Category Archives for Hotels.
The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs is an expansive luxury resort known as a top conference destination. One man stayed there on his own, for ten months, and the hotel has filed suit because they say he never paid for a single night. They’re trying to collect on a $185,000 bill. That’s over $600 per night, inclusive of tax.
I never ask for very much and I rarely ever complain. I certainly never ask for special treatment. I would rather experience hotels the same way everyone else does, at least the way other frequent travelers earning elite status do.
I am never rude to hospitality staff. When they’re having a bad day, I try to empathize and joke with them about it. I’m far more self-effacing than demanding. So I’ve never experienced this before.
Did you know that Hilton specifically says that 44% of its brands do not have to upgrade elite members at all?
Since I wrote about “parking recapture fees” readers have been sharing other hotels that do this. One sent me a folio from the Hilton Garden Inn Orlando at SeaWorld with a $2.13 charge. Another sent me a folio from Hampton Inn Philadelphia/King Of Prussia (Valley Forge) showing a $3.87 parking recapture fee.
A guest at the DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles – Norwalk says that she woke up from a nap to find an employee “standing at the foot of [her] bed.” She screamed and he offered the excuse, “I called, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
She reports that she called the hotel six times asking to speak to a manager but no one called her back. She called the police.
MGM’s relationship with Hyatt ends September 30. They were partners for 10 years, and MGM had recently groused about not seeing as much value as they could they could achieve from the partnership.
Now we know what they were working on as a replacement: Marriott Bonvoy members will earn and redeem points at 17 MGM resorts starting in October, and bookings of MGM properties will be available through Marriott channels by end of year.
Better hotels offer all sorts of amenities, and have been known to go above and beyond for guests. W Hotels have the ‘Whatever Whenever’ line, claiming they’ll get anything you need at any time (for a cost). But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hotel promote ‘farts’ as an amenity let alone offer them as an optional add-on for free?
A limited-service hotel’s self-serve continental breakfast had a tip jar beside the cereal tower, and even pre-seeded the jar with cash to imply that other guests are offering tips.
At the end of last year, I shared a guest post by a reader who racked up 250 nights with chain hotel programs in 2022. It was helpful to see his perspective on the best hotel program for someone who often stays in small towns without full-service hotels, so the footprint of a hotel chain matters – not just its benefits.
Halfway through 2023 this anonymous contributor shared an update. His travel has slowed down this year and he doesn’t expect to log more than 150 nights on the road. He gave up on Hyatt, which doesn’t have enough self-managed full-service hotels where he travels, and maybe he regrets it?
A guest checking in at Caesars Palace Las Vegas gave up when faced at a 3 to 4 hour long line at the desk. They left, with their luggage, and enjoyed Vegas returning shortly before 2 a.m.
Still faced with impossible check-in queues, they report giving up – and managing to get into a different hotel at 4:30 in the morning.
Caesars had been overbooked, and there were no more rooms left by the time they got to the front of the line. Altogether, venture capitalist Benjamin Lee notes, “it took..9.5 hours” to get a bed.
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 »
