If you check in to a smoke-free hotel, you are usually warned that you’d be fined for smoking in your room and even required to initial a written warning. It turns out, however, that you can easily get away with no charge unless a hotel employee catches you while smoking.
I stayed at one of those smoke-free hotels in Wichita, Kan., this week and initialed one of those pieces of paper saying the fine would be $250 if the smoking ban wasn’t observed. I’ve never smoked and am, in fact, allergic to smoke, so I was very happy with the policy. But as soon as I opened the door to my assigned room, the unpleasant smell hit me.
The only other available room was a penthouse-style suite, so I was of course happy to move. My first night was, indeed, smoke-free, but the following night things changed. I smelled cigarette smoke on the suite’s lower level, but the bedroom on the upper level seemed fine, so I didn’t complain to the hotel staff.
Big mistake. Early in the morning, I was awoken by that smell. I asked housekeeping to come and figure out the source of the smell, so I wouldn’t be charged the fine. They reported that the guest in the room below mine had been smoking. I said I hoped he’d be fined — only to be told that he’d just checked out, and they couldn’t fine him unless they had caught him in the act. “It’s my word against his,” the housekeeping supervisor said.
Had I complained the night before while he was smoking, things would have been different. That was the last time I hesitate before complaining in a hotel.
Continue reading about Hotels find smoking fines hard to charge
One of the biggest misconceptions about the travel industry is that it offers the worst customer service around. In fact, in the last couple of years, airline and hotel companies have achieved significant improvements, and it would be wise for other businesses to watch and learn.
Regular readers of this column can testify that I’m no apologist for the travel sector — I try to point out both good and bad practices, though the criticism may sometimes outweigh the praise. But I get angry when I read or hear in the media that airlines are synonymous with bad customer service.
As I wrote a year ago, the constant face-to-face interaction of thousands of front-line airline and hotel employees with customers around the world every day magnifies even a mundane incident, especially if splashed on Facebook or Twitter. The high visibility has taught carriers and hospitality companies valuable lessons, and many of them have learned from their mistakes…
Continue reading about Travel companies teach customer-service lessons
It’s no secret in the hotel loyalty business that Hilton HHonors has been probably the least creative and attractive among the major programs in recent years. Fortunately, its management has recognized that weakness and begun to address it, albeit cautiously.
While competitors such as Starwood, which includes the Sheraton, Westin and other brands, and to a lesser extent the InterContinental Hotel Groups Priority Club, came up with various promotions quarter after quarter, Hilton’s strategy seemed heavily reliant on name-recognition and reputation.
Jeff Diskin, senior vice president for global customer marketing at Hilton Worldwide, said in an interview last week that the company considers the quality of its hotels and the distribution of its network to be its main strengths…
Nicholas Kralev talks to Jeff Diskin, senior vice president for global customer marketing at Hilton Worldwide, about the company’s loyalty program, Hilton HHonors.
Another domino in the hotel fees game has began falling. Three of the world’s largest chains — Starwood, Marriott and Hyatt — now offer free Internet access to their elite members. Another two, however — InterContinental and Hilton — are holding out. For how long?
Like most frequent travelers, who are usually also elite members of various loyalty programs, I’ve become accustomed to free hotel perks, such as breakfast, room upgrades and lounge access. At the same time, I’ve oddly got used to paying Internet fees that are sometimes higher for one day than my monthly charge at home, and for speed several times lower.
I complain about them occasionally — especially in Europe, where they can reach $30 — but if I’m working on the road, I keep paying them. After all, using a hotel computer in a business center is not the best way to research and file a story…
Continue reading about Free hotel Internet for elites slowly becomes the norm
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