotels, plenty availability still open but rates seem to be about $600/night. You should book another location asap. This is unfortunate circumstance and Hyatt appears to be leaving this up to you to negotiate. Report back how they compensate you please, I'm sure it will work out ok for you given the circumstances.

stickyfingers85

The website has now been updated with the same information. I think its terrible the way they have handled the incident.

I thankfully managed to get my 31st December booking moved to the Andaz, even though it was "fully booked", but only because i contacted a senior Hyatt executive. There are still issues though as the rates aren't the same, the room is just a basic King, and it doens't mention on the new booking about Breakfast, Late Checkout etc

To simply say that they can't help with 31st December bookings is terrible

PortlySpartacus

Somebody write up a description of how a hotel should handle a situation like this so we can use it as a template for the "ideal" way to manage customer expectations and reasonable actions from the hotel.

I tend to think differently from most in this type of situation. I figured the hotel has 400 rooms and over 30 days of reservations to juggle, so that's like 12000 or more unique customer reservations that have to be managed. Hyatt is already taking a big loss on this having to remain closed during one of the busiest months of the year, I don't see why they would extend their losses any further than necessary.

You can pout and demand that you get treated differently but in the end, you will reserve a room at another hotel and that is that. And when the Churchill opens after this debacle, they may or may not welcome you back as a guest. I don't think it matters because I'm sure they know who their top customers are and the reason you received the form letter email is because you aren't in their top 5% customer category.

Tough to be treated as rank and file in these situations but its the natural order of things.

SethLevy

As mentioned, I had already worked out a deal with Hyatt, but only after contacting a senior executive at corporate. I am now staying at the Rocco Forte Browns Hotel for the three nights starting on December 31, at no additional cost to me over my regular rate.

I would encourage anyone impacted by having to change hotels, to request your bonus points from the promotion that just ended in November (if but for the issue you would have stayed at the hotel). Also, any stays moved in 2014 or 2015, demand the stay credit!

I know you commented on people needing to realize they are just "rank and file", but the hotel should treat all guests with respect. I also suspect that it will be the true "rank and file", as you call them, that will be most impacted by this situation as they will not know enough to demand the difference in price, bonus points, stay credits and the like. The "rank and file" will be the ones who in good faith booked a room at the Churchill months ago for December 31, budgeting GBP 250 and now, through no fault on their part, have to find a new hotel at a rate likely to exceed GBP 500.

That said, I note that the Browns Hotel is GBP 192 (all in) through LHW sale and Cafe Royal Hotel GBP 299 through January 31.

RichardInSF

OK, Mr. Portly, we all understand your view well enough, you believe nothing special should be done for anyone who doesn't get it without asking. You don't have to keep repeating it.

Most companies have business continuation insurance that comes into play in situations like this. It reimburses the insured for expenses incurred other than just repairing the damage, often including lost profits. Should the Churchill have such insurance, which is quite possible, this "special treatment" could well be covered.

In any event, I have now communicated directly with management and have been informed that they honestly do not have a date for the re-opening yet, it's still not known.

So the reason the website was not updated beyond the date change, which I presume was done to allow those with later check-in dates the freedom to alter their booking while there is still plenty of availability in London, is that they aren't able to give firm answers yet.

m0hamed

I just sent my PL agent some requests which didn't need to be handled immediately and she asked for my patience as she is working on relocating guests of The Churchill. So while opinions differ it appears that the PL team are at least one dedicated resource trying to find solutions.