satman40

This hotel was owned by the unions, guess they found a cheaper manager.

It was a nice hotel, and had a good restaurant across the street.

The trollies were fun to ride,

It was a great place, let's see who the new manager is.

KENNECTED

What do you mean a "cheaper manager"? The owner have decided that want the property to be affiliated with the Hilton Loyalty program.

Are you asking about the "new manager" are you asking about the hotels General Manager or the hotels management system?

darch1

I too received the e-mail from Starwood. I hold multiple reservations for late january, begin february. They told me that the hotel will honor my reservations. I'm a little bit worried because one of the reservations is a Starwood promotion, Sunsational savings, including 5th night free, upgrade and 200$ credit. Will the hotel honor that? On the other hand, since I hold Hilton Diamond status, I hope to have club lounge access (if the club lounge is still there!).
I asked about what if I want to cancel after october 30th and that is what they answered:

Dear Mr. XXXX,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to us.
I am happy to hear that the change of ownership will still benefit you. We will still be handling reservations and cancellation of reservations at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida up until 11:59 pm EST on October 29, 2014. After that time, you will need to get in touch the hotel directly to make a cancellation.

Best Regards,

Nick Sneider

Platinum eConcierge

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

3Cforme

Under state law the hotel has an obligation to honor your (cash) reservation as booked. It has no obligation to extend elite benefits when the property is no longer part of the chain.

mke9499

Though I only have SPG Gold status, I have been told directly by the Diplomat, as well as Starwood Corp that award (points) bookings and SPG rate bookings will not be honored. Other special rate reservations, such as AAA, will be honored.

This is a mess!

I am not touching my reservations, just yet. We will see how this all plays out, in the end, as "D-Day" is approaching.

bocastephen

I agree with the idea that award/C+P reservations that existed in the booking system at the time the contract was signed should be passed to the new owner as a liability with a clause forcing them to honor the reservations provided they remain intact (no date changes, etc). Obviously no new award bookings, but those that existed at the time of the deal should be honored by the new owner, and the transaction should work out whether the cost is a credit by SPG against the sale terms, or a cost inherited by the new owner upon deal close.

Customers should not be tossed aimlessly to the wind because of a business transaction of this type.

In fact, this requirement should be worked into the franchise agreement terms so any property owner who sells or rebrands is forced to work out this issue with no impact to already-booked customers.

Okto

Ok, this will be my last comment on this topic since repeating the same arguments tires me. Forget about Hilton and Rack rates and NYE reservations.

Quoting myself, and adding extra emphasis:


The specific mechanics of the transaction are actually irrelevant. The central argument is that the reservation is a contract, independent of whether it's made with cash or points (or cash & points ) and I'm sure, if there's the will to act, that it can easily be honored.

tormapleaf

Award bookings are paid in full, albeit with Starpoints which are not free. It is a currency. Award bookings existing as of the time of the purchase should have been dealt with as part of the purchase and sale agreement.

KSA_USA

you can't just convert points to cash NOW and hand it to the Diplomat for future reservation. the exchange rate is based on occupancy rate. occupancy rate fluctuate on a daily/weekly/ monthly basis and that is precisely why what you are suggesting won't make sense.

and sure anyone who is fully familiar with the terms of contract they entered into can sue Starwood if they have a chance. I haven't read one yet but it will be interesting to see what's in it.

sapguy

Fascinating debate.

As I am both a Starwood Platinum and HHONORS Diamond, this reflagging of the Diplomat does not affect me too much

I remembered going through basically the same thing with the Hilton SFO (formerly Sheraton SFO), a hotel where I stayed frequently at. The transition was more or less smooth.

uva185

Will there be a ceremonial unplugging of the Westin Heavenly Scent dispenser in the lobby?

darch1

I received an e-mail last week telling me that my reservations will be honored by the hotel as they are not award reservations, but today I receive another e-mail telling me that they will NOT!:

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXX,
We hope to find you well and thank you for your inquiry.
We would like to offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience encountered by the deactivation of The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa; we make every effort to minimize the disruption to our guests
Please be assured that we fully appreciate the points you have raised and would, once again like to apologize for this inconvenience, but regrettably we cannot honour your reservation as it was originally booked to this hotel being managed by a company independent from Starwood
Alternatively, should you wish to check availability at another Starwood Hotels and Resorts WW hotel you may also call us at our designated toll free line from the US 877-782-0132 or international contact number at +353-21–4539146. You can visit our site to review our other hotels in the area if you prefer to make your own alternative arrangements.
Our hotels have opened ample availability for point’s rates in a continued support through this transitioning time for our hotel.
Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel
The Westin Beach Resort & Spa Fort Lauderdale
The Westin Cape Coral at Marina Village
W Fort Lauderdale
We remain at your disposal for any additional information.
Sincerely,
Veronica Quirce

My reservations are NOT on points!!!

LovetoTravel83

I'm guessing they sent one by mistake.

Flews

Looks to me your issue is because you did your booking through a 3rd party, not Starwood. If so, isn't your beef is with the 3rd party?

Cheers,

leandrorar

Considering the property is moving away from spg, are they still giving Plats those fabulous, consistent upgrades?