Category Archives for Hotels.
Hotels need to work harder to please guests when they have empty rooms. Delivering less value than before is a recipe for lower rates and more empty rooms. Moving to a no housekeeping standard where it no longer makes sense to compensate guests for no housekeeping is the wrong equilibrium for recovery.
The practice, which dates to April, has mostly ended – but one Hyatt hotel in Seattle was found still asking guests to reach down deep and give extra money to the property’s owners just this week.
After being called out, the hotel is no longer asking guests for donations, but it’s still charging a resort fee without delivering any amenities so that is kind of the same really.
IHG is offering U.S. residents who join the program by September 30 and complete two qualifying stays by January 31, 2021 a free night worth up to 40,000 points that must be redeemed by April 30, 2021.
Similarly, joining their Intercontinental brand’s Ambassador program by November 15 (which is a paid program) and staying just once at an one of their premium brands (Intercontinental, Kimpton, Regent but not Fairmont) by January 31, 2021 earns a free night worth up to 40,000 points that must be redeemed by April 30, 2021. Ambassador benefits are even improved this year and next.
We aren’t re-using grocery bags right now, or dishware on airplanes – everything is moving towards single use because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic. Hotels need to recognize that and take it seriously and end this ill-fated experiment with getting guests to re-use each others’ shampoo.
I’m not suggesting environmental considerations aren’t meaningful – they just point towards single use biodegradable packaging, which have been in some hotels for years, not communal use.
Hilton says that their hotels shouldn’t be used to house children detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after it was revealed several franchised properties near the U.S.-Mexico border were housing children and their private contractor chaperones prior to deportation. These properties have hosted over 200 bookings of this nature.
Here’s a challenge for you: If you think an airline or hotel chain ought to decide whom they’ll do business with on the basis of their values, wouldn’t you also have to support bakeries choosing to provide wedding cakes only to heterosexual couples if that’s what’s dictated by their values? Or should businesses only make decisions about whom to serve based on your values?
IHG hotels has announced a face mask policy for guests in the U.S. and Canada. This follows similar moves by Marriott and Hyatt. Hilton says they’re going to get their act together and follow suit, while Hyatt says if you don’t have a mask they’ll give you one. But what will enforcement look like?
After getting discovered the man stayed in his room. The women called police, who then knocked on his door. He denied having anything to do with a camera but the officer said ‘he could get a warrant’ and the perpetrator cracked.
Robert Mann Privette from South Carolina was arrested for “video voyeurism” and burglary. He admitted to using this camera technique on business trips he had taken across the country – he couldn’t even say how many times though copped to “ten-plus times over the past year.”
The J.W. Marriott Phuket, whose ownership group also has the St. Regis Bangkok, believes that Marriott is mismanaging their resort property. The hotel failed to reach budgeted goals between 2013 and 2018 and there hasn’t been a budget agreed to since. Even before the pandemic they were doing less revenue today than they were in 2013.
They want out of the Bonvoy program, and Marriott won’t let them leave.
Masks seem to have some effect limiting the spread of Covid-19. Even if their efficacy is overblown that shouldn’t be a reason not to use them. They’re something easy and low cost we can do, and they’re one of the few things within our own control besides staying completely isolated.
U.S. airlines now require masks. And Marriott has become the first to announce a mask requirement for all guests in on-property indoor spaces and not just for employees. This requirement goes into effect July 27. I expect the other major chains will follow.
Data shows clearly that the U.S. hotel market, as tough as it is right now, is among the best in the world. And if you want to understand why some countries are opening up to U.S. tourists despite the problems we have here at home, their hotel occupancy numbers may provide a clue.
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 »
