Hi guys,
I am staying at a FS Marrriot property, on a group rate, but made the booking myself and am paying myself. Currently, I am a Marrriott Gold.
Before my arrival I exchanged several emails with the GM, making a few special requests (upgrade and the possibility of paying for a welcome amenity).
Upon arrival, I was told the old story that no clean rooms were available. I had an important presentation in front of 300 people that afternoon and needed to freshen up and get dressed.
So, I called Elite Customer Care and explained the situation. The woman at Customer Care was very kind and said she would check the availability of day rooms and even other Marriotts in the area. After a few minutes on hold, told me that she had spoked to the GM and that he would meet me in the lobby.
The GM offered no apology and questioned why I had called Marriott Customer Care. Anyways, a room magically appearead and I was checked-in.
About 10min later, I got a call from the Group Rep and blamed for calling Marriott Customer Care. The Group Rep said that my "behavior" did not reflect the image of our group (I guess I was suposed to wait in the lobby for 3 hours, show up to an important meeting in jeans, and never play the Gold Elite Card). She and the GM are close.
When the Group Rep spoke to me, she quoted the specific requests that I had made via email to the GM. In other words, the GM had went to her to complain that I had called Customer Care on his lie about clean rooms and shared all details about my reservation with her.
Is this a gross invation of my privacy as a Marriott guest, or am I missing something?
I am staying at a FS Marrriot property, on a group rate, but made the booking myself and am paying myself. Currently, I am a Marrriott Gold.
Before my arrival I exchanged several emails with the GM, making a few special requests (upgrade and the possibility of paying for a welcome amenity).
Upon arrival, I was told the old story that no clean rooms were available. I had an important presentation in front of 300 people that afternoon and needed to freshen up and get dressed.
So, I called Elite Customer Care and explained the situation. The woman at Customer Care was very kind and said she would check the availability of day rooms and even other Marriotts in the area. After a few minutes on hold, told me that she had spoked to the GM and that he would meet me in the lobby.
The GM offered no apology and questioned why I had called Marriott Customer Care. Anyways, a room magically appearead and I was checked-in.
About 10min later, I got a call from the Group Rep and blamed for calling Marriott Customer Care. The Group Rep said that my "behavior" did not reflect the image of our group (I guess I was suposed to wait in the lobby for 3 hours, show up to an important meeting in jeans, and never play the Gold Elite Card). She and the GM are close.
When the Group Rep spoke to me, she quoted the specific requests that I had made via email to the GM. In other words, the GM had went to her to complain that I had called Customer Care on his lie about clean rooms and shared all details about my reservation with her.
Is this a gross invation of my privacy as a Marriott guest, or am I missing something?
Well since you used the "group rate" I don't think it is.....did you want to check in before the check-in time too?
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I am staying at a FS Marrriot property, on a group rate, but made the booking myself and am paying myself. Currently, I am a Marrriott Gold.
Before my arrival I exchanged several emails with the GM, making a few special requests (upgrade and the possibility of paying for a welcome amenity).
Upon arrival, I was told the old story that no clean rooms were available. I had an important presentation in front of 300 people that afternoon and needed to freshen up and get dressed.
So, I called Elite Customer Care and explained the situation. The woman at Customer Care was very kind and said she would check the availability of day rooms and even other Marriotts in the area. After a few minutes on hold, told me that she had spoked to the GM and that he would meet me in the lobby.
The GM offered no apology and questioned why I had called Marriott Customer Care. Anyways, a room magically appearead and I was checked-in.
About 10min later, I got a call from the Group Rep and blamed for calling Marriott Customer Care. The Group Rep said that my "behavior" did not reflect the image of our group (I guess I was suposed to wait in the lobby for 3 hours, show up to an important meeting in jeans, and never play the Gold Elite Card). She and the GM are close.
When the Group Rep spoke to me, she quoted the specific requests that I had made via email to the GM. In other words, the GM had went to her to complain that I had called Customer Care on his lie about clean rooms and shared all details about my reservation with her.
Is this a gross invation of my privacy as a Marriott guest, or am I missing something?
Originally Posted by bsb21
Hi guys,I am staying at a FS Marrriot property, on a group rate, but made the booking myself and am paying myself. Currently, I am a Marrriott Gold.
Before my arrival I exchanged several emails with the GM, making a few special requests (upgrade and the possibility of paying for a welcome amenity).
Upon arrival, I was told the old story that no clean rooms were available. I had an important presentation in front of 300 people that afternoon and needed to freshen up and get dressed.
So, I called Elite Customer Care and explained the situation. The woman at Customer Care was very kind and said she would check the availability of day rooms and even other Marriotts in the area. After a few minutes on hold, told me that she had spoked to the GM and that he would meet me in the lobby.
The GM offered no apology and questioned why I had called Marriott Customer Care. Anyways, a room magically appearead and I was checked-in.
About 10min later, I got a call from the Group Rep and blamed for calling Marriott Customer Care. The Group Rep said that my "behavior" did not reflect the image of our group (I guess I was suposed to wait in the lobby for 3 hours, show up to an important meeting in jeans, and never play the Gold Elite Card). She and the GM are close.
When the Group Rep spoke to me, she quoted the specific requests that I had made via email to the GM. In other words, the GM had went to her to complain that I had called Customer Care on his lie about clean rooms and shared all details about my reservation with her.
Is this a gross invation of my privacy as a Marriott guest, or am I missing something?
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I was on the group rate, by the reservation was made and paid for seperatly.Originally Posted by MSPDeltaDude
Well since you used the "group rate" I don't think it is.....did you want to check in before the check-in time too?
It is quite a large group, so you have VP's and Execs from many different companies using the same group rate.
The group contacts (ie the folks in charge of the group) have the right to know what is occurring with their group(s) - if I had to guest I'd say the GM had possibly thought you were a VIP (given that you were a presentor, even though you might not have given that information the group might have provided it) and contacted this person to explain the situation and let them know he was sorry for the issue and had it resolved
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I would disagree slightly. I would agree the group contact has a right to know which guests have checked-in using the group rate code/block, but any special requests and/or communications between the guest and the front desk certainly shouldn't be brought up. That is a bit offensive. Partucularly since payment was being secured by the guest, and not the group, I think a line was crossed.Originally Posted by socrates
The group contacts (ie the folks in charge of the group) have the right to know what is occurring with their group(s) - if I had to guest I'd say the GM had possibly thought you were a VIP (given that you were a presentor, even though you might not have given that information the group might have provided it) and contacted this person to explain the situation and let them know he was sorry for the issue and had it resolved
No line was crossed at all, except maybe by the OP is being such a PITA. Seriously, you "exchanged several e-mails with the GM" to make sure that, as a gold, you got a room upgrade and talked about "the possibility of paying for a welcome amenity"? Then you got pissy because your upgraded room wasn't ready when you were arriving mere hours before your important presentation? And then you called Marriott corporate to elevate things to that level, and are upset that the GM was rightly miffed at your entitlement attitude?
Then I have to question your judgment further if you KNEW that the GM and your Group Rep are "close" but you somehow expected them not to communicate?
It sounds like you were behaving like a spoiled brat, other people noted it and talked about it (behind your back, you no doubt feel), and you're inventing a new slight to get upset about. I suggest that you rethink your attitude, behavior, and inflated sense of worth.
To answer the question on the bottom of your post, "Is this a gross invation of my privacy as a Marriott guest, or am I missing something?", you are most definitely missing something.
Then I have to question your judgment further if you KNEW that the GM and your Group Rep are "close" but you somehow expected them not to communicate?
It sounds like you were behaving like a spoiled brat, other people noted it and talked about it (behind your back, you no doubt feel), and you're inventing a new slight to get upset about. I suggest that you rethink your attitude, behavior, and inflated sense of worth.
To answer the question on the bottom of your post, "Is this a gross invation of my privacy as a Marriott guest, or am I missing something?", you are most definitely missing something.
First - every story has two sides. I have done my best to imagine what the other side might be in this case, but for the most part, I am assuming that everything the OP has written is, in fact, true. Given the statements he made, I think the following:
1. The OP did nothing wrong by requesting an upgrade in advance.
2. The OP can communicate with the property as much as he would like in advance of his stay - especially if it involves the potential purchase of additional goods/services from said property.
(Why he's being attacked for the first two items by some here is beyond me).
3. Was he right to go to the Corporate line when his room wasn't ready upon check in? This one is a bit up in the air for me. I suppose it depends if he was trying to check in early. If he wasn't, then the answer is easy - no. A room should have been ready (upgraded or not). If he was complaining that an upgraded room was not ready, then that's a different story.
If he WAS trying to check in early, AND he had explained calmly the nature of his need to check into a room to both the person checking him in AND the manager, then I don't think escalation to corporate was a problem. After all, if I was desperate for a shower/change of clothes before an important meeting, I would try everything I could to make that happen.
Did the manager necessarily lie in stating a room was not available? No. It could have been that a room WAS available for a shower and change scenario, but not available to give to the OP for the whole night/stay.
It all comes down to clear communication. What the OP REALLY needed was a room in order to quickly shower/change/freshen up. Neither the OP nor the manager was able to determine the actual NEEDS and come up with a creative solution that solved both problems. I don't think the OP can be fully blamed for this, as he was clearly quite stressed about his meeting and focused on the requisite shower/change of clothes. The manager should have done a better job investigating what the problem was and presenting the OP with all the options that were available to him. The OP does not manage hotels for a living and might not be aware of the intricacies of room inventory management/cleaning schedules/etc.
If this had happened up-front, there would be no need to "pull rank" and call corporate. It should be noted that it sounds like corporate did exactly what I described above.
4. Was the manager right to scold the OP for calling the corporate line? I say no to this. A manager of a hotel is expected to act in a professional manner at all times when on duty. A hotel guest, is not. Nothing about this conversation was professional. Can the manager be pissed that someone went over his head? Yeah! Absolutely. I would be! - but to fault the guest (in direct confrontation) for that is uncalled for and unprofessional. Was the OP acting unprofessionally in his dealings with the hotel? Maybe/possibly, but that shouldn't matter. The management should be the "bigger person" in this type of interaction. If management acted this way toward every Marriott customer that was rude/inconsiderate/unprofessional, it would be a VERY unpleasant place to stay.
5. Should the manager have shared details of the interaction with OP with his superiors/colleagues?
Well I suppose the better question is, for what purpose did the manager share these details? I can't imagine there was any purpose served other than to damage the OP's relationship with his organization or perhaps to make some preemptive attack in case the OP decided to complain to his group about the hotel's treatment of the situation. I can't really come up with a good reason for the manager to have done this. Are there possibly situations that might warrant such a disclosure? I think there are. Was this one of them? I don't think it was. I think this is more unprofessional behavior on behalf of the management.
1. The OP did nothing wrong by requesting an upgrade in advance.
2. The OP can communicate with the property as much as he would like in advance of his stay - especially if it involves the potential purchase of additional goods/services from said property.
(Why he's being attacked for the first two items by some here is beyond me).
3. Was he right to go to the Corporate line when his room wasn't ready upon check in? This one is a bit up in the air for me. I suppose it depends if he was trying to check in early. If he wasn't, then the answer is easy - no. A room should have been ready (upgraded or not). If he was complaining that an upgraded room was not ready, then that's a different story.
If he WAS trying to check in early, AND he had explained calmly the nature of his need to check into a room to both the person checking him in AND the manager, then I don't think escalation to corporate was a problem. After all, if I was desperate for a shower/change of clothes before an important meeting, I would try everything I could to make that happen.
Did the manager necessarily lie in stating a room was not available? No. It could have been that a room WAS available for a shower and change scenario, but not available to give to the OP for the whole night/stay.
It all comes down to clear communication. What the OP REALLY needed was a room in order to quickly shower/change/freshen up. Neither the OP nor the manager was able to determine the actual NEEDS and come up with a creative solution that solved both problems. I don't think the OP can be fully blamed for this, as he was clearly quite stressed about his meeting and focused on the requisite shower/change of clothes. The manager should have done a better job investigating what the problem was and presenting the OP with all the options that were available to him. The OP does not manage hotels for a living and might not be aware of the intricacies of room inventory management/cleaning schedules/etc.
If this had happened up-front, there would be no need to "pull rank" and call corporate. It should be noted that it sounds like corporate did exactly what I described above.
4. Was the manager right to scold the OP for calling the corporate line? I say no to this. A manager of a hotel is expected to act in a professional manner at all times when on duty. A hotel guest, is not. Nothing about this conversation was professional. Can the manager be pissed that someone went over his head? Yeah! Absolutely. I would be! - but to fault the guest (in direct confrontation) for that is uncalled for and unprofessional. Was the OP acting unprofessionally in his dealings with the hotel? Maybe/possibly, but that shouldn't matter. The management should be the "bigger person" in this type of interaction. If management acted this way toward every Marriott customer that was rude/inconsiderate/unprofessional, it would be a VERY unpleasant place to stay.
5. Should the manager have shared details of the interaction with OP with his superiors/colleagues?
Well I suppose the better question is, for what purpose did the manager share these details? I can't imagine there was any purpose served other than to damage the OP's relationship with his organization or perhaps to make some preemptive attack in case the OP decided to complain to his group about the hotel's treatment of the situation. I can't really come up with a good reason for the manager to have done this. Are there possibly situations that might warrant such a disclosure? I think there are. Was this one of them? I don't think it was. I think this is more unprofessional behavior on behalf of the management.
The reason some of us are a bit disturbed by several emails to the GM about what sounds like a routine business/confrerence stay is that most of us reserve emails to the GM for truly exceptional requests and occasions. If every Gold and Plat and PP emailed every GM about every stay, not much time would be left to actually manage the hotel, and truly special requests wouldn't be all that special.
You may have made your res, and you may be paying for your room...but as long as you are under the group rate, you are still a part of the group. Period. And of the two, the group is far more important to the hotel than you. So they are certainly going to share with the coordinator how they assisted you. How can you not see that? No one was tattling on you!
it isn't the GM's responsibility to provide an early check-in for you to freshen up or change out of jeans, it is your responsibility to plan ahead by paying for what you need, not hoping for it. Unless you had it in writing that you were to be provided an early check-in, you aren't owed one.
As far as "playing the Gold Elite card?" Seriously?
it isn't the GM's responsibility to provide an early check-in for you to freshen up or change out of jeans, it is your responsibility to plan ahead by paying for what you need, not hoping for it. Unless you had it in writing that you were to be provided an early check-in, you aren't owed one.
As far as "playing the Gold Elite card?" Seriously?
I agree there is probably more to this than we have been told. I would guess the communications with the property also included the expected arrival time and the need to have a room available so preperation can be done. If I had assurances that things would be ready and then they pull a stall tactic upon arrival, I would be upset too. Maybe asking for the person that made the promisses before calling Customer Care would be in order, but when you see your world falling around you, you take the first door visible.
If the group coordinator was to be the point of contact for all participants, then the GM was right in letting "her" know someone didn't get the memo... Otherwise, I would expect the GM to only share pertinent points and not all the details.
I don't see anything to be gained escalating this issue any further. But do keep it as a data point when participating in future events.
If the group coordinator was to be the point of contact for all participants, then the GM was right in letting "her" know someone didn't get the memo... Otherwise, I would expect the GM to only share pertinent points and not all the details.
I don't see anything to be gained escalating this issue any further. But do keep it as a data point when participating in future events.
I'm sorry but 99% of the group planners/contacts that I've worked with over my many years in the industry have had the expectation that they know of any/all issues involving their groups as soon as possible - again I personally believe the GM was only letting the contact know there was an issue with one of the groups speakers and that the issue had been resolved (group planners/contacts do not appreciate being blindsided about issues with their groups and hotels regardless of chain do go out of their way to be sure this doesn't happen)
I am sure there was a good reason a room wasn't available for this Gold elite. Perhaps the rooms the GM was holding back were for VIPs specified by the Group Rep as needing an early check-in. Perhaps the GM had many other request for early check-in from Plat Premiers or Plats which trumps the request from a Gold. Those are only two scenarios that come to mind, and there could be many more like perhaps some of those Group Rep specified VIPs being Plat or Plat Premier on top of it. Pulling out the Gold DYKWIA card is quite self centered IMO. An old saying applies: lack of planning on your part does not make it an emergency on mine. As it turned out the GM was quite accommodating and handled the situation extremely well.
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4. Was the manager right to scold the OP for calling the corporate line? I say no to this. A manager of a hotel is expected to act in a professional manner at all times when on duty. A hotel guest, is not. Nothing about this conversation was professional. Can the manager be pissed that someone went over his head? Yeah! Absolutely. I would be! - but to fault the guest (in direct confrontation) for that is uncalled for and unprofessional. Was the OP acting unprofessionally in his dealings with the hotel? Maybe/possibly, but that shouldn't matter. The management should be the "bigger person" in this type of interaction. If management acted this way toward every Marriott customer that was rude/inconsiderate/unprofessional, it would be a VERY unpleasant place to stay.
5. Should the manager have shared details of the interaction with OP with his superiors/colleagues?
Well I suppose the better question is, for what purpose did the manager share these details? I can't imagine there was any purpose served other than to damage the OP's relationship with his organization or perhaps to make some preemptive attack in case the OP decided to complain to his group about the hotel's treatment of the situation. I can't really come up with a good reason for the manager to have done this. Are there possibly situations that might warrant such a disclosure? I think there are. Was this one of them? I don't think it was. I think this is more unprofessional behavior on behalf of the management.
^Originally Posted by matthew gulino
4. Was the manager right to scold the OP for calling the corporate line? I say no to this. A manager of a hotel is expected to act in a professional manner at all times when on duty. A hotel guest, is not. Nothing about this conversation was professional. Can the manager be pissed that someone went over his head? Yeah! Absolutely. I would be! - but to fault the guest (in direct confrontation) for that is uncalled for and unprofessional. Was the OP acting unprofessionally in his dealings with the hotel? Maybe/possibly, but that shouldn't matter. The management should be the "bigger person" in this type of interaction. If management acted this way toward every Marriott customer that was rude/inconsiderate/unprofessional, it would be a VERY unpleasant place to stay.
5. Should the manager have shared details of the interaction with OP with his superiors/colleagues?
Well I suppose the better question is, for what purpose did the manager share these details? I can't imagine there was any purpose served other than to damage the OP's relationship with his organization or perhaps to make some preemptive attack in case the OP decided to complain to his group about the hotel's treatment of the situation. I can't really come up with a good reason for the manager to have done this. Are there possibly situations that might warrant such a disclosure? I think there are. Was this one of them? I don't think it was. I think this is more unprofessional behavior on behalf of the management.
Agree, the manager tried to pay back the OP by contacting the Group rep, totally unprofessional by the GM. No matter what were the OP's requests those informations shouldn't have been passed to a third person and i believe that Marriott's CR would be very interesting to know where and when a GM does this. The OP was a guest there and tried to take the most of his benefits as a Gold Card holder, also asked if he/she could buy some services that Marriott offer. Nothing wrong here.
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The Group Rep said that my "behavior" did not reflect the image of our group
You have to make sure the Group Rep knows the truth about what was your attitude...Originally Posted by bsb21
.....The Group Rep said that my "behavior" did not reflect the image of our group
PS the customer's care line is for such reasons when you cannot deal with one person (GM), so you have a phone number for extra care.The GM is right to be pissed off because someone called him and told him that he was doing something wrong...
