Hotel Services Sanity Check
 

Basic question: should I reasonably expect bell service (i.e luggage assistance) to be available when checking into a 3 or 4-star "full service" hotel?

Background - we were booked into a major chain full service hotel property (3 or 4 star rating, depending on source) for a four-night stay to attend an event that was being held at that same hotel's attached conference center. I usually go self-help with bags to room, but after a long, stressful day on the road I really wanted some help to make the process go easier, and was of course willing to tip accordingly.

After being given the room key, turned around and saw that the bell desk on the other side of the lobby was unmanned. Returned to the front desk and was told that the one bellman on duty was "off site" and thus unavailable. Was further informed that the luggage carts were "circulating" - meaning that I was completely on my own to find one. There were a fair number of people checking in, since the hotel was sold out for the event - which btw was in planing for a year, and the hotel has been sold out for the past six months.

Eventually obtained a cart through the grace of another guest who noticed how long I had been waiting - front desk staff (neither of them, only two present for a 300-room hotel) was of no further help.

Discussed situation with hotel GM next day and was dismissed with "the problem was all the members of your group checking in at the same time", no apology, no acceptance of any responsibility. This is factually incorrect, only about one-third checked in on the night before the event began, remainder checked in next day. And, I have no control over what time other individuals attending the same event may choose to check in.

Same event was held at another hotel last year, and that property's solution was to keep a list in arrival order of guests requesting use of a cart or asking for bell service. When a cart or bellman became available, guest at top of list was paged. This was a perfectly agreeable solution to me.

So, am I wrong to expect bell service to be available at a "full-service" hotel, and that the hotel would be staffed to handle the guest checkins known at least six months in advance, or this just a level of service that is a thing of the past?

Tom

I hate bell service, as it always seems they grab your bags whether you want them or not.

Sounds like they should have had more staff there for the rush. Mention that to your group's organizers to help hem plan where to hold the event next year.

Unless they made some sort of representation that they provide bell service, I don't think you're justified in "expecting" anything.

Most people don't want or like bell service anyway, so I'm not surprised the staff didn't care.

Hotel Services Sanity Check
 

How many bags did you have? Did they not roll? I typically see users of bell service as non-business travelers with children and a lot bags. Maybe I missed something and you had a lot of stuff for this conference.

As for that expectation, I've been to a lot of business meetings/conferences where the headcount is in excess of 800 and while these are JW's and Ritz's capacity just does not allow it. If I were on a vacation and not there for a large conference I think expectations would be that it should be available.

I'd expect it, but certainly wouldn't expect any compensation if it wasn't available. It is true though that if there is no bell service they should have readily available luggage carts.

Hotel Services Sanity Check
 

It sounds like the hotel should have organised more staff to be on duty if they were sold out for a conference. I also think the GM could have apologised.

Sounds like a crappy hotel with poor service standards.

Chances are the bellman was running a shuttle somewhere - I had friend who worked front desk at a fairly craptacular but "4 star" place and he had to drive the shuttle to places on occasion. They'd just grab anyone on staff, even maintenance, to run the shuttle around so they could claim they offered shuttle service to X, Y, and Z.

Honestly, "the problem was that your group was all checking in at once" is a remark that would cause me to resist backhanding the manager as someone trained extensively in customer service. Seriously, makes me want to take my white glove off and slap him across the face with it.

The problem is not that any number of people showed up at a particular time - it's that the hotel was understaffed and pretending to offer an amenity it does not. Real high end hotels have dedicated bell staff, always have someone working the luggage room, and more than enough carts - which are used by bell staff and thus retrieved, not just "take that if you need it."

There's not much you can really do about it - if they are a chain be certain to mention how crappy they were to the higher ups - but you're not wrong in being upset. It's not like you went to a cheap roach motel with outside corridors and a free breakfast and were shocked no one would help you with your bags. They have bell services, they should HAVE bell services.

My hospitality experience comes from working for a company that specializes in "Vacations" and yet hosts conferences regularly. The hotel with highest convention capacity has room for 6,690 attendees.

If the company had created an under-staffing situation that led to this sort of service, heads would roll.

Hotels can't win.

Offer bell service people complain about bellmen (bellpeople?) grabbing bags and yet another person you feel pressured to tip.

Don't offer it and people complain it's not available.

I do agree with the lack of luggage carts. There are never enough of those things around it seems.

I think it should "be available", yes. I had the something of the same experience at the JW Indy, came in with a husband on crutches and a massive amount of luggage and the staff just stood by and watched us struggle. Acceptable for a Fairfield Inn, not the JW. The manager rather snottily informed us later that there was a conference in town and and carrying our own luggage was standard for a convention hotel. As if we should have known what the hotel's schedule was (we were there on vacation).

Then again, it's a balancing act for the staff, because there's another hotel that yanks my 22" rollaboard out of my hands as soon as I enter the lobby. But really, they should be able to determine who needs the service and who doesn't.

Also, if they really aren't sure whether or not someone needs/wants help, why not just ask? Or even ask everyone? That way Ms. 22" Rolling Bag Who's Mid Chemo and Exhausted would still get help, and Ms. Eight Bags Whose Three NFL Linebacker Sons Will Be Here in a Second could graciously decline.

This sort of excuse really bothers me. I was at a hotel that was hosting a conference, and there was no hot water in the morning. Upon reporting this to the front desk, the response was "Oh, that happens whenever we have a conference - everyone takes a shower an hour before it starts!" The implication was that it was like an "Act of God" situation that was beyond the hotel's control, but it was far from it. In fact, if a hotel is in the business of hosting conferences, it should be prepared for all that means, from dealing with a crunch of people checking in the night before to having enough hot water for everyone.

Thanks for the perspectives. For general information, this was a historical reenactment type of event that most attendees had a carload of baggage for - four or more costume changes over the weekend. I understand that this creates a greater than normal demand, and was perfectly willing to wait my turn, but that was not offered.

And yes, the sole bellman on duty was driving an airport shuttle.

I think the hotel was inadequately prepared for this event, even with six months or more to plan. I lay responsibility for that squarely in the GM's lap. A couple of direct quotes from him:

"I could have had 20 bellmen on and it wouldn't have been enough" - perhaps true, but there were not 20, not 10, not five, but one...and he was not in the hotel.

"We have people that fill in when we are short on bell staff" - so, where were they?

Basically, he blamed his customers for the problem over and over again.

At this point my issue is not the original problem, but the manager's rude, patronizing, arrogant, unapologetic, and dismissive treatment. I will be pursuing that up the management chain.

Definitely pursue this matter with upper level management. Make it known that the GM needs to be aware that he is in the "hospitality" business.

3* no 4* yes i think that is one of the features that distinguish the two.

I expect luggage assistance when staying at "full-service" hotels. At a minimum, I expect that it is offered, and should I care to decline, I can. If it's a scheduling problem or a lack of employees, then management needs to apologize, and not blame the guests for wanting to use a service that is advertised.

more important than the services offered is the concept of service recovery when there are service failures. this can actually be more important.

chain hotels can be really overpriced compared to boutique and luxury hotels.
boutique hotels may be cheaper and offer more services.

Assuming we're talking about a mainline full-service hotel like a Marriott or Westin, then yes I'd expect that bellmen would be available. In a situation where a large crowd of arrivals was expected at one time, I'd expect them to at least accept and secure bags, explaining to guests that room delivery might be slightly delayed.

I've checked into mainline Hiltons and Marriotts before as an arrival off of a full bus and this is how they've handled it. Bellmen will rapidly tag the bags as fast as people are arriving in the lobby and ask you to call down once you're settled in your room. Then, maybe 15-30 minutes later, they'll start running the deliveries. Seems like a reasonable solution to me.

What this hotel did is unacceptable. I absolutely can't stand it when a hotel uses the excuse "we have a large event" or "we're sold out" as justification for providing poor service. :td:

Got the "Can't you see we are busy" excuse in a hotel bar over the weekend - from the bar manager when after 2 hours we still didn't have our meal (it took over 45 minutes to get the first round of drinks we'd ordered). Yes they were busy but they didn't have enough staff even for a non-busy night and the staff they had weren't trained well. At least in our case the general manager has come through with an apology that more than made up for the situation but

I agree that most of the fault lies with hotel management, but I think a little bit can also be placed on your group's organizer if they failed to notify the hotel that most people would have a lot of baggage like this. If I remember right, you said that there were 7000 attendees. Whoever contacted the hotel to arrange the block of rooms should have given the hotel this information so that they could staff appropriately.

What hotel...(if you dont feel like stating EXACTLY which one....how about the "type"...ie, Marriott, Courtyard, Hilton, Conrad, Hampton...etc)

I recently stayed at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim. It is a non-full-service hotel with about 2000 families ( :D ) all checking in at once. I didnt expect a bellman, and none were present. Had this been at the full-service Marriott I wouldve expected one!

1. I don't know what a 3* or 4* really is. Just because someone advertises themselves as one doesn't make them one. The lesson is that if there's a service you need, make sure the hotel actually offers it.

2. This one falls on the event organizer. Not too many people need bell service these days, but it appears that this is an event which included heavy costumes and therefore lots of luggage. Meeting planners are supposed to sort these details out and should have made arrangements for extra help to be on hand. No different if its an event that has a high % of elderly, disabled, and so on. These things are dealt with by good meeting planners.

I would be shocked if the property did anything with an individual complaint.

Generally speaking, when I think "three star" I think mainline Marriott, Hilton, Westin, etc. Not Courtyard, Fairfield, Hampton, etc. I believe we're talking about a U.S. situation here, so I think Forbes and (to a lesser extent) AAA.

For four-star, I think of the luxury brands - Ritz, St. Regis, W-A - knowing that some of these also have the 5th star.

In other words, definitely a full-service property of some sorts. Big 300-room hotel with an airport shuttle and rates good enough to attract large groups for a leisure-type event? Smells like a Hilton or Sheraton to me. I'm subconsciously giving Marriott a little credit here: for all of the minor gripes we tend to have about their rewards program, the professionalism of their staff generally *isn't* a complaint I ever have with them. On the flip side, as much as I love SPG (the program), I've run into some surly Sheraton staff in various places.

BUT...the OP didn't specify. If you use some sites *'s (priceline,etc)-it will be TOTALLY different then your (and my) feeling of stars!

Would not be out of the realm that the OP was thinking Priceline *'s and this was in fact a Fairfield, 4pts, etc!

So..until he/she responds we will all be guessing!

It really troubles me that the discussion on here fails to recognize that grabbing people's bags and annoying them is just as much of a training/staffing problem as not having anyone available if you offer the service.

A simple "Would you like help with your bags?" is not rude, pushy, or an intrusion of personal space.

Then again to pull that off you need to pay your people adequately to do the job so they're not living off just tips.. which my company did.

It always troubles me when there's bad service and the response from consumers is "it can't be helped." Yes, it can be helped. Stop giving them money for it.

How it works at a well staffed and properly trained hotel:

Guest arrives. Is met at door (or vehicle if valet parking) by bell services staff and greeted.

"Hello, welcome to blah-blah-blah. Would you like help with your bags?"

Guest can then decline, either way the response is cheerful from the bell services person and the next question "May I get the name for the reservation?"

Why? Because they're screening for concierge guests. They know the names of the concierge guest who are expected to arrive that day or during a particular period. Concierge guests are escorted quickly past the front desk and check-in queue, put in their own elevator, key-override from the bell services person and sent up to the concierge level (if they decline help with bags, by themself, if they asked for it, a bellman rides up along with them). Concierge level handles their check-in, walks them to their room, etc..

Non-concierge guests are greeted with the same question, but get "Well, Welcome Mr. So and So, we're glad to have you - check in is right this way.." and deposits them in the check-in line. If they had bags that bell services took - they're given a card they can reference. "As soon as you have a room we can bring your bags up, otherwise if you need anything you can access your bags from the luggage check. You can call from any in-house phone, Star-###."

That's how it's supposed to work. You have valets, runners, bellmen, and head bellmen and luggage staff. During peak periods the heads/leads are intercepting arriving guests and assigning them bellmen/etc.. as needed and pointing them to the right places (up the elevator, or off to the check-in counter.)

It's not hard and it doesn't cost a fortune to operate.

Good point...sometimes I laugh at Priceline star levels!! :D

Man, it's awesome when it really works that way. Although I think that's more common in the higher end of the four-star realm...the typical 3-star hotel with a C-level just checks you in in the lobby and hands you a keycard with lounge access.

Definitely enjoyed it recently when the Conrad Hong Kong did it this way. ^ The only bit you left out: waiter puts a glass of Champagne in your hand as you're checking in on the concierge level. :cool:

True, and labor is expensive. If it were a mom and pop place, employees could do double duty.

Agreed.
Also agreed, however. The service should be available, but not mandatory.

Final word: after contact with higher management, have received an apology accepting responsibility on the part of the hotel for not being properly prepared and staffed. That closes it as far as I am concerned, will use this chain again but probably not the property in question.

Pleased to hear that your position has been vindicated.