bhrubin

I do apologize that I didn't go back far enough to see that. Being walked is unacceptable as an Ambassador. But again, that being said, being walked as an Ambassador elite (or any elite really) is a testament more to either a terribly run hotel or a larger IT fiasco. I don't think it bears much on the quality of the Ambassador experience.

A guest in the Luxury Forum recently mentioned being walked from the Four Seasons Mexico City--to an obviously less impressive/quality hotel. It was handled TERRIBLY by the hotel manager, and I think corporate is now involved. But just goes to show that even excellent reputation hotels can be terribly managed and sometimes handle things very poorly. An Ambassador is largely irrelevant to that possible equation.

Again, not fulfilling simple requests is not acceptable--no disagreement there at all. But I think you're attacking the wrong entity as the culprit. Bad hotels that don't execute Ambassador requests are far more common than Ambassadors that don't make the requests in the first place. Similarly, having that unacceptable rom with the glass and nail is about the terrible housekeeping of that hotel and has nothing to do with your Ambassador.

I work for myself. You're most welcome to check it out at tcacollegetours.com to assuage yourself that I am being honest and not a troll.

So then perhaps you should ask for a new Ambassador if you don't think the current Ambassador is measuring up?

I think you can peruse my profile and see very easily all of the innumerable Expert Reviews I've posted with too many examples to count of my positive Ambassador experiences. There's nothing generic or general about them.

I think it's great that your old Ambassador was able to serve that role for you; I think it's unrealistic to expect that from most Ambassadors.

I think you didn't deserve to be walked; I think it's unrealistic that you blame your Ambassador for that happening. That most likely is about the hotel dropping the ball and being badly managed. No Ambassador can turn a badly run hotel into a good one, I'm afraid.

I think you should have gotten your connecting rooms at the RC; I think it's unrealistic to assume that the fault lay with your Ambassador. That most likely is about the hotel dropping the ball than your Ambassador not having informed them. Either way, it's impossible to be sure. Blaming that particular RC seems more appropriate. I've had numerous stays (like at the Westin Sydney most recently) where the hotel indicated falsely that I requested connecting rooms as a (presumed) excuse to not upgrade me to a suite; that wasn't about my Ambassador but about the hotels bungling it.

You tell us how hotels tell you they were never contacted by your Ambassador. You take it on faith that the hotel is being forthright and that your Ambassador is the culprit. In my experience, it's far more likely the other way around. I think your expectation that the hotels are being forthright and honest is unrealistic.

I'll give you a few so you don't have to peruse my profile more:

(1) I have been upgraded very often to some of the most amazing suites at even some of the best properties. Including the Deluxe Suite at the StR Punta Mita (Nov 2015), Royal Overwater Villa at the StR Bora Bora (April 2016), Imperial Suite at the Hotel Imperial Vienna (Oct 2017), Makassar Suite at the Prince de Galles Paris (Oct 2017), Wow Suite at the W Seattle (June 2017), Astor Suite at the StR New York (Mar 2018), Kioicho Suite at the Prince Gallery Tokyo (May 2018), Presidential Suite (with some paid upgrade) at Suiran Kyoto (May 2018), Kamogawa Suite at the RC Kyoto (May 2018), Royal Suite at the StR Bal Harbour (Nov 2018), Wow Suite at the W Hollywood (Nov 2018), Garden Suite at the StR Bahia Beach (Feb 2017 and Feb 2019), Bay View Suite at RC Coconut Grove (Feb 2019)...and the Metropolitan Suite at the StR San Francisco just about every time I've been there for too many stays to count. All of those were either paid or award entry level room bookings.

(2) I have been treated like gold at almost every place I've been, especially when things have gone awry. Service is most often demonstrated when something goes amiss and the hotel has to take care of it/fix it.

(3) I have had most rooms and suites always pre-cooled to 67 F or so as my Ambassador always requests. I sometimes do remind the hotels to be sure when I think about it or get prodded. Not every hotel gets this done, though--even though I know all are reminded by my Ambassador. The RC San Francisco in Nov 20198 confirmed and copied me and my Ambassador that their engineers had checked my room earlier that morning...and yet I arrived and the air con was off and ultimately didn't work well. I had to switch rooms...and the hotel comp'd me a night as recovery for the obvious miss on their part.

(4) I am often recognized by staff, even at hotels at which I've never before stayed, demonstrating that I am discussed as a VIP at the morning staff and management meetings. That the parking valet at the RC Coconut Grove knew my first name on being told my last is just one example of this. That's happened at several (but not most!) hotels. It's always impressive when it happens IMO.

(5) I often get treated to things that other guests don't seem to get. Nice welcome amenities--not always indicating that my Ambassador had anything to do with those, but it's obvious that the hotel doesn't usually do this for everyone. So whether it's my status or an action by my Ambassador doesn't much matter to me.

(6) Points issues--I just ask my Ambassador and she always corrects it/takes care of it.

(7) Concierge requests--I can email my Ambassador all my requests and she has the concierges email me back to follow up. As a result, it is less important that I don't have the concierge emails in the first place. My Ambassador also has helped follow up from me when I haven't heard back in a timely manner.

(8) Trouble applying SNAs--this happened a lot in the old SPG days. Ironically, it hasn't happened to me with Marriott but once!

DEN ConsultMonkey

First off. Thank you for the very reasonable reply here.

I agree 100%. The problem is that this was at a flagship property. I think it should be noted that in some cases I am not sure if the value of the Ambassador is in question, but more the value of the status itself. I think in my original post I posed the question, what is the differentiation between the Ambassador status and platinum. I strongly believe that it shouldn't matter who the ambassador is, good or bad, and all of these situations never should have happened. Which again, leads me to question the value. Simply put, would these things have happened to a top tier elite at another chain?


I was waiting to see if the lurkers had any input here. I genuinely was not sure, but based on the list you provided below, it appears I might.

Agreed, and we will never know. But again it goes back to the point of the value of the status. This should have been considered for any guest at a RC. The fact that I have the status and it still happened is the issue.

I don't disagree. There is no shortage of reports of hotels being well... hotels. Which only further diminishes the value of an elite status that may not have that much value in the first place.

All I can say is I am jealous.


This is why I brought up the service failure at the RC. I did not go into details of the other service failures, but there were many. All I can say is that the response was not as though I was being treated as gold. I even think it was to the contrary, and I could not envision getting that treatment as a regular paying guest.

You seem lucky, because I have read many reports of not being able to even get the correct bedding. My RC example follows these lines.

I often show up as a repeat guest and asked if it is my first time at the hotel.

I have gotten a welcome amenity two times with the "new" ambassador status. 1x when I asked my ambassador if she could arrange something (amenity came day 3 of a 3 day stay).

I can count on this too. Unfortunately that shouldn't have to be a benefit of status, it should just work. So for this, I cant really consider this to be anything of value (even though it is)

This is good to know.

SNA's are the new united RPU's. Cant clear them on any stays I actually care about.

Based on the examples above, I think yes, maybe I need a new ambassador. It also appears that you may be getting enhanced service/benefits/VIP treatment due to the additional revenue you drive to Marriott through your company. Lurkers- any suggestions? I would be happy with 1-8 or any combination of the above. Certainly miles better than my current experience.

helvetic

I don't mind the idea of being walked on a 1-night business stay. 90k point compensation for staying somewhere else? Count me in! That'll buy me one night in the Maldives!

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

If you would like to request that a different Ambassador be assigned to you, we can contact the Ambassador management team and let them know, if we have your account information.

Otherwise, if you wish to remain anonymous, send an email to the generic Ambassador email address and ask that a member of their leadership team reach out.

MSPeconomist

kaizen7

1. I'm jealous too!!!

2. My experience ... no .... most of the stays I was thanked for my loyalty but that all ...

3. Dont think I have specific request about the room ... cant comment on this part

4. I was recognised by hotel that I frequently stays (StR SG) and hotel that I stay previously (The Prince Gallery Tokyo)
And recently at St Regis Bali, the staff did recognise me and even the Chief Butler greet me when I arrive ..... not very common to get this actually.

5. My case ... rarely ... its more than as a 75 plt but cant say often

6,7,8 for me, this the best part of having ambassador ... one point of contact ... any issue or request, just fire an email to the ambassador and its done*
*only if your ambassador are reliable

Bottom line .. as I mention before ... bhrubin's ambassador experience are indeed better than average .... actually I can say way better than average.
Dont expect the ambassador experience for Bonvoys ambassador elites to match bhrubins experience ...

The ambassador might be the culprit ... if the ambassador is non responsive
But then most of the times the problem happen at property level .... sometimes its the result of the situation on the day and sometimes its because the incompetence of the hotel staff.

bhrubin

I don't believe that my Ambassador and/or having Ambassador status somehow changes the nature of how a badly managed or full occupancy hotel will treat me. You seem to believe that. Again, our expectations are very different.

It doesn't matter if it's a "flagship" hotel--even as I'm not sure what you mean by that. There can be issues and things that go wrong at even the best of hotels, but especially when they are full. Service almost always isn't as good when a hotel is full or near full occupancy. This is just as true with Marriott or Sheraton or Four Points or Courtyard as it is for St Regis or Ritz-Carlton...or even Aman, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental., etc. Service also isn't as good when a hotel opens or re-opens, as I discovered the hard way at the recently reopened StR Bahia Beach in Feb.

One of the reasons I tend to get such above average treatment is because I tend to stay at hotels avoiding full occupancy and holiday periods whenever possible. Lower occupancy stays tend to promote better service--regardless of status or how good the hotel may be otherwise. And I usually avoid recently opened or reopened hotels, too.

Again, having status doesn't necessarily preclude problems or things going wrong! Just like paying for a top suite at a luxury hotel doesn't mean that things won't go wrong there, either. Trust me--I know! The difference is that the chances are better for better service recovery when you have more status or spend more on the suite when something does go awry. On average--not always.

I might experience problems--but I know those are most likely due to the hotel and not my Ambassador. So I try to avoid those hotels in the future. Problems largely solved. Again, very different expectations.

Status won't get you better treatment all of the time, but it often will get you better treatment some of the time. Only you can decide if it's worth it for you or not based on the stays you have. But I doubt any other large hotel chain (besides Hyatt, if that small footprint will work for you) will have status that does more for you at more hotels than Marriott.

I had many service failures at the RC Coconut Grove and at the StR Bahia Beach this past Feb. But those didn't have anything to do with my Ambassador. Nor, as I stated above, does my status preclude that I can still have those bad service issues. You can read all about them and the service recovery in my reviews for both hotels, in fact. And being a paying guest or using points isn't a factor, either.

Again, very different expectations.

I'm not lucky--I just have more realistic expectations IMO! I don't worry about bedding or pillows. I've learned that only luxury hotels every remotely get those details right--and even then, they often get missed. So I stopped worrying about what often gets overlooked anyway. Accept what I can't control and deal with what I can.

Just today, after getting a typical "tell us your preferences" welcome email from the RC Washington, I actually emailed back (with a standard copy and paste I use). It includes my preferences on welcome note/amenities. The front office manager actually emailed me back to indicate they don't do those and asking about a surcharge for a suite upgrade. I responded with very polite but firm disappointment and a bit of chiding. I pointed out I was eligible for complimentary suite upgrade on arrival, subject to availability--there should be no surcharge. I pointed out that every luxury hotel should provide a welcome amenity, regardless of anything related to status. The response back was quite apologetic, I assure you. Sometimes, despite Ambassador status even at a RC luxury hotel, I still have to provide constructive feedback. But now I know it will be handled.

I didn't bother my Ambassador for this--but even had I done so, I likely wouldn't have gotten what I expected and it would've been the hotel's fault and not my Ambassador's!

We unfortunately don't agree on this.

Everyone wants to believe that, but my additional group tours revenue doesn't even count towards my Ambassador spending. Nor do my nights as part of those groups count towards my Ambassador status any more. So I doubt the group revenue has anything to do with the fact that I get such good treatment in general. But maybe I'm wrong.

I know I get good treatment because I am honest, because I do spend a lot, because I let hotels know when I am disappointed, because I give hotels a chance to make it up to me when they miss, and because I give them feedback on that recovery. I don't blame my Ambassador, so my Ambassador knows I have her back; that has to be nice and make her much more of an advocate for me, too. I do some things on my own, not always bothering my Ambassador, also something my Ambassador likely appreciates. I wouldn't be surprised that the big reviews I contribute and even the commentary I share here are also factors in my better than average treatment.

Sometimes hotels offer me more service recovery than I believe is necessary--and I always turn down what I consider to be too generous recovery. I want to be fair, not take advantage of anyone or any hotel. I think the hotels appreciate that a lot.

I share all that with everyone in the hopes that people can pick the elements they can incorporate so they can hopefully improve their own Ambassador experiences--or change Ambassadors if necessary.

hockeyinsider

The J.W. Marriott Grosvenor House has their guest relations manager personally greet ambassador status guests. Personally, I'd prefer just receiving a letter or signed notecard accompanied by a nice bottle of wine (not $7 wine) than a superficial greeting and handshake at the front desk, which only delays me from getting to my room and jumping in the shower or going bathroom.

bhrubin

C17PSGR

I think that's typical at London Marriott properties, although I've seen it at some other hotels.

helvetic

Sure, I'd have to be placed somewhere comparably similar and would be demanding that.

Keyser

have you considered that maybe bedding or pillows could be as important to some people as your air conditioning issues are for you????

having the right bed type or pillows at a luxury hotel is not an unrealistic expectation....no more than having your room cooling set to a particular temperature....

i have always informed my ambassador what bed type i want & i always ask for extra pillows....these are simple requests that almost every property (even non luxury properties) have managed to deliver for me....

bhrubin

Keyser

you would be surprised....bedding type & extra pillows are 2 basic requirements i have at every hotel i stay in....i ask my ambassador to always request both & so far i have gotten them in 99% of my stays....even at non-luxury hotels, which constitute the majority of my stays....

bhrubin

That's great to hear with respect to both the non-luxury hotels and your Ambassador providing a nice level of service! (Obviously, your experience stands in stark contrast to that of the aforementioned member.)