Serious Privacy violation at Grand Hyatt Jakarta - What to do?
Mar 19, 2019, 6:45 am
#31
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,785
I thought most hotels will connect you to the room of the person who checked in if you know their full name. If you call and ask for someone with their full name, he hotel will either say "He is scheduled to be check in today." or "I don't have anyone checking in today with that name" or they will call the room to connect you. I think most hotels think their guests want to be connected with their friends/family. Unless it is like a celebrities hotels I guess.....then more privacy? I did it a few times myself back in the days when people don't usually carry cell phones or when people visiting from other countries.
Mar 19, 2019, 7:36 am
#33
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: HHonors, TrueBlue, Delta SkyMiles, Hyatt Discoverist, Starwood Preferred Guest, American Airlines.
Posts: 2,035
I would have to agree - and for what it's worth, low level employees shouldn't need training for everything, especially when common sense comes into play.
It's just common sense not to give out someone's information.
It's just common sense not to give out someone's information.
Mar 19, 2019, 7:43 am
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: All over
Programs: Most
Posts: 10,839
There are service issues at this hotel. Some fitness center employees once uttered gay slurs in Bahasa not knowing that friend of mine spoke the language fluently. Management resolution was unsatisfactory.
Mar 19, 2019, 8:02 am
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,719
First rule of complaining: know precisely what you want before putting pen to paper.
SOP for celebrities / public figures on the road. Their publicist or body guy books in under his or her own name.
A method used to try to increase privacy includes having someone else book the room in their name for check-in purpose and doing the bulk of the check-in formalities for the room/additional room being used by a guest who will occupy the room but doesn't want it so easily discovered...
Mar 19, 2019, 8:13 am
#36
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,952
Years ago, when the Hyatt on the Bund in Shanghai first opened, I stayed there because it was convenient for my work concerns in that immediate area. At that time, and for a period of about 1.5 years, I had to do some quite confidential work/visits into Shanghai. I ended up staying at HOTB at least on a monthly basis for that 18-month period. During my second stay there, I already let the hotel know that I did not wish to receive any calls, I did not want any caller to know whether I was staying there, etc., etc. In short, the Reception, Operators, and any front line staff were not to acknowledge whether I was at this hotel or not.
The staff at HOTB did their job to perfection. Not once did any of the staff divulge my presence at the hotel. For the first half dozen stays, I even got an associate of mine to call the hotel while I was there to get the hotel staff to put the call through to me or to confirm my check in situation. No information given by the hotel during these tests. And for a few times that I was not even at the hotel, I got my associate to call and check anyway, and the staff gave the similar confidential response.
When my particular work ended, I did not stay at HOTB anymore for a few years. On one occasion after those years, I had the chance to stay there again. I was waiting for a friend to call me in my room to go to dinner, and that call never came. Eventually, my friend called my mobile to inquire where I was because the hotel could not find me as a hotel guest. I had completely forgotten about the confidential status of my stays, and after the few years of absence, the hotel still flagged my stays as such.
The staff at HOTB did their job to perfection. Not once did any of the staff divulge my presence at the hotel. For the first half dozen stays, I even got an associate of mine to call the hotel while I was there to get the hotel staff to put the call through to me or to confirm my check in situation. No information given by the hotel during these tests. And for a few times that I was not even at the hotel, I got my associate to call and check anyway, and the staff gave the similar confidential response.
When my particular work ended, I did not stay at HOTB anymore for a few years. On one occasion after those years, I had the chance to stay there again. I was waiting for a friend to call me in my room to go to dinner, and that call never came. Eventually, my friend called my mobile to inquire where I was because the hotel could not find me as a hotel guest. I had completely forgotten about the confidential status of my stays, and after the few years of absence, the hotel still flagged my stays as such.
Mar 19, 2019, 8:20 am
#37
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
And it also works in countries where the governmental authorities mandate that foreign visitors' ID/passport details be captured by the hotel at check-in and made available to the authorities.
Mar 19, 2019, 8:55 am
#38
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA ExPl, DL PM, UA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium, probably some others
Posts: 4,100
If they could somehow demonstrate to me in person the system that was supposed to stop this, and show me how it should work in the future, and explain why the process failed last time and why it won't happen again, I would be happy with that. I've designed controls and systems like this myself. Show me what you have, tell me why it didn't work, and convince me how you're going to fix it. Plus, a discount or points.
Otherwise (and this is what i suspect is going to happen), I won't stay at this property anymore and it will be up to the Hyatt in general to give me points or a night at a comparable property to keep me loyal to the brand. Of course, it will be painful for both the Hyatt and myself to switch loyalties, so I really don't want to do that. 85-100 nights a year is a lot of money for them (most of it at much more expensive properties in HK or SH), and it's also a lot of time for me to build back up my status elsewhere.
Otherwise (and this is what i suspect is going to happen), I won't stay at this property anymore and it will be up to the Hyatt in general to give me points or a night at a comparable property to keep me loyal to the brand. Of course, it will be painful for both the Hyatt and myself to switch loyalties, so I really don't want to do that. 85-100 nights a year is a lot of money for them (most of it at much more expensive properties in HK or SH), and it's also a lot of time for me to build back up my status elsewhere.
Mar 19, 2019, 10:59 am
#39
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Taiwan
Programs: IHG Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold, oneworld Emerald
Posts: 1,164
The Keraton was also mentioned above, and interestingly my local friend told me it's very well known for its discretion and that the rich take their mistresses there. I used to stay there, but they removed a lot of their soft benefits after the Marriott merger. (Previously it offered 7am checkins and 9pm checkouts, as a standard, among other things)
Mar 19, 2019, 11:10 am
#40
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: SFO/SJC, JFK
Programs: United 1K 2MM - Jet Blue Mosaic - Hyatt LTG - Marriott Plat - Hertz PC
Posts: 205
I thought most hotels will connect you to the room of the person who checked in if you know their full name. If you call and ask for someone with their full name, he hotel will either say "He is scheduled to be check in today." or "I don't have anyone checking in today with that name" or they will call the room to connect you. I think most hotels think their guests want to be connected with their friends/family. Unless it is like a celebrities hotels I guess.....then more privacy? I did it a few times myself back in the days when people don't usually carry cell phones or when people visiting from other countries.
Mar 19, 2019, 2:11 pm
#42
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: ORD (formerly SAN)
Programs: Hilton Diamond; IHG Platinum; Bonvoy Gold; AA Platinum Pro and United Premier Silver (DH = AA EXP)
Posts: 1,929
I am very confused by some of the responses on here. First of all, things like your name, arrival information, length of stay, etc. can all be considered personal information under certain data protection laws. Most of these laws require consent prior to disclosure of such personal info (or unless such disclosure is required to provide certain services that cannot be opted out of). The hotel's privacy policy can also come into play as well, see https://www.hyatt.com/info/privacy-policy Clearly giving out your personal info to a "troublesome person" or a stalker (or actually anyone else) is not within the hotel's disclosure rights without consent. You did not give such consent and therefore your privacy rights were violated. It's not about applying a "stealth mode" at the hotel - these are basic privacy rights. If Hyatt corporate does not take this seriously, ask to be escalated to their data privacy team to discuss the issue.
Mar 19, 2019, 3:36 pm
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Seat 2A
Programs: AA EXP LT GLD 1MM, BA GLD, NH/UA*G, Hyatt Dia, Marr Tit LT PLT, IHG Spire,HH Dia, MGM NOIR,Hertz PC
Posts: 10,571
I appreciate your situation, but to take a slightly different perspective, I don't think you can expect a hotel to be a shield for your problem with this person. Either it is serious or it isn't (and I'm not going to speculate beyond that). If it really is serious and you want to or have to stay in that hotel, then you should check in under a different name or come to an understanding with the hotel that you are logged as Mr X.
Usually when you call a hotel and ask for a guest name the only answer is: a) We don't have a guest with this name b) Mr. X isn't answering his phone.
Anything else is a serious problem and the OP should contact the General Manager of the property.
Mar 19, 2019, 4:20 pm
#44
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: San Jose, California, USA
Programs: AS 100K, UA MM, AA MM, IC Plat Amb, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 3,146
Years ago, when the Hyatt on the Bund in Shanghai first opened, I stayed there because it was convenient for my work concerns in that immediate area. At that time, and for a period of about 1.5 years, I had to do some quite confidential work/visits into Shanghai. I ended up staying at HOTB at least on a monthly basis for that 18-month period. During my second stay there, I already let the hotel know that I did not wish to receive any calls, I did not want any caller to know whether I was staying there, etc., etc. In short, the Reception, Operators, and any front line staff were not to acknowledge whether I was at this hotel or not.
The staff at HOTB did their job to perfection. Not once did any of the staff divulge my presence at the hotel. For the first half dozen stays, I even got an associate of mine to call the hotel while I was there to get the hotel staff to put the call through to me or to confirm my check in situation. No information given by the hotel during these tests. And for a few times that I was not even at the hotel, I got my associate to call and check anyway, and the staff gave the similar confidential response.
When my particular work ended, I did not stay at HOTB anymore for a few years. On one occasion after those years, I had the chance to stay there again. I was waiting for a friend to call me in my room to go to dinner, and that call never came. Eventually, my friend called my mobile to inquire where I was because the hotel could not find me as a hotel guest. I had completely forgotten about the confidential status of my stays, and after the few years of absence, the hotel still flagged my stays as such.
The staff at HOTB did their job to perfection. Not once did any of the staff divulge my presence at the hotel. For the first half dozen stays, I even got an associate of mine to call the hotel while I was there to get the hotel staff to put the call through to me or to confirm my check in situation. No information given by the hotel during these tests. And for a few times that I was not even at the hotel, I got my associate to call and check anyway, and the staff gave the similar confidential response.
When my particular work ended, I did not stay at HOTB anymore for a few years. On one occasion after those years, I had the chance to stay there again. I was waiting for a friend to call me in my room to go to dinner, and that call never came. Eventually, my friend called my mobile to inquire where I was because the hotel could not find me as a hotel guest. I had completely forgotten about the confidential status of my stays, and after the few years of absence, the hotel still flagged my stays as such.
Mar 19, 2019, 5:42 pm
#45
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: Marriott LT Plat, Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat
Posts: 199
I agree that this is a general concern. I don't have any stalkers that I know of, but I would NEVER want any information given out about a hotel stay - not the dates nor anything else. That should be standard practice in all hotels--it would seem that every hotel should worry that any information given out about a guest could be used for nefarious purposes. What if a guest has a restraining order and the hotel offers information over the phone and something happens as a result? Wouldn't the hotels be worried about such situations? I can't think of a single reason why this information should be provided to an unknown person.
Similarly (but OT) I cannot understand why I can sometimes get a dupe room key without providing ID. I've lost my key a few times, or needed a new key for a late checkout, and most of the time they require my ID. But sometimes they just hand over the key.
Similarly (but OT) I cannot understand why I can sometimes get a dupe room key without providing ID. I've lost my key a few times, or needed a new key for a late checkout, and most of the time they require my ID. But sometimes they just hand over the key.