I stay at Marriott properties frequently, over 130 nights a year, and I'm also a Marriott Titanium Elite member. I'm here at least once every other month, and unfortunately, this particular check in experience was disappointing.
I arrived a little early at around 2:40 PM. The front desk representative, an Asian woman who I later learned was the Sales Manager, told me that the hotel had been completely booked the previous night and that they would not be able to check me in until 4:00 PM. I completely understood that. I realize early check in is not guaranteed, and I was perfectly willing to wait.
What happened next, however, was frustrating.
I waited in the lobby, and less than five minutes later, another front desk agent, Angel, who I believe, returned from his break and proceeded to check in another guest. I was quite confused, since I had just been told that I could not check in until 4:00 PM.
I approached Angel and explained what had happened. He suggested that perhaps the room assigned to me had not been ready. I explained that the Sales Manager had never even asked for my name or reservation information, so there was no way she could have actually checked whether my specific room was ready. Angel immediately looked into it, found a room, and checked me in.
Angel was fantastic. He was attentive, patient, professional, and genuinely accommodating. He completely changed the direction of what had started as a very frustrating experience.
My concern is really with the Sales Manager. I didn't catch her name, but she should be easy for management to identify as the Asian woman who was working the front desk around 2:40 PM. As someone who works in a customer facing industry, I understand that sometimes you simply can't accommodate a request. That's not what bothered me. What bothered me was her telling me that I can't check in until 4:00pm without anyone even taking the time to look at my reservation or see whether a room might be available.
I've had consistently good experiences with Marriott properties, which is why this interaction stood out so much. Hospitality is about making an effort, even when the answer might ultimately be no. In this case, there was apparently a room available, and it took Angel less than a minute to find it.
I'm giving the property one additional star specifically because of Angel. He absolutely saved what otherwise would have been a terrible check in experience.
I hope management takes this as constructive feedback. I like this property and stay here regularly, but I expect better customer service, especially from someone in a management position. read more