Concierge Lounge Downgrades/Limits
Feb 23, 2009 | 11:04 am
#136
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I, too, don't eat bacon or sausage (though family members who sometimes travel with me do - I've seen it at a few CL, but it has not been the norm) but my complaint about my stay last week was that there was no cereal in addition to all the other cuts. A bit extreme, no?
Feb 23, 2009 | 12:29 pm
#137
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Posts: 74,175
rln is still missing the bigger picture in my mind.
Marriott's competitors are facing the same economic issues that Marriott is, yet are keeping the lounges open amongst other things. So biz travelers who have the option of choosing where they choose to stay are starting to stay more with the competitors whose room rates are the same as Marriotts, but still offer more items such as open lounges. The competitors are getting the revenue and Marriott is not. So, Marriott is saving some $$ and losing more $$.
And what's troubling is Marriott's directive to not 'over-achieve'. rln's beloved Ren Stamford Court could be told to discontinue all the items it offered to be 'consistent' with the rest of Marriott, for example.
My feeling is, if a GM of a hotel can keep a lounge open or offer some bennies and still stay within his budget, then s/he should be allowed to do so.
OVMV. Cheers.
Marriott's competitors are facing the same economic issues that Marriott is, yet are keeping the lounges open amongst other things. So biz travelers who have the option of choosing where they choose to stay are starting to stay more with the competitors whose room rates are the same as Marriotts, but still offer more items such as open lounges. The competitors are getting the revenue and Marriott is not. So, Marriott is saving some $$ and losing more $$.
And what's troubling is Marriott's directive to not 'over-achieve'. rln's beloved Ren Stamford Court could be told to discontinue all the items it offered to be 'consistent' with the rest of Marriott, for example.
My feeling is, if a GM of a hotel can keep a lounge open or offer some bennies and still stay within his budget, then s/he should be allowed to do so.
OVMV. Cheers.
Feb 23, 2009 | 12:52 pm
#138
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: IAH
Programs: La Ministreuse de Surréalisme, CO Plat, MR Plat, SPG Plat
Posts: 11,358
rln is still missing the bigger picture in my mind.
Marriott's competitors are facing the same economic issues that Marriott is, yet are keeping the lounges open amongst other things. So biz travelers who have the option of choosing where they choose to stay are starting to stay more with the competitors whose room rates are the same as Marriotts, but still offer more items such as open lounges. The competitors are getting the revenue and Marriott is not. So, Marriott is saving some $$ and losing more $$.
And what's troubling is Marriott's directive to not 'over-achieve'. rln's beloved Ren Stamford Court could be told to discontinue all the items it offered to be 'consistent' with the rest of Marriott, for example.
My feeling is, if a GM of a hotel can keep a lounge open or offer some bennies and still stay within his budget, then s/he should be allowed to do so.
OVMV. Cheers.
Marriott's competitors are facing the same economic issues that Marriott is, yet are keeping the lounges open amongst other things. So biz travelers who have the option of choosing where they choose to stay are starting to stay more with the competitors whose room rates are the same as Marriotts, but still offer more items such as open lounges. The competitors are getting the revenue and Marriott is not. So, Marriott is saving some $$ and losing more $$.
And what's troubling is Marriott's directive to not 'over-achieve'. rln's beloved Ren Stamford Court could be told to discontinue all the items it offered to be 'consistent' with the rest of Marriott, for example.
My feeling is, if a GM of a hotel can keep a lounge open or offer some bennies and still stay within his budget, then s/he should be allowed to do so.
OVMV. Cheers.
Feb 23, 2009 | 5:07 pm
#139
Join Date: Oct 2001
Programs: LTP, PP
Posts: 9,110
My problem with these cutbacks is that the good CL serves as a valuable resource for me that is not provided by the hotel restaurant. I like being able to slip in an out of the lounge on my own schedule and have some decent breakfast and evening snacks. I often don't want to have to go to a restaurant and take the time to be waited on, etc. And in the evening there is no place in most hotels for one person to have a variety of hors d'ouevres and maybe a glass of wine. Sure I could go down to the restaurant or bar and order a plate of one kind of hors d'ouevre and sit there and eat them, but that's not how I like to spend my evening. I like to be able to walk down the hall, stop in the lounge and have a choice of different items in the evening, maybe read a paper or watch TV and relax. Or in some cases I like to take a little bit of food back to my room and work and go back and forth to the lounge as I wish.
For those hotels that have good lounges I don't mind paying a larger daily room rate. But I see no reason to stick with Marriott when the lounge food has diminished so much in quality and the lounges are closed on weekends (and too often other times).
The JW Marriott in DC is a good example of a lounge in which the quality of food in the evening had badly deteriorated at my last stay in January. This month I switched to a different (and much cheaper) DC Marriott with a lounge that in some ways is now better than the JW. Next month I'm making my first stay at a Starwood hotel in years and I'm looking into a status comp with Starwood.
Add the CL deterioration along with cutbacks on newspapers, no mouthwash or other amenities, etc., I don't see much reason to stick with Marriott.
For those hotels that have good lounges I don't mind paying a larger daily room rate. But I see no reason to stick with Marriott when the lounge food has diminished so much in quality and the lounges are closed on weekends (and too often other times).
The JW Marriott in DC is a good example of a lounge in which the quality of food in the evening had badly deteriorated at my last stay in January. This month I switched to a different (and much cheaper) DC Marriott with a lounge that in some ways is now better than the JW. Next month I'm making my first stay at a Starwood hotel in years and I'm looking into a status comp with Starwood.
Add the CL deterioration along with cutbacks on newspapers, no mouthwash or other amenities, etc., I don't see much reason to stick with Marriott.
Feb 23, 2009 | 9:09 pm
#140
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: The County, Maine
Posts: 830
Thank you, Day One. I much favor cereal myself. Like you, I find myself getting lower rates than, say, last year.
Until recently, I received a free breakfast on weekends at my favorite local full service Marriott. They were, like other properties, advised to stop this practice.
My rate today was probably $15 or so less than what it was last year at this time. By paying for my own breakfast, the sum total was probably close to the same. And, hey, more points with the increased platinum bonus. Not too bad.
Many Marriotts closed their lounges on weekends some years ago. The Marriott with an open weekend lounge was, truly, the exception. I doubt that Marriott is losing customers in droves because of the change. Perhaps they did miscalculate about the bacon. The assistant manager I spoke with indicated that she has had to field many complaints about the change.
Still, I don't buy much into conspiracies at this level. I don't believe that Marriott came up with this new change just to generate hate and discontent and somehow pulled the six million dollar figure out of the air. And, all other things being equal, if headquarters is overstaffed, cuts can and should be made. But if the staffing positions can be justified, I still put a valued employmee's job security ahead of a little extra choice at breakfast.
You guys are probably keen to get the waste, fraud, and abuse out of government. If the government can get rid of its "pork," why can't Marriott?
Until recently, I received a free breakfast on weekends at my favorite local full service Marriott. They were, like other properties, advised to stop this practice.
My rate today was probably $15 or so less than what it was last year at this time. By paying for my own breakfast, the sum total was probably close to the same. And, hey, more points with the increased platinum bonus. Not too bad.
Many Marriotts closed their lounges on weekends some years ago. The Marriott with an open weekend lounge was, truly, the exception. I doubt that Marriott is losing customers in droves because of the change. Perhaps they did miscalculate about the bacon. The assistant manager I spoke with indicated that she has had to field many complaints about the change.
Still, I don't buy much into conspiracies at this level. I don't believe that Marriott came up with this new change just to generate hate and discontent and somehow pulled the six million dollar figure out of the air. And, all other things being equal, if headquarters is overstaffed, cuts can and should be made. But if the staffing positions can be justified, I still put a valued employmee's job security ahead of a little extra choice at breakfast.
You guys are probably keen to get the waste, fraud, and abuse out of government. If the government can get rid of its "pork," why can't Marriott?
Point 2-If you want to pay for breakfast, thats fine. I don't like the fact that Marriott has advertised, and in some cases charged a premium for access to a concierge lounge which is closed on a weekend.Check out the Dulles Marriott on the 7th of March. Concierge Rate is $279.00 with absolutely no access because the lounge is closed.It shouldn't even be offered on the room price schedule. There are a lot of other hotels that do the same thing. The fare offered in many of the CL's has deteriorated to the extent that its just not worth the effort to go for elite status with this hotel chain, especially when you look at the disparity between Marriott and other hotel chains to achieve elite status.
Point 3-Marriott used 9/11 as a reason to close CL's in the aftermath of this tragic event. As the economy began to recover, a lot of those lounges never reopened on weekends.
Point 4-Marriott has lost all of my business so far this year because they, in my opinion, are not providing the same quality product I have enjoyed for years.Hilton has been the benefactor.
Point 5-Exactly what "pork" has the government gotten rid of?
Last edited by general45; Feb 23, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Feb 24, 2009 | 6:30 am
#141
Join Date: Oct 2001
Programs: LTP, PP
Posts: 9,110
Point 1-They should be charging less. Expenses were due in a large part to oil and its effect on most all products manufactured or delivered.Now that oil is down around $100 per barrel, it only makes sense to proportionately lower lodging prices(remember those fuel surcharges?).
. Oil has been under $40 for quite sometime now. Yet most businesses that imposed fuel surcharges have yet to reduce/invoke them. I know becasue I ship UPS weekly and still have surcharges upon surcharges. Such a scam...
Feb 24, 2009 | 7:10 am
#142
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: The County, Maine
Posts: 830
I agree with all your points but maybe the news hasn't got that far north yet. Oil has been under $40 for quite sometime now. Yet most businesses that imposed fuel surcharges have yet to reduce/invoke them. I know becasue I ship UPS weekly and still have surcharges upon surcharges. Such a scam...
. Oil has been under $40 for quite sometime now. Yet most businesses that imposed fuel surcharges have yet to reduce/invoke them. I know becasue I ship UPS weekly and still have surcharges upon surcharges. Such a scam...
My explanation was meant to state that oil is down $100.00 per barrel since its high. Thanks for picking up on that.Thats what happens when you write something late at night and than read what you wrote the next morning.
Last edited by general45; Feb 24, 2009 at 7:18 am
Feb 24, 2009 | 7:38 am
#143
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Programs: Marriott lifetime Titanium, Delta Platinum
Posts: 5,485
For many folks, the prime benefit of elite status is the concierge lounge. I absolutely agree that at many properties the concierge lounge fare has been so diluted that the only reason I go to the lounge is out of sheer curiousity as to what new way the property or Marriott has decided to diminish the lounge. At one Marriott, the breakfast offering was so meager and the restaurant buffet so expensive, that I actually went to the nearby Courtyard (God forgive me) and paid for their breakfast buffet in order to get some protein.
Feb 24, 2009 | 2:37 pm
#144
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Programs: AA Plat, UA Silver, DL Silver, Marriott Titanium, etc.
Posts: 4,214
For many folks, the prime benefit of elite status is the concierge lounge. I absolutely agree that at many properties the concierge lounge fare has been so diluted that the only reason I go to the lounge is out of sheer curiousity as to what new way the property or Marriott has decided to diminish the lounge. At one Marriott, the breakfast offering was so meager and the restaurant buffet so expensive, that I actually went to the nearby Courtyard (God forgive me) and paid for their breakfast buffet in order to get some protein.
Went back to a Suites property last week and a front desk manager made a special point of telling me they were no longer offering a free breakfast on saturday "to be consistent with other Marriotts".
As it turns out, Saturday was the only morning I had time to sit down and eat breakfast in the restaurant, I just said forget about it. It's more the availability of the lounge and being treated special that seems to appeal to me than actually partaking - I probably only make it to the lounge for anything substantive on about half of my days there. But I really like to have it there when I need it.I wish Marriott would at least sent out something to their Elite members telling what they were doing and why. I don't understand how this makes good business sense (other than more restrictions on the hours when they offer prepared foods, I guess that aspect might offer more substantial savings without irritating too many of their customers too much).
I'm skeptical whether there are very many properties right now where the CL offerings are worth the cost commonly be assigned to it in reservations.
Last edited by GrizShel; Feb 24, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Feb 24, 2009 | 5:05 pm
#145
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: York, PA
Programs: MRSPG LT Tit, HH Diamond, Hertz Pres.
Posts: 1,737
Well, I can say a few things.....
I have had 0 MR nights this year.
10 SPG nights and 4 HH nights.
Last 2 stays were SPG, including last night. This morning, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and typical continental items at the BWI Sheraton.
I have had 0 MR nights this year.
10 SPG nights and 4 HH nights.
Last 2 stays were SPG, including last night. This morning, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and typical continental items at the BWI Sheraton.
Feb 24, 2009 | 5:46 pm
#146
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Do we think anyone from MR HQ is reading this or are we going to have a "Fax your other hotel receipts" to Marriott day?
Feb 24, 2009 | 6:19 pm
#147
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it appears that they really just don't give a ....
Last edited by bdschobel; Feb 25, 2009 at 9:50 am Reason: removed unnecessary slur
Feb 25, 2009 | 9:15 am
#148
Company Representative - Marriott Concierge
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posts: 1,083
Best regards,
Drew
Feb 25, 2009 | 9:24 am
#149
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Feb 25, 2009 | 9:47 am
#150
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Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
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