It looks like Marriott’s useful new resource for figuring out what to expect during your next hotel stay is now up and running. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago when there was a workaround to see this info, while it’s now readily available.
In this post:
It’s hard to know what to expect from hotels
Understandably hotels have had to make a lot of changes due to coronavirus. As a guest it can be hard to know what to expect in terms of service, amenities, procedures, etc.
Will the executive lounge be open? Will the restaurant be open for breakfast? Will the gym, pool, and spa, be open? Have hours of amenities been adjusted? Will there be daily housekeeping?
The answers to these questions not only help guests manage expectations, but may also impact which hotel people choose to stay at. After all, during these times some people may just find that limited service properties are the best bet, since many amenities at full service properties are closed.
The problem is that hotels don’t make it very easy to determine what services are currently being offered. In many cases a hotel’s website will just acknowledge that services have been adjusted as a result of coronavirus, and to contact the hotel with any questions.
I understand that the situation is constantly changing and that hotel groups are large, but an up-to-date resource on hotel services and amenities shouldn’t be too much to ask, in my opinion.
It can be hard to determine what amenities hotels are offering
Marriott’s new “What To Expect” coronavirus page
Marriott’s new “What To Expect” coronavirus resource for individual hotels is now available. When you go to the specific webpage for a hotel on marriott.com, you should see a red banner along the top.
At the end of the text you should see a link to “COVID-19 updates and what to expect at our hotel.” If you click that, you’ll get an impressive amount of information about the services at a hotel.
This resource seems to be available for most properties, but not all (I imagine the details are still being compiled for some properties).
If the hotel’s info has been updated to reflect current services you’ll get a hotel specific page, while if it hasn’t been updated, you’ll just get Marriott’s generic page about hotel precautions.
I’m really impressed by the level of detail that these pages provide. For example, for the Marriott Frankfurt Airport, here’s what the updated property amenities & services look like:
We are committed to making the amenities and services at our property available to you while complying with local regulations to reinforce social distancing. The modifications we have made include:
- Restaurant: Open from 06:30 AM to 09:00 PM, face masks required for entry.
- M Club: Open from 06:30 AM to 09:00 PM, face masks required for entry. Limited services.
- Room Service: Open from 04:00 PM to 09:00 PM, contactless delivery.
- Bars: Temporarily closed.
- Meeting & Event Space: Open in compliance with official regulations.
- Fitness & Wellness Area: Temporarily closed.
The club lounge is open, but with limited hours
The food & beverage offerings section clarifies that breakfast is served in paper bags, which can be taken with you or consumed in the restaurant:
The Restaurant SkyLoft on level E2 is open from 06:30 AM to 09:00 PM and will frequently be cleaned. Guests can choose if they wish to dine in the restaurant, collect the order or have it delivered to their guest room via Room Service. Contactless Room Service orders can be placed via the guest room´s in-house telephone or the Marriott Bonvoy™ mobile app. Our menu can also be viewed on your mobile phone via a QR code.
Breakfast will be served in paper bags from 06:30 AM to 10:30 AM, available for pick up or to enjoy in the restaurant. Guest are asked to place their breakfast order together with a preferred pick up time the previous evening.
The housekeeping services section explains that housekeeping will be provided every third night of a stay, but you can let them know if you’d like more service:
Every guest room is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to your arrival. We will provide housekeeping cleaning services after your third night with us and while you are away from the room. If you’d like to receive additional daily cleaning, simply let our team know and we will gladly take care of it.
The hotel is offering housekeeping every third day
Bottom line
Marriott’s new resource for determining what amenities a hotel is offering is fantastic. This is one of the most thorough explanations I’ve seen from any hotel group, and it really gives you a good sense of what to expect.
Not only could this help you decide on which hotel to stay at, but it will also save you time during your hotel stay. During recent hotel stays I’ve found myself making at least a few phone calls to the service line to ask about updated protocols, since it’s often otherwise not apparent.
Do you find a resource like this as useful as I do?
Why on earth would the concierge lounge be closed? This makes no sense. People wear masks and can go to restaurants. I think Marriott is trying to save a buck. Being elite has no rewards these days. No use being loyal.
There really are no benefits for Elite members anymore! It is so discouraging! When I was recently handed an orange, a granola bar and a mini bottle of water I was speechless! It appeared that token was both my welcome gift and breakfast!! And they placed me on the lounge floor so that I could walk past the closed lounge on a regular basis to rub salt into my open wound! I’m in the market for other hotel options! What a joke!
Marriott needs to "Follow the science" by no longer REQUIRING masks and open back up the workout rooms and the M Clubs and bars. We are being asked to pay a premium price for less than premium service and amenities.
I have concluded that hotels are hiding behind the covid thing. My two recent stays in Level 1 Hyatts shows 2 people working the kitchen while we pick up things to microwave. Same goes for Marriott lower levels. While staying at a full fledge Marriott, the M club is closed, but I could order from the bar off a very limited menu in the mornings and get an omelette, but no refills on coffee or...
I have concluded that hotels are hiding behind the covid thing. My two recent stays in Level 1 Hyatts shows 2 people working the kitchen while we pick up things to microwave. Same goes for Marriott lower levels. While staying at a full fledge Marriott, the M club is closed, but I could order from the bar off a very limited menu in the mornings and get an omelette, but no refills on coffee or juice. However, at night the bar was packed, no one wearing masks except barkeeper and people 2' from another's face in the bar and no drink in site. Marriott can allow this, but not open an M Club.
At least for the hotels I've checked, this page isn't up. Now, it's a small and potentially non-representative sample...but it looks like Marriott at least isn't putting any stick about with franchisees to indicate what they're doing (which is the most egregious part of all of this).
As to the "pro tip" to check with the hotel...that's nice on paper but it's rather a PITA to have to call through every hotel in town to,...
At least for the hotels I've checked, this page isn't up. Now, it's a small and potentially non-representative sample...but it looks like Marriott at least isn't putting any stick about with franchisees to indicate what they're doing (which is the most egregious part of all of this).
As to the "pro tip" to check with the hotel...that's nice on paper but it's rather a PITA to have to call through every hotel in town to, for example, compare housekeeping policies (e.g. "Every day" versus "Every four days" versus "Every week" versus "Every three days but you can ask for more and we want you to schedule it"). It is doubly a pain to do this when you're trying to track down a "functioning" hotel "for tonight/for the next 2-3 nights" and everyone is all over the map (some might offer housekeeping but no food, some have half-arsed housekeeping but have some in-house food options, and some might have a partnership with a nearby restaurant).
If you are relying on mask-wearing to keep you safe, I suggest staying home. Masks are nothing but a symbolic security blanket. Basing mask-wearing hysteria on one bad study showing "some" effectiveness doesn't change the fact that a majority of face coverings are basically useless for a virus of this nature. But ok, keep believing they work. That said, this "pandemic" has run it's course anyway so that whole point is moot. Look at the...
If you are relying on mask-wearing to keep you safe, I suggest staying home. Masks are nothing but a symbolic security blanket. Basing mask-wearing hysteria on one bad study showing "some" effectiveness doesn't change the fact that a majority of face coverings are basically useless for a virus of this nature. But ok, keep believing they work. That said, this "pandemic" has run it's course anyway so that whole point is moot. Look at the data. Increases in cases is due to a test that's not fit for purpose doesn't justify this continued insanity. Empirical evidence wins and in practically all situations, hospitalizations are down. This has become a joke. Have fun being scared of nothing.
In concept, this is great. However, Marriott has thousands of hotels and the vast majority of them have no information. The reality is hotels are being cheap by not offering services. I’ve stayed at several legitimate five-star hotels that have offered daily housekeeping, open restaurants with social distancing and other safety protocols, open pools, and even gyms open by reservations. Any hotel that can’t do all this is just being cheap. I also don’t understand...
In concept, this is great. However, Marriott has thousands of hotels and the vast majority of them have no information. The reality is hotels are being cheap by not offering services. I’ve stayed at several legitimate five-star hotels that have offered daily housekeeping, open restaurants with social distancing and other safety protocols, open pools, and even gyms open by reservations. Any hotel that can’t do all this is just being cheap. I also don’t understand the logic of not cleaning a guestroom for three or five days. Doesn’t that make the guestroom dirtier?
I have put off 4 Intl trips because travel, which I love, just seems like a chore and definitely a danger. I have no confidence in Marriott properties updating their landing pages in an ever changing situation. A club will show open this week and closed next week with no notice or change to "What to expect" .
Oh, my domestic clients do not want to meet either as everyone is working from home.
What a year!
Must be full web version only, not showing on app for my check-in tomorrow.
We stayed one night at the Fairfield Richfield in Utah (I-70 road trip). Front desk agents wore masks. Housekeeping didn’t. Nothing like the appearance of cleanliness prevailing over actual cleanliness.
We recently stayed at a Sheraton in Minnesota and there is no specific information on their website. It's very confusing to say the least about what is "open/normal" and what is not. Since they were selling "club level" rooms, I assumed the club lounge was open, but it was not. I did contact the hotel prior to the stay to request a Platinum upgrade and to confirm how breakfast was handled. I specifically mentioned to...
We recently stayed at a Sheraton in Minnesota and there is no specific information on their website. It's very confusing to say the least about what is "open/normal" and what is not. Since they were selling "club level" rooms, I assumed the club lounge was open, but it was not. I did contact the hotel prior to the stay to request a Platinum upgrade and to confirm how breakfast was handled. I specifically mentioned to the manager who replied to my email that it was very confusing for them to be selling club room with the club not being opened. Breakfast ended up being a set "to-go" breakfast that had to be ordered and picked up at the bar since the restaurant was still closed. The manager also told me that Marriott hadn't given corporate permission for them to re-open the lounge which I found hard to believe.
If they're not wearing masks then I'm not going to be stupid and stay there.
JOHAN, don't blame the mask! It's not masks that are stupid, it's those who don't wear them appropriately.
I do not know what is the problem with buffets. In July I've stayed at Minsk Marriott and had a completely normal experience - buffet breakfast, lounge was open, staff was smiling (no stupid masks).
Blows my mind that anyone would want a “buffet” experience at this stage of the pandemic but OK.
Thank you, Lucky, very useful! Let’s hope that (a) all hotels set up that page and (b) actually stick to the information provided. Based on my pre COVID experience with Marriott, hotels were not very “compliant” with their own webpage.
Interesting article, but I cannot locate the code for the Residence Inn in Pasadena, CA.
Calling is still the best option.
I paid extra for a "breakfast buffet" at a hotel in Stockholm and they gave me a bag with a stale sandwich and some fruit every morning. No prior disclosure the buffet was closed, so I was a little pissed. They refunded the breakfast fee when I checked out though. Everything else in the hotel was normal though (indoor pool, restaurant, fitness center, etc.)
Def a nice touch but calling will definitely be more accurate. The Conrad in DC sent me a full email a week before check-in to explain benefits changes and what was not open at the time. Extremely helpful as I canceled my reservation.
Pro tip: call the hotel directly before you make your reservation to ask what amenities are closed or restricted.