Website Warning: Not All Hotels Listed
Jun 30, 2012, 4:57 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: DFW, 3.5 MM, AA EXP, LIFETIME PLATINUM, MARRIOTT LIFETIME PLATINUM, STARWOOD AMBASSADOR 223 NIGHTS, AND LIFETIME GOLD, HILTON DIAMOND, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE ELITE
Posts: 5,847
Website Warning: Not All Hotels Listed
Warning:
There appears to be yet another issue with the website.
If you type in Dallas (for example), normally it will list 12-14 hotels.
As of last night, only 6 hotels are listed.
The same problem with Los Angeles. The website only lists 6 hotels - however, on a normal day, there are easily 15 hotels shown.
I have notified PLT Concierge of this. Has anyone else noticed this?
There appears to be yet another issue with the website.
If you type in Dallas (for example), normally it will list 12-14 hotels.
As of last night, only 6 hotels are listed.
The same problem with Los Angeles. The website only lists 6 hotels - however, on a normal day, there are easily 15 hotels shown.
I have notified PLT Concierge of this. Has anyone else noticed this?
Jun 30, 2012, 5:54 am
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Thailand
Programs: Marriott - P; HH - G; Hyatt - P; Avis - LT First
Posts: 5,023
Dallas now showing 19 props and LA 24 so whatever problem you were having isn't there any longer..............
Warning:
There appears to be yet another issue with the website.
If you type in Dallas (for example), normally it will list 12-14 hotels.
As of last night, only 6 hotels are listed.
The same problem with Los Angeles. The website only lists 6 hotels - however, on a normal day, there are easily 15 hotels shown.
I have notified PLT Concierge of this. Has anyone else noticed this?
There appears to be yet another issue with the website.
If you type in Dallas (for example), normally it will list 12-14 hotels.
As of last night, only 6 hotels are listed.
The same problem with Los Angeles. The website only lists 6 hotels - however, on a normal day, there are easily 15 hotels shown.
I have notified PLT Concierge of this. Has anyone else noticed this?
Jun 30, 2012, 6:21 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: AUS
Posts: 690
This happens often. It depends on which Akamai/CDN server you're accessing when your computer connects to starwoodhotels.com. Starwood HQ won't see the problem because they're accessing their servers directly.
Can you post the IP for www.starwoodhotels.com on your Internet connection?
Can you post the IP for www.starwoodhotels.com on your Internet connection?
Jun 30, 2012, 6:47 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: DFW, 3.5 MM, AA EXP, LIFETIME PLATINUM, MARRIOTT LIFETIME PLATINUM, STARWOOD AMBASSADOR 223 NIGHTS, AND LIFETIME GOLD, HILTON DIAMOND, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE ELITE
Posts: 5,847
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefe..._hotels_033011
Still having issues wuth the website. I wish Starwood IT would fix this problem.
Still having issues wuth the website. I wish Starwood IT would fix this problem.
Jun 30, 2012, 7:07 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: AUS
Posts: 690
That's the URL. The IP address is like a phone number for computers. For example, if you call Starwood from the US, you dial (+1)8886254988 and get routed to the Canadian call center, but if you call from the United Kingdom, you dial (+44)80032555555 and your call might get sent to Ireland.
Similarly, when you click on a link that points to www.starwoodhotels.com, your computer uses DNS to turn that into the address of a computer close to you, which has a copy of the Starwood website and database and handles most of your interaction with Starwood.
You might connect to one server from Time Warner and a different one from AT&T. Sometimes, one of those servers has a bad copy of the Starwood database, and it “forgets” that certain hotels exist. At the same time, other servers (like the ones BKKLEE and Starwood HQ might be using) work fine. So Starwood doesn't believe you when you point out the problem.
You can find out which IP address your computer is currently using to contact www.starwoodhotels.com by opening Terminal in your Utilites folder and typing dig www.starwoodhotels.com. (On Windows, type nslookup www.starwoodhotels.com at the command prompt.) The IP address will be four numbers, separated by dots, after “IN A” or “internet address =”.
As a temporary workaround, try http://☁.ws/SPGisdowntoday
Similarly, when you click on a link that points to www.starwoodhotels.com, your computer uses DNS to turn that into the address of a computer close to you, which has a copy of the Starwood website and database and handles most of your interaction with Starwood.
You might connect to one server from Time Warner and a different one from AT&T. Sometimes, one of those servers has a bad copy of the Starwood database, and it “forgets” that certain hotels exist. At the same time, other servers (like the ones BKKLEE and Starwood HQ might be using) work fine. So Starwood doesn't believe you when you point out the problem.
You can find out which IP address your computer is currently using to contact www.starwoodhotels.com by opening Terminal in your Utilites folder and typing dig www.starwoodhotels.com. (On Windows, type nslookup www.starwoodhotels.com at the command prompt.) The IP address will be four numbers, separated by dots, after “IN A” or “internet address =”.
As a temporary workaround, try http://☁.ws/SPGisdowntoday
Last edited by Moriens; Jun 30, 2012 at 7:15 am Reason: added workaround
Jun 30, 2012, 8:13 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,990
Cheers,
Jun 30, 2012, 8:48 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: AUS
Posts: 690
That's just not possible. (Your computer is just loading a web page, and there's no reasonable way to accidentally drop exactly the middle part of a web page that exactly lists the missing hotels, but still get the top and bottom right.)
You're on different networks, talking to different servers. Every once in a while, one of those servers has a problem that results in a few hotels (usually, but not always, several per city) going missing from its database.
Imagine calling the call center and getting an agent who is unaware of any Westins around Los Angeles. (Maybe they have a printed directory with a page ripped out.) Other people call the same call center and reach fully informed agents. The same thing happens when Starwood tries to follow up on the problem. So everyone assumes that you mispronounced Los Angeles or something. Instead, the important piece of information would be the name or extension of the misinformed agent with the defective directory, which corresponds to the IP address of the server with the bad database copy.
You're on different networks, talking to different servers. Every once in a while, one of those servers has a problem that results in a few hotels (usually, but not always, several per city) going missing from its database.
Imagine calling the call center and getting an agent who is unaware of any Westins around Los Angeles. (Maybe they have a printed directory with a page ripped out.) Other people call the same call center and reach fully informed agents. The same thing happens when Starwood tries to follow up on the problem. So everyone assumes that you mispronounced Los Angeles or something. Instead, the important piece of information would be the name or extension of the misinformed agent with the defective directory, which corresponds to the IP address of the server with the bad database copy.
Jun 30, 2012, 10:06 am
#8
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, SPG
Posts: 14
Apparently, Starwood was having problems yesterday. I tried to book an awards reservation and received an error message. After lunch, I tried again, successfully. However my remaining points indicated my points were deducted twice. No problem since I wanted two rooms. I checked my stays and only one reservation was showing. I called customer service and was told their computers were down and to try the call again later. I called later and the agent restored my points and booked the additional room.
Jun 30, 2012, 3:38 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: DFW, 3.5 MM, AA EXP, LIFETIME PLATINUM, MARRIOTT LIFETIME PLATINUM, STARWOOD AMBASSADOR 223 NIGHTS, AND LIFETIME GOLD, HILTON DIAMOND, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE ELITE
Posts: 5,847
Special THank You to the gentleman who provided the link to the temporary workaround.
I don't think that the problem was "specific to my computer". I am on spg.com at least once a day (will hit my 100 nights this week), and this is the first time I have seen this particular issue.
Jul 1, 2012, 1:55 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: United Gold, BA Plat, Starwood Plat, Hilton Silver
Posts: 238
Yes, spg.com was messed up.
W Hong Kong didn't exist on Saturday.
Jul 1, 2012, 6:17 am
#11
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: All Over
Programs: DL Gold, AA EXP, SPG Plat, Hilton Dia, Hyatt Glob, CC Gold, Avis President's Club
Posts: 574
Something is definitely wrong .... I searched for New Orleans and only the W French Quarter is showing up (for multiple dates).
Jul 1, 2012, 7:35 am
#12
Join Date: Aug 2005
Programs: SPG, AA: PLAT; Hilton: Diamon, UAL: Premier Exec; IC_PriClub; 308 hours flying Boeing 707's
Posts: 242
Probable Leap Second adjustment issue
I was looking in London and the W, and LHR Sheraton's are no longer visible or bookable. I know all servers using UTC had to update their time for last night's leap second. Is it possible that the change to the time caused thier servers to see old dates because they thought they were in different times and maybe affects Starwood's database as well?
-- CaptainG
-- CaptainG
Jul 1, 2012, 7:54 am
#13
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SYD
Programs: UA GS, BA Gold, Marriott Titanium/LT Plat, IHG Gold, National Exec Elite, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,419
spg.com shows only 6 hotels for NY, so something is definitely broken.
This could be anything: there was a major outage in Amazon's EC2 data center the other day and that affected lots of companies.
This could be anything: there was a major outage in Amazon's EC2 data center the other day and that affected lots of companies.
Jul 1, 2012, 8:46 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
I don't recall a leap second adjustment or Amazon outage when I reported an incomplete list of Beijing hotels to Starwood last fall. This was in clear self-interest: a property where I had a reservation disappeared from the current list. The official reply blew it off with a 'See? There it is.' pasting from internal systems. The non-appearance lasted for several days.
I don't expect hotel reservation display systems to be as reliable as banking records, but Starwood's is feeble. So too, is the Hilton web site.
I don't expect hotel reservation display systems to be as reliable as banking records, but Starwood's is feeble. So too, is the Hilton web site.
Jul 1, 2012, 9:45 am
#15
Join Date: May 2010
Location: SoCal
Programs: SPG PLAT, AA Plat (2MM), BA, UA/CO
Posts: 442
Problems Persist
Yesterday I was getting 11 or 13 for New York. Things are a little better today, but still not fixed. For example, Westin Times Square has vanished!