SkiAdcock

I think he was kidding w/ his comments, not being serious.

Cheers.

est-gratuite

Isn't Marriott fighting numeorus court cases for losing the personal details of over 500 million guests ?
And they think this sort of stuff is ok, and guests will like it ??
Clown world.

Points Scrounger

I ran across that recently, although there hadn't been one prepared specifically for me. The display behind the counter really struck me as odd.

I don't recall having seen the list of elite guests at a Marriott property, but I know I ran across it at a Hilton Homewood in the past, where I believe it was first name and last initial.

I'm not sure a person of evil intent would know which room you will be staying in, or that you will be staying alone.

ethernal

I think first name and last initial is almost okay. Still not super desirable (at best it is a weird way to "recognize" elites), but 99.9% of the time it will create enough anonymity that it is okay.

In my case - and it looks like in OP's case - they have been full names. That is definitely a bridge too far.

airoli

Full first and last name in my case as well. Didn't raise the issue but it did register in my mind as a potential privacy concern - my name is not common.

Oxon Flyer

I think a more appropriate analogy than Hertz would be an airline pinning a copy of the passenger manifest, naming all the elite FFP members onboard, to the bulkhead by the boarding door.

Now, would that be acceptable ?

JBord

Maybe they don't print it, but they certainly use it. Listen next time passengers are called for standby or upgrades. They often use both first and last name. IMO, that's much more public than having to walk into the lobby of a Marriott CY to see if someone is on an elite list.

HMPS

Can you imagine a mix up if they used only first or last names when two or more appraoch the desk to claim the upgrade/standby ?

Jaunts

That's a good point. Doctor's offices often announce first and last names in the waiting room when they are calling people back to see the doctor. In the US, there are privacy laws in the medical field.

Maybe in the hotel industry most of the privacy concerns are about publishing room numbers, not names.

fliesdelta

If you don't want to be found, why are you on social media?

pinniped

For the cat videos. What other reason is there?

JBord

Yeah I think the room numbers are important from a security perspective. Lots of discussion in the thread about legality. To me, it's not a matter of privacy LAW, simply a matter of personal privacy. I'm sure they're within their legal rights to welcome a guest on a sign. I know when I saw the sign the one time, I immediately scanned it and saw a couple of my colleagues that I was meeting later that evening. I knew they'd be there, didn't know their status, but didn't really care. I expected them to be there and they expected me. I also looked for competitor's names. There are some where I've heard names but wouldn't know them if I ran into them in the lobby. I'm sure there are other reasons people would not want to announce their stay.

DenverBrian

Older boards in the 90s and 2000s used a display similar to the old style flapper boards (but with LEDs) and there was only room for last name/first initial.

I think all of Hertz's current boards have been upgraded to full monitors, which have the ability to show full first name/last name.

...which disappears once you leave the lot, unlike at these hotels, where their manually printed framed list is up the entire evening.

SkiAdcock

Wait, what?! I'm not on social media. Are you telling me I'm missing cat videos? That sucks! I am so going to youtube cat viideos after this - although Graham Norton had some on a show a few years ago LOL

BTW - the last time I saw my name (not full name) at a limited service property on a welcome sign at front desk was about 15 years ago. I think the signs are pretty much limited to limited service properties, probably in smaller places, & the properties are probably thinking they're doing a good thing vs. a bad thing. I truly think this is more isolated than the norm.

I'll even go out on a limb & say maybe some are doing it because some elites do the DYKWIA thing, so this gives the property an easy way to do the you're so important thing. I'm going to go out on a further limb & say they didn't really think they were violating privacy w/ a simple sign.

Seriously, unless someone is literally standing next to you (generic you) at check-in & looks to see if your name is listed on the (infrequent) sign, they're not going to know it's you (much less think you're a rapist or thief target).

But that's just my 2 cents.

Cheers.

hockeyinsider

Wow. I'm surprised by the number of guests with ambassador or titanium status staying at a random Residence Inn.

I've seen this at one or two limited-service properties. I think it is a massive invasion of privacy.

I've also seen IHG properties do it.

It would be interesting to know if the properties in question are all managed by the same management company.