jabbered

I haven't been around here that long, but know enough that every complaint or issue be it at a hotel or airline is perfectly portrayed without any bias or missing details here.

That's all I'm saying.

MSPeconomist

Lots of people invite others to parties in their homes and don't necessarily have this much space per person. Indeed, I've had 30-40 for cocktails in about 1400 square feet and I even kept the door to the bedroom and ensuite bathroom closed.

It's a bit unclear how the suite floor plan would have worked with the party and specifically whether the OP had planned to have people spending time in the suite bedroom, versus using it for coats or not using it at all. If the OP didn't want guests in the bedroom (hopefully the suite has at least a second powder room), then the effective space is reduced, but it still doesn't seem unreasonable from a crowding viewpoint. However, there could be regulations about maximum occupancy of the rooms in addition to the maximum number that can legally sleep there. [As I said earlier in this thread, some SPG hotels have rules about the maximum number of people that may be in a room or suite at any time, thereby limiting visitors and parties.]

MSPeconomist

Note that my post begins with the word IF.

sethb

For those who disagree, pick your favorite hotel with function space. Go to their web site, and look at the sizes and capacities of various function rooms.

418 square feet holds 50 for a reception.
768 square feet holds 90 for a reception.

I'll admit that suites have more space-wasting furniture (and bathrooms, kitchens, etc.) than function rooms, but still . . .

jibi

OP states that the manager said a reasonable number of people to attend his birthday party would be 10. The hotel has stated he could have an event at the hotel as long as he paid for it as an event. No false advertising. The hotel's comments are counter to what their policies suggest about not having parties, of course.

OP has supposedly booked other birthday parties at the W Lexington and W Times Square, so that would make the OP a bit more experienced with event planning than the average blinker. I would assume the OP has likely learned a few lessons in his days as an amateur birthday self-planner: 1) How to properly book and hold an event at a hotel and 2) How to book an event a hotel for the cost of the rooms and 3) How to do something that likely makes the hotel want to back out of any verbal arrangement they may have started negotiating with him.

It really does favor an FT member when we only hear their side of the story. There has been very little acknowledgement of that fact in this thread. If we had to score this out of 100, I would say the OP may have about 56% and the W would have the remaining 44%. Throw in the W's side of the story and that probably tilts things in their favor. One way or the other, both parties (no pun) are at fault.

LovetoTravel83

This thread is still going?!

UA-NYC

Has turned into a more general conversation of 1) rooms in parties, and 2) the accuracy in recognition (or lack thereof) of the (nearby) Grand Central Terminal name

sethb

So you think $5,000 F&B requirement for 10 people makes sense? In what universe?

The W hotel's own website says that a 500 square foot function room holds 35 people for a reception. A 1,000 square foot suite is somewhat larger than a 500 square foot function room.

HHonors OUTSIDER

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 4.4.2; en-us; LGL31L/V100 Build/KOT49I.L31L10d) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/30.0.1599.103 Mobile Safari/537.36)

It looks like sethb with post # 203 has won the Op's case against the property and the wonderful corporate customer service. Op please let them know they lost and and let us know what your compensation will be. Thank you sethb.

DCF

Sorry, but that is nonsense.

200 square feet is the bathrooms. Take it out.

400 square feet is the bedroom. Take it out.

At best, 400 square feet is the lounge area - but on the pictures it looks significantly less than that.

A 1000 square foot function room has fire code approval for multiple occupancy, soundproofing, is located away from guest rooms, has appropriate entry and exit points and tends to have its own elevators or escalators.

A suite on a guest floor has none of those features.

The OP's plan was self-centred and inconsiderate towards other guests. I don't think he is in any way a bad person, simply that being a NYC resident he is probably desensitised to crowding and Neighbor noise in a way that most of us who live in places with higher levels of personal space and tranquillity are not.

The hotel was wrong to initially countenance such an event, although I suspect that they understood the OP to be planning a small dinner party at the table for 4-5.

And the hotel's advertising was grandiose and misleading.

But they are doing the right thing by their other guests in not allowing this inflated and inevitably disruptive party for 30+ to be hosted in a guest room.

neuron

I am not sure your reasoning is correct wrt the agreement and the followup.
First an agreement was made. Full stop. It was not until very recently that this agreement was cancelled!
Further, the hotel offered an F&B resolution. Well if it wasn't good before, why is throwing $5K at it better? Your point re: imposition on other guests is not resolved by what the hotel offered. Further, adjacent rooms could have been booked, limiting the noise pollution.
Finally, there is no reason to believe that the OP and his guests would have been disrespectful to other guests. Often when parties get too loud, simple security calls suffice in lowering the noise level.

While I resisted posting on this thread, the OP negotiated in good faith and was utterly let down by the hotel (one that I like very much) and SPG Corporate. Should he pursue this case, I think there is merit in his argument (and also that the hotel was willing to disavow its own restrictions if the OP threw some more (a lot) of $$ towards F&B.) This should have been caught months before, not weeks before an event. Sadly, this seems like the shifty Sheraton Pasadena thread where arbitrary, non-contractual decisions are made.

jibi

I am unsure if the OP was told that 10 would be reasonable with or without the F&B requirement. I do not think $5,000 is reasonable for 10 people, but it may be reasonable for an event hosted at an "upscale" hotel in Manhattan irregardless of the number of guests. I am still of the opinion that the hotel simply put a number out there in order to make their property less appealing to the OP. Of course, they are likely getting more than they bargained for with the OP's response to their counteroffer.

sethb

Want to bet $10/square foot on the size of the bathroom? I've never seen a hotel bathroom that large, even in Presidential Suites.

So now you're claiming that the parlor area is smaller than a bedroom? For the smallest suites, the parlor is the size of a bedroom; for major suites, it's a multiple of that size.

clublounger

WHAT???? Nobody is allowed to enter the bedroom? Ridiculous argument you've made.

donotblink

When I had my birthday celebrations in the past, I didn't do anything differently than I did this time. Because the W on Lexington Avenue was sorry that they were more than two hours late checking me in last year, one of their talent coaches actually went out to The Meatball Shop to pick up a big platter of meatball sliders. I really went out of my way to be accommodating to the hotel as I possibly could; I think I was really reasonable by booking surrounding rooms, voluntarily ending the celebration at 11pm, and subsequently offering to spend nearly the room rate on food (and then offering to further increase that).

I also think that I've been good about telling both sides of the story (although I don't really understand the hotel's argument), I think I was really reasonable to not include the names of hotel employees on this thread, which could have potentially hindered future career opportunities for them.

I can tell you that in the past, people have used the bedroom as an additional space to spend time. You're also forgetting that one of the rooms that I booked is connecting and adds 274-300 additional square feet (according to the hotel's website). That room also adds another fire exit, a third bathroom, and additional seating.

I really resent that fact that you continue to say 30+ (in some previous posts you've said 32), I stated that I intended to have 25-30 people at the celebration, which was including myself. On the first round of invites that were sent out, I only received 18 yes RSVPs.

Thank you, I am currently reviewing a number of options.