I wanted to add my own welcome. I have spent 52 nights this year with Marriott properties and stay exclusively at Marriotts...except where they don't exist (Rutland, VT; Portales, NM - some of the world's hotspots, indeed

Most of the GMs i have met welcome direct feedback on their properties and Marriotts in general; i hope we are able to help you with some of that..

I have very good reason to believe that you are wrong.

Bruce

Care to share your "very good reason"? Or, is it a "secret"? Until I see proof, I stand by my statement.

Perhaps you should first answer a similar question asked of you back in post #12 by VA1379 on June 23.

Thanks again for the warm welcome, and for the feedback/ideas that were submitted.

I do want to say that I am not, nor am trying to be, an offical representative of Marriott International or any of it's SBUs. OK - that is out of the way.

That being said, Sharon is right in identifying some of the items mentioned regarding use of some awards is a bit outside of my sphere of influence. Some of the questions I will not be able to answer or address (either from lack of knowledge in that area or business ethics). I hope everyone can respect this.

Thanks again all.

I think all of us look forward to reading your comments. It says a lot about your commitment to your company.

Your company is well respected by the majority on this board.

I am happy to see a person with a deep understanding of the way Marriott works here. I also am glad to see that you are willing to share your opinions and experiences on the Marriott family of properties.

I have been using Marriott properties for all my vacation needs for well over 16 years. My family and myself found that they were far above any other chain. We had special needs and were given treatment that I can only describe pleasantly memorable.

On the one occasion that we found a restaurant to be substandard, the manager sent a hand written letter responding to our complaint and thanking us for taking the time to write him in the first place.

All that being said. My son is at this time applying for a position in the local Marriott hotel.

In other words I like Marriott and I'm glad you're here. (boy was that long winded or what?)

That pretty much sums up my opinion as well.

ual1k, unless you're willing to back up YOUR orginal (unfounded as far as we can tell) accusation, the rest of us who have gotten to know each other & Marriott folk, etc, over a LOT of experience w/ both FT & Marriott are going to disregard what you've said & actually (at least me) think less of YOU.

So - if you have proof re: Marriott Guy not being legit, ante it up. If not, quite frankly - shut up - or keep your comments to things you do have experiences w/.

Marriott Guy, again welcome to FT. Anything you can provide input on we appreciate. Anything we can provide input on to make your job (thus our experience) better also appreciated.

Cheers.

Marriott_Guy,

I know I said "hello" in another thread, but I want to add to the "welcomes" here.

As most of us know, we do have a Marriott lurker here, but I think it's great that a GM - someone "in the trenches" - sees value in getting info from FTers. I think you'll prove to be a great resource!

Marriott Guy

I was guilty of posting to an issue (Rewards structure) which is not in your purview; and I ceretainly won't repeat a gaffe of that type.

An operational question, if I may...

Is the new bedding standard for FS Marriotts, JWs and Rens mandatory - ie there's a "deadline" to convert or are exceptions premitted?

I don't want to call attention to properties I have recently frequented that haven't made the switch (almost six months beyond what was generally communicated as when it would be completed) so I won't identify them other to say that, so far as I've had experience with them they've never been consistent with what were the Marriott FS standards in the past.

The ones I'm thinking of actually surpass the new standard (& that ain't bad), and converting would (at least IMHO), be a step back.

Comment?

I too have had a recent stay at a FS Marriott(Ontario Airport)which did a mockup of the new bedding(pillowtopper and linens)but did not change the actual bed-which was horrid.
Marriott guy-how often are properties evaluated?Is there a penalty for a property not meeting Marriotts guidelines/standards.
Just as an aside-stayed at the Gateway Sheraton SFO this weekend and they did the same thing new sheets/pillows/topper on an old saggy mattress.
Letter to customer service will be written

Some years back I was at the old (and I do mean old) Marriott East in Cleveland. I had some problems with my room, and a subsequent conversation with the manager. He was apologetic, and did his best to resolve things. During the course of our conversation, he admitted to me that most of the hotel "was not up to Marriott standards"

Sure enough, on my next trip a couple of months later, it was a Hilton!

The new bedding package (linens/comforters/mattresses/box) is great, isn't it? My guests have been raving about it since I installed them. As to the time frame, I can say that that there is a deadline for implementation for all brands. That being said, there are many factors to be considered for when that occurs at a specific property - primarily financial. Obviously, this is a HUGE expense to the individual property, which must be budgeted for accordingly. Another thing to take into consideration is the timing of each of the upgraded items within this package (linenes/mattress/etc.). Of course, all of us would love to have one fell swoop and have it all be done at once (guests/property team as well). Realistically, sometimes this is not fiscally possible.

Another item may be when to do things to minimize any disruption to our guests. For example, a property may already have a renovation scheduled in the future and may think that it might be best to include a property-wide project into that scope of work/time period to minimize guest disturbances as well as you already have the manpower there to make it happen.

Yes - Marriott evaluates their properties (both managed and franchised alike) regularly. I can't reveal the true scope/time frames/etc., but they take it very seriously. As cyberdad pointed out, a property will be 'deflagged' if standards are not met. This is not an overnight process. All parties (Marriott/property/owners) work hard to improve items/service/etc. to meet the standards in a distressed hotel situation. Overall, yes, Marriott takes it very seriously their name being on a building and has excellent evalution tools/procedures in place to maintain that reputation.

Harrald - glad to hear about your son applying at the local Marriott. It is a great company to work and grow with if he chooses that career path.

I hope this answers the questions. Thanks again.

. . . really don't think that Marriott guy is for real. This is a sham . . .

ual,

You've got him confused with the tooth fairey and Santa Claus. They're the ones that aren't real.

Or is your question philosophical in the sense of if there's a virtual tree in the woods and it crashes to the ground, does it make a virtual sound in FT?

Any of us could be fakes in this virtual world. It's all about context and credibility. I'm inclined to believe him until proven otherwise. Let the guy be.

Welcome Marriott Guy. It's nice to know that you're interested in your customers.

Barry