Category Archives for Hotels.
A viral warning from hotel guests and ex-managers reveals disturbing practices of housekeeping staff using guests’ personal items, like toothbrushes, for cleaning, highlighting the importance of safeguarding personal belongings in hotels.
Between late check-out rules and housekeeping costs, some Marriott employees cop to lying to guests and saying there are no suite upgrades available – since it’s costly and operationally difficult to honor the benefit.
A Bonvoy Ambassador elite member reports being offered a room upgrade at a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in Mexico under the condition of signing a non-disclosure agreement, highlighting a series of controversial practices and policies by Marriott in the region.
Guests of the Fairmont Whistler in Canada are required to pay a fee to help cover housekeeping wages, separate from their room rate. And the hotel charges guests an additional fee to manage this fee.
GHA Discovery’s hotel loyalty program significantly enriches member benefits by introducing a comprehensive breakfast perk for elite members, underscoring the program’s exceptional value, especially within smaller, premium hotel chains, without reducing existing benefits.
Before the pandemic, Hilton’s CEO Christopher Nassetta admitted that he typically doesn’t tip housekeeping. He quickly backtracked once coming under criticism. But at least now, and in Southern California, doesn’t it seem like he’s right?
Once a job hits $35 per hour with $20 per month full family health insurance coverage, should we take it out of the category where tips are expected?
An American Airlines passenger was stuck overnight in Charlotte, and booked a room at the Charlotte Marriott City Center since he was a Bonvoy Titanium member.
He went to bed. It turns out that the self-closing door wasn’t working quite right, and didn’t close all the way. It wasn’t locked.
Hilton’s tagline is “For the stay.” That implies that you check-in, and aren’t going anywhere. Your car though? Not so much. At the Conrad Orlando it harkens back to an older slogan: “travel should take you places.”
A Marriott Bonvoy lifetime Platinum member’s reservation for a stay during the solar eclipse was cancelled by the Residence Inn in Akron, Ohio without offering the compensation guaranteed by Marriott’s “Ultimate Reservation Guarantee,” highlighting a broader issue of hotel chains not enforcing standards, especially during high-demand events.
Points are the great equalizer in travel, giving the proletariat access to luxury accommodations previously reserved for the bourgeoisie. Yet The Socialist hotel in Copenhagen will not be honoring Marriott Bonvoy points reservations. Guests are being moved to the far less interesting Copenhagen Marriott.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
