scubaccr

Too true, and Priority Checkin with wallets with keys is part of hotel T+C's with IHG.
Thus elite checkins take only 2 minutes, we just sign the form to say we will pay for any extras charged to our room, and take the pre-prepared key-wallet. Serving Elites first actually keeps the checkin queue smaller !

Other non-PCR guests can and do take ages, asking what rooms are free, what views are, can they have low/high floor etc. So frustrating to wait on such people demanding details of all free rooms currently left.

If only one receptionist on front desk, then it is normal for them to ding their desk bell, and a colleague/manager from back office steps out to serve me then returns to their back office.
In this situation other queue'rs do not get pushed in front of by me, and if I joined said normal queue, the extra backroom person would not be called to check me in at the priority desk point.

So using Priority/Elite service point is not pushing in and if you don't go to Priority point, backroom person will not appear and help out.

scubaccr

You are trying to be devils advocate or a lawyer now and interpret the T+C's, I can't agree with you, it is hotel T+C's they must have an elite Checkin Point at Reception/Checkin desk and that rack is at the checkin desk.

Further Elite T+C's as quoted below
"Priority Check-In.TM You can be sure your room has been assigned and your room key will be waiting for you at the front desk when you arrive (guaranteed reservations must bemade by 7 a.m. on the day of arrival)"

You can't simply grab a key-wallet from a rack, without any checks to ensure you take the correct wallet, and are the person who booked a room.
In that situation any walkin person could access those elite walletted rooms.

All hotels require you to sign in before getting your room key, majority take a credit card hold, some even check your id.
The 'rack' is always on the staff side of checkin, near to hand for desk staff to avoid delays passing onto the elite member and also so guest can see room is allocated/pre-prepared prior to their arrival.

Hotels are never like for eg Hertz elite where I just look for my name and car space number on the board outside reception, and drive out without needing to visit the Hertz front desk.

NJUPINTHEAIR

I am what I am.

However, although the further verbiage is helpful, nowhere does it state that an elite will be treated before anyone else, just that certain items, etc., will be prepared prior to their arrival. I have not seen anyone present the supposed requirements for a hotel to have an elite or priority check-in line/desk. If there are, then someone please post it.

But, if one has a separate line set up -- if done by the hotel above and beyond what is required of them by IHG -- the common sense thing is to expect that elites will take advantage of it.

jimthehorsegod

This is now my phrase of the week, I shall be using it in every interaction, appropriate or not.

Now, this complaint may seem more at home on /. and I hate to come across as argumentative but: your point is refuted not simply by the OP, but by the *title of the thread*

The issue at hand is what to do when there is long queue for checkin and an unmanned 'priority' desk. My personal feeling is that I am happier queuing. I have, as it happens, tried the priority desk and I felt uncomfortable in doing so, and perhaps that is a British thing, perhaps the whole concept of priority queues is a little alien to me. In fact I'm sure it is. The uncertainty seems to have been implanted by a perceived policy of allowing a priority lane for elites, but as eloquently stated above:

It isn't helped by the prevalence of the perspex priority checkin signage left on a designated desk at the end of the reception area, sometime accompanied by a carpet/rug and even more rarely by a velvet rope, but the point remains that actually, a seperate queue for gold/plats is not in fact a stated benefit as far as I'm aware and in any case isn't a reasonable expectation. As important as a PC Gold member is to society in general, I personally feel that pre-preauthing my card so I don't have to present it on checkin, pre-allocating me a (generally dreadful) room and having my paperwork ready is perfectly sufficient.

uk1

And so you should.

It becomes apparent quite quickly in these discussions that those that cannot discern what is courteous and considerate to others and what is not, also seem to see every half or quarter fact or convoluted argument and twist of logic as justification to do what they want to do anyway. It is pointless to argue.

Rarely have I seen such a perfect textbook example of DYKWIA.

Apieinthesky

Why does it even matter if there was another elite in line? Take an airline analogy. If I am an elite (even a low level elite), shouldn't I be allowed to use the elite check in line? If a higher level elite decides to use the regular line, why should I have to stand behind him? I'll use whichever line I am entitled to.

At my (second) home airport, STL, the AA priority check in is often empty. Thus, often, all the agents are working the regular line. But if I go and stand in the priority line, I expect to be taken care of next. If there are elites in the regular line, why should that bother me?

Same with elite security, boarding, etc, and IMO, same in this case of hotel check in. Even if there are elites in the regular check in, I am still entitled to use the elite check in. If other elites choose not to exercise benefits they are entitled to, that's not really my concern.

Courtesy in fact does not represent a strict list of rules. Courtesy means different things in different situations (some of which you may not understand fully) and in different cultures. Even in this very thread, we see the differences. Courtesy may mean something different in the UK, in the US, or in Japan.

uk1

Exactly. And I am sure anyone seeking to be discourteous has an array of excuses to choose from in any given situation. Cultural differences, time of day, illness, grey rules of etiquette etc Courteous people take account of all of the factors you highlight, and do all they can not to breach them. Discourteous people do not.

You have however managed to avoid the obvious - and that is the simple one I think you highlight perfectly - and that is the fact that some people also simply have lower standards than others.

PriorityMaster

simple: shout, bark, and tell these axxholes to do what they can do best: fxxk off... no, seriously, if you wait too long (longer than 5 minutes!!!) - just demand a compensation. Free dinner will usually do, upgrade to a suite (you will receive an upgrade anyway to a superior); or free breakfast if not already included. Make them feel guilty, that's the art.

Hey, just a reminder: this usually works only if you are Platinum...

htb

The problem with this is that you only actually need the priority check in WHEN they are busy.

HTB.

uk1

The voice of reason ......

Froggitt

Surely if there is only one person on the desk, they should attend to the Elite queue in preference to the regular queue.

uk1

Good point. I think the Elite should stand by the sign smiling at the desk person so that the person on the desk sees them and then after completing the current person the desk person should move over to the Elite.

I think we have it sorted!

Doug_1970

I'm British, so if there was only one person checking in then I'd just join the queue (and tut quietly to myself).

I've lost count of the number of times I'm in the business class queue for a flight with 10 - 20 other people, and someone just walks straight to the front because they're also in business class.

NJUPINTHEAIR

I guess this really is a British thing. Funny, coming from the land where class distinctions were so great not that long ago.

uk1

The whole thing about the British class thing has always been it doesn't matter what your status or class is you must always maintain courtesy and avoid rudeness. Those values were expected of all classes.

The other thing is that colonial behaviour mandates you change your subjects by example. That's why so much of places like India for example feels like it is locked in a time warp of the Britain of the time it left India.

The key thing about traveling now compared to then is that then we "imposed" by example our standards on others but now we are expected rightly to observe local standards when they are higher than our own or our own if they are higher.

That's the way it seems to me anyway.