News and notes from around the interweb:
- JW Marriott Marco Island does upsells instead of upgrades tells Titanium member they’ve been ‘upgraded’ to a premium room, charges them $100 per day, guest “had to look foolish in front of my date swapping back” to the un-upgraded room.
Thank you for your titanium loyalty! We have a nice room upgrade available for you
An upgrade is complimentary. The property didn’t have to offer the upgrade to their separate ‘hotel within a hotel’ concept room, but if they’re going to upsell they can’t call it an upgrade and tell the guest about the charges only after the room key has been issued.
- I think this looks even better, tbh
My VentureX card is peeling bad, I decided to sand off all paint
byu/Specific-Ad9935 inVenturex - “FAA’s new flight path has airplanes landing at DCA track more closely over the Potomac River” I take strong exception to this, though, that under the old flight path “noise was so grating for one household in Foxhall that it submitted 7,000 complaints in one year.” All it points to is that when you see a large number of noise complaints it doesn’t actually mean a lot of people are complaining.
- Local Arlington, Virginia politicians encouraging unionization of Hyatt Regency Crystal City near National airport
- Don’t trust suggested tip amounts.
There's an epidemic of wildly incorrect "suggested tip" calculations happening in Vegas restaurants lately and nobody is talking about it. https://t.co/PEpCsIqSjR pic.twitter.com/shx4eU7SdK8
— Las Vegas Locally (@LasVegasLocally) August 12, 2024
- Lawmakers speak out after Tulsi Gabbard placed on terror watch list and surveilled under the ‘Quiet Skies’ program where TSA follows passengers and reports back when they use the bathroom or fall asleep on a plane. The former Army officer, Congresswoman, DNC Vice Chair and presidential primary candidate says it’s politically motivated due to her criticism of the Biden administration.
The JW at Marco Island is known for doing this. Their hotel within a hotel (Sirene) is always undersold and they use it as load management.
I got the same speech and when I refused the extra fee they said well we will move you over to Sirene but you don’t get the meal credit. I said fine.
I don’t go into sit down restaurants often, but when I do, I expect them to be honest. I can calculate 15% or 20% in my head and usually do it on the cost including tax. If I saw this at a restaurant, I would never go back to that restaurant and I would warn my friends. As this is the internet and a lot of suspicious things show up on it, I wouldn’t take an internet source at face value but I would check out my bill before paying the check at this restaurant chain.
PF Changs (and others) calculating suggested tips based on the amount of each item’s individual normal price when you order a “deal” or use a coupon is nothing new.
JW beach resort is different from JW hotels; resort fees and no lounges. I have become more careful when I book a hotel ever since.
What was discounted, what deal was used, or what coupon was used?
None appear on the receipt.
I have spend more than my fair share of time at homes in Foxhall even back when planes were noisier than they are now. The noise from DCA flights has been nowhere as bad around there as the LGA plane noise in Forest Hills and Flushing in Queens. It was a bit worse than CPH plane noise in coastal southern Sweden, but not miserably so. But that area of DC from Tenleytown to Foxhall to Georgetown has always had a few “super-complainers” that really were nosy busybodies.
FWIW, I always found the plane noise a bit worse in Rosslyn (across the Potomac) than in Foxhall. That is when walking, running and biking around the area.
All said, noise pollution does seem to be bad for the health. So wanting quieter planes and quieter airports is somewhere in the same direction as wanting clean water to drink, cook and bathe in, medicine that doesn’t include an unnecessary carcinogen like benzene, and food supplies that are properly labeled per local government standards and sourced from places with better environmental standards than average.
@YourMajesty: the itemized receipt shows “Chefs Feast for 2” at 38.98, five items at 0.00, plus two 1.00 surcharges. The suggested tip is based off the normal prices of those five items shown as 0.00
don’t forget that Bonvoy properties will stick you with resort fees when using points too
The Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage did the same to me last year. I used points for three nights. I’m Titanium so they auto upgraded me at check-in. Upon check-out, I had upgrade charges on my room bill.
@JS there is a difference if someone comes in, orders food based on regular menu prices then applies a coupon or voucher to the check. If the restaurant is offering a combo, deal, or prixe fixe price, then that BECOMES the price of the entree.