factory81

SNA aside, it seems SPG is a YMMV program. Participation in Your24, how they handle resort fees for plats, etc - all a crap shoot.

I reach out to the platinum line just to be given misinformation (on multiple occasions), put on hold for ever, or worst yet - fail to follow up with someone.

Ive become very pessimist with SPG lately for a variety of reasons. I hate to say it, but IHG has actually done more for me in terms of upgrades than Starwood has this year. And maybe I set the bar too high for Starwood.

Here are simple suggestions for how to handle today better;
- if you throw someone on hold, check back with them every 3-5 minutes. 15 minutes and counting, to just get an answer to a single question?

-Westin Snowmass, seriously invest in a VoIP PBX if you can't staff the phones. I don't even know what kind of service to expect when a hotel can't pick a phone up. If its absolutely impossible to staff your hotel, route to central reservations if a caller is on hold for more than a determined period of time. If you are a cat 5 sitting with $509/nt rates....you would think.....

-Starwood, train your platinum agents to march to the same drum beat, create an internal wiki for them to search through. No excuse for misinformation or extended hold times if its just a search query away.

I might seem naive, but obviously I study up, and I know what to do. But I am just astonished to be sitting at 100 nights tonight at Starwood and to have received the most bogus customer service ever. You would have swore it was TimeWarner.....

I'm going to email Thyetus, maybe an ambassador will do something for me in the future. A single point of contact could prove beneficial, given the fact it took me several phone calls to even answer; Do I pay a resort fee? Do I pay $25 or do I pay $30, if I have to pay at all?

I just can't believe IHG is going to out-upgrade Starwood this year. I'll finish SPG this year with 107 nights. IHG I will be at all of 57 nights. After today's experience plus my disappointing upgrade experience with SNA's. Hyatt truly has a home for me for at least 50 nights next year - and probably at SPG's expense. It is like twisting arms with SPG to get an upgrade. I've been told by other SPG plats (anecdotal, but whatever) that because of my staying patterns (Sun-Fri, typically), that Starwood hotels do not often upgrade you - especially if you come back week after week (multi-week engagements); it just isn't in their best interest to tie up the nice rooms week after week, when they might need it in a pinch. I don't know how true this is. But I can confirm I have stayed at SPG hotels and been able to pretenda-book a nicer room on the day of arrival and see there be no upgrades available for myself. But who is to say they didn't give it to another more worthy plat? Who knows. My luck isn't good here tho w/ SPG.

Its clear. When I can take a vacation, everyone else wants to as well. Where do I go? Where everyone else goes to be as well. Who gives me a multi-room upgrade on Memorial day weekend in San Francisco? IC SF...

Who sells all the rooms out? SPG. I don't blame them. They don't run a charity. But the end result is my SNA's are pretty much useless, since the success rate in using them when/where I want to will inevitably be terrible.

IC Monterey and their staff this year truly was a game changer for me. Absolutely amazing upgrade during peak season. And I don't even have to ask! Its become like clockwork it seems that IHG staff at checkin "must" thank me for being platinum and follow with "we have upgraded you to.....". I mean for Hecks sake guys, I'm staying in HIX/HI properties with multi-room suites left and right it seems, and I can hardly catch a break at SPG as a platinum, yet alone some schmuck trying to use a SNA. IHG does have way more properties, and it could be unfair to compare IHG to SPG, given that I have multiple IHG properties to pick from (in areas where there is no SPG presence), and I can find the hotel with the most recent renovation - and it has been nice.

Such is life. Give me some cheese with my whine. IHG/ Kimpton has a hotel in Aspen now anyways. Hyatt offers confirmed suite upgrades. And no one is forcing me to stay at SPG.

But customer service today sucked. If this is what the platinums get at SPG, I don't even want to know what the gen public deals with for agents.

UKTraveller4Fun

Ignore this!

factory81

I also want to say that I do think the element in Las Vegas is a great hotel; with model staff, modern and spacious rooms. But here is the thing, everyone is a winner here. The presidential suite is just 2 connecting rooms without much else to it.

Every room is basically nice enough (it is Aloft style-esque, no room is clear winner, unless you prefer an ADA layout or something) to make me say; okay this isn't an upgrade - but hey, its modern, above average clean (I am looking at you.......Four Points Richmond Airport and the open/used condom I found in your drawer, yes, go check the tripadvisor review), super fast internet, good service, good hotel amenities, pretty good breakfast and Thursday night prepared dinner.

I mean, this hotel is great. This is the stuff that does keep me coming back to SPG. So it isn't all disapproval and bad experiences in SPG-land. Its just not as nice as I thought it would be, and maybe having an SPG ambassador just do all my bookings for me and prearrange with the hotel will get me a few more upgrades. I'm not asking for 1478 yellow M&M's or anything here guys....I do just happen to live out of hotel rooms basically though.

factory81

In regards to the cost of the resort fee. Between what seemed like countless phone calls, it took a team lead/followed by a manager on duty at the platinum concierge desk to confirm this. I invested way too much time just to look into $5/day difference. Maybe I should invest my time more wisely...

In regards to reaching out to the hotel, do not lose my only suite night award. Do not reach out to the hotel. I honestly just want to deal directly with a single point of contact at this point that is either a GM or a Ambassador. For what its worth, I would rather taste one night of an upgrade at a SPG hotel than no upgrade. The last real upgrade in SPG-land was...............Sheraton downtown Dallas in June/July. I received a room bigger than my apartment. I am trying to think of any other upgrades that really stick out in my mind since then. But I honestly can't recall any.

Bums me out, as I have already named 3 IHG upgrades that I can recall off the top of my head, and 4 more that just come as complete surprise.

I don't want to mix-up where my frustration lies. It is in customer service, time spent trying to get basic answers, lack of availability by the westin snowmass hotel via phone, and yes, lack of upgrade. With the platinum desk - I honestly don't even know what to believe anymore until I am talking with a team leader or manager. Just way too many inconsistencies.

How long is it acceptable for a hotel to not answer the phone? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? 15 minutes? How often should I have to keep trying, really? I am trying to call the GM to confirm the logistics of the stay(s).

This is really only a problem for myself because I have a actually have a trip I actually care about for a change, and it is booked with SPG for hotel. It is leisure, and I want it to be awesome. And here is me hoping that all of my brand loyalty when picking SPG over Hyatt, IHG, or Marriott this year would net me an awesome upgrade in Aspen.

My expectations are different for this trip. I don't want it to be just another 330 square ft. box - especially after I have read of people being stuck near loading docks at the Westin Snowmass.

If the Westin Snowmass makes me check in and out every day, waiting till 4pm to check back in - well lets just say that this week might be the last paid stay Starwood ever receives from me if that occurs. I'll move for the suite night award, because I would rather see 9 expire than 10 expire.......for petes sake

factory81

I only want the GM's number because I cannot rely on (970) 923-8200 as a point of contact for the Westin Snowmass. I mean, seriously, what do I have to do? Fax them something if I want someone to pick up on the other end?

(its a joke, the fax machine would pick up, unless of course...it was busy....)

UKTraveller4Fun

I am afraid I think your attempts in this case to locate and contact the GM are misplaced. I have often had issues with hotels and this year is probably one of the worst I have had with Starwood in the last 10 years in regards issues. I would not however try and contact a GM unless they had contacted me previously unless it was really regards a very serious point. A GM's role is generally much less customer facing unless you are a very regular guest at that property or a very high end resort.

Your issues seem mainly about:

A resort fee which you will have to pay, but this will only be what is stated on your booking. I see nowhere on SPG that states Plat's or Ambassador Guests get this waived.

SNA's - Yes they are a pain, but you have submitted them but you somehow seem to want to get ahead of the queue and cheat the system just because you see this as a special stay! It however doesnt seem like you are a regular guest at this resort or that compared to some your number of nights that high from Starwood!

Answering Phones - This I agree is frustrating, however what do you actually need to speak to them about? Do you really think the GM is the person you should be speaking to directly for this issue or maybe someone a little lower down the chain!

You don’t expect or demand to speak to a GM or their phone number for small issues you only ever do that when its a huge issue or things are getting out of control. If we all demand to speak to a GM when there is only a minor issue (and a lot of your issues seem to be with SPG rather than the hotel itself so the GM isn’t the person to speak to anyway), if everyone did this the GM would actually have no time to run the hotel in the first place! Maybe try asking for guest relations manager not the GM, its disproportionate and inappropriate in my opinion.

Also if you really dont want a 330ft square box and the trip is that important to you and its not a property you stay at much then book the suite, don't trust SNA's!

MSPeconomist

To me, the failure of a hotel to answer its main telephone number is potentially scary. What if someone needs to contact a guest in an emergency? This is a property that would get foreign guests who might not have cell phones that work in the USA. Moreover, cell phones sometimes fail, are dropped/broken, run low on battery power, or are simply inadvertently left turned off. It should always be possible to phone the hotel to reach a guest or leave a message for them.

factory81

After hearing everyone else and their sentiments in this thread, I feel as though even sitting at 102 nights when I show up to the Westin, my needs are not important enough to reach out to a GM. So I am debating if reaching out to the GM is appropriate, or if it is the right thing to do.

I feel it is the right thing to do, when I talk business, I want to talk with decision makers who have the power to change things. But others seem to feel as though a GM shouldn't be customer facing....

factory81

It was a perfect storm of screw ups yesterday from everyone. Only reason I ask for a GM's direct number is because I have given up on that Westin Snowmass number. And to add to the sour mood yesterday, the SPG Platinum team lead contacted the hotel (and by now its 8:40 Pacific time, or 11:40 EST), and then she had the gull to say "They picked up on the first ring for me".

It's like, don't tell me that. I don't care. Good for you Miss......but that doesn't help me while I tried to contact them for an extended period of time. I am seriously just trying to;

A) confirm logistics of the trip with the actual property (I can't trust SPG plat desk unless I speak with team lead/MOD it would appear)

B) try and put in some last minute requests so i can surprise my family when i show up from slaving it out on the road. Im just flying them out and meeting up at DIA and we are going to have the best trip ever. But I need Starwood to arrange a few things.

And here I am, unable to even get the hotel to pick up the phone.....and they want to charge $500+/nt for this place!

factory81

I just called the hotel and spoke with the MOD. I confirmed logistics of the trip. I will only have to change from floor 4 to floor 5 for the suite night unless reservations cancel (extremely unlikely).

I remarked about my inability to really reach the hotel yesterday for an extended period of time. She had no comment about this, but she did offer her extension as a direct dial.

All things considered;

SPG promises a lot on paper, but delivering it can be a challenge. (I am calling SNA's stay'n'prays from now on). I guess my overall take away this year is;

-I must be either staying in IHG properties with a high suite:regular room ratio, or IHG customers are just not interested in booking these suites - and I am constantly upgraded for weeks on end in IHG properties.

-Hyatt is will definitely be getting attention from me in 2015. I can't tell you how much I value the word "confirmed" right now.

-Trust is hard to gain and easy to lose, Starwood. I can't trust your agents on the platinum line. I think a lot of us would be out of jobs if we acted the way your agents did yesterday. Our employers would not tolerate us tarnishing the brand with poor customer/client experience, or providing misinformation.

-SNA's are worthless for all but the hotels no one wants to stay at, or during the times no one wants to stay. Platinum membership upgrades are tough to come by. You are basically twisting someones arm to score an upgrade at SPG. Or SPG just builds hotels with a high ratio of regular rooms:suites, or they just build them in places where suites sell out naturally. But I still get suites at IC Monterey and IC San Francisco on Memorial Day or Fourth of July, so I don't know what to say about this. Those are going to be busy times of the year for those properties.

hedoman

Factory.....so what was life like for you before you lived off an expense account? At times, it's hard to feel sorry for someone suffering so much.

karenkay

This.

Football Fan

Sounds like I should have your ambassador .

UKTraveller4Fun

The big difference between that situation and this is that in your case the hotel was showing availability. There were issues with SNA's not clearing that should historically although my understanding is those 'glitches' have generally been removed now. Your Ambassador most likely got the hotel to open up actual suite availability so your SNA's cleared, what they wont have done is push you to the front of the queue! Usually happens if the hotel actually only has higher suites available but lists lower suites for sale also in a attempt to fill the hotel!

So under the right circumstances something can happen, but a hotel is less likely to make anything happen if it has no suites and also if all nights of the stay are on seperate bookings with seperate SNA's attached!

factory81

Starwood has reached out at a high level and at least, well, made me feel like someone cared, even if there was nothing they could do about availability. Availability is availability. So thank you for that. It is a nice gesture, and they even mentioned waiving the resort charge due to my experience on 12/16.

But my thoughts on the suite night award and upgrades in general at SPG are still as follows;

I honestly at this point don't understand what a "Suite Night Award" truly is. I mean, as a gold member, plat, plat 75, and plat 100; you are supposed to get "enhanced rooms" as gold member or "upgraded to select standard suites" as platinums.

So what is this suite night award? Is it me scribbling on a piece of toilet paper, pretty pretty please upgrade this schmuck?

I get it though - it's a formal request for an upgrade based on availability. You get 10 of these. I get it. Hotels are not charities. I just wish upon a star.........that there would be more suites in their hotels.

I never felt Hyatt's puny presence of 400-500 hotels to offer much competition to Starwood, but with as much as I stay on the road, it won't be a problem to shift 50-60 nights into Hyatt-land next year - and still be a SPG platinum member who gets 10 stay'n pray's. I mean effectively I would have up to 28 confirmed suite nights in a calendar year with Hyatt + 10 potential suite nights at Starwood.

Let us pretend I could go back in time to the day I said, Hyatt or Starwood this year? And I went Hyatt. My stay this Friday would be 5 confirmed suite nights at the Beaver Creek Park Hyatt.......

Starwood, truly teaching the lessons of diversification in your point portfolio

In other news, I got to meet the new manager of the Element going up in Fargo, ND - sounds like it is going to be quite a hotel up there.

*yawn*

I guess lets just let this thread die now, like my suite night awards eventually will, LOL. Since they don't get extended either. Sometimes you just have to laugh.

Everyone go play that Linkin Park song "In the End". LOL.