Cutbacks.... No more clocks?
Feb 24, 2019, 6:37 pm
#1
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Cutbacks.... No more clocks?
Staying at the HR San Antonio which has been one of my favorite properties, but is also, sadly, a place where Hyatt likes to "test" various cutbacks. For a time they eliminated shower gel but brought it back, they eliminated full service breakfast service over a year ago (buffet or fast food are your only choices - no menus and no room service except fast food delivery), and now it appears the bedroom clocks are gone....
Call me old, but I like clocks and would prefer to NOT rely on my cell phone. Are clocks phasing out everywhere or is this just a "test"?
In another "classy" move, they are combining Apotheke toiletries with old Kenet MD (call it mix and match) until I assume they run out of Kenet... the new ones are half the size of the old ones (which were already reduced in size a couple of years ago..)
Still love Hyatt but ugh.
Call me old, but I like clocks and would prefer to NOT rely on my cell phone. Are clocks phasing out everywhere or is this just a "test"?
In another "classy" move, they are combining Apotheke toiletries with old Kenet MD (call it mix and match) until I assume they run out of Kenet... the new ones are half the size of the old ones (which were already reduced in size a couple of years ago..)
Still love Hyatt but ugh.
Feb 24, 2019, 7:03 pm
#2
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The first thing I do in most hotel rooms is unplug the clock. They take up an outlet that is better used by other devices.
Feb 24, 2019, 7:53 pm
#5
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The GH and Andaz Tokyo have these battery-powered analog clocks. First thing I do is take the battery out or put them in a closet. The ticking sound keeps me up at night.
Feb 24, 2019, 7:55 pm
#6
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Clocks in hotel rooms used to be just a USA thing, but increasingly I see them all over the world.
Feb 24, 2019, 8:02 pm
#7
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Feb 25, 2019, 11:12 am
#8
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The last time I stayed at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego (several years ago), they had these clocks (I think they were made by Sony) that "automatically" adjusted to the correct time and couldn't be manually adjusted. Of course the time that they displayed bore no resemblance to reality. Those were great...
Feb 25, 2019, 11:15 am
#9
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The last time I stayed at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego (several years ago), they had these clocks (I think they were made by Sony) that "automatically" adjusted to the correct time and couldn't be manually adjusted. Of course the time that they displayed bore no resemblance to reality. Those were great...
I hate those things because sometimes they're wrong and when they're wrong, there's nothing you can do.
IMO the simpler and more idiot-proof hotel room stuff is, the better. This includes clocks, TVs, coffee makers, etc.
IMO the simpler and more idiot-proof hotel room stuff is, the better. This includes clocks, TVs, coffee makers, etc.
Feb 25, 2019, 7:00 pm
#12
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With clock removals, do calls for wake-up calls drop and do complaints about missed hotel alarm wake-ups and missing wake-up calls and incorrect time display drop? I would suspect that to be the outcome, especially in the age where even toddlers have smartphones and tablets with their own clock alarm possibilities, and it likely gives hotels an opportunity to avoid blame for problems related to hotel clock times, hotel clock alarms and hotel wake-up calls.
Feb 26, 2019, 5:27 am
#13
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I like having a clock in my room, though the integrated radio is usually horrid and is usually tuned to the station that the last housekeeper working in the room likes. What I find annoying is that the in-room clock is often set to the incorrect time, likely due to a guest's attempt to set the alarm. I've had some in-room clocks that are so technically baffling that I've had to look up the make and model and download a manual in order to figure out how to set the time or alarm. Sometimes it involves opening the battery compartment (which sometimes requires a screwdriver - I guess too many people have stolen the batteries) and flipping a switch to un-lock the time setting function.
I had an off-time clock at the Cambria Suites in El Segundo that I couldn't figure out at all. I asked at the front desk and they sent up someone from maintenance who found the right combination of buttons that enabled the time setting mode. I never would have come up with that solution. He said he thought he was the only one on staff who knew how to set those clocks and he's had to do it a lot. But apparently some guest figured out how to un-set it.
I had an off-time clock at the Cambria Suites in El Segundo that I couldn't figure out at all. I asked at the front desk and they sent up someone from maintenance who found the right combination of buttons that enabled the time setting mode. I never would have come up with that solution. He said he thought he was the only one on staff who knew how to set those clocks and he's had to do it a lot. But apparently some guest figured out how to un-set it.
Feb 26, 2019, 7:27 am
#14
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Clocks with light near the bed get unplugged -- I like to sleep in completely dark rooms.
But those dim bathroom mirror clocks are glorious. It is great if you get up in the middle of the night to do some business to see effortlessly if it is early enough to go back to bed or if you should just get started for the day.
But those dim bathroom mirror clocks are glorious. It is great if you get up in the middle of the night to do some business to see effortlessly if it is early enough to go back to bed or if you should just get started for the day.
Feb 26, 2019, 8:04 am
#15
Join Date: Jan 2015
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I never use the clock
....but sometimes it wakes me up anyway. I would be fine with no clock, not only does it take up an outlet but the alarm sometimes is still set. I have been startled from a sound sleep at the oddest hours. Sometimes you just don't think of the simplest things, I will be unplugging mine in every hotel from this point further.