lcpteck

Great review, did you receive any room upgrades after you asked at frontdesk?

My experience with Langham Place Xiamen was there was no upgrade offered and I didn't bother to ask since I was already overwhelmed with the room and service. I asked for local amenity but didn't see any in my room (property still very new). As for Langham Xintiandi, Shanghai, they did not offer an upgrade hence I did ask nicely and managed to get the next category room (corner room). I also receive the amenities that I picked on my preferences.

It looks like as though they don't offer room upgrades proactively, so I guess we'll have to ask nicely and see what's the result.

For Langham Place Xiamen, I was given access to the Club Lounge which doesn't appear to be the norm. For Langham Xintiandi, Shanghai, you'll have to purchase access/Club room.

platinumboy

Hey - been so long since I posted here... but interested if any 1865 Destiny members have chimed in? I'm still a Voyager member after 5 years or so now, and although I still enjoy Langham's personal attention and service levels, I think their 1965 program is very dated in its delivery. And the 1865 member site is a total abomination... Looks like it was hand-coded in the 90's.

I'm not a massive fan of the arbitrary 'invite-only' Destiny membership either, I like to know what I'm shooting for, and what to expect when I read the goal.

Keen to hear what others think.

lcpteck

Unfortunately there haven't been any Destiny members who responded since I first asked this last year or so. I guess not much FTers are 1865 members, let alone Destiny ones.

777 global mile hound

There is no doubt that Langham has quality hotels with sometimes outstanding hard product with better than average service
It also has non competitive pricing (more like Ritz Carlton) generally for those guests that are not price sensitive.
Unfortunately their guest program is simply tragic and out of date,unreliable as well as out of touch.
Even if it made sense which in places it does you would have to be consistent in delivering the benefit's you promise in your program
My stay at 600 dollars plus tax a night was pathetic and that was cheap compared to the normal 750 to 800 dollars and up a night rates
for a guest room that Langham typically asks for in NYC
My first brief stay at Langham Place NYC as a test was incredibly disappointing on every level other than their fantastic Dux bed ^
Some of the team were insincere, service levels were inconsistent to poor and the promised perks completely non existent for what was included in the daily rate
and what should have been delivered in program benefits
My rate was to include access to a Maserati and driver based upon availability
for one way very short drop offs locally except that they wouldn't take arrange bookings in advance and refused to tell me when the car if ever would appear.
The Doormen said fully booked we can call you a taxi
In over 24 hours not I or my guests ever saw the car at anytime in front of the hotel which leads me to believe its a come on/bait and switch in their marketing

The Program
I was granted elite status and prior to the stay Langham failed to notify me that they revoked my status just months after being elite
They then returned my status after my stay when I complained.(Only because I ended up knowing someone unexpectedly in management )
What program drops your tier status and doesn't notify you by email or a letter? Welcome to Langham's aberration of a guest program
These folks make Sofitel's program look brilliant by comparison.

Finally there is no official call center that handles Langhams program members questions or concerns
You have to call one of the hotels to ask questions (typically from my experience handled out of Langham Boston)
Then you have to be lucky to reach that one person in the world Monday to Friday and not get a voicemail.
And get this how many people in this global program are dedicated to Voyager customer service?
Apparently from what was shared with me one representative at their Boston property
No frequent traveler dedicated to a program is going to deal with such nonsense and lack of commitment to their program and guests.
The Langham folks have put next to no effort in customer relationship management of their program.
As others have noted the member communication is spotty and team members are poorly trained inside the hotels
Each hotel from my own observation will either ignore some or all of the members benefits based on cost cutting ,sloppy consistency, lack of training protocols and or laziness.
Hotels are not held accountable to honor benefits that's the first number one problem.
All hotels have to be on board especially when you are a small program with a small footprint of limited properties out there
Service is not something that only happens inside the hotel it also is contacting reservations and any
any point of contact within the brand or program. Langham is its own worst enemy
My only hope is that the company gets bought out so we could stay in the hotels with a decent reliable program and dedicated management
Hopefully now or in the coming future they actually care to fix/address all/most issues.
I could easily see myself as a regular Langham customer as the hotels are highly desirable but for me at any price Langham nor its program is a prime time choice at present.

lcpteck

Thanks for the review 777 global mile hound.

What a terrible experience at the NYC property. I'm quite surprised of the outcome. Did they give a reason why your elite status was revoked?

You're right regarding the governing of the loyalty program and out of hotel service. Everything seems to be controlled and decided by the property itself, there isn't any centralized point of contact that you can talk to regarding complains, feedback, or even their Best Rate Guarantees. It is all decided by the intended property.

It still does have a long way to go to build up it's loyalty program as compared to the bigger well established chains. My two experiences at two of their properties in China ended quite well so I will still continue to maintain the membership (2 stays per membership year). Will try out their other properties later this year or next year when I have the chance.

777 global mile hound

You nailed it.Well said and good overview
Even with Langhams massive layers of marketing dysfunction they have some fantastic management folks in select hotels that they
stole away from Starwood in Australia at the corporate level and at select hotels.
That won't help the Langham program but it will make for some positive guest experiences on property
When I questioned why my elite status was revoked after weeks of research a hotel manager who was kind enough to follow up (they have no folks working on behalf of the program)
shared with me the following
Lets say you sign up on October 1 your elite status expires on Dec-31
Unless you had two stays in what they consider to be their calendar year
They don't give you 12 months
I also had to call a hotel manager to get my Qantas points posted.

Walked out of the buffet breakfast in the main lobby no hosts to greet or seat you.
Folks just walk around and apparently seat themselves and serve themselves until approached for beverages
I went upstairs to the more formal restaurant which looked nice where I was professionally greeted and immediately seated
However after ten minutes plus of not a single server approaching my table I had it and went down to Andaz 5th avenue where I had a fantastic breakfast by some of the nicest welcoming team members in the city
At Andaz they don't play fake nice which I cringe at any hotel or wherever I see. One could do a comedy sketch on it.

Langham pleases many guests and I can see why where they get it right they excel especially if nothing goes wrong with the program or stay itself
Unfortunately for most frequent travelers they want a trustworthy program to deliver the value in their relationship and receive consistent recognition
My recommendation? is to run away from Lngham as fast as someone can
If one insists staying with Langham my advice would be to build relationships inside the hotel and one might fare much better
They do not have 5 star Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons service recovery. Be prepared to negotiate or fight when the promised benefits don't show up
They remind me of Sofitel to some degree. Great learning experience I would try another Langham just never be loyal to their brand and program

lcpteck

That is strange, my membership is currently tagged by membership year. I recently received an email confirmation that my Voyager status is renewed for the next 12 months (which I've also received the previous year around this time).

Totally agree, very true indeed. I hope your next Langham experience would be a better one.

LuisHK

Actually I've no idea how they manage the membership... I last stayed at Langham 3 years ago but I've been receiving mail from time to time telling me that my gateway status is intact for another year - I thought this require stays to maintain?

lcpteck

Maybe they lack members and are trying to retain them by giving away Gateway status?

As discussed, they definitely have a lot of work ahead of them regarding their loyalty program. I'm still holding on to it as it requires very little upkeep (2 stays per membership year) and they do have nice properties in Asia.

RA-wannabe

Furthermore, I find langham's toiletries to be mildly offensive. It claims that the fragrance is from Laura Tonatto. But the scent is so weak and the fact that it is made in China does not inspire much confidence. I have a feeling that it's a cheap bootleg version of Laura Tonatto's product.

The entire chain is so unpredictable. If things go well, things go well. If things don't go well, service recovery is sort of a mix. They need a better hotelier to run this chain and not run it like a cheap family business.

platinumboy

Hey there, Thanks for the detailed review - sounds like a pretty terrible experience!

I'm also Accor Platinum and thought I'd pick up on this comparison. Both programs don't seem to have much connection between promised benefits and actual delivery. But I have found the Langham Hotels in Asia very good > excellent in delivery of membership recognition, particularly with Welcome amenities and service perks... But you're very right about personal relationship. I'm a very regular guest and have done some business with the brand, so perhaps I red flag when staying there.

The Langham's in the US are a different story altogether. Although I love the retreat out of LA with Pasadena, they pretty much do their own thing. Member benefits are a side business there, as occupancy is high and they [Langham] are purely operating a brand positioning exercise. Similar to the New York and Chicago properties. So they have quite some work to do in brand experience consistency and member recognition.

As for membership points (airline points) and retaining Langham 1865 status, it's all handled by a team in Hong Kong (When I say team, I mean 2 people) So it's no surprise that it's easier to retain your membership at Gateway level than risk losing potential customers.

They are a privately owned company, and very (very) conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment in innovation (as much as they say it's part of their DNA)

lcpteck is right, it'll be interesting to watch how things go with the announced expansion plans... I'm not entirely convinced they have the right structures in place to handle it myself.

777 global mile hound

Appreciate the thoughts and feedback.
This forum has a good handful of bright experienced travelers that know their stuff
It would be great to have Langham as a solid choice. At present it’s a last resort when the other majors are overpriced and I am willing to settle for whatever happens at a premium.
Asia is one of the better regions in the world even Hilton & Conrad's excel in that region
To some degree it's hard to find a bad luxury hotel even when one complains about a poor performing 5 star.
They are probably exceptional compared to most other worldwide brand standards with typically lower defect rates in house.
That region typically gets guest service right at least outwardly and they work hard at it even if it isn't always sincere
Those folks are good at the details of making stays special,
Luxury Chocolates in the room, flowers, lavish buffets, presentation and kind respectful to their guest at the very least.

Langham individual hotels seem like a bunch of properties that are independent and participate in some outside third party loyalty company that runs a lose based group of benefits based on they want to offer something to compete with the majors
One such glaring example no welcome letter no mention of your tier or lack of it a check in and a guess at what you should receive even if you are elite.
I booked through American Express Platinum card which offers another set of benefits of which I printed out the list to be sure I would receive some or most of them.
At some point I will write a more extensive review of my actual stay for those patient enough to read through it

lcpteck

Looks like they're planning to add another property there as per this article.

zqsn5678

My Langham experience up-to-date has always been positive. I have stayed at Langham Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Langham Place HK and Eaton HK. Most properties would have been multiple times.

Voyager amenities has always been consisted, welcome letter/card, newspaper, late check-out (6pm), white wine, fruits, bottled water and often room upgrades.

that’s to be honest, 1865 is great for leisure travellers (single night stay-ers) as the qualification is so easy and the privileges are fairly decent.

My experience with contacting the 1865 and directly with hotels, both via email has always been respond promptly and to my satisfaction.

777 global mile hound

Appreciate the input
I think many of us would like to know the percentage generally of upgrades you receive and what you receive in the way of upgrades to suites or best rooms
that make this a valuable or a must have program to earn compared to the majors.
For some of us the benefits nor the communication and execution of the Langham program is not working consistently

I was so frustrated and challenged by my experience I am now Gold with Marriott Rewards through the Ritz Carlton Visa and staying in Ritz Carlton
as well as staying in the better Marriott and Autograph properties
The ability to have such an extensive reach of properties and the ability to earn and redeem with reasonable trust and delivery has me not certain I ever wish to deal with Langham

In my own situation I am thankful that I am now lifetime SPG Platinum and Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond and feel I have most of what I need anywhere in the world
without having to beg anyone for my benefits even if its at select isolated properties. Most of the properties I do stay in are seasoned
and know the drill to keep their elites/frequent travelers happy