UKTraveller4Fun

I feel I should add a very simply sentiment to this thread, I have the most amazing Ambassador based on Cork who considering the confines she is working within with Marriott does a stunning job!

My problem is as soon as something is beyond her scope (computer says no) Marriott are totally hopeless and have no idea what customer service is. I am still staying with Marriott because of my Ambassador and fact she goes above and beyond, everything else about Marriott is frankly hopeless, I have been giving it time since August but its getting worse not better and I really dislike their technique of just ignoring something (even their own employees) when it suits and hoping an issue will just get forgotton about!

I feel there are 2 factors that make Ambassador level work, having the right Ambassador and picking the correct properties that are just genuinely good properties that work well with the liasons and Ambassadors! Pick the wrong properties and it seems Marriott hold them even less accountable than Starwood did when it comes to delivering for guests!

DEN ConsultMonkey

Is your idea of elevated service having the FD say "thank you for being an ambassador member"? Pretty sure that this is where service stops for me.

Where are you staying? That is impressive, considering I am 0/33 on the year.

I have yet to see a property go out of their way to treat me differently than ANY other customer, be it a non-bonvoy member, gold or titanium. I truly can not identify one differentiation from platinum/titanium status.

This is crazy to me, given my experience with my ambassador. I travel regularly, so over and above is not critical on business stays. With that being said, I have received the room I booked 33/33 nights this year. I dont even know what I would do if I saw the interior of a suite at a Bonvoy property! =)
Data Points:
2018
Nights-120+
Spend- 50k+
Property Types- 85% full service
2019
Nights- 33
Spend- 10k+
Property Types- 100% full service

As many of you have suggested, I have been clear with my ambassador about when I feel things are important.

My data points are as follows:

Request: Weekend stay with my family at property with lots of suites. Indicated that it was a special occasion for the family, and that we were hoping for as much space as possible. Also noted that we would be traveling for considerable amount of time and that we would appreciate if we could get in the room early so that our little one could nap. Applied SNA. My ambassador assured me that she contacted the hotel and they would see what they could do about a room, and noted that we would be arriving early.
Result: Arrived at property to check in early. Was told that early check in was not possible and that room would be ready well after check in time. Was told that there had been no correspondence with ambassador. Received a room with broken glass on the floor and not suitable for children.

Request: Took the in laws on vacation with the family. Requested connecting rooms. Ambassador confirmed connecting rooms and upgrade request on her behalf.
Result: Tried to check in at check in time. Rooms were not ready until 30 & 40 mins after check in time. Property denied ever being contacted by Ambassador. Did not receive connecting rooms. Reached out to ambassador and general ambassador line. Did not hear back until after stay was completed.

Request: No request, but expected a good stay when checking in for a three night stay at a premier Bonboy property on my birthday.
Result: Almost got walked, received last room (not a desirable room).

Request: Help identify properties that would be suitable for quick vacation for myself and wife. Desperately in need of a nice vacation and looking for places with good Ambassador recognition and not a base level room on points.
Result: Ambassador sent a list of Bonvoy properties at requested destination.

I am honestly at a loss. I do not see any incremental benefits after 50 nights. SNA's are almost NEVER getting confirmed, this remains true for all members (no preferential treatment for ambassadors), and ambassadors can not confirm in advance. I care about breakfast benefit only when I am on vacation, yet most true vacation properties play games. Resort fees on award stays... For all of the evangelists, what am I missing here? Is it that easy to get a kick a** ambassador? Does bonvoy really consider this to be a benefit that people will dedicate additional spend to? Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to ask for a new Ambassador? Lurkers? Please, someone, anyone convince me that Hyatt or a combo of Hyatt and Hilton are not a better alternative.

hockeyinsider

Do you have really bad luck of staying at convention hotels during a convention or something? This is amazing, assuming you, in fact, have ambassador status.

I'd be curious to know the properties. Maybe there's a correlation, such as managed by the same third-party as opposed to upscale, full-service properties or full-service properties managed directly by Marriott.

Even when I was a legacy gold or legacy platinum (not legacy platinum premier) in legacy Marriott Rewards I never got this bad of treatment on a consistent basis. I would be raising holy hell with the properties beyond the front desk clerk if I received rooms with broken glass or if the property threw my ambassador under the bus and claimed they never spoke to the ambassador. Someone is lying.

You should call the general ambassador telephone number and ask for a manager. Then explain the situation and ask for a new ambassador.

bhrubin

Haha, no, I honestly could care less about the FD recognizing me. It's nice to hear at check-in to know they know my status, but I've always found the recognition to come in other ways that actually means something (to me).

At the RC Coconut Grove for example, the parking valet on my arrival knew my first name as soon as I gave him my last name; clearly, I had come up as a VIP at the morning meeting! I then walked in to check in and they didn't even mention my Ambassador (or even Platinum) status. Of course, I also had been pre-upgraded several days before from an entry level room to the 3rd best suite on property; clearly, I was being recognized. Then that morning before I even flew from California, I noticed I had been upgraded again to the 2nd best suite on property.

I know you asked this of someone else, but my 14 nights thus far have been at the RC Coconut Grove, St Regis Bahia Beach, Courtyard Irvine, Marriott Irvine, and SLS Beverly Hills.

It is of interest to me that those of us who seem to report wonderful Ambassador treatment also seem to identify the hotels at which we stay. Those who don't report positive Ambassador treatment do not ever seem to identify the hotels at which you stay.

For your 33 nights this year, if can ask, what were the hotels? Were by chance they business centric hotels over weeknight stays? How long were your typical stays?

Also, if your hotels are at higher occupancy, chances obviously are slimmer that you would get a suite upgrade. That wouldn't be Marriott playing any games at all but just a reality of occupancy. Always tough to tell from the descriptions shared here.

If your hotel stays are longer, it's understandably less likely that a suite upgrade will be available for the entire duration of your stay.

Finally, if your hotels don't have many suites in the first place--as is true most often (but not always) with the non-luxury hotel brands--then the upgrade pool may may include only a few or no suites. In my experience, this tends to also be a significant factor.

What was the hotel if we can ask?

It is worth noting that SNAs are processed independent of our Ambassadors. Ambassadors have no control over their success. But for the record, my SNAs cleared at the St Regis Bahia Beach for 5 nights with no contact from my Ambassador other than to request an even higher suite category if possible. The hotel was sold out, so I only got the SNA specific garden suite and nothing more.

Early check in is executed by the hotel. I think you'll discover the success or failure of that has much more to do with the specific hotel (and how well managed and run it might be) and almost nothing to do with your Ambassador. Or mine!

What was the hotel if we can ask?

I wouldn't say 30 of 40 min after check out time would be totally unreasonable, even if violates the technical terms. Certainly, I would hope for better. But this also can depend on the quality of the hotel. But it's also happened to me, most recently at the St Regis Atlanta last May--where I had to wait several hours for the suite I was guaranteed.

I think you and I have different expectations for what an Ambassador can and should do for us in such a scenario. We all have the directories available for hotels that might interest us. I've never asked my Ambassador to behave like a travel agent and suggest properties to me. Considering a significant proportion of the new portfolio is also unknown to most Ambassadors, I think you may have expected too much.

I think your choice of hotels may have more to do with your challenges than anything to do with your Ambassador.

hockeyinsider

If I had to wait as any guest 40 minutes after published check-in time for a room -- let alone with the top-level elite status -- I'd expect at the very minimum dinner or drinks on the hotel. This is completely unacceptable.

I somewhat agree just because I doubt they have the first-hand knowledge to make hotel recommends outside of what they heard via feedback from other customers. With that said, Marriott has advertised the ambassador agents as being concierges, making reservations, providing recommendations and so forth.

bhrubin

helvetic

@bhrubin how much business do you bring to Marriott? Perhaps you're treated as an extra VIP because you're worth more than the rest of us to them? I'm probably worth $25k annually to Marriott which is probably on the lower end for an Ambassador guest I guess. (Although that I'm treated as a low-value guest while giving them $25,000 annually is rather ridiculous!)

helvetic

I had to wait 'til 8pm once to check-in at a sold-out SLS, but they handled it well. $140 in resort credit, and they tried to give me the presidential suite to make up for it — until they realized last minute they couldn't because the previous celebrity guest completely trashed it and they had to keep it out of commission. I ended up with a junior suite with no view, but w/e, they tried they best and I was happy. This was pre-Marriott.

MSPeconomist

hockeyinsider

In a perfect world, Marriott International and its licensees would have access to a CRM file that shows I have about $25,000 per year in spending on rooms and food-and-beverage. On top of this, I've done as much as $250,000 in events and meetings in a single year. So, that's $275,000 in spending.

Yet I don't think corporate has an accurate calculation because, as far as I know, event and meetings aren't factored into ambassador status. The sales office, both at the corporate and property levels, has a lot of turnover too. They do very little and I've never encountered any sales staff who had any understanding or appreciation of elite status.

With as much as $250,000 in spending, I've never even been called by a corporate sales manager or representative. I get emails once or twice a year from some sales staffer trying to get me to use them -- obviously they get a commission -- but they aren't very effective in actually getting you anything meaningful out of properties. At the property level, I've done everything from one-time $20,000 events to repeat $40,000 events at a property. Out of maybe 25 properties in three years, only two or three properties have made an effort to touch base from time-to-time to get my repeat business.

Properties not managed by Marriott, as far as I know, have their own sales staff and don't rely on corporate for sales, except forwarding of RFPs submitted through Marriott.com's events and meetings portal. Some of these sales staff work for the third-party management companies and oversee multiple properties across multiple brands, including Marriott's competition.

Most of the sales staff, corporately or at properties, aren't impressive. I certainly wouldn't hire them. You should see the proposals that some properties submit in response to RFPs. Basic spelling errors, inaccurate information (referring to SPG Pro nearly a year after it went away), etc. I've had proposals sent to me addressed to other people and yet their email had one of those standard disclaimers about how they take confidential information seriously.

hockeyinsider

SLS?

bhrubin

helvetic

SLS Beverly Hills. The only SLS in Starriott after the demise of the Vegas dump.

bhrubin

helvetic

I want your Ambassador. Maybe I should ask for a new one… I've had several chats with an Ambassador supervisor and they keep convincing me to stick with mine… but I really don't feel like I get anything that special and it's a struggle to ever get a response. I've got a thread I've been trying to get resolved since Dec and I haven't heard about it from anyone since then, despite 5 follow-ups. It's been 4 MONTHS!