Tag Archives for westin.
Big busy chain hotels can often have long lines to check in – nothing like what you’ll find in Las Vegas, where guests can stand in line for hours – but interminable feeling after a long flight when you just want to get to your room.
Properties that are unwilling to fully staff their front desks have turned to technology. But one of the better benefits that many of the big hotel programs offer is the elite check-in line.
I’ve stayed at the Westin Arlington in the D.C. suburbs dozens of times over the years. It’s close to my office there. And the way this franchise treats guests is indicative, I think, of the larger problem with Marriott:.
You earn your points and status on business trips, slogging it out on the road, and the ultimate reward is that special trip to Hawaii. When you arrive and find your loyalty worth so little, that puts a damper on the whole enterprise.
The Westin Tempe narrowly avoided foreclosure. Now it’s hawking condoms to guests, as well as paid upgrades and late check-out, even to elite members of Marriott’s Bonvoy program.
Westin Hotels revolutionized the industry with its “Heavenly Bed” marketing. People genuinely bought into their claim to being better in bed. Guests chose the brand for their beds, and bought the beds and bedding for their homes. And other hotel chains were forced to up their game with better, branded mattresses.
Anyone could have put something in those bottles that shouldn’t have been there. Housekeeping clearly didn’t clean them, either.
And what in the world are they thinking using Marriott’s own 39 Degrees North branded shampoo and conditioner at a Westin?
Chalk this up to another cost cut, where a major hotel chain eats into its brand by charging guests as much or more than before while delivering less. It’s Westin exiting the wellness space without saying they’re exiting the wellness space.
Wall mounted bottles don’t get properly cleaned or refilled, and they’re a prime target for tampering by a practical joker or someone with more sinister motives.
A perfect example was a recent reader stay at the Westin Detroit Metro Airport.
The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort has been charging guests a 2% fee for paying their bills by credit card.
Starwood was a pioneer 17 years ago when it introduced “Westin Workout Powered By Reebok.” They’d make workout clothes available to guests, so you wouldn’t have to pack them but could still get exercise in. And they put exercise equipment in some rooms, too.
The idea was that a hotel doesn’t just give you a place to sleep, and maybe stay nourished, but helps you live your active lifestyle and be ready for the day with peak performance. The trend towards hotels offering a ‘wellness’ or lifestyle experience has only grown since then.
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 »
