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A reminder of why I switched from Hilton to Starwood

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  • A reminder of why I switched from Hilton to Starwood

    I still stay a fair bit at Hilton group Hotels, and will requalify for Diamond again this year, but by accident (ie staying a number of times at the same few properties like Conrad & Hilton in Singapore etc) rather than design.

    However, as nearly all my stays are at the same few places (as mentioned above) I hadn't had to go through the usual and bl**dy annoying argument at check-in just to get the benefits you are entitled to for a while. I got a timely reminder at the Athens Hilton last week.

    Having not stayed there before I wasn't up to speed on the place, but even I realised at check-in that a room on the 6th floor was not going to be an Exec Floor room. I therefore said 'I presume we have lounge access ?'. 'Err'. Here we go, again. 'You need to have your preferences set a certain way My Way'. 'I know this, and they are set correctly, that's why I know I should get lounge access'. Long in the tooth with these exchanges at Hiltons, I prevented the ten minutes wasted why he tried to say there is none available by adding 'and I know there are plenty of rooms available on the exec floor'. After some tapping on keys and a phone call the next thing he said was 'The lounge is open from 7am to 11pm (or whatever it is..) and is on the 11th floor.'

    As we had also booked (and paid the little extra) for an Acropolis view room I enquired about an Exec Floor Acropolis view room. He said there were none available. Now, I had booked our room at 7pm the night before when every room type possible was available, and while I know large parties can of course roll up out of the blue, it was very unlikely. So I rolled out the line that increasingly you seem to have to at Hiltons ; 'So, when I go to my room and log on, there will be none of those rooms available to book ?'. Silence for a minute, then 'The inventory on the website may not be the same as what I have access to here' . They're right, the old ones are the best.

    So, compare this to our next Hotel, the Westin Vouliagmeni, where yet again I hadn't stayed before. This was an award stay (gotta love these SPG free weekend nights offer, a basic room was 400 Euros here last week ) yet we got an enormous sea view suite with a fantastic double balcony, full bottle of wine and fruit bowl etc laid for us on the dining table. Not a murmur, no argument. Nothing. I didn't even need to ask. The Hotel was sold out and we were on an award stay, yet full benefits and no hassle. The Hilton was a paid stay and nowhere near full.

    The difference in the top tier treatment in the two prgrammes is staggering, and those petty arguments at Hiltons over benefits is what pushed me over to SPG in the first place.
    Last edited by MAN Flyer; 13 August 2009, 12:19 AM.

  • #2
    I also got 'accidentally' close to HH Diamond this year, which made me went for it.
    I wouldn't go out of my way to requalify - there is not much Diamond offers over Gold.

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    • #3
      As eluded to elsewhere, SPG has really been letting me down in the service department. Not only have they pseudo gotten rid of the Platinum Concierges, but numerous reports of people with no status garnering this "Ambassador" service have me perplexed. And when you inquire about it, the line you hear is that the selection process is a big secret and, "...they are very valuable guests to Starwood."

      Meanwhile, Hyatt is ADDING benefits left and right (free internet, confirmed suite upgrades, etc). And FFN is reportedly returning next month! Better than Starwood's promo, you can use them for ANY day of the week at ALL the cool properties.

      In this economy, those who step up are the ones who will reap the rewards.
      HUGE AL

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      • #4
        Frankly I'm still clueless about Starwood Ambassador and the black hole of information surrounding it.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by StarG View Post
          I also got 'accidentally' close to HH Diamond this year, which made me went for it.
          I wouldn't go out of my way to requalify - there is not much Diamond offers over Gold.
          Indeed, might as well be Gold, you get treated almost the same.

          Originally posted by HUGE AL View Post

          Meanwhile, Hyatt is ADDING benefits left and right (free internet, confirmed suite upgrades, etc). And FFN is reportedly returning next month! Better than Starwood's promo, you can use them for ANY day of the week at ALL the cool properties.
          I am also impressed with Hyatt and the increases in benefits they have been introducing, and as you say FFN's are great. Unfortunately there just aren't enough of them in the places I go, so as well as struggling to keep Diamond (unless they re-introduce double stays, I've no chance this year), I can't really get the full benefits of it.

          I don't know what Starwood have done with Platinum Concierge (I rarely use them to be honest) but it was hard work using the free nights. However, I cannot fault the treatment I get at their properties as a Plat.

          Oh, and apologies if I seem to have been living in a cave, but what is Starwood 'Ambassador' ?!
          Last edited by MAN Flyer; 12 August 2009, 06:20 PM.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Kyo View Post
            Frankly I'm still clueless about Starwood Ambassador and the black hole of information surrounding it.
            Don't worry, the rest of the world is as well.

            Originally posted by MAN Flyer View Post
            I am also impressed with Hyatt and the increases in benefits they have been introducing, and as you say FFN's are great. Unfortunately there just aren't enough of them in the places I go, so as well as struggling to keep Diamond (unless they re-introduce double stays, I've no chance this year), I can't really get the full benefits of Diamond.

            I don't know what Starwood have done with Platinum Concierge (I rarely use them to be honest) but it was hard work using the free nights. However, I cannot fault the treatment I get at their properties as a Plat.

            Oh, and apologies if I seem to have been living in a cave, but what is Starwood 'Ambassador' ?!
            Yeah, the lack of properties is difficult for many...totally understand. With the impending IPO, however, that should change. Double stays will most likely show it's face soon. Many times it is also in a targeted e-mail.

            I know this thread on TOF is long and noisy, but it does fully address the changes at SPG:

            http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...concierge.html

            After reading it, I'm sure you'll have the same thoughts as Kyo+.
            HUGE AL

            Comment


            • #7
              Well I haven't spent much time on the Starwood board recently but I have to say I'd never heard of Ambassador until I read that.

              A slightly worrying development if they are going to be so secretive about it, especially as it seems that as a direct result the quality of the service from Platinum Concierge suffers, which seems to be the case. I had awful trouble communicating with the person booking my free night. I did think they'd offshored it to East Africa or somewhere.

              One to keep an eye on.

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              • #8
                I've still had excellent dealings of late with Platinum Concierge, through their Asia Pacific call centre in Singapore. So I'm hoping this Ambassador program is a US-only development. I'm all for it if it's an actual enhancement that recognises people who truly stay a lot at and contribute a substantial amount of revenue to Starwood properties, but not if it's an excuse to cut costs and dumb down regular Platinum benefits and service and focus on a smaller group of people - which is what it's starting to sound like.
                All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by MAN Flyer View Post
                  I had awful trouble communicating with the person booking my free night. I did think they'd offshored it to East Africa or somewhere.
                  Ireland, actually.

                  Originally posted by KeithMEL View Post
                  I'm all for it if it's an actual enhancement that recognises people who truly stay a lot at and contribute a substantial amount of revenue to Starwood properties, but not if it's an excuse to cut costs and dumb down regular Platinum benefits and service and focus on a smaller group of people - which is what it's starting to sound like.
                  As the reports come in, clearly this is not the case. And the service from Platinum Concierge is suffering badly. Any requests that used to be taken care of immediately, are now taking weeks because they pulled so many agents off the line to serve as Ambassadors.

                  The trouble I have is that they are being "secretive" (read: completely retarded) about what the criteria is. I mean, ask Hyatt what their criteria is for Courtesy Card, or AMEX for a Black Card and they have no problem telling you whatsoever. Having a new service that is so secretive and mandating that your employees not tell your MOST LOYAL CUSTOMERS is not achieving an elitist attitude, but more of an exclusionary one -- which may lead to many of your customers excluding SPG altogether.
                  HUGE AL

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                  • #10
                    Hi members,

                    Finally got myself some time to visit this site after responding to numerous reports.

                    Regarding Huge AL's comments and interests in knowing the selection criteria, let me copy the official statement made in Flyertalk when the initiative was first launched.

                    "The Ambassador initiative is a new, trial initiative Starwood has launched outside and complementary of any programs or benefits offered by SPG. Each participant in the program is assigned a personal Starwood representative (Ambassador) who will assist them with any travel needs. The Ambassador program is one of a number of pilots and programs that Starwood consistently runs to ensure that we are always serving the evolving needs of our guests. To be clear, this program in no way diminishes the value of the SPG program, nor the value we place in our program members.

                    As of right now this is an invitation-only program, with no specific entry thresholds or benefits."

                    As much as I am willing to assist my members in one way or another, there are boundaries to how much I can provide. One of them would be to provide explanation on why this member is selected and the other not.

                    I would like to express my regrets for the unavailability of such information. However, a non-invited member should not experience a decrease in the service level even though he or she may not be assisted by an ambassador.

                    If the service provided by any of our associates are not up to your expectations, feel free to provide your feedback to the supervisor.

                    apguest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

                    Thyetus Lee | Online Forum Coordinator(AP)
                    Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

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                    • #11
                      As there are "boundaries" as to what they are allowed to say, this further supports Post #9 -- after all, it doesn't get more public than TOF.

                      Very alienating.
                      HUGE AL

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