Does every W hotel have the worst service out of all the Marriott brands?
May 26, 2019, 10:22 am
#31
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Sounds like Asia is the exception with good service.
I now have to go down and stand in line for the valet service since you cannot call down and request your car. It is first come first serve at the valet boot .
Hmm . Not top notch service. My experience has been we will get to you whenever we feel like it.
I now have to go down and stand in line for the valet service since you cannot call down and request your car. It is first come first serve at the valet boot .
Hmm . Not top notch service. My experience has been we will get to you whenever we feel like it.
May 26, 2019, 10:26 am
#32
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It sounds like your service needs are more in line with what is usually offered at a traditional business hotel. As other have noted, the W brand is more about being avant garde and sort of hip than about being service oriented. I would suggest a JW, RC, StR, etc for your purposes (and I generally fall into your camp in terms of what is important to me).
May 26, 2019, 1:28 pm
#33
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One issue with Ws is they often attract a crowd who wants to sneak six people into a room with a cooler. Also, the bar revenue can be more important than guests. I've had good luck this year but it may be that I complained in the past about the pool area being so full of day bar hoppers that there was no room for hotel guests.
May 26, 2019, 1:35 pm
#34
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In my experience W’s target market is the freshly minted MBA consultant type with a few tech bros thrown in for fun (and don’t forget the travel bloggers!). The level of service seems justified for their targets. They focus more on providing an Instagramable experience than any service. Gotta boost their customer likes!
Stay at a real Marriott or Westin if you want better service.
Stay at a real Marriott or Westin if you want better service.
Unfortunately, Marriott is not alone on this, as the worst offender has to be Accor. Hilton has at least tried to more realistically differentiate its brands. What I do not understand about W is that its room rates are relatively high compared to similarly targeted competitor brands and it promotes itself as being fresh, modern, hip, blah, blah blah. And yet, guests are increasingly reporting negative experiences. (Similar to Accor's Pullman brand). As you say and how I am sure everyone was nodding in agreement, if one wants decent service, opt for a real Marriott or Westin.
May 26, 2019, 2:05 pm
#35
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Very well said. Targeted niche demographics, using outdated inaccurate market assumptions: The bane of frequent travelers.
Unfortunately, Marriott is not alone on this, as the worst offender has to be Accor. Hilton has at least tried to more realistically differentiate its brands. What I do not understand about W is that its room rates are relatively high compared to similarly targeted competitor brands and it promotes itself as being fresh, modern, hip, blah, blah blah. And yet, guests are increasingly reporting negative experiences. (Similar to Accor's Pullman brand). As you say and how I am sure everyone was nodding in agreement, if one wants decent service, opt for a real Marriott or Westin.
Unfortunately, Marriott is not alone on this, as the worst offender has to be Accor. Hilton has at least tried to more realistically differentiate its brands. What I do not understand about W is that its room rates are relatively high compared to similarly targeted competitor brands and it promotes itself as being fresh, modern, hip, blah, blah blah. And yet, guests are increasingly reporting negative experiences. (Similar to Accor's Pullman brand). As you say and how I am sure everyone was nodding in agreement, if one wants decent service, opt for a real Marriott or Westin.
I'm not sure the target market is newly minted mba types. I think the target market is probably older and wealthier then that.
I suspect the average or median income of a w guest is less than that of a courtyard guest. I suspect they also have a lower percentage of titanium or Ambassador guests than other hotels in the Marriott portfolio, in part because of the inconsistent service. But again, as I was near the W Scottsdale recently, it was obvious they are making serious bar Revenue!
May 26, 2019, 2:19 pm
#36
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May 26, 2019, 2:59 pm
#37
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May 26, 2019, 3:17 pm
#39
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May 26, 2019, 3:34 pm
#42
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The difference is the W room rate is often being divided up by several people who dont regularly travel so comparing the room rate in selected large metro areas to a CYs across the country says nothing about income.
For those who like Hyatt's, I'm confident that the average or median income of Hyatt guests is far higher than that of W guests as well.
I like Ws but I'm surprised anyone would debate they often attract a trashy crowd who cant really afford to stay there.
Last edited by C17PSGR; May 26, 2019 at 3:39 pm
May 26, 2019, 3:44 pm
#43
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Personally, I find RCs to far worse in that regard. Not necessarily a bunch of party types, but large families who scream between rooms and do not know how to behave.
May 26, 2019, 4:36 pm
#44
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Never said the room rates are lower at a CY. Among other things, if one was being intellectually honest, one would take into account the location.
The difference is the W room rate is often being divided up by several people who dont regularly travel so comparing the room rate in selected large metro areas to a CYs across the country says nothing about income.
For those who like Hyatt's, I'm confident that the average or median income of Hyatt guests is far higher than that of W guests as well.
I like Ws but I'm surprised anyone would debate they often attract a trashy crowd who cant really afford to stay there.
The difference is the W room rate is often being divided up by several people who dont regularly travel so comparing the room rate in selected large metro areas to a CYs across the country says nothing about income.
For those who like Hyatt's, I'm confident that the average or median income of Hyatt guests is far higher than that of W guests as well.
I like Ws but I'm surprised anyone would debate they often attract a trashy crowd who cant really afford to stay there.
May 26, 2019, 5:16 pm
#45
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I suspect you might have a slightly skewed perspective of W’s. Has your experience basically been Austin and Vegas? While I do recognise your description on the margin for some hotels, I don’t think it’s in any way accurate for the vast, vast majority of stays. As others have indicated, your model W guest will probably be in their 20s and 30s and work in professional services or media in a tier 1 or tier 2 city... and I would think would earn significantly more than an average Courtyard guest, though never having stayed at one (vs. 20+ W’s) I am obviously speculating somewhat.
I also think it's a bit challenging to talk about a single CY demographic, because much depends on whether you're talking about a CY in locations where there is no alternate FS property (which will attract guests who are not price sensitive), or places where the CY is a lower cost alternative to FS properties (where you will get a lower income demographic).