Hotel showing loyalty appreciation by posting names of all elite arrivals
#76
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Posts: 6,334
#77
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: Delta Diamond, Marriott Ambassador & Lifetime Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, United Silver
Posts: 6,334
If you were under surveillance by the police or a private investigator, a spook, an investigative journalist, a rival corporation looking for trade secrets or even your wife's divorce lawyer, it would be easy to determine if you were loyal to a certain rental car company. Once I knew that and your travel patterns I could get there before you, see your name on the rental car board and place a recording device inside the car to monitor your activity.
#78
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,991
If you were under surveillance by the police or a private investigator, a spook, an investigative journalist, a rival corporation looking for trade secrets or even your wife's divorce lawyer, it would be easy to determine if you were loyal to a certain rental car company. Once I knew that and your travel patterns I could get there before you, see your name on the rental car board and place a recording device inside the car to monitor your activity.
- Police would either work directly with the rental car company if they had a warrant, or if they did not have a warrant, this would not be admissible in court
- Licensed private investigators would likely never do this because it is illegal. If they did collect this evidence with the goal of using it in a legal setting, it would not be admissible in court.
- If the CIA or similarly equipped intelligence agency is trying to spy on you, they are going to be able to do that regardless of whether your name shows up a rental board
- An investigative journalist would at best have a civil suit on their hands if they released this information, potentially criminal depending on the jurisdiction and local laws. That said, it is possible it would achieve their objectives - but at a high personal and potentially professional cost.
- Corporate espionage - while it does happen - probably doesn't happen by spying on rental cars. This is doubly true in the era of the internet and electronically connected devices that are easily hacked.
- Your wife's divorce lawyer would never do this. Both because it is illegal, would not be admissible in court, and would likely get him/her disbarred if it was clear that they are the ones that requested this happen.
There are valid, reasonable reasons to be worried about hotels posting guest names and rental cars posting names on a board. None of the reasons you cited are reasonable concerns.
#79
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: MCI
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Posts: 399
I think the Hertz board is something of a vestigial organ these days now that there's carfirmation text messages and Ultimate Choice in many locations. If I could opt-out of being on the board I would, but having my name up to speed a transaction doesn't bother me as much as having it shown to everyone as a "perk" of my elite status.
#80
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,991
The list is from a Monday check-in and the property is much larger than a standard suburban RI.
I think the Hertz board is something of a vestigial organ these days now that there's carfirmation text messages and Ultimate Choice in many locations. If I could opt-out of being on the board I would, but having my name up to speed a transaction doesn't bother me as much as having it shown to everyone as a "perk" of my elite status.
I think the Hertz board is something of a vestigial organ these days now that there's carfirmation text messages and Ultimate Choice in many locations. If I could opt-out of being on the board I would, but having my name up to speed a transaction doesn't bother me as much as having it shown to everyone as a "perk" of my elite status.
* This is the right way to say this status level right?
#81
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
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Perhaps so, but ignorance is no excuse for a privacy breach by a business which has been entrusted with customers' personal data. These properties' management needs to get with it and join the 21st Century.
#82
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,577
That's correct. The same team that brought you the ever-popular BONVoY name and marketing campaign came up with these titles. I guess if a Titanium member was an upgrade, that'd be a Tits Up!
#84
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: New Jersey. USA
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Posts: 110
Why does being female matter? It's 2019. Women are just as well equipped to travel alone as their male counterparts. Equal playing field across all aspects of life now. Pay grades, harassment protections and travel needs alike. Let's not play the women are all the sudden no longer equal card when it becomes convenient. I don't want to see feminism set back after all this progress in recent history.
#85
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
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You're being a bit paranoid. First and foremost this would be illegal. In all scenarios, it doesn't make sense (the only possible exception is investigative journalist):
There are valid, reasonable reasons to be worried about hotels posting guest names and rental cars posting names on a board. None of the reasons you cited are reasonable concerns.
- Police would either work directly with the rental car company if they had a warrant, or if they did not have a warrant, this would not be admissible in court
- Licensed private investigators would likely never do this because it is illegal. If they did collect this evidence with the goal of using it in a legal setting, it would not be admissible in court.
- If the CIA or similarly equipped intelligence agency is trying to spy on you, they are going to be able to do that regardless of whether your name shows up a rental board
- An investigative journalist would at best have a civil suit on their hands if they released this information, potentially criminal depending on the jurisdiction and local laws. That said, it is possible it would achieve their objectives - but at a high personal and potentially professional cost.
- Corporate espionage - while it does happen - probably doesn't happen by spying on rental cars. This is doubly true in the era of the internet and electronically connected devices that are easily hacked.
- Your wife's divorce lawyer would never do this. Both because it is illegal, would not be admissible in court, and would likely get him/her disbarred if it was clear that they are the ones that requested this happen.
There are valid, reasonable reasons to be worried about hotels posting guest names and rental cars posting names on a board. None of the reasons you cited are reasonable concerns.
#86
Moderator, Marriott Bonvoy & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: McKinney, TX, USA
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Posts: 11,721
I'm not sure I follow how a name on a board advertises that someone is traveling alone or not. I'd think if someone were really wanting to find persons traveling alone (male or female), a better option would be to just sit down in the lobby for a few hours to watch people coming and going.
#87
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
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Posts: 9,882
Why does being female matter? It's 2019. Women are just as well equipped to travel alone as their male counterparts. Equal playing field across all aspects of life now. Pay grades, harassment protections and travel needs alike. Let's not play the women are all the sudden no longer equal card when it becomes convenient. I don't want to see feminism set back after all this progress in recent history.
#88
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: May 2006
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First forum member to report back what happens when they ask the hotel "Would you kindly remove my name from the list, now, please ?" wins an FT double-like bonus.
#89
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Why does being female matter? It's 2019. Women are just as well equipped to travel alone as their male counterparts. Equal playing field across all aspects of life now. Pay grades, harassment protections and travel needs alike. Let's not play the women are all the sudden no longer equal card when it becomes convenient. I don't want to see feminism set back after all this progress in recent history.
Outside of the prison system, women are much more likely to be raped than men.
#90
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Platinum/LT Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 5,594
I'm a big fan of privacy, and don't want the hotel signs either, but people's names are used in public all the time. I'm unsure how having your name in a hotel lobby is much different than calling your name or having it on a board in a waiting room at some other business.
You're 1000x more likely to be spotted as a single female traveler when you enter the hotel and check in than you are from someone looking at a sign.
There are lots of reasons solo female travelers should be aware of their surroundings and such, but I don't see the tie-in to the signs.