The mind of a front desk agent
 

Hello all,

I have been reading these boards for a long time but this is my first time posting. I have worked at a limited service IHG property for 2 years, and a full service Marriott for 3 years - both at the front desk. I left Marriott about 2 weeks ago.

I don't know if this has done before, but I'm willing to bet a lot of you would like to ask a front desk agent a few questions. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have, as long as it doesn't have to do with any private or proprietary information. If this has done before and no one has any interest, I apologize...I just thought it could be fun. :D

Welcome to Flyertalk!

Welcome -

It has been done a few times before - however typically the person still works for Marriott and then stops when asked not to post by Marriott.

My question is - are their any Marriott perks that most people don't use but you feel more people should.

So are you bitter? :)

I was hoping to avoid this by not going into too much detail on Marriott's private information. I remember how detailed the reservations agent posts were a few months ago.

As far as Marriott perks, Virtual Concierge is available to everyone but it seems only regular members use it for requests. It is one of the best ways to make sure your reservation is looked at prior to the day of your arrival. By this I mean typing in a request, not just a request for foam pillows, high floor, etc.

Only as bitter as five years in the hospitality industry can make you. :p

And what is the benefit of having a reservation looked at prior to the day of arrival?

I can't help it.

Does anyone tell the front desk staff what the difference is between a Platinum member and a Platinum Premier Member?

What is the front desk told on how to handle PP members?

We you at a Marriott owned property off franchise property?

Having a room assigned to you, essentially. I worked at a property of about 350 rooms, and only about 20 concierge level rooms. It was very hard to give out upgrades as everyone elite member wanted one. Seeing that VC e-mails go out about a week before your arrival, chances of an upgrade go up dramatically.

All Gold and Plats were pre-blocked day of arrival. Keep in mind that some properties may handle this differently, but we pre blocked day of arrival to guarantee room type requests (king bed or 2 queens). If you are silver or below it is likely that no one on property has looked at your reservation until you come to check in.

I worked at a franchised property. Marriott offers a great tool to employees for training and updates on Marriott Rewards, but it was sadly underused at my property. This is not Marriott's fault, but rather the management of the property.

I cannot speak for other properties, but we upgraded PP during our pre blocking in the morning if we could. Plats and Golds were upgrade at check in upon request only.

Okay, I'll bite and throw out a few questions...

[1] What do you wish hotel guests would do before they check in?

[2] From your perspective, what are some of the more egregious examples of elite status demands?

[3] Wife and I had this conversation some time ago. Each of us travels a couple hundred nights a year but we can count on one hand the number of times we have met a hotel GM. Do they ever come out from their office in the back or do they simply try to avoid hotel guest contact?

1. Get a credit card. Too many people show up with a debit card and do not understand that we have to put a hold on their account when they show up.

Bring their confirmation number. Some people just show up and have no idea where they are staying. Then we have to spend a lot of time calling around hotels, some outside the Marriott brand, trying to find their reservation.

2. Often times Plats and PP will ask for an upgraded room, and I was not able to give them one. They then tell me how many years they have been with Marriott and how many times they have met Mr. Marriott. They would then tell me to find them a suite at a different hotel and pay for it. This doesn't happen too often, but more often than you would think.

Every weekend was the same...being yelled at for not offering breakfast. I do think that elite members should at least get the buffet on the weekend. Some guests would be so upset that we did not offer breakfast and tell us how we are ruining their vacation. Often I would want to (but never did) tell these guests that they are on a reward stay and could maybe pony up a little cash for the breakfast considering we have regular guests paying hundreds of dollars a night and then buying breakfast.

3. I don't think GMs try to avoid guests, but rather they have a lot to do. A lot of GMs are quite removed from what is happening at the front desk as well. Our rooms director would often be around the front desk greeting elite guests, though.

... so, no request, no upgrade? I thought it was supposed to happen automagically....

Thanks very much for the information, fdguy! Here are questions I've had for a while, not that they all deserve (or have?) answers.

1. When you ask about things like business/leisure or employer name, are you just being polite, or do hotels encourage you to collect this information?
2. What's the best way (and time) to report a problem with the room that you don't need to fix during the stay? (For example, a broken alarm clock. My phone will wake me, but it could be a big problem for the next guest.)
3. How important is the estimated arrival time in the reservation (for housekeeping, other guests' late checkouts, late arrivals, or any other reason)?
4. How much of a hassle is it when someone cancels (within the rules, like before 6:00 if that's what the property does) instead of showing up? Does it happen often? Do you notice?
5. Is assigning a room complicated or do you usually just choose the next open one? (Sometimes it seems like there's a whole lot of computer work happening just to check one person into a standard room.)
6. The front desk people I talked to all seemed much happier about selling every last room in the hotel than about total revenue. Is that a thing? Or were they just weird?

+1

Should I be asking next time as a lowly Gold?