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Ask me a hotel question

Old Aug 5, 2002, 8:42 pm
  #31  
mjm
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Thanks for the response. Yes I did spend many nights with both Shangri-La and IC (over 150/yr in Shanghai, for a few years and 80+ for a year and a half in SIN) respectively so got to know the folks well. Usually spent an evening or two per trip having dinner with one or more of the senior staff sometimes outside so I could buy it for them and show appreciation and sometimes inside so they could schmooze with me. Never met a hotel person who didn't like the chance to let their hair down away from the public eye of the hotel.

Interesting comment on the outside hiring of people for dep-GM, GM etc. I thought this was the case (from listening to a number of disgruntled F&B managers) but had no source of confirmation.

Thanks again,

Mike
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Old Aug 5, 2002, 10:44 pm
  #32  
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mjm:
Thanks for the response. Yes I did spend many nights with both Shangri-La and IC (over 150/yr in Shanghai, for a few years and 80+ for a year and a half in SIN) respectively so got to know the folks well. Usually spent an evening or two per trip having dinner with one or more of the senior staff sometimes outside so I could buy it for them and show appreciation and sometimes inside so they could schmooze with me. Never met a hotel person who didn't like the chance to let their hair down away from the public eye of the hotel.

Interesting comment on the outside hiring of people for dep-GM, GM etc. I thought this was the case (from listening to a number of disgruntled F&B managers) but had no source of confirmation.

Thanks again,

Mike
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Hi Mike-
It just doesn't seem right does it? Not a day went by that I didn't think about the issue of difficulty in promotion. Unfortunately you don't usually find out how difficult it is until you work in hotels for a while. I will never understand it.

I think its great that you have such a wonderful personal relationship with your hotel staff. I can assure you that it means a lot to them that you spend time with them outside of the hotel. Great questions and comments.
Don't hesitate to ask if you have more!
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Old Aug 6, 2002, 8:22 am
  #33  
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Ahh just remembered another question that happens to me on occasion..

When I take the Red Eye from the West Coast to the East Coast, I usually make a hotel reservation for the prior night.. For example, lets say I leave LAX at 10 p.m. on Sunday with a 5 a.m Arrival at IAD on Monday morning.. I usually will book a room (guaranteed with a cc) for Sunday night noting in the reservation that I will not be arriving until say 5 to 6 a.m. on Monday a.m. as I'm taking the red eye.. In addition I will call on Sunday evening to reconfirm this.. The hotel usually will say no problem as your room will be ready for you when you arrive. blah blah blah

Well a few times, I have arrived and they have given away my room and don't have one for me and walked me.. now after a red eye, you can imagine, walking is not very fun.

Why do they do this???? It makes me want to jump over the counter and well you get the point..

Oh yeah.. why do we have to guarantee with a CC if it isn't really a Guarantee???
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Old Aug 6, 2002, 12:20 pm
  #34  
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TrojanHorse:
Ahh just remembered another question that happens to me on occasion..

When I take the Red Eye from the West Coast to the East Coast, I usually make a hotel reservation for the prior night.. For example, lets say I leave LAX at 10 p.m. on Sunday with a 5 a.m Arrival at IAD on Monday morning.. I usually will book a room (guaranteed with a cc) for Sunday night noting in the reservation that I will not be arriving until say 5 to 6 a.m. on Monday a.m. as I'm taking the red eye.. In addition I will call on Sunday evening to reconfirm this.. The hotel usually will say no problem as your room will be ready for you when you arrive. blah blah blah

Well a few times, I have arrived and they have given away my room and don't have one for me and walked me.. now after a red eye, you can imagine, walking is not very fun.

Why do they do this???? It makes me want to jump over the counter and well you get the point..

Oh yeah.. why do we have to guarantee with a CC if it isn't really a Guarantee???
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Another good question TrojanHorse-
The truth is ALL hotels oversell, usually by about 5%. On an oversold night rooms are given to guests as they arrive (first come first serve if you will). Because you were probably the last person to arrive, you got walked. I'm sure you were angry but I assure you that the front desk hates to walk people too: 1)Its a pain in the ... (paperwork) and 2) People get very angry when they are tired and it can get ugly. Especially when there are two people checking in at the same time and only one room left! There are often arguments between reservations and the front office for this reason.
Keep in mind that guaranteeing a room with a credit card is NOT a guarantee for you. It is a guarantee for the hotel. If you don't show up and don't cancel, the hotel is GUARANTEED that room revenue by charging your credit card anyways.
If you have called to confirm on sunday night then you really should have a room saved for you. In my opinion, it is a poor management decision to walk you, especially if you are a frequent guest of the hotel which it sounds like you are. Maybe they were hoping that someone would check out early in the morning and they could give you that room.
Next time when you call the night before, tell them that they can't walk you because you are meeting people in the hotel in the morning or something like that. That might improve your odds.
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Old Aug 6, 2002, 1:24 pm
  #35  
 
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by g_leyser:

Not to burst your bubble but often times (including the hotels I worked at) the "superior" and "deluxe" rooms are exactly the same room. The only difference is the pricing structure. Have you ever stayed in one of their "superior rooms"? Was it any different? (oh boy they would kill me if they knew I was writing this). If they know you by name I'm sure they would take care of you if you wanted a suite (if its available). But you sound happy with your service so why push your luck?

I would be interested to hear if you've noticed differences between "superior" and "deluxe".

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Well, I'm not sure which is which (i.e. is "superior" better than "deluxe"??), but there are differences in the rooms I get.

I call them "the good room" and the "OK" room. The good room has a larger bathroom. Toilet is in a sperate "closet" inside the bathroom, with a door. The room its-self has a sperate area by the entry door with has desk, and a little TV by the desk. There is no closet. Instead, there is a wardrobe. Space for hanging clothes, and shelves for folded clothes.

The "OK" room doesn't have the "toilet room" inside the bathroom. The desk is by the bed. There is no second TV. Room has a closet and a dresser. Its alos a touch smaller.

One time, I stayed on the Penthouse Floor. Room was like an "OK" room, but had different carpet and fixtures and accessories. Also, it had a large, sloping window with electically operated shades. I acutally prefer "the good room"

Also, one time I needed a room with two. It was a "OK Room", nbut with two beds instead of one, wit hthe desk between the beds. Problem was it was on the "bad" side of the hotel. The hotel has *no* rooms with 2 beds on the "good" side of the hotel. Is that common? Double rooms are usually not as good as the rooms with one bed?

I would never expect a suite either. I pay for a regular room. I believe I am already getting upgraded to a "good room". I would never even think of asking for more.



[This message has been edited by jsmeeker (edited 08-06-2002).]
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Old Aug 6, 2002, 4:46 pm
  #36  
 
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Thanks for the detailed response to my earlier questions and for all the useful insights. My question is:Who qualifies for State Govt. Rates? I work for a community college in California. I had read a post somewhere from another CC instructor that he/she uses govt. rates but my colleagues and I wondered: a) if we do qualify for the rates and b) if the rate applies only when we are attending conferences etc. for professional purposes. Recently I called a hotel to check about this and got two different responses from two reservation folks. I was going on college sponsored event and did take the govt. rate but no one asked for ID at check-in.

Thanks in advance

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Old Aug 6, 2002, 6:11 pm
  #37  
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jsmeeker:


Well, I'm not sure which is which (i.e. is "superior" better than "deluxe"??), but there are differences in the rooms I get.

I call them "the good room" and the "OK" room. The good room has a larger bathroom. Toilet is in a sperate "closet" inside the bathroom, with a door. The room its-self has a sperate area by the entry door with has desk, and a little TV by the desk. There is no closet. Instead, there is a wardrobe. Space for hanging clothes, and shelves for folded clothes.

The "OK" room doesn't have the "toilet room" inside the bathroom. The desk is by the bed. There is no second TV. Room has a closet and a dresser. Its alos a touch smaller.

One time, I stayed on the Penthouse Floor. Room was like an "OK" room, but had different carpet and fixtures and accessories. Also, it had a large, sloping window with electically operated shades. I acutally prefer "the good room"

Also, one time I needed a room with two. It was a "OK Room", nbut with two beds instead of one, wit hthe desk between the beds. Problem was it was on the "bad" side of the hotel. The hotel has *no* rooms with 2 beds on the "good" side of the hotel. Is that common? Double rooms are usually not as good as the rooms with one bed?

I would never expect a suite either. I pay for a regular room. I believe I am already getting upgraded to a "good room". I would never even think of asking for more.

[This message has been edited by jsmeeker (edited 08-06-2002).]
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Come to think of it, all the rooms with two beds were on one side of the hotel, but it wasn't necessarily a good or bad side. Double rooms are ALWAYS the least popular, especially during the week when rooms are mostly filled with business travelers. It doesn't surprise me that your hotel has them on the "bad side".
I'm glad that you can notice the difference in the two room types. Usually "deluxe" is better than "superior", at least where I worked. As I said, often hotels just use this for price structure and use the exact same rooms. It sounds like this is not true.
Lastly, I was not suggesting that you ask for a suite, I just said you could have. It sounds like the hotel is taking good care of you and you are a satisfied customer. If it ain't broke don't fix it!!!

[This message has been edited by g_leyser (edited 08-06-2002).]
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Old Aug 6, 2002, 6:25 pm
  #38  
 
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g_leyser,

Thanks for the great thread! It is fun and of course informative to read all of this.

Have a question about lodging formal complaints. My husband just got back from a business trip to Kuala Lumpar and stayed on the Executive Floor of the Ritz there. He woke in the middle of the night realizing it was raining IN his room with water gushing in around the windows. The hotel said sorry no more rooms, he would have to stay in that room until the morning so he spent a sleepless night there. To make a long story short, they were apologetic and immediately helped him move in the morning but that was it. I was appalled and think he should send in a formal complaint letter. Should this go to the GM or to corporate now that it has been a week?
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Old Aug 6, 2002, 6:31 pm
  #39  
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kelly786:
Thanks for the detailed response to my earlier questions and for all the useful insights. My question is:Who qualifies for State Govt. Rates? I work for a community college in California. I had read a post somewhere from another CC instructor that he/she uses govt. rates but my colleagues and I wondered: a) if we do qualify for the rates and b) if the rate applies only when we are attending conferences etc. for professional purposes. Recently I called a hotel to check about this and got two different responses from two reservation folks. I was going on college sponsored event and did take the govt. rate but no one asked for ID at check-in.

Thanks in advance

</font>
Hi Kelly, you're welcome-

Most hotels (not all) have some kind of government rate but often only honor it on nights that are not very full. Furthermore you will only get this rate if you are in-state. So you couldn't get the rate outside of California. It doesn't surprise me that you got two different answers, as there are probably very few people that claim this rate. It also doesn't surprise me that they didn't ask for ID. Unless you were trying to claim tax exemption, the front desk will just take your word for it. The average front desk agent probably could not care less what rate you are paying. They just want to check you in and move on to the next person. If the reservations department gave you the rate, you should have no problems afterwards. I would bet that you could probably get away with using the rate even if you weren't traveling for business, unless the hotel is very full on those days. Its certainly worth a try. We let people use their corporate rates even if they weren't there for business. I don't see why govt. rates would be any different.
Thanks for your kind words and good luck!
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Old Aug 6, 2002, 6:42 pm
  #40  
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dynasty:
g_leyser,

Thanks for the great thread! It is fun and of course informative to read all of this.

Have a question about lodging formal complaints. My husband just got back from a business trip to Kuala Lumpar and stayed on the Executive Floor of the Ritz there. He woke in the middle of the night realizing it was raining IN his room with water gushing in around the windows. The hotel said sorry no more rooms, he would have to stay in that room until the morning so he spent a sleepless night there. To make a long story short, they were apologetic and immediately helped him move in the morning but that was it. I was appalled and think he should send in a formal complaint letter. Should this go to the GM or to corporate now that it has been a week?
</font>
Hi dynasty-
This is an interesting story. Sounds like there must have been a monsoon. I'm sorry this happened and I think you should write a letter. If you want the quickest response write directly to the GM, not corporate. The Ritz is a huge company and your letter may just get lost in the shuffle.
As always, be polite but firm. It sounds like you have no problem with the staff itself, but rather a lack of compensation, right? Mention that the staff tried to help you (if thats true). Also mention that you lost a whole night of sleep and that you felt UNSAFE (that's an eye catching word believe me). If your husband is planning another biz trip to Kuala Lumpur mention that too. Instead of writing the letter as a "demand for compensation", write it as a "I wanted to bring this to your attention" type letter. I guarantee you will get a response, and very possibly some sort of compensation. Let me know what happens, I'd be very interested to hear the Ritz's response.
Geez, two strikes for the Ritz on this thread already !!

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Old Aug 6, 2002, 7:39 pm
  #41  
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I recently had a stay at the LAngham in London where it seemed that they tried ripping me off on EVERYTHING. I had an upgrade on checking in (HH Gold) and when I checked out they tried to charge me for the upgrade. They had also changexd my rate to a RACK RATE that was much more expensive. They tried to screw me on internet charges and even overcharging my mini-bar bill. The desk manager was very unapologetic and it was quite surreal!!

Do these guys ever have a legitimate policy of milking every cent they can out of a customer??
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Old Aug 7, 2002, 1:43 am
  #42  
 
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g_leyser, thanks for this great threat and your detailled answers.

1.) What will be cleaned/exchanged after a guest leaves (e.g. one person staying in a two bed room):
a) all towels (also the - maybe - unused ones?)
b) all beds (also the second - maybe unused - bed?)
c) what happends to unused soaps (most times the wrapped soaps become wet, too).

2.) How did you do the overselling?
Did you manually look at any night and make adjustments? Did your system do the overselling and the staff only made several checks, e.g. "critical nights". Who is responsible for the overselling rate (e.g. 5%)?
Did you have established a procedure how to cope with guests that got no room anymore because the over-selling was too high (e.g. verbal excuses, money/vouchers)?
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Old Aug 7, 2002, 1:44 am
  #43  
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by hfly:
I recently had a stay at the LAngham in London where it seemed that they tried ripping me off on EVERYTHING. I had an upgrade on checking in (HH Gold) and when I checked out they tried to charge me for the upgrade. They had also changexd my rate to a RACK RATE that was much more expensive. They tried to screw me on internet charges and even overcharging my mini-bar bill. The desk manager was very unapologetic and it was quite surreal!!

Do these guys ever have a legitimate policy of milking every cent they can out of a customer??
</font>
Hi hfly-
Wow! When it rains it pours, I guess!
Just as you said, this really is surreal.
I am not familiar with the Langham, but I assure you that NO hotel has a policy to overcharge a guest. It is a bad business practice, not to mention illegal! To be honest I have no reasonable explanation for your experience there. I'd be interested to know: Are you a regular guest of this property? Obviously you are a frequent guest of the chain, which makes this story even more surprising. Either this hotel has very poor management and is really hurting for cash, or you just had extremely bad luck. You could write a letter, but if the hotel is really that poorly run, probably nothing will come of it. Sorry I can't be of more help. Find another hotel in London!!!
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Old Aug 7, 2002, 2:12 am
  #44  
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LH738:
g_leyser, thanks for this great threat and your detailled answers.

1.) What will be cleaned/exchanged after a guest leaves (e.g. one person staying in a two bed room):
a) all towels (also the - maybe - unused ones?)
b) all beds (also the second - maybe unused - bed?)
c) what happends to unused soaps (most times the wrapped soaps become wet, too).

2.) How did you do the overselling?
Did you manually look at any night and make adjustments? Did your system do the overselling and the staff only made several checks, e.g. "critical nights". Who is responsible for the overselling rate (e.g. 5%)?
Did you have established a procedure how to cope with guests that got no room anymore because the over-selling was too high (e.g. verbal excuses, money/vouchers)?
</font>
Hi LH-
I had a feeling somebody would ask a hygiene related question. High cleanliness standards are a sign of a good hotel.

1) Technically EVERYTHING should be changed when a guest checks out. Certainly all of the towels will be changed, and the soaps go into the trash and are replaced. Even if only one bed is used both beds should be changed. There are some crazy people out there who like to hide things in their rooms before they leave. People will slide pornographic pictures into the bible or the phone book, for example. So even if the bed is still made, a good hotel will not take chances.

2) Overselling is a practice of every hotel. Hotels have room revenue managers, often times this person is the head of the reservations department. These people make the final decision on how much to oversell. The percentages are based on patterns generated by previous years' data, and on what "type" of guests have reservations. For example, in a block of 50 rooms reserved for a wedding party, you can bet that most if not all of these people will show up. But in a block of 150 rooms for a corporate convention where people are flying in from all over the country, there is a much higher probability of no-shows. A good, experienced room revenue manager should be able to predict this very well.
If they don't, and they do have to walk people there is a relatively cut and dry procedure. You should be entitled to a free room (for the first night) at another hotel, a free cab ride to the hotel, and often times they will comp one long distance phone call. You will probably also get an apology letter which will most likely offer an incentive to come back (free night, 2 for 1, etc.)
Thanks for the good questions.
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Old Aug 7, 2002, 3:14 am
  #45  
 
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Wow, you're fast in answering. Thanks. As other Flyertalkers already posted above, there are sooooooo many questions to look behind the counter:


You wrote at the beginning of the threat that you also worked in international chains. I'd like to know what is highly standardised within the chain(s) and where does the single hotels have their (most) freedom:
- room (what must be in every room, e.g. clock; what must be in a room and how big must be the room to call it Suite)
- pricing of the rooms
- breakfast buffet

Are there procedures to check that hotels convert and keep the WRITTEN STANDARDS (e.g. a) test persons from the chain stay at hotels and the hotel doesn't know about the test persons; b) yearly official reviews executed by the chain in hotels).
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