Is it irresponsible of Marriott to allow its 2 Ambassador offices to remain open?
 

So far 4 out of 6 offices have been closed because the governor has ordered a stay at home or shelter in place order. But the Omaha office for example is still open and Ambassadors are still coming into the office. Is that even safe at this point, the height right now in the US of Covid19?

There are plenty of Ambassadors working at home and I guess with the number of cases getting higher every day, I don't understand why Marriott would keep ANY of its offices open at this point. I think it's irresponsible and potentially dangerous for the Ambassador workers.

If the Ambassadors can work from home, they should. But it might also depend on the layout of the office that the Ambassadors work at. If the office allows for ample physical distancing, then that would definitely factor into the situation..

My guess is that states classify the hotel industry as an essential business. But I absolutely agree that they should work from home if possible.

Many WOH My Hyatt Concierge agents already work from home, including both part time and full time people. [Hyatt has stated that they're continuing the program, with even Globs getting net year status without meeting the requirements contining with the same concierge.] Even if the Strarriott Ambassador has been working from an office, it should be easy to transition to work from home in most cases.

Yes. If there was one job that could EASILY be done from home it is this one.

We are at war with an invisible enemy. These people are helping book hotel rooms, they are not defending state secrets. Let them work from home, and close the offices. We are amidst 30 days of the President's Guidelines to Stop the Spread. Do your bit and help us defeat this invisible enemy, especially if you're hoping for bailout money. It only seems reasonable.

My companies offices are still open as we are an essential business. However, nearly everyone can work from home. I will be in the office tomorrow for the first time in 5 weeks. They may choose to work at the office. If they are staying distant, I don't see an issue especially if they have the option of working from home.

Do people really need help booking hotel rooms? I’ve never tried to book a room online and not been able to get exactly what I want. What is the point of these ambassadors? I’ve never really understood their utility other than making people feel special about having one.

I'd imagine Marriott's IT department being a limiting factor in people working from home. For that matter, it's a limiting factor when everyone is working in their offices.

Ambassadors, like any other service professional, are useful to some and not so useful to others. This is my second year having an Ambassador. I always book my own rooms online, but she has been invaluable in resolving problems such as

• Overcharge at the hotel
• Hotel improperly canceling a reservation
• Questions pertaining to the type of mattress (I have a bad back) at a certain hotel.

And anecdotally, I suspect that when she asks for an upgrade, it has more weight that if I ask.

Ambassadors still going into the office is irresponsible and an outrage. Marriott 'suspending' Ambassador service and Ambassador Elite guests having to resort to the common pool of Ambassadors rather than their single point of contact is an outrage. One Ambassador being better than another is an outrage. The relatively poor quality of the general Ambassador service is an outrage. Marriott's garbage IT and corporate culture is an outrage. Guests still traveling around at this time is an outrage. It's all an outrage.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

khabah

I think the focus here is maybe slightly off in the sense that it is not just Ambassadors that Marriott is having come in it is on all levels of the program to deal with peoples issues / queries. So to focus on simply Ambassadors isn't accurate. The Ambassadors coming in will be dealing with a mix of issues, the reason Marriott stopped the Ambassador program currently was so they culd still manage the demand from Marriott guests with a seriously reduced work force.

As I understand it Marriott IT really is not up to handling large numbers of its call centre staff working from home, they simply have never invested in that type of technology and not just for the US centres but everywhere. This is likely why they still have some open as while the majority of people will not require the services of Marriott right now there will be some who are stuck places or need to cancel plans and people still expect someone to pickup the phone or answer emails. You also have to remember there are all sorts of data protection laws that mean a work from home solution cannot simply be brought in overnight at a company the size of Marriott it is a huge challenge.

I am not defending Marriott, I think its policy of under investing in IT is catching up on it big time here and I do hope it is implementing stringent distancing policies for the people who are coming into the office. I also am curious as to the staff in the US who Marriott have furloughed, how much are they getting paid? If the only choice is be furloughed or work in the office (with good social distancing / protection) and still get paid. There is no ideal solution in some situations and if the office space is safe and distancing is there it is quite possible that they will be better overall that if they had been furloughed and told to stay at home as to believe there is no consequence to only getting partial pay for months on end and for some that will not make life changing differences is quite naive

To be clear however if they are being forced into work and the social distancing measures are not top class then Marriott are completely out of line. If they could be working from home as the IT allows it and Marriott have decided not to allow them, again they are totally out of line, but my understanding of things is that Marriott IT simply cannot handle it as well as it should.

I love outrage on behalf of others who themselves might not be outraged.

I am looking for complaints by the Ambassadors about the situation but don't see any referenced.

There must be better ways to direct one's emotions.

Not following social distancing norms is an outrage.
Health care workers not having enough PPE's is an outrage.
Military veterans living on the streets is an outrage.

Sorry, but having to use a different Ambassador than you're used to, during a time when travel is at a historic low, is not an outrage.

Newman

I maybe misread the post rather than the snippet you outline, but I think the point being made was the word outrage is being thrown around far to much and easily thus perspective should indeed be kept!

My ambassador is based out of the Utah office, but, she works from home.

Folks may be based out of an office, but, they are physically located at home. I am in that exact same boat as I have never actually been to our corporate headquarters and I’m with my company for 4 years!).

Sigh, not surprised that some on here would misconstrue my post... but thank you for picking up on the cynicism and message behind it. :tu:

khabah