TravelinSperry

I am at a property now (TownePlace Suites San Luis Obispo) and having some issues as the property did not clean our room every other day as per Marriott rules.

Backstory: I came home at 4:30pm after a long day to find our room wasn't cleaned. This was our 2nd day and the room wasn't cleaned the1st day either. When I called down to ask for a cleaning (since none occurred on either day) the Operations Manager said we only clean upon request, and such request must be made by 3pm. I said, if you have such a policy you need to let us know at check-in. It'd be quite easy for me to make a request before 3pm if I knew about it.

She said it's on our website (which I learned later it is not and in fact then recalled choosing every other day housekeeping when I checked in online - see screenshot showing their process). I said you expect everyone to read your full website before booking? Why not provide this info on your confirmation email or at checkin? She said it was a systemwide Marriott policy and all Marriotts do this. I then explained to her there is no such systemwide policy for cleaning on request by 3pm and almost without pause she then modified her statement to it's a TownePlace Suites policy then. I said, listen, lying right to me is really upsetting me. Why not just admit it's your personal specific property rule and you should've let me know about it in advance. Can you at least have someone come collect the trash and bring us some coffee? She said we were welcome to bring the trash down to the front desk and she'd throw it out for me. I could pick up some coffee then. I was aghast. Apparently I'm to be the housecleaner now traipsing through the elevators and hotel with my trash. I hung up and calmed down then went down to the front desk to address this in person (armed with the info below). On the way I also took a photo of the hallways - which were a mess. Perhaps this should've been the hint as to why they didn't clean the room... they can't even clean the hallway.

Marriott housekeeping policy
https://help.marriott.com/s/article/Article-34039

• Premium Hotels, excluding Resorts, will offer Daily Service
• Select and Extended-Stay Hotels will offer Every-Other-Day Service
• Luxury Hotels/Resorts and Premium Resorts will offer Daily Full Clean Service

At the front desk I said, why lie to me? Why not just say you have a specific property rule and you should've told me about it somehow? Lying to me is very irksome. She was apologetic and then replied "this is what I was told to say". I said, well what they are telling you to say is incorrect and you can easily check the Marriott brand standards on their website. I then asked for the GMs card and number, scheduled a cleaning for the following day and went back to my room.

My question is - does Marriott care if properties are not following their brand rules? Should I report the hotel? I'm not looking for any sort of compensation. I do however believe Marriott should desire properties who hang their brands on their shingles to follow their corporate policies. If the issues are not remedied, eventually, I would think Marriott would want to de-flag the property (surely not over housekeeping, just saying eventually if a property is not following their rules). After all, it would reflect negatively on their brand. Any thoughts on this? Or should I just move along and let other guests get as frustrated as I did when the property doesn't clean even after clicking the "clean every other day via online check in" button because the property has a harsher hidden policy they don't tell their guests?


Online check in process above.


hallway mess

mess in hallway

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker II

Dear TravelinSperry,

We are sorry for the inconvenience you have come across with the housekeeping issue. If you can send a private message to us with below information, we will document this issue and forward to hotel executive team to review.

- Your full name
- Your Marriott Bonvoy account number
- The email address associated with your account
- reservation confirmation number

Best Regards,

Christina Z
Specialist, Social Media Care
Marriott International

[email protected]

MePlatPremier

It doesn’t. As long as the licensing fees are paid on time, everything else is workable.

It doesn’t. The average guest is looking for the cheapest rate online and pays no attention to brands or brand standards.

goodeats21

Wow. Those hallway pics are NUTS. Can't recall staying at a TownePlace Suites. Is this a normal thing? Linens and trash stacked throughout the hallways?

The Road Goes On Forever

In some form, yes, it is. But, this where during the day a houseperson/housekeeper/room inspector/supervisor/manager is supposed to be making regular trips through every hallway to collect all the trash and get the dirty linen back to laundry so that it never backs up to this degree or even worse, is left there overnight.

There's a lot I could say here but to keep it simple, it's not that Marriott doesn't' care, it's because the company is so large there is no way for them to know. Don't make the assumption that they're some type of all-knowing entity because they're very much not. Every branded property out there is breaking some type of parent company rule(s) daily for a myriad of reasons - some benign and innocent - some very much not. All you can do is fill out the post stay survey (if you get one) and then let it be. Saying something to the GM isn't going to move the needle. They know what is going on at their hotel and one guest saying something is completely irrelevant and avoidable. The one who I feel bad for is the manager you spoke with. She's only doing what the GM/management company is telling the rank and file to say. If she doesn't "lie", she won't have a job.

Jaimito Cartero

Leave Trip Advisor and Google reviews with pictures. It’s the only thing they pay attention to.

southlondonphil

If, having discussed the issue on the phone you then went down to the front desk, you could have elected to take your trash with you and dump the bin/sack on the front desk loudly declaiming to any assembled onlookers while you did so the inconvenience etc. of not getting the housekeeping service you had specifically elected to receive.

(may be something for the last day of stay though, in case they get shirty and boot you from the property for calling them out)

hotturnip

One more example of how Marriott sees hotel owners as the customers that they need to satisfy.

RegalLane

It has really gotten to be pathetic, the laundry in the hall and the lack of service.

Someone needs to tell Marriott that COVID is over.

TravelinSperry

Thanks Christina, email sent. Please note as mentioned above, I'm not seeking compensation. I am asking the hotel be notified of Marriott housekeeping policy and if they insist on continuing their policy to update their online check-in (and in person check-in) to make their unique policy clear. It's easy enough for any guest to request housekeeping before 3pm IF they know about it.

I agree reviewing is helpful but many people aren't versed in corporate standards and/or just accept it thinking there is nothing that can be done.
Perhaps the "documenting" that Christina mentions above actually goes somewhere and gets issues like these resolved.

iknowthings

I'm sorry, but it doesn't. It is the equivalent of you sending an email to the hotel. The hotel has full authority over how it does or does not run its housekeeping department.

Unfortunately, the other poster was correct. Conistent public negative reviews are the only method to create change because it damages their revenue stream. Christina has good intentions, but her job isn't to create change at the hotel. It is to pacify you enough to stop making negative public reviews. retain your loyalty.

TravelinSperry

Yea, sadly you are likely correct. After sending Christina an email all that was done was this:

"We have documented your feedback to case xxxxx
Hotel Management team will review it and follow up with you."

So they threw it back in the hotels lap. So the hotel, it appears, is free to continue with whatever off brand/corp standards they want and it appears Marriott Corp does nothing to bring them back into line. Ah well, that's fine. Reviews with photos it'll have to be.

Hard to understand Marriott has no policy to police as ultimately this hurts Marriotts brand (if I can't trust the brand on the shingle) then I am free to be a free agent and stay anywhere. Imagine if every McDonalds had different standards and you didn't know what you'd get when you walked in. You'd likely stop going there. It's surprising they run a business like this. But apparently it has worked for them as they are quite large and growing. So what do I know.

iknowthings

I don't know about others, but where I'm from there are definitely the good McDonalds vs the not good ones (orders are wrong, buns are stale, rude employees, etc).

I understand your point, but I think that any franchise is going to have some stale buns and some good buns.

Jon Maiman

True; however, it is a question of proportions Stale buns and bad customer service used to be extremely rare at all MR brands. That percentage has been going up or at least the public perception is it has gone up. As we say in sales, perception is reality. So I agree with TravelinSperry that the overall Marriot reputation is tarnished by the decline in customer service and lax enforcement of brand standards. It is a slippery slope and hard to tell how far down things must decline before a significant impact to revenue will occur. Based on Marriott's current actions or lack thereof, the negative impact, if any so far, is insufficient to materially affect revenue. If/when this will change in the future is TBD. Off SoapBox....

--Jon
.

nacho

Yes, this is the exact thing I got after complaining about a wrongful charge - they threw it to the hotel and they never answered. I wrote back and they didn't reply.

It's like that - expect to see this in any extended stay hotel, people left stuff outside and expected them to be picked up. I have seen sign saying that you should bring down the bed linens to the front desk to get them replaced but people just dump them out. I saw something similar in a Residence inn.