I’m not sure what’s worse — that a Marriott manager feels this way, or that she feels comfortable enough writing this online using her real name…
In this post:
Marriott manager: “you’re just a number at every Marriott”
View from the Wing flags an interesting post in the Marriott Bonvoy Elites Uncensored Facebook group. A Bonvoy Ambassador member (Marriott’s highest elite tier, with a $23,000 annual spending requirement) shares the disappointing elite recognition he received while staying at the Garylord Palms property in Orlando, while spending $19,000 for 10 nights across two rooms:
At the Gaylord Palms here in Orlando. Ambassador level. no lounge. $10 1 time credit for dining for each of two rooms booked over the holidays. 10 nights at almost $19000 cost and cant even get a restaurant reservation. The staff seems inexperienced and doesn’t seem to care that we’re ambassador status. The resort is unique and interesting. Rooms are nice. But all in all I’ll travel to Europe or Asia for the cost of a 10 day 2 room family Disney trip. Were just a number here.
As you’d expect, this post received a variety of responses, though this one was perhaps the most interesting one:
You’re just a number at every Marriott you stay at. We do not care that you are “Ambassador status” because 98% of you got that status due to your job. Congrats. You’re not royalty. Gross.
You might not initially think much of this. But what’s interesting about the post is the use of the word “we,” which sure suggests that this commenter works for Marriott. If you look her name up, you’ll see a LinkedIn profile with exactly the same picture, and that states that she’s the assistant general manager at a franchised Marriott property in Arizona
In five sentences — two of which are a single word — she manages to make the point that:
- Guests are “just a number at every Marriott”
- “They” don’t care about elite status, because most people got status through their job
- Guests aren’t royalty
- “Gross”
My take on this manager’s perception of Bonvoy loyalty
Truth be told, I can’t say that I’m surprised that an assistant general manager at a random franchised Marriott property in Arizona feels this way. Many Marriott properties clearly have a disdain for elite status, and for delivering on promised perks.
Perhaps what surprises me most is the brashness of literally posting this publicly, using your real name, while essentially identifying as a Marriott employee (by using the term “we”). Like, this is beyond disrespectful in any line of work, especially when speaking about one of your best customers.
Like, how much does this person hate elite guests? She’s literally choosing to read a Facebook group where Marriott Bonvoy elite members share their experience, and she thinks the right thing to do is to tell guests that they really don’t matter, and she doesn’t care?
Now, I actually think her perception of elite members isn’t that far off from how many other Marriott employees feel:
- Marriott corporate really only cares about room count growth, and isn’t that invested in actually delivering on elite promises, unlike hotel groups like Hyatt, which still care
- Part of the issue is also that on a corporate level, Marriott profits off of handing out elite status like candy (like with credit cards), and then it’s up to individual hotels to deliver on those benefits, which is challenging, given the volume of guests we’re talking about
- The absurd thing is that *literally* the one thing Marriott has going for is its loyalty program, since that’s the only thing that would get someone to specifically seek out a Marriott over a competing property
- The truth is that we’re all the chumps for staying on the hamster wheel of elite status despite the clear indifference that Marriott has toward its guests (and I’m calling myself a chump here, because I’m an Ambassador as well!)
- In fairness, I do think this perspective is largely United States centric, and outside of the country, you’ll find that there are still plenty of places that care about elite members, and where hospitality is a thing (in my defense, I rarely stay at Bonvoy properties in the United States) 😉
Bottom line
A Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador member shared a negative experience staying at a property while spending $19K on the stay, to which an assistant general manager of another property responded by saying that Ambassador members are just a number at every property, that managers don’t care, you’re not royalty, and “gross.” Nice!!!
What do you make of this Marriott manager’s Facebook post?
Definitely agree the Gaylord Opryland doesn’t care about ambassadors. They took 20 minutes trying to tell me a booked the single king room with 2 adults and 2 kids for thanksgiving even after showing them my original 2 bed reservation. We’re selling 2 queens on the website but said none were available. It wasn’t until I started pushing the ultimate room type guarantee and asking for the 100 dollars cash that they magically found one.
$950 per night per room?
she's not concerned using her real identity, so why would you blur it?
I guess one of the great things about American egalitarianism is that lowly hotel employees can feel that they are equal or even superior to the guests who have the money to stay at the hotel (even if it is on the employer's dime).
Not to say that hotel elite status is some kind of human superiority, of course not. But at least in other countries people in a service role would know to...
I guess one of the great things about American egalitarianism is that lowly hotel employees can feel that they are equal or even superior to the guests who have the money to stay at the hotel (even if it is on the employer's dime).
Not to say that hotel elite status is some kind of human superiority, of course not. But at least in other countries people in a service role would know to keep their mouths shut and say such things in private and put an outwardly appropriate attitude given their position.
I guess she can go back to her asst. manager job at the Tucson Fairfield Inn and think she's some success in life.
I Blame the customer for that. Why Patronize that Joint if you are not getting proper recognition, If you think you are "Special".
And how would the guest know that's the treatment they would receive on booking?
Observation:
Upon reading such articles, followed by the comments, it becomes very apparent that it is going to be one uphill battle to “Make America Great Again”.
It is a bit of a balance. Hotels need the elite members to generate revenue, and the elite members wants the hotels to suck up to them.
The problem is when the hotels gets too focused on the revenue aspect only, and when the elites gets to focused on entitlements, especially imagined entitlements. Both sides of that drives the other side further out on their ledge.
When you stand for a bit around the...
It is a bit of a balance. Hotels need the elite members to generate revenue, and the elite members wants the hotels to suck up to them.
The problem is when the hotels gets too focused on the revenue aspect only, and when the elites gets to focused on entitlements, especially imagined entitlements. Both sides of that drives the other side further out on their ledge.
When you stand for a bit around the front desks of hotels and listened to what some elite members think they are entitled to, you can't help starting to feel sympathies for the hotel attitudes.
Which hotel does she work for?
A dump in Arizona. “Work” is generous, though. The hardest she works any given day is rubbing antifungal cream into her vaginal folds.
Link?
You are such a vile creature EIGHT FIGURES. A vile post from such a childish imbecile, yes?
This doesn't add anything useful to the conversation.
Please pause to consider what you are attempting to accomplish before hitting "post" and see if you have second thoughts. If so, perhaps hold off.
Y'all need to stop giving your money to this arrogant chickenshit outfit, and tell your corporate travel managers that Marriott is blackbanned for good. Money talks, so take yours elsewhere.
She should get a job in the fat orange Nazi regime where she’d fit right in with her hatred of living human beings.
Do rest assured EIGHT FIGURES, nobody will ever accuse you of being a “Living human being”, yes?
Why do people still spend good money on Delta and Marriott offerings is beyond me. These are probably the same guys who pay top dollar for dominatrix clubs.
She's right and I'd bet money that internal memos support what she's saying.
Hotels don't give a fuck about your loyalty. All of the groups. They could care less if you revisit and stat with them again. Status is rarely earned and handed out through CC's, work travel and corporate contracts, ect.
If you don't like the treatment you're getting, CHANGE YOUR LOYALTY. Oh wait, you can't cause you're a fucking addict who wants to...
She's right and I'd bet money that internal memos support what she's saying.
Hotels don't give a fuck about your loyalty. All of the groups. They could care less if you revisit and stat with them again. Status is rarely earned and handed out through CC's, work travel and corporate contracts, ect.
If you don't like the treatment you're getting, CHANGE YOUR LOYALTY. Oh wait, you can't cause you're a fucking addict who wants to gain status every year and hope for your elite benefits to get recognized. And when they don't, you whine and cry online about your posted benefits. Big whoop. Get of the hamster wheel and buy your own hotel group. All of you chumps commenting here would tank a hospitality company in less than 30 days and go bankrupt.
Indeed Ben - WE ARE ALL CHUMPS for getting on the hamster wheel of ELITE status.
I am leaning more and more toward restricting Loyalty to Membership Miles (AMEX) and Ultimate Rewards (CHASE). One can use those benefits in a variety of ways and do not have to restrict ourselves to a particular brand (be it airline or hotel)....If loyalty has been sold out to the Credit Card companies - let us re-calibrate.
Quite literally the only reason left to bother earning elite status with Marriott is because Bonvoy points are a useful transferable currency for airline points. The increased earning rates are the only consistently delivered benefit.
Which goes to my next point. As I mentioned in VFTW a few days ago, Bonvoy sucks because of its complexity, opacity, and delivery. Additional factors are the comically inflated elite numbers. To make Bonvoy better, eliminate Silver and...
Quite literally the only reason left to bother earning elite status with Marriott is because Bonvoy points are a useful transferable currency for airline points. The increased earning rates are the only consistently delivered benefit.
Which goes to my next point. As I mentioned in VFTW a few days ago, Bonvoy sucks because of its complexity, opacity, and delivery. Additional factors are the comically inflated elite numbers. To make Bonvoy better, eliminate Silver and Gold as tiers, set Platinum as the first rung of the ladder, and then simplify the benefits, while bringing them in line with reality. No breakfast? Fine. No upgrades? Fine. But at least spell it out to set expectations appropriately. Hilton and others promise far less than Marriott but HHonors and even ALL run circles around Bonvoy precisely because they’ve conditioned their members properly.
Part "Saying the quiet part out loud" and part oversharing. Probably won't suffer any consequences at work or from higher-ups but it will probably show in the service provided to guests at the hotels she manages.
Every company has a credit card, so earning points or mileage isn’t what it used to be. Shopping at WalMart gets points just like sleeping at a hotel. Loyalty got sold out to credit cards so nobody really cares about “your” status anymore.
@Ben I know you already gave him credit for the story. But Garylord is way too much recognition for him.
Saying “they just got their status through their job” misses the point that a lot of us travel for work and live a good portion of our lives out of hotels on the road. I’ve met some incredible staff who took great care of us road warriors. I’ve also met some of the scummiest scammers at Marriott properties, especially franchised locations, where Corporate or a travel agency needed to intercede and honor what was booked....
Saying “they just got their status through their job” misses the point that a lot of us travel for work and live a good portion of our lives out of hotels on the road. I’ve met some incredible staff who took great care of us road warriors. I’ve also met some of the scummiest scammers at Marriott properties, especially franchised locations, where Corporate or a travel agency needed to intercede and honor what was booked. Lifetime Platinum, but most times now I just pick whichever hotel is most convenient. The loyalty isn’t reliable so why would I stick to BonVoy?
What’s shocking is that for a family it costs $19,000 for a 10 day, 2 room hotel stay - No food, no car rental, no airfare, no park passes.
These travel companies are killing the goose that laid the golden egg with these high rates and fares. This generation is all about experiences because that’s public perception but when you need $60K in gross income just to do a Florida vacation things start getting out of control and the narrative changes.
While the individual hasn't exactly covered herself in glory, I think that you might be overreacting a bit. This was in a group literally called 'uncensored' and she's not been responsible for the issues raised by the other poster. If she'd used 'they' instead of 'we', it'd have been more of a refreshing take from an insider than an example of poor professional judgement.
Ask Ben Mallah about benefits in his hotels. Lol
I have no doubt this is true. Marriott hands out status to practically everyone and each hotel has 100+ “elites” per night, I’m sure the hotels are tired of dealing with the entitled guests.
Regardless, those hotels would be empty without the Marriott machine filling their rooms and they need to understand the business customer can usually choose a Chain and bring their $40k+ per year to someone else. It is short sighted and sad...
I have no doubt this is true. Marriott hands out status to practically everyone and each hotel has 100+ “elites” per night, I’m sure the hotels are tired of dealing with the entitled guests.
Regardless, those hotels would be empty without the Marriott machine filling their rooms and they need to understand the business customer can usually choose a Chain and bring their $40k+ per year to someone else. It is short sighted and sad that hotel employees feel this way about their customers.
Well, she's just following the Marriott's leadership example in openly showing lack of interest in guests. Hotels are the customers blah blah blah. That's fine, but in that case guests are the product so how are you going to source them?
I've been recently contemplating going for status in one more hotel program because I have too many nights to achieve that without losing existing two top tier status levels. Marriott was something I considered...
Well, she's just following the Marriott's leadership example in openly showing lack of interest in guests. Hotels are the customers blah blah blah. That's fine, but in that case guests are the product so how are you going to source them?
I've been recently contemplating going for status in one more hotel program because I have too many nights to achieve that without losing existing two top tier status levels. Marriott was something I considered due to their footprint but eventually I decided against them precisely because of their arrogant, borderline hateful, attitude towards their (not) customers.
It’s not even a lack of interest in the guests, it’s contempt. She actually seems to hate the people that provide the property owners the money to pay her.
She should get a job in the fat orange Nazi regime where she’d fit right in with her hatred of living human beings.
Expose the employees property at least so we can leave Reviews! Haahah