Last week, my wife and I stayed at a Hyatt Place, the Hyatt chain’s new upscale suite hotel brand. I was really looking forward to the stay, since the early reviews were good. After actually staying at one, I hope that the absurd number of problems we experienced were isolated, and that we simply were unlucky. This was a stay that I’ll never forget.
As background: Hyatt Place hotels are few and far between at this point, but they’re revamping old AmeriSuites properties and swankifying them to include the Hyatt bed, plasma televisions, etc. The lobbies are completely redesigned, with warm, contemporary design and some interesting sitting areas. Overall, the feel of the hotel is very upscale, at a midscale price. (Disclosure: We got our room through Priceline.com at a very deep discount.)
As part of an 800 mile drive last week, we spent a night at the Louisville location. We had left Chicago in the midst of flash flooding, making our escape nearly impossible. By the time we reached Louisville, it was 3:00 in the morning. Late, yes, but we had called ahead to ensure that our prepaid reservation was still there, and not given away to someone else. Our timeline follows:
3:00 a.m.
When we arrived, the well-meaning but hapless front desk clerk was unable to check us in, though our reservation was in the system. Why the problem? The calendar day had changed from Tuesday into Wednesday, he said, and our room was reserved by someone else for Wednesday night. The hotel was full, so there were no other rooms to give us, so he was wrestling with the computer to get a key. Watching him shuffle between computers, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach, knowing that something was going very, very wrong.
3:15 a.m.
After fifteen minutes of wrangling with the keyboards, he finally got two keys issued for room 508. We headed to the elevator, up to the fifth floor, and to the room. The keys didn’t work. Instead of the green light, we kept getting orange. So back downstairs I went.
3:25 a.m.
After another few minutes of computer struggle, new keys popped out. Up to the top floor again, where my wife was sagged together in a heap of exhaustion in front of the door. The newest keys didn’t work either. Back downstairs I went.
3:30 a.m.
The front desk person was confused as to why this latest set of keys didn’t do the trick, so he called a technical support person… and got voicemail. He declared in his message that this was an emergency, but at that hour, who would get the message? So he sent me back upstairs, saying he’d figure it out and take care of it. “We’ll take care of you,” a phrase he repeated several times throughout the festivities. I went back upstairs and dozed off in the hallway outside our room. I was getting flashbacks to college, but thinking I was getting too old for this.
3:55 a.m.
The front desk person arrived at “our” room, but instead of keys, he had a luggage cart in tow. He was unable to get us keys, but he “found” another room on the first floor for us to check into. (Weren’t they sold out?) This new room was “never sold,” since the room dimensions were slightly off: The bathroom door would bump into the bed. Fine, no problem, we said, we weren’t about to quibble over a door, as long as we found a bed to sleep in.
4:00 a.m.
My wife opted for a shower and hopped right in. Once in there, she noticed a half-dissolved bar of soap and a pair of used washcloths. Uh oh. Bad sign. Time for a room inspection. And that room that was “never sold” was certainly used, if not sold. Short hairs on the pillows (someone had a haircut that day…) and longer, curlier hairs between the sheets … in a made bed! Used coffee cups on the counter. Several slices of pizza in the refrigerator. Bottom line: A dirty room that had bizarrely been tidied up to look superficially clean. Was this the manager’s secret hideaway where he napped or enjoyed some extracurricular activities? Ring ring, phone call to our man at the front desk…
4:15 a.m.
The exasperated front desk clerk delivered fresh pillows and sheets to our door, again with the statement that he would “take care of us.” I asked for two things: A very late checkout, and that breakfast would be delivered to us. (Their breakfast bar closed up shop at 9:30am.) He wholeheartedly agreed to both, apologized profusely, and left us to make our beds. After a long night of driving, there we were, stripping our hotel bed of its dirty sheets, and putting on the fresh ones. A surreal end to a long day.
When we checked out (very, very late) the next day, a different clerk asked us if our stay had been pleasant. In unison, we blurted out, “No,” to his shock and bemusement. “It’s a long story.”
This would have all been somewhat funny if we hadn’t been so spent. It was the end of a really rough few days, and we really, really, really just wanted to relax and unwind. Instead, we found ourselves sleeping in hallways and making our own hotel beds.
“I’m sorry, Mark, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
All of this could have been prevented if Hyatt’s computer systems aided their employees instead of limiting them. Had the front desk person been able to issue a key, we would have been in a (presumably) clean room and in bed. But no, the computer wouldn’t let the staff get us what we reserved. Technology got in the way of hospitality, and of customer service.
Hotel staff needs to be empowered to help the customer. When the computer can’t be trumped by a human being, then the customer loses. And when the customer loses, the hotel eventually loses even more.
…
Postscript:
As far as the Hyatt Place itself, I liked what I saw. Admittedly, I had an unusual room, and I didn’t experience the full amenities, but the hotel design and styling were great, the bed was comfortable (even with our half-assed bedmaking), and it was remarkably quiet for a fully-booked hotel. The promo photos that Hyatt puts up on their website are actually pretty close to reality (see below), though our room didn’t have that screen/room divider, and the room lighting wasn’t quite this photogenic…
I’d gladly try them out again, but I’d cross my fingers that I could actually get into a room.
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July 6th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
first of all… welcome back!!!
what an experience. hyatt should read this and give you and your wife a voucher. they’re lucky that you are still giving them a fair review even if your experience was really shitty.
July 6th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
I agree, you guys definitely deserve some kind of voucher for a free stay next time.
I think this is a good example of becoming too reliant on technology. While I’m sure their computer system makes general hotel administration much more efficient 99% of the time, there is no excuse for not having some kind of backup system for basic tasks like programming room keys. Smooth business is based on planning for all possible situations.
July 6th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
A nightmare, indeed!
I think the clerk should have at least assisted you with changing the sheets. You were wise to check the sheets. That is one of the first things I do when I check into a room. Twice I’ve found dirty sheets. Yuck! Both times this happened it was in a late night check-in, as well.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
The computer system worked just fine. Unfortunately the very low paid night person was never trained on this eventuality or didn’t remember the steps he/she should take. Higher technology is beyond the reach of a large portion of our population in this country unfortunately. It’s not about being “too reliant” on technology; it’s about being too stupid to take advantage of it.
July 7th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Funny coincidence…
My whole extended family stayed at that location when it was an AmeriSuites for my brother’s wedding a few years ago in Louisville. When everyone arrived back at the hotel well after midnight, none of our keys worked. The desk clerk had to issue something like 35 new keys before we could sleep off our night of carousing.
Maybe they’re still using the same electronic lock system.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Your experience sounds like most of mine as of late. Kudos on your charitable review! BTW: I love your blog, always insightful and [almost] always entertaining!
July 8th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Reminds me of an experience a couple of years ago at the Courtyard near Hersheypark. Arrived at 11:30pm Saturday and were told we got the last room. Got up to the room and as we tried the key, someone inside the room told us it was occupied. Returned to the desk, where the clerk said “that can’t be right” and *insisted* on coming back to the room and trying the door, adding insult to injury for the guests there.
We got sent to another hotel, and afterwards the mmanager offered us some Marriott points for our trouble, which I got only after reminding them a couple of times.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Melissa:
Thanks for the welcome back!
Melissa and Robmeyer:
Re: getting a voucher from Hyatt… As a general rule, I let companies offer compensation, rather than asking for it. No offers have arrived. Perhaps they’re looking at the rate I got on Priceline ($40/night) and saying I got what I deserved. The clerk’s repeated statement that he would “take care of us” seems to be as far as they were willing to go at the time. I keep wondering if someone will contact me, but it’s not looking likely. I may follow up with a formal letter, not asking for compensation, but detailing my complaints, and perhaps pointing them to this blog post, once I find the time.
Sheila:
I’m going to need to start checking sheets more thoroughly in the future.
Louis:
It may very well be poorly trained staff. And no backup person to help him. Thus computers and disorganization in the post title. Unacceptable, either way.
Jeff:
Ha! Funny coincidence, indeed! At least you guys got working keys!
G.Twilley:
Thanks! Sorry to hear you’re having similar tales from the road. Feel free to share specifics…
Fred:
Ouch. I like how the clerk essentially called you a liar. Nice touch. “But the computer says there’s no one in that room!” Lovely.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Wow. Yeah you should definitely get a voucher. I was wondering too why the hotel staff didn’t help you change the sheets
July 20th, 2007 at 5:48 am
Just out of curiosity: Do they use plastic under sheets? You must know since you had to make up the bed yourself
July 20th, 2007 at 8:15 am
I can state with confidence that they do not use plastic.
The rest of the bedding “formula”? I was too tired to notice.
July 24th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Please give the employee the benefit of the doubt. I can say from experience…the staff is horribly overworked and underpaid. Just before you arrived that one person probably had finished cleaning the kitchen up because he had to bake pizzas and make sandwiches while serving final rounds of wine and beer, or possibly cleaning the Starbucks Franke coffee machine from all the specialty coffee drinks he had to make for the late night “gallery” guests. Let’s not forget about the cookies, crappy scones and muffins he had to bake for the bakery cafe while trying to complete his work on the audit pack. Yep…that is one persons job!!! In the mornings, we have 250 people come down for breakfast and we have 2-3 people doing this job and more!!! It’s insane! 10.00 an hour for constant backaches and headaches! Anyone hiring in Michigan????
August 17th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
[...] brand to a more chic and luxurious space. (Early kinks were still being worked out when I experienced [...]
September 4th, 2008 at 6:56 am
I will be leaving the Buffalo Hyatt for another job in a couple of weeks after being there 18 mo. and I will never work for this awful place again. They work their help into the ground and your very lucky if you get half your lunch break if at all after 8 hrs. They have you doing things that aren’t your job because management is cheap and only out to look good to whom ever is above them. In the meantime my poor customers are getting the short end of the stick because the hotel employees are understaffed,underpaip,overworked and abused. Terrible company !!!
December 27th, 2008 at 3:34 am
As a former employee of both Amerisuites and Hyatt Place, with more than four years of service, I felt the need to chime in to this somewhat ridiculous rant.
First, about the door opening issues…
IIRC, when you get an orange light when trying to open the door, it means that the door lock has become deactivated and needs to be reconfigured with a special computer of it’s own, usually a handheld device. A red light means that the key needs to be reactivated, and if it’s blinking all colors, then it’s the deadlock. I could be wrong, but either way maintenance our management should have been called immediately, considering the hotel was sold out, which it was (see dirty room on 1st floor).
Having worked at four different hotels, and all with the overnight shift (11-7am), I can honestly tell you that stuff simply happens, and it usually happens to the same people over and over again. That’s just the luck of it. In fact, just recently at my current hotel (Hampton Inn), I had to call Maintenance to come and use a crowbar to get into a room that was dead bolted. That’s a first for me.
What the hotel “host” as they call their employees, should have done, was offer the choice of waiting for a maintenance staff or manager to arrive to fix the door issue, while enjoying a free snack and beverage at the bakery. That’s one option, while the other is to accept a comped room at another hotel because of the door lock issue. This guy should NOT have given out the dirty room. Prepaid reservations are easily comped, just in case you’re worried.
Either way, you must understand that the night auditor has his own work that he needs to complete for his lackluster management and sales departments, and considering that he or she does NOT have a break like everyone else in the good old USA, you’re best to accept whatever is offered and keep your mouth shut about the options given. They have a busy enough workload as it is.
I’m sorry, but it’s not the job of the night auditor (gallery host) to make special deliveries to your room, change sheets, or fix broken doors. It’s also not in this particular auditor’s best interest to make false promises of breakfast deliveries; Hyatt Place is NOT a full service hotel, lest he should forget.
Some people really expect the world from these limited service, yet often understaffed and overrated hotels, and it always amuses me a bit.
Don’t like the options? Leave earlier next time and arrive at the hotel at a reasonable time, before 10pm. If you show up at 3am, don’t expect a great deal of “welcoming”, especially from those of you that don’t call ahead. At least this fella did call the hotel in advance to say he was coming in late; I give him credit for that. That’s always a plus for whoever is working nights at a hotel, assuming that the shift working before them is competent.
Too bad the night shift worker was probably tied up at the bar serving alcoholics beer until midnight, starbucks lattes to the addicted, and pizzas and sandwiches to the starved. If he wasn’t working by himself, he might just have seen that note about your late arrival, and had another room all ready, possibly even ground floor.
Hyatt Place is a joke, but IMO, the guests that prefer the brand fit right in with the madness. It’s a hotel brand that would rather have your money than your loyalty any day of the week. That’s why they overbook their hotels whenever they get the chance. When you book a room with this brand, you’re really only booking a room at some hotel, but not necessarily theirs.
So what did they add with this new age brand of hotels?
They added 42 inch plasmas to the rooms, but took out the microwaves, full size coffee makers, and yellow pages.
They added pricey starbucks lattes and coffees, along with outrageously expensive and crappy menu items, but did away with the Amerisuites full complimentary breakfast, and also did away with free coffee during non breakfast times.
If only you saw the kitchen, you would understand that eating at a Hyatt Place is not the smartest route to go.
Everyone should do themselves a favor and stick with Mariott and Hilton branded hotels.