Kacee

The fact that I am a guest? Yes, absolutely.

Orange County Commuter

I am sticking to my decision.. You post my name in the lobby I am moving on. What's next giving the nice guy at the bar my room number? (Hilton Little Rock did that because "He seemed like a nice guy" We had to call the police and they had to upgrade me for the night and spend a lot of time on trying to make it up to me I still won't be back! )

SkiAdcock

That's your prerogative.

Just as for me (being a single female traveler), my name & status on a small sign at a limited service property is more of a shrug & I wouldn't switch hotels. My name gets plastered on the (long ) United upgrade list and at the car rental and is yelled out loud by the barista at Starbucks. Heck, I even announce my name out loud to the FDC so I can check in. I can't get too fussed about a small sign at a hotel. If it had my full name AND my room # , that I'd have a problem w/ (and probably others including males would as well) - but it doesn't.

Cheers.

JBord

I could see your name on your luggage tag, your airline boarding pass, or hear the front desk clerk say it. Your Uber driver knows your name. Anyone who sees your credit card. Maybe you have your name on linkedin or facebook?

It's totally different than giving someone your room number. It's certainly your option to change hotels. But it seems to me that going down the road of not having your name in public places could quickly add up to a long list of places you'll no longer frequent.

By the way, even as a male, if I learned a bartender had given my room number to anyone he thought was "safe", the hotel and that individual would have a lot to worry about.

Kacee

UA does not publish your full name on the upgrade list. First initial and first three letters of last name, only. And that's precisely because they recognize the privacy issue.

SpeedyDelivery

In this particular instance, the hotel is putting up title (e.g. Mr/Ms) and full last name.

With every Bonvoy stay I've taken, my key has "Elite Member" proudly displayed on it. You can only hide your room key so much when you need it for the elevator / pool / gym / doors, etc. If you catch the attention of a bad actor staying at the hotel, you don't want to give them an avenue to find out more of your personal information. Maybe not as big of a concern for J. Johnson, but if you are a Japanese female with an elite room key in your hand, odds are pretty good you can be easily identified by name on the list. My own last name is not particularly rare, though if you Google it along with the industry of the conference being held there my bio would be easily found.

SkiAdcock

And not all limited service hotels publish full names either The very few times I've seen the signs there are not full names listed.

Again, for those whom this is a major privacy breech, certainly complain about it when (if) you encounter it. For those of us who feels it's not, it's our right not to get that fussed about it & won't complain or even pay that much attention to it. Shrug.

Cheers.

pinniped

Possibly by local innkeeper laws. It's not by most information security laws.

I'm still in the camp that it's poor form by Marriott, given the current state of public perception of Marriott's ability to protect actual PII. If nothing else, it makes you wonder when you see someone snapping a photo of the list like the OP did. Are they passing that to a hacker who now has some targets for a malicious database script? To a social engineer who now has some live bait for a phishing expedition? Snap the photo once per day and you also have check-in and check-out data, which is probably useful in a query.

JBord

Sure, this is all fair. But you still don't have a room number. And just because you're a female doesn't mean you're single or staying alone. I'm not trying to defend a hotel for doing any of this, I'm just saying this would be one of the harder ways for a "bad actor" looking for a solo female to get the information they wanted.

While I don't really care for hotels putting my name on a sign, I don't think there is any more risk in this case based on gender, and even then there's no information available on the sign that signifies whether you are alone or not...at least the one sign I've seen.

Oxon Flyer

Setting aside the situations where an authorised agent sees you name in the normal course of a transaction (say, showing your boarding pass, or presenting your credit card for payment), there is a material difference between you choosing to prominently display your name in public (say, on your luggage tag), and someone else doing it without you consent.

JBord

Sure, but the point is that your name is often out in the open for people to see anyway. If someone wants to know your name, all they have to do is be within sight or earshot of you in a public place. I'd guess the "bad actors" referred to upthread would be more likely to choose a person (perhaps a female who appears to be alone) and then seek the name rather than just go off a name and try to find the person. At least that's more logical.

I'll admit that I've sought out a name with this example: Once in the Nashville airport, I was sitting near what was obviously a band. Not being a country music fan, I didn't recognize them but was curious. I overheard first names as they talked to each other...didn't help. As we were boarding, I glanced at a boarding pass, saw the name and then googled it to find out which band it was.

I had no bad intentions, just curious. But if I had seen the names of these guys on a sign in the hotel, I would have no idea who they were. That said, I would hope if a celebrity, or anyone, called the hotel in advance and said they wanted their stay to be confidential, I hope the hotel would honor that...not put the name on a sign, but also in how they greet them at check in or other times.

Oxon Flyer

There’s an interesting range of opinions in this thread.

Seems that in certain geographic markets (the Marriott heartlands ?), posting the elite guest list is seen as a sweet, hospitable thing to do, and there’s an “I really can’t understand what all the fuss is about” sort of attitude.

In other markets, displaying the guest list is seen as something that violates the basic principles of privacy you would reasonably expect at a hotel, something really not acceptable that should never, ever be done.

As a global hotelier, should Marriott be aware of and sensitive to these differences, and be directing all of its hotels accordingly ?

SkiAdcock

You could say that of all chains.

In 1,500+ nights at hotels I've only seen the sign 5 times at (MAR, Hilton & IHG) limited service brands that were located in Washington State, Texas, California, Illinois & Georgia & none had full names listed. I was based in Los Angeles at the time I saw the signs. While I'm in the Midwest now, my opinion then was the same as now. It was/is an attempt by limited service properties to recognize their elites & no harm was/is intended. The privacy angle probably didn't occur to the managers.

While the signs are not a big deal to me, I understand that it is for others & do understand the privacy tenets. If someone for whom it is a major issue comes across the sign, a simple (polite) request to the GM explaining the privacy issues & ramifications would result in it being removed & probably no longer displayed in the future.

My guess is Marriott/Hilton/IHG corporate don't even realize some limited service properties are doing the signs.

Cheers.

MSPeconomist

HMPS

I am sure it is part of their P & P books. However in many regions of the world people like it, are flattered and are offended if they are not "recognized" with name & title. The whispered room number is also a "flattering". "perk" !