After spending about $2k for a week at the Waikiki Marriott I wrote a letter describing what I thought was rather substandard service, among other things, the concierge desk was closed more often than it was open (but the timeshare barkers were always at their stations!) and the service was rude when provided.

I received a letter back from the resident manager with a lukewarm apology and 10K points.

My question regards the 10K points; this seems like very little to the point of almost being insulting. In fact, a nice letter and no points would have seemed more meaningful. I've never written a letter to Marriott before so I'm curious, is this SOP for Marriott? Are they really that cheap?

For the money you spent you should have gotten at least 20K. I got 15K for a problem at a hotel for one night (Note it was a mess and calls to Visa and Marriott to deal with). But 10K is an insult.

10,000 points for inadequate concierge service seems fair.

I would need more details. Was the concierge desk not open during the hours it was listed as being open? Or did you just not like the hours?

Service was rude - once? twice? repeatedly? hourly? What was "lukewarm"? Dear sir, sorry 'bout that, The Manager?

I'm also not a big fan of "what should I get" and "what's this problem worth" discussions. Writing back that "I want more points" seems crass. Maybe forward the note to Marriott Corp Customer Service. Personally, I'd be more focused on how to fix than WIIFM.

To be clear - I did not ASK for anything. I was simply writing to describe my experience with a chain that I have little experience with and to let them know that I thought the product was rather unimpressive.

To be specific, each of the towers at the Waikiki Marriott has a concierge desk that is supposed to be open all day, or at least that's what the signs say. In my 7 days and nights during the Februray high season I found the concierge desk open exactly twice in my tower (the more expensive beachside tower). Generally it had a sign propped up on it directing customers to the other tower. On the other hand, the timeshare desk a few feet away and the timeshare desk at the beachside door were always manned. I found this very tacky.

One of the times when I went over to the concierge in the other tower it was manned by 3 people with no customers waiting. All 3 of them very pointedly ignored me for several minutes as they busily scribbled at paperwork. Finally, one of them stuck her head up and barked, "do you want something?" (she did then brusquely answer my question about the best day and time to visit the Arizona). Another time when I inquired about renting a car for a day I received nothing but yes/no answers such that it was clear that no real advice was to be had. After these experiences I didn't even think about asking for dining advice or reservations, or for any other services that would require any effort on their part.

In my letter I further described some minor problems with the cleaning service as well as a noise problem that they did not address.

As for the reply? It was about 3 generic lines which did not address any of my issues but simply stated that I was to be assured that this was not the way they generally do business...

As for the "what should I get", as I stated, all I really want to know from those more experienced with Marriott is whether or not this is Marriott SOP. I have no intentions of writing back asking for more. But truthfully, I expected better service than I would have gotten from a Holiday or Comfort Inn. And truthfully, when I take the time to write a letter I expect a meaningful answer. And as to the 10K points, that's barely enough to upgrade for a single night to the room I paid for. It does seem a bit cheap and a bit insulting to me.

Did you mention anything to the front desk (like a supervisor) while you were there? Usually, it is better to say something before checking out since it gives them an opportunity to address your concerns while you are still a guest. The issues you have sound like a mixture of minor stuff (which can become aggravating if too many of those problems occur at once) and a real dissatisfaction with the concierge service.

IMHO I would escalate this issue to corporate:

J.W. Marriott, Jr.
Marriott International Inc.
Marriott Drive
Washington, DC 20058

Fax: 301-380-3967

I agree with VA1379 that it is always best to address a situation while you are in the property especially any type of situation that is easily remedied like noise or housekeeping. It gives them a chance to fix it, plus if it continues it certainly puts a damper on a vacation mood - who needs it.

The concierge situation is a little different - I am not sure how I would have handled that one - you feel like a 2 year old asking for a manager and then saying "they are being rude to me"! I probably would have asked why my desk wasn't open, or why in the world one tower had 3 associates and mine none, or some situation thereof.

I do understand your feeling about the letter. It seems as if you would just like your concerns to be acknowledged and addressed....which the 3 lines and points did not do.

If I were you?

I would write again, saying that while you are most appreciative for the 10K in points (and that's not too shabby an amount IMO); that isn't why you wrote the letter, you are still blah, blah, etc, etc, yada yada. I think you should include the fact that you felt as if you got a form letter and a brush-off. If you sent the first letter to the hotel itself, I would send this one to corporate. That sends a clear message that you believe this is a problem and not merely a hidden request for points.

I think some properties have gotten into the habit of throwing points at "problems" to make them go away. Of course, to be fair, they have gotten into that habit because there are so many complaints made just to get points - it has become a vicious circle!

If you truly believe that your issues are valid and need to be "heard" - this is your only recourse.

Would it be easier to just drop it? Of course. Will you feel better or worse - only you can decide. Should you have to write a 2nd letter? No, but....
Is this Marriott's normal behavior? Has not been for me, but I am sure there are others who have had the same experience as you.

My issue with this hotel was two-fold, although each are relatively minor and didn't merit my pursuing the matter further:

1. The hotel in-room "book" listed free printing from the business center from elites. As I was gold at the time, I went over to print out some rental car reservations we had made, and was charged for them.

2. The check in/out lines were exceptionally long...there should be an elite check-in line at this property.

In fairness to the hotel, I was upgraded to a partial ocean view room, and the room itself was quite nice with 2 balconies and a pseudo-suite layout. Hence why I was overall happy with my experience.

I would escalate it to HQ as previously noted. I received 5,000 points for a relatively minor problem at a Fairfield Inn in PA. I would think a property of your calibur should be a little more generous - especially for the expense incurred.

I agree with VA1379 that the time to address the issues is while you are still on-site. There's no way for them to satisfy you as a customer once you've left the property, unless you are looking for points (and you say that you aren't).

We've had a number of Marriott stays where the service has been unsatifactory (water was out for 2 days, room issues, safety issues just to name a few) and every time we've addressed it on-site, it has been fixed, either with a step-up in service or a personal visit/call from the GM , a fruit plate or a credit.

On the occasions where we've waited til we returned home, we've also received the generic "sorry about your recent troubles" email. Receiving a letter like that is why we'll never stay at the Renaissance Las Vegas EVER again. Their choice, our choice. Once you leave, your only recourse is to never give that location another dollar. Probably more inconvenient for us than for the hotel. So yes, best to address it when it happens.