Booking Concierge level on weekend when lounge closed
 

With more and more CL's closing on weekends, I suggest that Marriott change its website to make that clear when booking.

For eaxmple, I just tried a dummy reservation at the JW in SF for Saturday night. They were quite willing to sell a room on the Concierge Level, with the rate rule promising lounge access, and if you cliched through on the correct link, they disclose that the lounge is only open during the week.

Am I crazy to think that a reasonable, unsuspecting, person will get quite upset to find a closed lounge when the Concierge Level was booked?

It just seems Marriott could do a better job with its disclosures.

Agreed, I think Marriott Concierge should provide an answer on this one. I noticed the new SF Union Square Marriott is doing the same. (Incidentally they have a BAR of $149 on lots of night which is good)

Let me add to that

In my room the Marriott book where they have the hotel amenities etc inside of it..

this has CL open Daily (as in 7 days a week) when in fact it is not

if they are going to change this.. they need to change everything..

this is the Renaissance LAX

The reason several hotels offer concierge floor rooms on weekends at an, other than standard rate, is because the rooms themselves generally include amenities not available in standard rooms. These amenities are what you are paying extra for when you book a concierge level room when the lounge is closed. It is also why the rate for these rooms is generally much lower on nights when the lounge is unavailable.

With this said I can appreciate the concerns you have raised and have passed them along.

Ira

Ira, not to be mean and dont take this the wrong way...BUT to pay, what at least $20-50 bucks more for mouthwash, body wash, a scale and a robe and a bottle of water????:rolleyes:

Sorry...I know you don't make the rules, and you are nice enough to come here and try to help us....just venting..........

I agree though......operating hours of the CL should be disclosed somehow if they vary...just as when a hotel is renovating, THAT info needs to be on the hotel homepage, and on the page where you select a rate....thus avoiding a BUG surprise upon arrival!

stepping off soapbox and going back to perusing....:p

What "additional amenties" are we talking about these days. I have been staying at the Birmingham, AL Marriott (FS) for the past 6-months. Before, on the Concierge Floor, there were extra toiletries such as Q-Tips, Shoe Shine CLoth, more water, etc. These were taken away around the end of December.

I asked the Manager and was told that this is a Marriott directive, and even if that hotel wanted to keep handing them out they could not without running afoul of Marriott.

So why does it state LOUNGE ACCESS? When in fact the lounge is CLOSED?

And what amenities are you talking about?

Mouthwash? GONE!
Slippers? GONE!
Shoe shine? GONE!
Sewing Kit? GONE!
Cotton balls? GONE!
Q-Tips? GONE!
2 Bottles of water? Now only 1!

Mr. Concierge,

First, thank you for taking on the rather thankless task of being the face of Marriott on a forum that seems better designed for complaints than kudos.

A colleague and I have checked into the JW San Fran in the last couple of hours. I am in a small room on the 20th (the apparent Concierge Floor, although the CL is on 21, where there are no guestrooms) , she on a lesser floor. I find no difference between the rooms at all. (I might add, this room has pretty sorry drawer space given that I will be here a week, but that is for another post . . . )

I, of course, knew that the CL will be closed this weekend, so I cannot, and will not claim that I was in any way misled (especially given that I did not book a concierge level room).

And I can only imagine that one day a less aware, but reasonable, person will pitch a fit when they have paid an additional $50 or more for the Concierge Level, and the provision of superior amenities will likely not matter to them.

- Jim Scott

You are kidding, right? As I mentioned in another thread similar to this one, the Dulles Airport Marriott lists a Concierge Floor at $279.00. That lounge is closed on weekends. A Leisure Rate is available for $89.00. An advance booking rate is avaialble for $79.00.

The only way you would find out about the lounge closure is if you click on room details, something that I bet a lot of people don't bother to check. The first words under the room details tab are "This room features Concierge lounge access". Only if you read on will you find the words 'Closed weekends".This not only isn't right, its deceptive.

I can't imagine the disgust one must feel when they book this rate and arrive at the hotel only to be told that the lounge is closed, but not to worry,you do get "enhanced" toiletries. Not bad for an extra couple hundred bucks.

And you actually believe what your puppet masters tell you. It is obvious you have not personally recently compared the CL rooms to standard rooms, or you would not have come to the above conclusion. Blindly following the puppet master's directions undoubtedly helps retain your job, but I would use a bit of common sense when they instruct you to pass on BS like this and try to convince them that doing so is foolhardy at best.

Please thank the puppet masters for insulting our intelligence and if I were you I would ask them for an apology for the egg on your face.

Of course I must say you have a thankless job, and posts like yours just reinforce our growing image of Marriott being way out of touch with its customers and soon to be former customers.

FYI, it looks like Marriott Customers have implemented a new enhancement to compliment recent CL changes. Many are now staying at your competitors properties. Please pass that message on to the puppet masters and tell them to have a great day! :)

Hi Ira,

I'll start off by joining the others in saying thanks for being on this forum, and passing on our concerns.

Just to add to a recent experience ... I checked into the CLE Airport Marriott. I was about to pick up some bottles of water from the mini-mart area when the front desk agent told me, "You are on the concierge level, there is complimentary water in your room". So I get to my room, and find 1 (one) mini bottle of water (must have been around 6 oz at most). Now, granted, I was alone, but 6 oz is a joke (if it had been 3 oz, I could at least have taken it through security at the airport ;) )

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

Dear Ira:

As others have mentioned, the wording is indeed deceptive because it says many times access to executive lounge but it's not until you click through that you find out it's closed. Some might not do all the click throughs & will indeed be upset to discover, in some cases they're paying $140 extra, for the concierge level when the lounge isn't open, and often the extra amenities you mention are no longer available (per a Marriott directive).

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...140%2BBathrobe

During the week, the differential between a normal room and an exec level room might not be that much so worth it for lounge access & the 'hopes' of some extra amenities. But during the weekend, it's ridiculous and insulting.

And as others have mentioned, since other hotel chains do have their lounges open on the weekend at similar pricing to Marriott - which does not - they are talking w/ their $$ & booking at your competitors.

But back to a main point - Marriott needs to update its booking verbiage so that it is not promising something that is not true. I'm no lawyer, but I've got to imagine that someone could indeed make a case for a bit of false advertising or expectations. And that doesn't even include the people who are getting emails from their virtual concierges offering a 'buy-up' to conceriege level - with lounge access, when the lounge is closed. That's doubly-insulting.

Cheers.

Ira,
Appreciate your no-win position here in the forum. I am, like others, venting not at you personally, but at MR corporate.
I do think the selling concierge level rooms (at extra cost) on weekend when lounge closed is not limited to SEVERAL hotels. This practice is wide-spread, affecting properties in Europe, USA and Asia.
I agree with prior posts that MR should clean-up and clarify the description on the web site.

Agree with the above, including the part that Ira is in a no-win situation. But the selling at an extra cost when the lounge is closed is more widespread than Ira believe. Marriott needs to get it sorted.

Cheers.

I'm not sure I recall a single occasion over 25 years of occasional concierge floor rooms at Marriotts in which the in room amenities were of extent or lavishness to offset a closed CL, first encountered a dozen years ago over Christmas at the Renaissance Parc 55, SF. I expected a coupon good for a free continental breakfast then. I expect the same now.

Reduced rates on weekends? You'd better offer them, CL's open or not, because in most big city hotels, on weekends there will be fewer potential guests to occupy rooms. It's called competition, and my loyalty to Marriott extends no farther than the perceived benefit ratio.

I find, no matter the rate, an exclusion from normal benefits on weekends extremely offensive (and quite discriminatory to those of us, like hotel personnel, who are called upon to work on weekends).

I'm an unhappy camper, and with a couple of stays coming up in Vienna (Rewards) and Prague also expect the same sort of breakfast as is provided as part of the tariff in far more modest hostels. That's another "tid bit" which those of us who have traveled in Europe "Pre-Marriott" find a bit off-putting. After seeing how many AMEX Reward points six nights (including a weekend) in Prague were costing me, a boat-load, I'm expecting some accentuated level of amenities including a modest breakfast. Anything less will leave me leaving feeling ripped off.

Projecting hard times at Marriott with current economic conditions? Well, the best way to reduce occupancy levels is to treat long time patrons in a fashion likely to cause them to look elsewhere (especially those who pay their bills from their own pockets).

Take a look at Post #24 of this thread as ONE example:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...arriott-2.html

This complaining all seem rather hypothetical. Has anyone actually booked a concierge room and gotten to the hotel to find it's closed, or are you really just upset that you can't get free access on weekends? If someone actually booked a concierge room for a night when the lounge is closed, I imagine the hotel would then offer breakfast and/or allow the guest to downgrade to a standard room.

People have posted that yes, they've gotten to hotel and the lounge is closed and breakfast coupons are no longer offered. There have been multiple reports of real-life experiences with that. No reports of allowing guest to downgrade - in fact, in one case the person had booked a standard room, and virtual concierge emailed a 'buy-up' to exec level w/ lounge access. The person didn't click through so didn't realize the lounge was closed, and paid extra for basically nothing.

PS - I don't get your comment re: it's closed or just not free access. It's either open for those who have booked it or for those (ie, Gold & Plat) who are entitled to free access, or it's closed for both.

Cheers.

I just want what I pay for and NOT be deceived, is that to much to ask?

You imagine the hotel... Ya, and I imagine a company who truly values their guests would NOT deceive them.

The C floor no longer means much of anything. The rooms are usually the same as other floors and the amenities are little if any different from other rooms. There is certainly no reason I can see to pay extra for a C floor. Who is Marriott trying to sell these rooms to? The only reasonable selling point could be the CL access. However, now that the offerings in the lounges have deteriorated so much and are closed weekends and other unannounced times (around holidays sometimes, for example) there is no reason to pay to be on C floor. I think Marriott is going to come to regret their recent actions.

I had this same conversation twice yesterday in regards to the Salt Lake City Center Marriott and the Park City Marriott. I must admit that while I knew the answer before hand I just had to hear them say that for the more expensive room the only extra was security to access the floor. No breakfast coupons and certainly in the case of Park City any other rate offered beyond the Concierge rooms. It is so shortsighted given the current state of affairs. Where once a vacation for us was a regular March/Summer/Xmas and often long weekend event has become quite unusual. In today's economy little things mean so much more (I actually enjoy this evolution). But to come across such blatant abuse of the consumer gives a bad feeling for the chain and one imagines is seriously damaging the culture that they worked so hard to develop. It is interesting to think I used to highly regard Marriott and appreciated their service by sending many people their way.

I tend to agree that it is likely that a downgrade would be permitted. I am not certain about the free breakfast.

On balance, I think Marriott is pretty consciencious about full disclosure - e.g. disclosing when a hotel is undergoing construction. And as I indicated in my OP, this is really about disclosures, and I did not particularly intend to have it morph into a forum for complaining about declining CL benefits.

I'll give one example. I'm not irate or anything, but see how someone else could be.

Last weekend I booked a room for he Renaissance LAX (previously one of the best hotels in the entire system when it came to the quality of the lounge). I was generously upgraded to a mini-suite on the concierge level, which clearly stated in the "room details" section on the website that it included lounge access and that the lounge was open "Sun-Sun", implying 7 days a week like it used to be.

I checked in on Thursday and out on Sunday. Thursday night and Friday morning the lounge was open, albeit with very standard fare. Saturday morning I found the lounge closed, so I went to the restaurant to ask if breakfast was complimentary. I was told that the front desk should have given me coupons at check-in if my rate included breakfast, so I paid. I later checked at the front desk and they told me breakfast was not included on the weekend, but after a little typing (and perhaps seeing my PP status?) they agreed to waive the charge and gave me coupons for Sunday morning.

Again, all was handled well and according to the rules of the program they gave me more than they had to. But if I was not a savvy Marriott traveler who simply booked a concierge room, I would clearly have expected the lounge to be open all weekend and would have been upset to find that I was "lied to" in the information on the website.

Based on the boldfaced above I think that the property owed you those coupons. I may be in the minority but if they stated what you wrote, if you booked this after the closures on the weekend started.. then they more than owed you this or some sort of room rate reduction.

another problem I had with this was at this same property where I was this week; the property info folder in the room still states that the club lounge is open 7 days a week

if the property is going to make these closures they have an obligation to update everything that says its open 7 days a week; there is absolutely no excuse for this other than the property is intentionally misleading its customers in the hopes of making a few more bucks

Actually, I got burned by this when I was a traveling newbie circa 1996 at the Marriott Slough in the UK. I was unfamiliar with the CL concept at that time.

My travel agent booked me a room there for a week long stay, told me the rate was outrageous but at least breakfast was included. So check in Friday and get a usual room on the top floor no different from any other Marriott I've been in. The only breakfast I could find Saturday and Sunday was in the restaurant and I probably signed for some outrageous buffet amount for two thinking it was included. Only Monday morning did a door mysterious open near the elevator with a limited breakfast (the CL). And of course I was charged for the weekend food. And there were other nickle and dime charges for other "free" stuff I can't recall.

This started a running gag between my traveling buddy and me as the word "complementary" had an entirely different meaning at Marriott - as not meaning "free" but "we complement you on your choice of newspaper - that will be 2 pounds please". We still joke about this to this day when we try and kiddingly try to rip each other off.

Got to give them credit as a very proper English GM responded to my complaint letter a few weeks later with 2 voice mails once Stateside and a refund check a few days later...

+1....total agreement!

These days my travel is 85% pleasure...ON WEEKENDS and 15% business....THUS.....at 95% of FS properties in which I stay on weekends, I am basically just any other paying guest...nothing special to differentiate my PP status (or Plat or Gold....we've earned our "perks")....it is discriminatory....and just plain rotten!:mad:

[QUOTE=jfhscott;11328975]I tend to agree that it is likely that a downgrade would be permitted. I am not certain about the free breakfast.

On balance, I think Marriott is pretty consciencious about full disclosure - e.g. disclosing when a hotel is undergoing construction. QUOTE]

NOT TRUE! I can site a few examples of where there IS construction that is NOT disclosed...some current, some past.

1) in 2007 the NOLa Marriott on Canal had the entire lobby torn apart, and NOTHING was said! (i am not disputing the need for a redo, they did not mention it at all! I moved to the JW 2 days early!!!)

2) Courtyard EWR/Elizabeth...currently torn apart and more than 50% of the parking lot is unusable due to contractors crap all over....the ONLY way to find this out is to CALL and the phone agent has to hunt. I discussed with the GM, Customer Care and IT! It has been this way for over a month...it is NOT on the room selection screen nor the hotel homepage. (in the hotels defense, the GM made my lousy stay right but they still did not address the fact that they do not tell guests...incidentally, the RI across the parking lot is also under a redo, and this is plainly indicated.

3) FS is torn up for renovation...part of the lobby area near the restaurant, the public phone area and part of the 3rd floor meeting room space....and one access to the pool/health club is closed....not mentioned on marriott.com

there have been others....

NOT TRUE!

When The Montreal Marriott Chateau Champlain was on strike and there was no daily housekeeping service, lounge closed, no room service, restaurant closed, pool and fitness centre closed. NO ADVANCE WARNING WHEN I ARRIVED.. YET THEY WERE ON DAY 12 OF THE STRIKE!! :mad:

I have to believe that positions like this really exist at Marriott and other travel related companies:

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-02-28/

I was there too...I went past the hotel...we used to stay there til we found the SHS in Old Montreal..

what is worse though, was that IIRC it was the hotel's ownership/management that locked out the associates...SO...I don't recall all the details, but I guess the owners didn't want to get any additional egg on their faces...and that labor action lasted for a very long time....at least that's what one of my favorite bellman told me!

the place was a ghost town....i was going to walk through and they weren't happy about it...i think they even had the restrooms closed...but they were acting as if nothing was happening...:rolleyes:

needless to say, i will stick with my happy little SHS......

And when I brought up the fact I was a Platinum with Marriott.... they threw "we are not owned by Marriott we are a franchise" in my face.

I guess they choose when and when not to be a Marriott hotel when it's convenient :rolleyes:

Yeah...BUT i will say that the last time i stayed there, Hmm 3years ago or so...the place was in really bad shape..I was in literally 10 rooms that were all either falling apart or dirty or REALLY noisy (you can hear the subway ALL OVER that place, but some of the rooms were awful) or had a crappy view....

So....the FOM showed me one last room...a 2BR, 2 Bath suite that was HUGE! mom and i 'sucked it up' there! And, we couldn't stop Room service from bringing us free crap...wine, cheese, cookies, fruit...holy cow!
:rolleyes:
Kicker is, the suite was also in REALLY bad shape! the next time we went up was the 'strike'.

Last year, i went over for a tour...they supposedly redid the place...yeah right. Wallpaper, carpet and soft goods...the old, dented, scratched falling apart furniture was STILL there...

i can see no reason for that mess to continue being called a Marriott.....

LOL. The place is pathetic. It's shabby trash at it's best. And the C Lounge? Well it looks like they just went to a garage sale and bought a bunch tables and try and pass them as antiques.

And who wants a granny's cheap dollar store glass bud vase filled with stale potpourri in their bathroom? :rolleyes:

I'm currently at the Victoria BC Marriott... wonderful hotel. They close the lounge on weekends a few months of the year.. *but* I thought it would be open this weekend.. they offer a concierge level room (with a dummy booking this weekend) that states this in room details:

Special Benefits
This room features Concierge lounge access
Open: Sun-Sat, Open: 6:30 am - 10:00 pm Daily
Complimentary food:
- Continental breakfast
- midday snack
- afternoon tea
- hors d'oeuvres
- dessert
- late night snack
Cocktails, for a fee
Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages
Honor bar
Complimentary business services
16th floor Concierge Lounge which features two flat screen TVs and computer.
Concierge Level guests enjoy a deluxe continental breakfast in the morning, satisfying snacks
throughout the day, evening hors d'oeuvres, delectable desserts, and honour bar.

So if I paid extra for that.. and it wasn't available, I prolly wouldn't be too happy. They do give coupons for a GREAT breakfast though! :)

Ron.

Booked a room at the San Francisco Marriott (Moscone Center) for Thursday & Friday nights at the concierge level rate. Details for the room show the lounge is open 7 days a week (and still does). Got to the hotel, checked in, and was given a sheet with info about the lounge. When I got to my room and read it, it says the lounge is closed from 12N on Friday to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Went back to the front desk and asked that the rate for the 2nd night be reduced to the lowest for which I qualified (and thankfully which I had happened to print out before leaving home). After some phone calls, they did reduce the rate for the night the lounge was closed, but I had to initiate the process.