Aegon Mykonos Responds To My TripAdvisor Review With Lies

This is the most exciting thing to happen in travel in a long time we are all hooked

Your posts helped me avoid this hotel because I was about to book it for an upcoming Mykonos stay. Thank you!

You're an absolute legend, mate. Keep fighting the good fight.

Don’t worry, their behavior will alienate more customers in the future and will be properly trashed on more review sites. Karma always wins.

Yeah fire it up baby. This is the most exciting thing ever happened on all travel blogs since pandemic. We all loved it! Unbearable!

This hotel is managed by SWOT Hospitality Management Company. https://swot.gr/

The CEO is Panos Constantinidis and his email is [email protected]

At what point does Marriott International respond? Yes, it does not own the hotel in question. Yes, it does not manage the hotel in question. But Marriott International licenses the hotel in question and allows it to affiliate with Bonvoy by flying the Autograph Collection flag. As far as I can tell, John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]

I guess there were several issues with your stay, some of which are Bonvoy related, some are related to the management of the property and - frankly - also some to the lack of knowledge about the situation in Europe and Greece in particular. Firstly Bonvoy: It is fairly common that “guarantees” are not honoured, this starts with “guaranteed bed types” and goes to suite upgrades and breakfast benefits. Secondly the issue of management is obvious dealing with the allegation of the owner. Finally, you caused some issues by not knowing European laws and customs: You are not allowed to post photos from other websites unless you have a copyright agreement and garbage bins on neighboring lots are out of legal reach.

Not sure it's worth going full out against a hotel over some slights that weren't outright hostile, especially when the tourism industry is still decimated. And blanket labelling a female owner as unhinged comes across as sexist ala the stereotypical "hysterical"

Looks like the Trip Advisor response by the hotel to your post is now removed! And their response to your "impersonators" still remains! Hilarious

Well done. Unfortunately these things can happen even in Myconos that to my opinion is largely overrated. But if you want to live a better experience less fancy - fortunately it unfortunately - the Cyclades and Greece can offer much better.

@ ANI -- Oh my goodness, that was a quick removal...

Cool heads prevail, I think deescalation is the key here, the whole Tripadvisor episode is frankly unbelievable and unacceptable to be sure.

Funny enough, I just canceled my (cash) stay for July a couple of days ago. Looks like I made the right decision. It’s pretty ironic after making Lifetime Titanium a couple of years ago I’m actively avoiding Marriott properties these days.

Also some feedback, Ben: the new look/format of the site is kinda awful.

Ben - All hotels photoshop their pics to a degree. I hate saying this because per you, you usually never complain. But I also think this might be because you’re OMAAT and never need to, but you’re coming across as a Karen.

The hotel offered to upgrade you. Yes something happened to the initial upgrade but it’s still an upgrade from your original room. But heaven forbid there isn’t a private pool.

Should they photoshop pictures? No. Should they approach you in the lobby? No. But had you just taken the upgrade and then approached Marriott (who might have made it right) you get your BP all elevated over something which ultimately is petty. It’s a hotel. Go enjoy Mykonos and not sit in your hotel room.

These posts come across as a petulant blogger used to being babied.

@ MRR -- I wouldn't call these "slights." It's one thing if we were just talking about the initial issues, but the hotel keeps digging itself a deeper hole, and is lying to no end.

And I completely understand how in theory calling a woman "unhinged" could come across as sexist. However, I'm not using that term lightly. In the 15 years that I've frequently been staying in hotels, I've never had a hotel owner address me that way. Ever. I would have called a male owner the same.

Don't give up, truth is on your side!
I recall three major incidents with hotel managers, one of which I am suing and my other situation was so appalling, that the unit was listed off the Accor portfolio about a month after the incident!
Present facts/reality in a neutral way and the truth prevails, we are here with you!

This is bad enough for the hotel but they are clearly not social media savy. These articles are going to dominate their google search results for years.

But Marriott corporate has to step in and end this. If Marriott had any control of their franchise they would get this hotel to apologize and end this bad publicity. You are shouting to the rooftops how little Marriott promises mean to a huge audience. Corporate should just pay the hotel whatever it takes to get them to provide you a pre-written apology as well as pass on compensation to make Marriot seem like they realize they made a mistake.

IHG is kicking out hotels that don't follow brand standards.

It's time for Marriott to do the same.

I like the fake good reviews the hotel (presumably) is trying to put on TripAdvisor. A review by "Ben.s" and then the hotel response is "Dear Dinos S." They can't even lie well.

It's Marriott - sweep it under the rug, noise around the edges. What have you seen in the last couple years that suggests Marriott will take the side of "us" (the end consumer)? They have lost control of their properties, are actively downgrading the SNA benefit & don't seem to care.

We are on your side Ben! I hope a Marriott representative does something about this. I will NEVER visit this hotel!

I would love to know the hotel you transferred to, just so that I plan to stay there vice here!!

@Andy, you do realize posting comments like this, particularly to a site loaded with Americans, is bound to blow back in your face. Regardless of whether any of what you wrote is accurate, the standards you are defending are objectively ridiculous and worthy of the mocking they undoubtedly will receive. If the EU commission wants to fine Ben, go for it. That’ll do wonders for international tourism. Whether we like it or not, online we all live somewhere between national law and international norms. To hide behind claims of local norms and laws while collecting international tourism dollars just doesn’t fly. Just makes EU look utterly clueless to exactly the people they want to fleece to tourism dollars

I’m not sure what real previous experience youve had with Greece ,but they are well known for “stretching the truth” ( being kind ) and plain liars - The country is a complete bankrupt mess and has been for many years. Customer service is just two words strung together in English - it means nothing to them. ( generally ) .you like it good ..you don’t - dont care ! The sad thing is there are many beautiful islands and tourist places of significant interest - their problem is the arrogance - service to Greeks is like the ruins that surround them- they are there but non functioning , I think you’re wasting your energy with finding a kind resolution, good luck Ben dont have a conniption over it all

@Shawn, you are really defending a hotel approaching a guest and arguing with them about whether they are going to say nice things about the place? Hotels take in every imaginable personality type. You might handle check in different than Ben but we all would/should agree that confronting a paying guest is unprofessional. Full stop. If this happened in a different country and a manager took this approach with me, I would have called the police. Asking a guest to leave if they don’t like the experience is the professional experience. Confronting them and threatening them is wrong. That simple. Taking their money and insulting them - not right. don’t get to have it both ways.

There is no such law in the EU. You are allowed to post anything as long as you properly credit it which Ben did.
However there is a law against false advertising and misleading the customers.

I'm so vested in this saga! I hope you keep updating us about the whole situation: Marriott's response, Aegon's eventual departure from Marriott, the unhinged wife coming to the US to give you a piece of her mind, Aegon's collapse and becoming a Covid quarantine facility, etc! Oh the potential!

The hotel industry needs to adopt zero tolerance policies towards abuse of associates much like the US airlines have. It is the only way to protect associates from verbal assaults and de-escalate these types of situations. Marriott needs to protect its owners and franchisees if it wants their continued investment and commitment to the brand.

IHG has standards?

I'm a hotel GM in an upper midscale property (think Hampton/Fairfield), and while I've never had a guest interaction go anywhere near what Ben experienced, I have had guests call the police on me for various reasons (generally dumb disputes or I was asking them to leave for various reasons). In every case, I've refunded the guest and the police escorted them off the property and gave them a trespass warning.

I'm not saying Ben was out of line at all, I'd reckon he'd have a completely different experience at an American resort, but calling the police never ever works out in the guests favor.

Almost as shocking as the hotel's treatment of what should be highly valued guests is that Marriott has not made any response and TripAdvisor has left blatantly fake reviews up for days.
This has trashed the reputation of the particular hotel, the Marriott brand, and TripAdvisor.

They’ve lied every step of the way so why stop now.

This is insane. It’s like the opposite of the Al Pacino character in ocean’s 13 that was trying to impress the hotel reviewer and find out who he was. These guys probably would just torture if they had a chance. The smart thing for them would have been to cut their losses on their lies and just give you a refund and let you leave but they are such assholes they figured that just lying harder would fix it? What idiots and crooks.

Don't they know who you are? That's the first impression I had reading this.

Ben had two reservations. One for two nights on points. One for two nights with cash. He used four suite upgrade certificates. The certificates confirmed. The hotel then downgraded him for the two nights on points but kept him upgraded for the two nights paid with cash. That's the big issue, besides the fact they are SELLING rooms that do not exist because that section of the hotel is closed.

John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]

John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]

John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]

@Ben, given the hotel staff’s demeanor warranted that you leave four hours after arrival, it maybe not the best idea to post about another guest that may still be there...

Shame on Marriott. And for not stepping in to rectify this ASAP. The head of loyalty for Marriott should resign for letting these things become the norm. I was at Marriott lately they had a standard basic suite available at check in and wanted me to pay $200 upgrade fee as a titanium because they “May” sell it throughout the day. Outrageous. Marriott needs to tell hotels they are watching and tracking things.

I too pray that Marriott will arrange a sit-down between Lucky and the owners wife, over tea, to clear the air. By now that is the only way to resolve this mess.

Hey Ben! I just wanted to stop by and quickly say kudos to you for standing your ground! Many times it's easier to just ignore bad service or 'forget about it.' I hope you sharing this experience leads to better management at the property. Thank you!!

You should mention in your article that the hotel created a fake profile with your name Ben Schlepping @Onemileatatime1234 (albeit spelled incorrectly) and wrote a glowing 5 star review giving accolades to the hotel and the GM. That is next level crookedness. There are no boundaries to their level of deceit.

So was the TR review from "Ford" about the GM touching you inappropriately a fake review as well?

Recent Google reviews are tearing them a new one! At some point they gotta stop their pride getting in the way for the sake of their business, otherwise they're gonna lose out on a lot of money.

Yawn! I often enjoy your hotel and airline reviews but this whole article just seems to make the issues far greater than the reality. Also referring to the manageress as unhinged is highly inappropriate/misogynistic!

This is the dumbest thing I’ve read all year

Having read the whole saga, I guess I'm wondering why this stay was booked as two sets of two nights?

As a long time Marriott visitor and Starwood holdover, I gotta say if you start out with the mentality of gaming the system (which this sure looks like), you don't have much of a leg to stand on if the system bites back occasionally. It's the game you are playing, after all.

I have much more sympathy for the irritations of the regular traveler who isn't looking to exploit point and awards structures to maximize benefit to themselves. Acknowledging that you come across as a Karen doesn't make it better, it just means you should know better.

It's their country, their culture..if you don't like it, stay home and head to Myrtle Beach or the Redneck Riviera (FL) for culture and "customer service".

I'm baffled by people like you. A spade is a spade. If she was unhinged, she was unhinged. This is Ben's experience with her. Not yours.

Unhinged isn’t a sexist remark and it accurately describes the situation. Contrary to current beliefs, it’s okay to negatively describe someone other than a straight white male. I do find it rich to see Ben getting called out by his own camp though.

You could have called the cops if you wanted. At the end, you would have been the one exiting the property with your bags looking for a new place to stay. It's their hotel and their property, regardless of the country, you would have lost. They could simply cancel your reservation, say you were trespassing and that would have been the end of it. Unprofessional for sure, but don't underestimate hotels power on domestic or foreign soil. Sometimes it's best to take one on the chin and fight another way.

Also, "managress"? FML

Forget Mayweather vs. Logan Paul tomorrow, I want to see Lucky vs. Pavlos.

Hahaha, I thought you were serious for a split second. Great sarcasm!

We all have our foibles; one of yours appears to be a borderline obsession with moronic, contrived, vulgar, nasty ‘reality’ tv shows, the insertion of which into your story detracts from, rather than adds value/clarity to, the piece. This is a recurring theme and is a major turnoff to anyone uninterested in such cretinous crap. What next? Positing on how Kim Kardashians might have reacted in these circumstances? Your readers may not be the most sophisticated in the travel world, but surely we’re sufficiently mature to read a story without these references to real housewives, drag performers, ‘entertainers’ of dubious quality, psycho chefs/ restaurant owners ( and all of zero relevance).
I don’t doubt for a minute your denial of the claim of threatening a bad review ( or the other issues of ‘fact’). It does not have a ‘ring of truth’ ; indeed, the opposite based on your long history of independence and high integrity. But it’s a crafty claim by the hotel, because they know it will resonate with some TA readers unfamiliar with your ethics/site. I’ve seen similar put-downs ( no right of reply) work before.

We have an armchair lawyer here. In the EU, copyright law is a member state matter. the EU only provides a framework for recognition and enforcement. And there's something called "fair use" that cover these use cases. Copyright doesn't protect against criticism.

Long time follower - 1st time commenter. I was going to book this hotel as part of my honeymoon and thank you for helping me avoid this LANDMINE!

This is disgusting and i am so sorry you had to go through this. Going forward i will tell all friends and family to avoid this hotel like the plague.

We got the point, Ben. Time to move on.

I get that you weren’t *being* sexist in intent when you called her unhinged, and it might have even been an accurately chosen word. However, accurate or not, it’s a word with sexist connotations, so if you want to don’t want that to come across inadvertently, you might choose different phrasing. But it is your blog, I don’t want to tell you how to write; I’m just sharing my reaction.

Since when "unhinged" is considered sexist??

It's absolutely the owner's wife. If you read through past reviews on tripadvisor, she's mentioned as such in a few of them.

I never said US is one of the countries I would call the police. In some cultures the police do not assume that being on your property gives you special rights to abuse people. Inflammatory or antisocial behavior is not protected as a property right in many countries. You should limit your comments to country/state in which you work. Try taking your stance in Thailand when speaking to a public official and let me know how it works out.

Well, that comment was meant to be to Ben, not in reply to Ivanbou. I find this new site/system very confusing indeed.

It seems that a significant part of the problematic situation is related to Bonvoy. No surprises here. Regarding the real condition of the hotel vs hotel uploaded pictures, well that’s a rookie traveler’s mistake...and Ben is a travel guru....
On last point @ Ben, if not mistaken you’re traveling in Greece to spend some quality time with your mother. Highly recommending to continue doing so...this back and forth with the hotel is at the verge of being “a bit too much” and I humbly believe that you start to lose your right...You have always been more rational and objective in your reviews and by far less emotional, which was probably the reason of your success. Keep it like that 🙂

Oh FFS the woke fragile millennial are checking in. You can call an unhinged woman unhinged. Sit down.

See prior statement, you are taking a US view of the world. Much of the world does not worship property rights over all else. Threatening and antisocial behavior is not protected. Yes, the guest will be leaving but in many cultures and manager may well charged for menacing behavior. This idea that you can treat other people horribly with zero legal considerations seems normal in the US. That is not the case everywhere - Thankfully.

Management team of this hotel is very savvy with TA. I don't remember there were hotel responses to the two reviews posted in front of yours by RP and DS that were written on the same day as yours. Now there are long responses and basically pushed your review down to page 3. In fact, to think of it, I thought these two reviews were after your review yesterday but now they are in front of yours.

Crazy that they still have a 5.0 rating on TA today. I found that TA is more and more unreliable nowadays.

We know Marriott doesn't

You can't reason with woke millennial, they are on the lookout for received slights 24/7

.

I am still waiting for the review of the motel6 in Parker Arizona. You are a SNOB, Sh*t happens, like confirmed upgrades on a airlines if you wanted you should have paid for it. Anyways cant wait to hear Marriotts response

Lol, funniest. comment. ever.

I know Greeks well (I'm Greek - my family is Greek!). You can bet the GM/owner there got everyone in his mother, brother, uncle, neighbors, to come post a comment on this site defending the place. Guaranteed!

The guy who oversees FRANCHISES is named John Licence? Is that all it takes to become a VP at Marriott now FFS.

You new site design is absolutely brutal. Please change it back. It's honestly so bad I don't want to use it anymore, and I've been coming here for many years.

While there seems to be a lot of problems here, and I can definitely understand the disappointment (having been in a similar situation myself with a Marriott hotel) I think telling the GM he is incompetent is going to far. There are polite ways to express frustration and/or disappointment but this is starting to sound a bit more like you chose the "brash entitled American" variety.

Being as well in a business that provides luxury items to people who really don't need them I am fascinated with both the hotel's handling of this and the sheer escalation.

Every business owner gets into situations with customers that can escalate. The problem nowadays is that, in many ways, Ol' Arne was correct, it really is noise around the edges. I say this not because Ben isn't fully justified in some areas, but because the internet is so overwhelmed with complaints for one reason or another that the reality becomes distorted and no one knows what's true anymore. It's almost all out war now between consumers who want to blackmail companies for whatever reason vs companies taking the "we don't negotiate with terrorists" stance.

To me, the most egregious part of this experience of Ben's is that the property is clearly deceiving people as to its services and location. I am really surprised that this has not been called out in other reviews. Seems odd. I would have been furious to check in to find that the "Beach Club" is just an empty stretch of sand and the photos used were of a neighboring beach. That is just not a "he said she said part" of this. It's concrete and real and the hotel should absolutely correct its listings and photos. You can't argue this.

As for the rest, there is an art to standing up to a customer while also being gracious. The hotel clearly failed in this. Yes, there are cultural differences for sure. And that is an underlying part of this whole scene. Entitlement vs. stubbornness never ends well. However, with that said, if you are going to be in the hospitality industry stubbornness is never a good quality.

I am very confused here, on the 2nd reservation were they going to give you the suite that they were not selling before? how could it be open on for the 4rd and 4th nights but not the 1st and 2nd nights? was it the same suite that you wanted and confirmed?

also, what was so bad about the suites that they wanted to put you in for the 1st and 2nd nights? is not a suite a suite? unless it is say the ' Presidential Suite" ? and what is the big deal about suites anyways? I am happy with a normal room, and what is most important to me, is breakfast and late-check out , early check out, this seems as if ben is being/acting like a spoiled rotten rich kid/man.

it is a foreign country with different laws, customs, and perhaps somewhere in there there were some language issues? but it is never good to be lied to. but what is the big deal? why could you just not have taken the room they put you in, and chalked it up to a mistake on their part on corporate part, etc..etc...

this gets back to the fact that ben will not fly coach overseas or barely fly coach in the usa, has to always be premium... ben, not all of life is champagne and caviar......

You do understand the point of this blog is.....gaming the system. I will never understand people who defend truly horrible and abusive behavior because the recipient of abuse didn't play by rules you approve of. Woman has too many drinks you seem to argue she deserves what she gets. That is basically the logic you are using. Abusive language is wrong and should never be defended or put in context.

This is absolutely horrific. I can't imagine what I would have done in your situation, but it seems to me you have handled it reasonably well. I wish we all had this type of platform to inform when we get wronged. Keep us updated!!!

@Lucky can we get an update on what went down with GM Pavlos and the reported toucheroo?

I am also confused as to why you made 2 reservations? why not just make 1 reservation? If cannot make 1 combined reservation, I would think the Marriott Call Center people could combine the points stay with the cash/money stay, if you were to call them? This confuses me.

thank you.

Why should he move on? The hotel continues to add new information. The conduct is horrible and Marriott still has not responded. I and some other commenters do want to understand if Marriott is going to hold its affiliates accountable or not. If they will not, what is the point of a hotel loyalty program?

Female here! Calling someone justifiably unhinged is in no way sexist.

Actually how cab I privately contact you and send you an enlightening pic and info?

Why yes Paolo, hitting reply is most definitely confusing.

So seeking out a customer and confronting them with abusive language fits into your narrative, how? It does not. How does standing around talking with your friends represent customer entitlement? It does not. That you seem to condone abusive behavior as poor customer management strategy is sad. It's not that it is a bad strategy. it is wrong. Your statements imply anything is OK if it meets the manager's goals. May be it is attitudes like yours that lead to so many customers coming in ready for battle. Just be nice.

It is obvious that they did something intentionally wrong at the very beginning. Then they behave extremely rude and unprofessional. And now they are doing everything to discredit you. I am following this blog since years and I think you are completely right to uncover how they started and how they continue with this story. Thank you for sharing it.

Humorous bordering on the hilarious.
A 21st century digital age parody of Mark Twain's best selling travel book,
"THE INNOCENTS ABROAD" also known by its
subtitle "The New Pilgrim's Progress".
Starring, Ben as the pilgrim.

My experience with multiple Marriott reservations has been very disappointing…

I recently booked 5 nights at a St Regis hotel. Due to flight changes, we were arriving a night early so when I called Marriott to add a day they took the easy road and created a new booking for the first night. All 6 nights were award nights.
Further schedule changes resulting in us having to reduce our stay down to 5 days, no longer needing the last sixth night. When I asked for an amendment or, if you like, cancellation of the last night, Marriott put it in the hands of the hotel who simply said that there is no longer new award availability in the room type I had confirmed and therefore they were unable to make any amendments to my booking. Their recommendation was to just cancel and book the lower level room that was available as a redemption and pay 5*$200 to upgrade to the room type I had originally booked as an award. No amount of reasoning helped. I had already confirmed the room type I wanted for the dates I wanted, I just needed one night cancelled! Computer says no!
I cancelled my entire stay and booked another property!

@Miamiorbust, I didn't say anything against Americans ... I only highlighted that the copyright laws in Europe are very restrictive and that there is nothing you (or in this case a hotel) can do, if there are garbage bins on a neighboring lot. Both is factually correct.

Kudos for holding the hotel accountable, maybe this will help future guests that don't have the knowledge or determination to stand up for themselves when a hotel has wronged them.

These reviews are so important in holding these people accountable. Kudos!

Who would have guessed. Ben is a true drama Queen.

Apparently nights 1 and 2 were booked with points, while nights 3 and 4 were booked with cash. SNA applied and confirmed for both reservations. Then the hotel apparently took away the confirmed upgrade from nights 1 and 2 because it was booked with points. Hotel views points booking as "free" and apparently downgraded a points booking because of that, but kept a cash booking upgrade intact.

I agree that you can and will get exemplary service in Greece and your assessment is spot on. It ranges from incredible to incredibly bad. Although this occurs in any country, it seems like the “ delta “ in Greece is much greater than most countries. You have to do your research, rely on word of mouth , and in the islands I would give the independent hotels the nod. If you end up in Santorini the Absolute Bliss hotel was great for customer service. The basic rooms are small but the honeymoon suite next to the pool was incredible

FYI - your review is now removed but "Ford's" is still up there...

Keep up the fight Ben. This is site for sophisticated travelers. For us, being given what we were promised matters!

Your site's redesign, however, is a failure. The font, the colors, the layout, the commenting section, you managed to get just about everything wrong. The old version was dated and in need of an improvement, but this is definitely not it!

The writer, Coins, has written reviews for many years. These are reviews that I trust. Even if he's a bit more critical than most of us, there's still basis in what he wrote.

Blame goes to Marriott for not having their regional people on the ground checking things out.

I appreciate your in-depth review and think it was warranted. I've also had issues such as yours and our family almost exclusively stays at Marriott properties. Your pictures are worth a thousand words! I'd be upset, too, if that's what I paid for

What I find slightly incredible is that Marriott as a group doesn't have Ben's name flagged on all reservations. He is the most *credible* hotel / airliner reviewer out there, trusted by thousands of frequent, experienced and affluent travelers. (I also massively respect how he isn't after the freebie as so many bloggers / influencers are and uses his own cash / points).

Wouldn't it make sense for the Marriott's PR people to have his name flagged and reach out to the hotel prior to his arrival to ensure a best foot forward is presented? It just seems so obvious as VIPs are flagged all the time in the hospitality world. Beyond the power of the pen, his VIP status is also earned through his lifetime status. This experience represents so many failures from a property and corporate management perspective. And I think why so many folks are reacting to this story, aside from the drama, is that it is a symptom of the larger "bonvoyed" problem Marriott loyalists are so frustrated with.

I am glad you stood your ground and didn't let them push you around.

This whole story reeks of entitlement. There are 3 sides to every story. The truth is somewhere in between. I actually don’t think the hotels response is bad. It addresses the concerns.

Typical brit... tell Mad King George to deescalate these

This is not really gaming the system. Using points to book rooms is what they are designed for. And using a mix of cash for some nights and points / free night certificates for others is in no way unusual. Points are earned not a charity.

I, for one, find this exceptionally helpful. I had been looking at this property for a family vacation, and I was about to book. This clearly solidified that I won't step foot on the property, so please be sure to tell Marriott that unless there is a response - I'm sure there will be others like my who follow my lead. Thanks for this review!

Who is Karen?

How is this bullying? Seems like Ben and his family was being bullied to me

This is a case where Ben has much more power than they do.

In history, there have been wars that one side is much more powerful than the others.

As far as the power lines, Instagram has made people very spoiled. The view is good but not perfect.

I wonder if they used a VPN for this comment?

I totally disagree. The hotel pulling their response down from TripAdvisor likely means that they (or Marriott corporate) disagree as well.

At this point, the hotel needs to stop digging. Their response should go something along the lines of:

Prior to the arrival of Mr. Schlappig and his family at the Aegon Mykonos, we made an error in inventory management, which resulted in his confirmed suite not being available at check-in.

We did not take ownership of this error as we should have, which resulted in a number of uncomfortable interactions between this group of guests and members of our team. These interactions did not demonstrate the levels of hospitality that our guests should expect, and led to Mr. Schlappig's early departure.

We unreservedly apologize to Mr. Schlappig and his family for their negative experience. We have refunded Mr. Schlappig his suite night awards and waived all early departure charges. In addition to providing a generous number of points as compensation, we have invited Mr. Schlappig to return to the hotel as our guest for a stay or a meal, providing us an opportunity to demonstrate the high levels of Myconian hospitality to which we strive every day.

We have also used this unfortunate incident as a learning opportunity, and have engaged with our partners at Marriott International to ensure that we provide full benefits to Marriott Bonvoy members in the future. Specifically, we have provided enhanced inventory management and elite benefits training to members of our front desk and reservation teams.

Our entire team at the Aegon Mykonos remains committed to providing each one of our guests an excellent stay.

With kind regards,

[General Manager]

Were I the GM, I'd also find out where Ben was staying and send flowers, offer to comp dinner at wherever they plan on dining one night etc. The hotel is damaging itself badly and needs to step back, think, and de-escalate.

Then go to TripAdvisor and Google get them to clean up the fake reviews.

You have been Bonvoyed!

I still see it there: but its pushed down to Page 3.

I assume you don’t live in the EU or are not familiar with EU law? There is no such legislation. And Ben credited appropriately. Please keep your posts factually aviary even if just opinion

Thanks for sharing. Sometimes we need to expose the hotel for their lies and luckily you have a platform to inform the world about their lack of service and lies.

On Chrome desktop there is no way for me to add a new comment. Writing this on my phone as a result. Whoever you hired to build the new site did not spend adequate time testing across platforms, or they would have caught such an egregious bug

Had a similar issue at a Domes property last year, but they handled it so much better. Basically they downgraded me from prepaid room a day before arrival. I complained and said I’d like to get some of my money back. In the end I got the room type I booked for cash (had to wait a bit longer for check-in), they threw in half board in compo and apologised several times, showered us with freebies throughout the stay from spa to free drinks during meals, including dinner in top restaurant in town nearby. I’d go back in a hearbeat.

Or rather, no consistent way. Turns out the comment box appears after I refresh the page, so not as bad as I originally thought, but still pretty annoying.

@Lucky

"Other than the truth, there are a couple of things missing from the hotel’s response." I laughed out loud at that line.

This is your most compelling series in years, Lucky – although I'm sure you'd rather not have gone through the experience.

A couple of possible typos:

"I just want to know what’s going to change so that other people don’t have to deal with." Is there a word missing here?

"The hotel we stayed at before and after the Aegon Mykonos were both exceptional, and offered flawless service." I think that should be "The hotels we stayed at..."

My suspicion is that many hotel and airline companies do have Ben's accounts flagged, but not for outright freebies. Rather, he is allowed to book awards at saver rates for the exact dates and the exact properties or airlines, and also for business class or suites upgrades that are almost never available to the average Joe. No matter where or when he wants to fly, he can find multiple business class seats available.

Ben,

I can’t even believe this hotel. Make sure to follow up with Marriott corporate. There MUST be accountability. I would also email the hospitality company CEO as delta-diamond suggested.

Also, forget the trolls on here that are likely connected to the hotel, or just don’t really understand the situation. You did the right thing every step of the way.

The hotel should have made things right, so many times. Instead, they continue to repeat their failures. No lesson learned for them.

This has gone too far, and you no longer come across as the more reasonable party. Ford’s comments do sound verbally abusive. There are lots of incompetent people in the world; most of us are polite enough not to point that out to their face when we interact with one.

Moreover, it sounds like your numerous posts on this have instigated some readers to make false submissions to TripAdvisor. I don’t see any acknowledgement above that it was your posts that riled those people up and led them to post false reviews.

It’s time to move on. You should explicitly ask all readers who submitted false TripAdvisor posts to withdraw them — and then drop the matter.

Looks like you're using WordPress, so it's probably just a matter of tweaking the settings on the commenting plugin

Get Marriotts attention by posting to their Facebook page

Agree with this. You can be forceful in pushing what you believe you’re entitled to as a matter of policy or norm. Resorting to name-calling demeans you.

“But it’s accurate!” is not really a defense either. On that theory it would be OK to call someone a “fatso” if they were, in fact, fat. There are certain words that are just insulting and demeaning and should not be used in a confrontation, whether accurate or not.

The multiple posts are deserved - it's an interesting story and the hotel is lying.
It's not like "there was hair on my pillow" but "the owner and management lied to me in person and lied about me online"

They've got it coming to them, and if you deceive customers you deserve a full on multi post roast.

Ben, thanks for the additional information. Having been a frequent reader of your blog for many years, You have demonstrated that you are a level headed and fair individual.

I appreciate you calling out BS and holding people accountable!

Just noticed that on google map the hotel is labeled with free WiFi and free breakfast (I think those labels are selected by business owners). So either they’re making false claims about breakfast not included on TA or that’s more false advertising!

Stand your ground. Don’t let bullies win! Good work.

Ben, FYI about the embedded video, as viewed via Comcast in the U.S.:
“Video unavailable This video contains content from AdRevEnt_managed, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.” (In short, no VPN or similar games on my end.)

Time to move past this flame war. No winners here, everyone loses.

Honestly, I don't think this reflects well on anyone.

I would suggest taking down your comments from every forum and just move on.

I think you are way too invested in bashing this experience. You didn’t even stay so why multiple bitter articles and reviews? Sure you claim those reviews aren’t yours but, be honest, you inspired the bashing.

I really appreciate the report, and the continued follow-up. This is precisely the type of info we need from this site. Anyone who spends a good part of their lives in hotels (at least pre-COVID) would agree.
Thanks!

It's like a Penthouse letter except with a horrible commenting system and unreadable font

@ jcil -- This is not a thing, at all. Rather, Ben (and many of us who have been doing this for decades) plan our travel around what award availability is there.

This gets talked about a lot in the intros to trip reports; how there is maybe a goal for a trip, but a stopover gets added or a destination changed based on availability, or how something "opens up" and Ben shifts everything around.

Or, in this case, how he booked the hotel *specifically because* he was able to confirm in to a suite.

Did I miss something, but if you book 2 rooms as an Elite do you get free breakfast for both rooms? I don't think that if you are using points that you necessarily get a free breakfast even if paid rates include breakfast. I remember even Hyatt who has an awesome program and paid rates in Mallorca include breakfast, if you weren't Globalist and booked on points no breakfast. So I am wondering that them offering you breakfast was considerable compensation. It didn't seem clear the breakfast benefits offered to you at checkin.

Also good post as I didn't know you could apply SNA to Xtra rooms. I thought only the members room could have SNA attached. So good to learn this tip.

Sounds like this whole experience had some miscommunication. I don't quite understand the extent of how you feared your safety from your original post. But I know from your blog that you are a level headed person and very reasonable and respectful to others so I tend to believe that you truly feared staying there.

They probably paid some "reputation management" contractor to create a bunch of reviews.

TA always takes about 24-48 hours to update the summary reviews numbers and rating. Just like it only shows 41 reviews when it fact within the past day there are actually 50+ now… Google Reviews however looks real time and the property appears to take a beating there as well.

Remember, he had two nights paid with points and two nights paid with cash. He applied four upgrade certificates and selected a certain category of suites. The hotel gets paid for points and they also get paid when an upgrade certificate is redeemed. This isn't a free stay. But what did the hotel do? They downgraded him only for the two nights he used points because they wanted to sell that suite to someone else.

John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]

No, the real Ben's review is still on TA. Under lucky9876coins.

John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]

Maybe he didn't have enough cash for four cash nights? Maybe he didn't have enough points for four nights of award redemptions?

John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]

I'm pretty sure he addressed this in the article.

"Some people have written other TripAdvisor reviews pointing to my story, while others have tried to impersonate me and Ford, but those aren’t us (and we certainly don’t condone what they say, especially the post written with Ford’s name that makes some incorrect allegations)."

I understood it as the "inappropriate touching" did not happened.

He did pay for it with upgrade certificates. Those aren't free.

All while they are selling suites in a wing of the hotel that is closed.

Maybe it will come down to Ben filing a defamation or impersonation lawsuit against the hotel in Florida and getting a court order against them. That could be fun.

John Licence oversees this franchise as Vice President of Premium and Select Brands at Marriott International. [email protected]