Mandate=sky is falling????

to each his own; I select my FS properties on a few factors of which one of the first ones is CL access/availability.. no CL on wkds.. no need to stay there when all other things are = however no one has said the sky is falling either.. some of your issues may not mean jack sqaut to me hence I would think that you are claiming the sky is falling for something I find a meaningless topic or whine

Renaissance LAX update
 

Am in the comfortable concierge lounge at the Renaissance LAX right now, watching the planes on final approach and enjoying the ambiance.

The lounge is open this weekend and will be for the next two weeks.

I spoke with some managers tonight to commend them for keeping the lounge open, explaining that's a major reason I'm here for several nights and planned to be back when I return to the LAX area next month. I shared the positive reputation this hotel has among Platinum (and Gold) guests and how the positive treatment of elites makes the property stand out versus competing full-service hotels and minimizes the amenity gap with limited service properties. They welcomed the feedback, but also informed me that the lounge's weekend life will soon be curtailed.

Effective February, the lounge will no longer feature weekend food service. The lounge will still be accessible; the internet will still be available; and the refrigerator with water and soft drinks will still be stocked; however the lounge will no longer feature breakfast, daytime snacks or the evening offerings.

I encouraged the managers to visit flyertalk and follow the dialogue. I also suggested they monitor their numbers to see if there is a loss of weekend patronage or satisfaction among elites.

WOW-I guess aaupgrade was right afterall! Seems as if this GM is a pinhead just like some posters on here!!


I can tell you overall I have seen a MAJOR downturn in offerings at BOTH ren and fs marriotts...hence the change to *wood properties for me!

Lounge closing spreading to FS Marriott in Europe
 

Appears the lounge closing is spreading to FS Marriotts in Europe. I am currently at the Brussels Marriott and an abrupt decision was made on Friday to close the lounge for the weekend for food and bar service. Appears the Amsterdam Marriott did the same.

With a bit of complaining the BRU Marriott provided a coupon for breakfast in the restaurant and wine/beer in the bar. Several others who had paid a 59 euro add for lounge access were complaining and wanted a refund on their surcharge payment.

I am not sure if there is much savings here. Just ate in the restaurant in the BRU Marriott for breakfast and the person that normally serves the lounge was working in the restaurant. Since they seemed to have more than enough staff working in the restaurant - I do not see much savings. Only difference is transporting some of the buffet food up the elevator to the lounge.

I had called ahead a week before arrival and was told the lounge was open on the weekend for food/beverage. Likewise told the same on checkin, and by the attendant the night before. This was an abrupt closing with no sign posting. After suggesting sign posting, a day later a sign was posted on the lounge.

thank you for the post heralder

and to you Renaissance LAX :td: another bad decision by Marriott and I hope this burns you guys big time

toodle-loo.. im off to the sheraton Gateway LAX during the weekend

Actually I was wrong if that is the case, but of course I did not have that info prior to heralder's post. What is disturbing, if food service is curtailed is that VA1379 was told a few days earlier "that it is still open on the weekends, and they have not cut back on what is offered in the lounge" which of course is technically correct since they didn't say that they wouldn't be changing their lounge offering in the future. A bit deceitful perhaps depending on how VA1379 phrased his question to them.

This is definitely disturbing and should it come to fruition, will impact my choice of that hotel should I be in the area in the future. For my personal stay pattern that is really the only hotel where this downgrade in service would have impact at the present time.

Now if "discourage hotels from overachieving" translates to no breakfast at JW Phuket or Marriott CE then that would be a larger impact on me personally since most hotels I frequent do not have lounges. Of course that is not what this thread is about, so I digress.

BTW, I agree 100% with Dayone's post that the most disturbing aspect of all of this is MC post that "hotels were also encouraged to not 'over achieve'".

what is so frustrating is that if you input a future booking, the full CL amenities are advertised as per my previous post. in a downturn is it good business sense to alienate your 'best' customers?
if this was a UK hotel they wouldn't get away with this under consumer law.

At least partially accurate.

Breakfast coupons at Vegas Ren
 

Just wanted to get back with everyone to confirm that the Las Vegas Renaissance will NOT give breakfast coupons to elites since the CL is now closed on the weekends.

DD

thank you for the post

scratch the LAS renaissance off my weekend list...

Frankly, it is going to the bottom of the list in Las Vegas given my less than stellar experience there last month, but this reinforces that decision.

This may not be as big an issue for me as others, but if corporate is strongly encouraging properties not to open the lounge on weekends or even provide breakfast coupons this does rub me the wrong way. I don't have to choose full-service properties for most of my stays, so going to Courtyards or elsewhere is an option. The lack of breakfast when I am staying over Saturday will be of at least some consideration to me. And it is certainly a factor in choosing where to stay over the weekend.

indeed any policy of curtailing over-achievments seems very odd ...
How can a GM be "over-achieving" from a corporate standpoint in a way that would not be "pleasing" to corporate too ?

Just wanted to share that I stayed there over a weekend earlier this month and both internet and breakfast were comp'd (for both of us in the room)

I asked about this when checking in and they indeed said the lounge is closed , asked how many were in the room and handed over 4 coupons (2nights 2persons) . They also said the internet would appear to be for a fee when logging in but that they would take it off the bill (and they did without me reminding them).

FWIW I was on a very inexpensive AAA rate .

:-)

The sad part given this email trail is that now I will feel compelled to call in each time I am considering a stay to make sure things haven't changed.

While I am not agreeing Marriott's stance here, I may be able to state a possible reason.

First, note that Marriott tends to be the "McDonalds" of the big hotel chains. I say this not as a derogitory term, but more as a description. Marriott tends to hang its hat on consistency of service and experience more so than Starwood, Hilton, or Intercontinental. Because of that, variations from that service, both service below the required level and above, can detract from that consistency vision.

If someone stays at Hotel X and receives free breakfast on weekends, given Marriott's consistency push, that person may now believe they should get free breakfast on weekends at other hotels. And when they don't get that benefit, they could be "disillusioned" about the Marriott brand. IOW, I received that benefit at 'X', why can't 'Y' give it to me as well?

So from Marriott's perspective, they may have made a decision to take a, hopefully small and short-term, hit by telling all their hotels to no longer "over-achieve." They are probably hoping that in the long run, the benefits from consistency of service will from a corporate standpoint outweigh the benefits from some hotels providing "extra" services.