For all the talk that hotel executives do about customizing the experience for guests, am I the only one who would simply settle for easy access to a hotel’s email address, in order to make pre-stay plans?
In this post:
Many hotels encourage phone calls over emails
Let me just cut to the chase — am I the only who is amazed how hard hotels make it to find their email addresses? For example, it’s common to receive a pre-stay email from a hotel (especially if it’s one belonging to a major chain), which will often encourage you to let them know if you need anything, whether it’s a restaurant reservation, transfer, etc.
However, the email is often sent centrally from the hotel group (and not property specifically), and the only property contact information is a phone number.
For example, I’ll be staying at the Le Meridien Cairo Airport soon, and the hotel sent me the typical pre-stay email. The hotel offers a complimentary airport transfer from other terminals, and asks guests to arrange this at least 24 hours in advance. There’s only one issue — the hotel’s email address isn’t listed on the website, so the only obvious option is to call.
Some may say “well don’t be lazy, just pick up the phone and call.” Okay, I hear you, but:
- Personally I prefer to confirm any sort of arrangements in writing, so that you can reference the details, in case anything goes wrong
- Hotels have a lot of international guests, so making international phone calls can be costly, or requires using a different calling service
- Phone calls are just inefficient for things like this, since you’ll often spend a lot of time on hold, not to mention there are situations where you can send an email but can’t call (like on a flight with Wi-Fi)
Anyway, I’m not meaning to pick on this hotel specifically, but am I the only one who wishes that the major hotel groups proactively listed email addresses on each property’s website, just like they force them to list other details?
Hotel chat features can be useful in place of email
While I find Marriott is really inconsistent with providing property email addresses, I do have to give the hotel group credit for its great property chat feature. Within a couple of days of arriving at a hotel (and during your stay), you can chat with the front desk through the Marriott Bonvoy app.
Like all things Marriott, it’s consistently inconsistent. Sometimes the front desk associates respond right away, while other times it takes quite a while to get a response. Regardless, Marriott deserves credit for having one of the better chat features, and it’s something I wish we’d see all hotel groups offer.
Bottom line
I really wish we’d see the global hotel groups list the email addresses of properties on each individual webpage, so that it can be easier to contact them. All too often you get a pre-stay email inviting you to customize your experience, only to see that there’s only a phone number, and not an email address (and the email was sent from Marriott centrally, so responding won’t get you far).
Am I the only one who would love to see this more consistently?
Fully agree and one of my biggest pet-peeves when it comes to hotels...
100% agree. I'm usually a Hilton guy, and only a very small number of their property web sites include email - I almost never have a need to call and never a desire to call. It's frustrating.
Hear hear! It’s ridiculous how difficult it is to find some hotels’ email address!
Hats off to IHG for making it standard to have email contact details of every hotel when looking at existing reservations!
I love the Marriott chat option too, but it’s not available for all hotels, making it a pain!
Vote with your wallet. As commented before, Accor publish all the email addresses of their hotels around the world, and I have never had any issues emailing GHA properties either. Other chains might be less transparent with their policies.
Ben you must be kidding me. Hotels have only raised their prices, they do not have emails for clients, and they certainly don't email clients pre-stay.
We need to ask by calling the hotels help. Doesn't matter if one is Diamond Lifetime, Marriott Platinum Elite Lifetime, or Hyatt Concierge.
Hotels don't care about this anymore. Sad decline.
It is definitely frustrating. We’ll be in Marbella in December and are thinking about heading over to the new St. Regis in Morocco for a couple of days. I sent an email off to Marriott Customer Care seeking an email for an on property contact and am just waiting to hear back. Generally that’s what I’ve found I have to do to find one, and even then it’s hot and miss.
Hit and miss that is
Amen.
I found that the only consistent way of getting feathers free rooms is to email the hotel a few days before, and since Marriott acquired Starwood it's been extremely hard to do so. I would never trust calling in (and get no written confirmation) nor do I want the hassle of having to do so.
I've finally made the decision to stop staying at Marriott properties, and the hassle of finding emails for...
Amen.
I found that the only consistent way of getting feathers free rooms is to email the hotel a few days before, and since Marriott acquired Starwood it's been extremely hard to do so. I would never trust calling in (and get no written confirmation) nor do I want the hassle of having to do so.
I've finally made the decision to stop staying at Marriott properties, and the hassle of finding emails for properties was definitely a big factor in this.
This past few weeks I stayed at some independents, and it was so refreshing how easy it was to contact them. Such a much better experience than as a Titanium with Marriott!
This has been a problem for some time now. However, it's not only hotels that discourage Emails to reduce contact with them. Many businesses, especially those with online sales, capture customer Emails to communicate with their customers but through anonymous or "Do Not Reply" Email addresses. BTW, I agree, and for all the reasons you have provided Ben, why using Email is preferable to phone calls.
I totally agree with the OP. I too want all such arrangements written. I am also not willing to make an international call when email should be readily available.
The lack of trying to get an arrangement for pick up from airport on my Maldives trip in April this year, resulted in me staying at the Sheraton Hotel instead of the Westin.
This drives me batty. When traveling internationally I usually always contact the concierge with several requests that I like documented. In addition, there is sometimes a language barrier and it makes it difficult to accomplish what you want via phone, and I have no record of it.
In the old days (before 2008 or so), many travel agents, guidebooks, and personalities like Rick Steeves recommended that you send a fax to international hotels because (a) it's relatively instant and (b) it's in writing and, therefore, will be easier for non-English speakers to read and reply to unlike a phone call. Of course, email has largely supplanted faxes, although I know some businesses, including hotels, still use faxes. Doctors and pharmacies. Law firms....
In the old days (before 2008 or so), many travel agents, guidebooks, and personalities like Rick Steeves recommended that you send a fax to international hotels because (a) it's relatively instant and (b) it's in writing and, therefore, will be easier for non-English speakers to read and reply to unlike a phone call. Of course, email has largely supplanted faxes, although I know some businesses, including hotels, still use faxes. Doctors and pharmacies. Law firms. And like I said, some hotels.
I believe Marriott still lists fax numbers.
a fax?
Outside of the backwards USA, faxes have completely disappeared.
I can't speak for other chains but I know Marriott prevents its properties, whether Marriott managed, franchised or licensed, from creating their own websites and also from creating or owning their own domains involving Marriott trademarks. I know Marriott charges properties for every email account created. They also charge properties from the Marriott customer service. So, it's in Marriott's interest to route customers through customer service as that involves a charge to the property. Marriott...
I can't speak for other chains but I know Marriott prevents its properties, whether Marriott managed, franchised or licensed, from creating their own websites and also from creating or owning their own domains involving Marriott trademarks. I know Marriott charges properties for every email account created. They also charge properties from the Marriott customer service. So, it's in Marriott's interest to route customers through customer service as that involves a charge to the property. Marriott also charges properties to update their website, which is why so many properties have websites at Marriott dot com with outdated information or no real information.
The chat feature on the Marriott and Hilton app is a blessing. Helped me many, many times over the years (even to request cancellations due to some unforeseen situation after the free cancellation deadline.
Most of the time the hotel answers in a couple of minutes. But, rarely, it can some time for someone to respond. So, don’t use for things like request an airport pick up. For those, call instead.
For anything...
The chat feature on the Marriott and Hilton app is a blessing. Helped me many, many times over the years (even to request cancellations due to some unforeseen situation after the free cancellation deadline.
Most of the time the hotel answers in a couple of minutes. But, rarely, it can some time for someone to respond. So, don’t use for things like request an airport pick up. For those, call instead.
For anything not urgent, it really is an extraordinary tool. I always request a high floor room away from noisy areas and almost 100% of the time I get at.
Maybe I have disorder, but I prefer email over voice the same way I prefer pleasure to pain.
I completely agree.
Ben could have added that the international aspect means that mutual understanding of English (being the de facto global lingua franca) vary too, so that causes additional complications.
And that one often wants to deal with this at a time is overnight for the hotel, so they have only night-staff on duty.
simmonad's point about auditability is probably very true.
It’s totally intentional. To prevent website crawlers from scavenging email addresses most security folks don’t recommend publishing email addresses.
Chat bots weee supposed to address this but they are so badly implemented
For sure. If you’re globalist with Hyatt you can call the globalist line or your concierge and they are pretty helpful with this. But with the other chains, nearly impossible to find emails.
Don’t even need to read the article - I couldn’t agree more. With billing discrepancies or who knows what it’s so much easier to send an email and they can get to it when they are able rather than trying to line up on the phone.
I fully agree with Ben and you. This is a big pet peeve for me. Sometimes a phone call just isn't an option. And if you do get someone on the phone, they may not be the right person to address your issue.
Next month I'll be staying in three different hotels in Cairo. I was able to readily find the email address for one hotel, after a fair amount of digging I found the...
I fully agree with Ben and you. This is a big pet peeve for me. Sometimes a phone call just isn't an option. And if you do get someone on the phone, they may not be the right person to address your issue.
Next month I'll be staying in three different hotels in Cairo. I was able to readily find the email address for one hotel, after a fair amount of digging I found the email address for the second hotel, but never found an email address for the third hotel.
Hotels provide their FAX numbers more often than their email addresses.
The only downside that I've experienced with communicating with hotels by email is that some hotels don't frequently check their incoming emails.
Maybe we could compile a list of hotel email addresses on a central repository like FlyerTalk or something?
There's already this travel agent site that often has the info: https://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels
https://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels/Cairo/Le-Meridien-Cairo-Airport-p6720940?acg=1
Agree 100% for the reason in your first bullet point about wanting to make arrangements in writing. In situations where I've not been able to find an email address for a property, I've had success sending a DM to the hotel chain's X account (especially with Hyatt, their social media team has been very forthcoming giving me not just the property's general email address but sometimes that of the assistant GM!).
Just walk to Le Meridian Cairo. Its attached to the airport via skybridge. I get why some people may need the shuttle but seems you're able bodied.
I have stayed at that property several times this year and the sky bridge is ONLY connected to the terminal that mainly serves Egyptair. All the other airlines are at a different terminal and require the shuttle. Also BEN when I’ve gotten that welcome email I’ve replied to it and it seems to go to the Concierge and they are quite helpful to arrange everything.
Perhaps they are concerned about spam, or an employee clicking on a nefarious email link?
I too like to send an email a few days before arrival, especially when traveling internationally - I don't like surprises.
Like Ben enjoys the chat function on Bonvoy, I appreciate the Hilton chat function on its app. Have sorted a couple of things including recommendations for a pub lunch when staying in a couple of weeks at the Park Lane Hilton.
I’ve also found the chat-with-property feature quite useful with Hilton. It seems in the US even limited service properties like Hampton, Homewood, and Garden Inn have jumped on this bandwagon. Usually I get an initial text the day before, but in Ben’s defense that’s generally too late if you need to set up something pre-stay. The hotel’s general email should be provided in the booking confirmation IMO.
Hi Ben, I don't know how you book your stay's, if individual or via a Travel Agency. (Isn't Ford working for one or hold's one)? For my Business I always go throug my Travel Agency as I have no time/possibility to do it my self. I never know more than 6h in advance what my destination is, so i.e. for Flights you can't book less than 24h in advance Online (which would avoid the Travel...
Hi Ben, I don't know how you book your stay's, if individual or via a Travel Agency. (Isn't Ford working for one or hold's one)? For my Business I always go throug my Travel Agency as I have no time/possibility to do it my self. I never know more than 6h in advance what my destination is, so i.e. for Flights you can't book less than 24h in advance Online (which would avoid the Travel Agency Fee). On the other hand I have Corporate Fares and only my Travel Agency can book them, either Flights or most Hotels. I'll do this for 30 years and never had any issue.
I know you’ve outgrown ibis :) but maybe you should start staying with Accor. Every booking confirmation has a mailto: link
Of course businesses prefer phone calls. They may have the ability to record all their phone conversations but individuals don't. Emails provide an audit trail and, personally, I refuse point blank to deal with firms by phone. Ever.
Ben - this is the email address
[email protected]
I often find googling the hotel name PDF gets me the information however not for the Cairo property you referenced, I did find the email on their FB page;
[email protected]
Absolutely agree, it’s so annoying they make it such hard work to locate an email address!
Pretty simple, any hotel other than a luxury hotel doesn’t want you contacting them ahead of your check in, they are no longer staffed to deal with such requests and it generates more profit to hide all these details.