DCF

But still, dear OP, you're trying to host a 30 person party by making a room booking not a function booking.

You've changed the venue but not the plan!

Yes, the W has changed its misleading advertising. But they didn't say no because they are nasty: they said no because your plan is anti-social to other guests.

clublounger

Can we PLEASE retire that overused, dismissive and meaningless expression? If you live in the "first world", then all your problems are first world!

To OP: Happy Birthday. I hope you have a first rate cake !

Miami305

When there are 45.3 million Americans currently living under the poverty line (about 1 in every 8), I very much challenge the belief that if you live in the first world, then all of your problems are equivalent.

This is fun banter about whether the W misrepresented their services, and I fully agree with the OP that the W should either ante up as promised, or offer some compensation for their misguided practices. However, to believe that this is the type of issue that most (and certainly not all) Americans deal with is insensitive at the very least.

RogerD408

This is done all the time. Many companies will host a hospitality suite at a conference that is ordinarily a guest room outfitted with more seating and/or dining area (and no they are not just used during the day). This room was represented as such and the OP did not misrepresent his intentions. The property rep he met with agreed with his plans and offered solutions to meet his needs. It wasn't until later that the property started to back-peddle about the possible booking.

The OP is not the villain here. What the property did and is doing should be embarrassing to SPG and their properties. But I do believe he will not be able to get a satisfactory resolution at this property and should take his business elsewhere. If another SPG property is willing to deal honestly with the OP, great.

Notifying the invited guests of the change in venue will be a pain. Personally, I'd ask them all to stop by the property and let them see the potential customer base they lost out on. I know I would have reservations about using the property once I heard the OP's story.

wharvey

Personally, I would refuse to give my business to a hotel that does the bait and switch. They agree to your conditions, then say no, and then say yes if you pay their F&B bribe.

That would tell me that I could just see problems the night of the event... and I do not need that.

Take your business somewhere that would appreciate your business and work with you instead of against you.

travelswithmyself

But they didn't say no because they are looking out for other guests: they said no because OP hasn't committed to paying them $4000...

MSPeconomist

I suspect that part of the problem here might be that Ms Redacted did not have the authority to offer some of the suggestions and help that she did. Perhaps she's a young, new, and naive staff member who doesn't have a clue about the business of running a hotel. I can't imagine that a hotel manager would want the staff to assist someone in procuring outside food for a large group, nor would the hotel wish to supply dishes and glassware when they're not selling the food and beverages to be consumed. This is very different from overnight guests discretely bringing takeout for their own consumption or a doggy bag back from dinner to become a midnight snack supplemented by goodies from the minibar. The hotel also could and should have liability concerns about the OP providing drinks to a crowd on their property.

I suspect that Ms Redacted was well meaning and nice but clueless. However, management should IMO do more to compromise even if they cannot cover the offers that were made by their unauthorized employee. I could understand a communication saying that the OP must have hotel staff serving alcohol, which then would be purchased from the hotel, but it would be graceful to then perhaps allow some outside food or, since that also involves some much less likely liability issues, perhaps offer a nice discount for a simple buffet style service.

One could read the former room description as suggesting that a party for 30, standup cocktail style, would be possible (some people host gatherings in their homes without lots of space) but IMO one would be expected to generally work out F&B ordering through room service.

cfabar1

I agree with the previous poster.
The hotel screwed up. They over promoted their room, you believed the hype, and a person without the real authority to do so said sounds good.

Eventually the hotel realized this wasn't what they intended and wanted to kick you out so they threw this insane demand at you to make you leave.

What I would have done as the hotel manager is say, Dear OP, I'm so sorry our hotel misunderstood your needs. While the language on our website implies one thing, the reality is our suite cannot meet your needs. We would be happy to refund you, give you 50k star points (or some other number mindful of the high price of this property that would give the OP about one or two nights for a later purpose) and invite you to stay as a guest in W Hotels soon again.

Instead, they played offense. They created an insane demand to force the OP hand. Invitations had already been sent (ops mistake for sending information BEFORE a finalized contract.... Though I suspect the OP thought booking the rooms was all he needed to do and there would be no need for a finalized contract) and now the OP is kind of up a creek. Beyond the challenge of telling people the new venue, if you are inviting work colleagues and others you know in a professional setting it looks really bad to change the venue. Especially if the new venue isn't significantly better. It makes you look disorganized, uncertain, etc.

I must say this makes me even more cautious of the New York Host Hotels, a group I have always found circumspect.

Keyser

i do....i was going to stay here for 3 nights next month but have now switched my reservation to another spg property....i hate it when a hotel goes back on their word....

CLEguy

Make sure it isn't an SPG property that has the same owner. Host Hotels owns a bunch of SPG properties in the city.

Keyser

i checked....not owned by host hotels....

jibi

It appears they have also added the following policy on the Announcements site at some point. It was not listed on their website as of November 2013. In searching the internet for "Suite Dreams Policy," it appears this is not specific to this particular W hotel and I see references to it on FT from 2007, so it is not a new policy.

I think this simply adds to the idea that the quote for a $5,000 commitment was intended to be less of an offer and more of a deterrent.

donotblink

Starwood corporate just got back to me to let me know that they’re basically unable to help in any way, and that they feel that they’re really done nothing wrong here. They insist that I am the one that has not acted in the correct manner. Does anyone have any contacts with any of the Boarding Area bloggers or travel writers that might be better at publicizing this? Apparently over 100 comments and 8,000 views on Flyertalk isn’t enough.
Thank you!
Thanks, I’m ordering a cake from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken that consists of chocolate cake, chocolate gouache and raspberry preserves. It’s to die for!
The company that I work for actually does this a lot! And while we do usually order F&B from the hotel for that, a wine and beer cart for 25 people usually comes out to just a few hundred dollars.
Agreed. I want to quickly point out a few things about Ms. (Redacted)’s position, because I don’t want people to think that she’s a random housekeeper or welcome desk agent. Ms. (Redacted) is the property’s Insider. What’s an Insider you might ask? Well, you can real the full job description here: https://www.disabledperson.com/jobs/1406362-w-insider
Here’s a few highlights:
“The W Insider DIFFERENTIATES and ELEVATES the guest experience at every W Hotel worldwide by utilizing their CONNECTION to the LOCAL COMMUNITY and TRENDSETTERS, along with ANTICIPATION of guest wishes, to LINK our guests in a meaningful way with the latest, newest and coolest, and provide INSIDER ACCESS to a world of WOW – exclusive experiences, both in and out of the hotel, that are EXTRAORDINARY, unexpected and surprising.”
“Review all relevant written communication - group resumes, daily event sheets, Starguest Arrivals and Recognition reports, WHO listings and activities within the city. Perform web based searches and other research on any WHO 1, 2 or 3 guests so as to be knowledgeable about these guests and their potential likes and needs. Contact these guests or their personal assistants in advance for more insights as needed and to learn about ways to personalize their W experience.”
“As needed and designated by the Director of Operations/Director of Rooms and Director of Sales and Marketing, the W Insider shall assist and work closely with high-end guests such as celebrities, dignitaries, top Sales team clients, etc to ensure close personal attention and a seamless experience but shall be sure not to dedicate 100% of their time only to this function.”
“Acts as a key advocate for the guest at all times. Communicates any guest opportunities they are made aware of through guest interactions in a timely manner to relevant operating departments so that appropriate action to resolve may take place. Personally follows up with guests after resolution to ensure satisfaction.”
“Ensure that special recognition of SPG membership is provided to guests when possible. In particular SPG VIP, Platinum and Gold guests. The Welcome Desk Agents shat mention and/or introduce SPG Gold and Platinum guests to the W Insider on their arrival.”
“Observes and enforces objectives and policies as designated by the Welcome Office Manager and Director of Operations/Rooms.”
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Certainly, if the hotel had made some good faith effort to make things right things right, things would not have escalated in the manner that they did!
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I’d encourage you to reach out to the hotel and let them know why you canceled! Also, feel free to PM me when you’re in NYC, I’ll buy you some drinks!
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Actually, it’s not that many:
New York Marriott Downtown
New York Marriott Marquis
Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel
The Westin New York Grand Central
W New York
W New York-Union Square

RogerD408

Really a bit surprised and not by the response. Heaven only knows what story the property is telling SPG and even though you have spoken with them I suspect they will go with the property more than not. You have invested a lot in trying to get this worked out it may be time to move on and make arrangements elsewhere.

However, I do believe it appropriate to get your story outside FT as we are a mere blip on SPG radar (in numbers, although very vocal, right William?). I find Trip Advisor to be a fairly powerful tool that has a much larger viewer population and many times the properties will actually respond to posts, unlike on FT. Also, I've seen many references to Christopher Elliott for travel issues, so check out Elliott.org to see if they want to run with your story.

CLEguy

Roughly 40% of the currently open SPG properties in Manhattan is nothing to sneeze at

Regardless, I hope you've been able to work out something with Hyatt. I agree that this is a pretty ridiculous situation.