HotelChatter

Hollywood Roosevelt and 60 Thompson Service

i stayed at the roosevelt on the night of a huge halloween party and i thought service was pretty great. everyone was friendly and helpful from start to finish.

i also stayed at 60 thompson five years ago and that was on new years eve. (why am i always staying at thompson on a big holiday?) the service that time was non-existent but if the hotel is getting repeat customers who are willing to pay $600 a night then they better have good service.

..The Thompson Hotel Experience Manifesto Worthy?

First of all, I resent Brandman's outright condesending attitude toward his paying customers, referring to customers who are likely to unfavorably blog about his Thompson hotels as "those that can't afford the experience" and are "really not our customer".  Insulting your customers is generally not good business nor good service.  Also, it is not good practice to differentiate customers in service businesses such as hotels.  All customers should be afforded the same HIGH QUALITY service.  Paying customers are paying customers, and all customers have a voice and the ability to blog.  Clearly Brandman overlooks the fact that a hotel's reputation comes from word of mouth and the fact that customers are increasingly relying on consumer driven sites like Tripadvisor to decide which hotels to stay at.

That being said, based on my stays at the Roosevelt and the new Thompson Beverly Hills, their staff shares Brandman's attitude of I'm-too-busy-with-more-important-things-but-sigh-I-will-help-you-anyways attitude.  My needs were met at both establishments, but the staff begrudging met them complete with eyerolling and sighing.  Since company culture usually trickles down, Brandman better give his attitude a tune up and make sure his hotels do the same.  Customers, as smart as they are, will quickly catch on to the Thompson "spirit" and take their $600 a night elsewhere.

do old people blog about hotel stays?

i would guess that people who can afford $600 rooms at 60 Thompson or $400 rooms at Six Columbus on a regular basis are older and thus are not so hip to the blogs. or did i just say something totally ageist?

anyways, i think brandman was trying to say that their repeat customer was an older professional type who probably doesn't go online to talk about the great service.

he also did mention all the reviews on TripAdvisor that his hotels have been getting. he wrote this to us:

If you look at the last twenty entries for 60 Thompson, 6 Columbus, Hollywood Roosevelt and Gaige House which generally covers the past several months (up to 6 months) you will see each hotel scores over a 4.0 out of 5.0. To say that we fail in service is not correct...While I don't think that website is the end all of info on this subject it is an indication.

so he does pay attention to word-of-mouth and internet reviews.

but "lifestyle" hoteliers do tend to have the same mentality when it comes to guests, not everyone is their desired customer. they don't want to be like big box hotels, they want to be like Studio 54--reference to Ian Schrager intended.

Re: lifestyle hotels

I thought of Studio 54 also!  Lifestyle hotels just shouldn't complain when they are purposely being exclusive and being called out on it.  I'm glad Brandman is "hip" to Tripadvisor.  But why is he reading Tripadvisor when his intended customer won't bother with reading it?

DO old people blog?

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

don does!

http://dontoearth.blogspot.com/

but his last post was March 2007. not sure if he's alive or what...

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

If they're interested in a hip, elite "Studio 54" vibe, don't they want to encourage the young people (who we're assuming here do more blogging) to stay rather than imply they're not wanted? Do rich kids not blog?

At 6 Columbus...

I didn't notice the service, really. (This is a good thing in my book.) My front desk clerk was a little stiff--they had just opened--but helpful. She also got some restaurant recommendations for me and apologized that the restaurant wasn't yet open. Checkout was fast and easy. The bellmen--they were all men--got those doors open lickety-split.

At Blue Ribbon Sushi, service was attentive at the bar. If the bartenders were a little unsure of themselves, it was because I was there the first night it opened.

All in all, I thought service was good and didn't see much eyerolling or scoffing. Could I be that mod? (Doubtful.)

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

@ced138: Do rich kids not blog?
Exactly.  Look at any blogging survey and you will see that most folks who read and comment on blog formatted sites tend to be wealthy and may actually be the ones considering pricey Thompson rooms.  Granted I am not sure how many bloggers are the "good looking revolutionaries" they refer to in their "hotel manifesto", but I am fairly sure their target market is cruising the interweb more than they seem to think.

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel

I've never stayed at a Thompson hotel - not because of any prejudice toward it - just havent had an opportunity. I'm very suprised to see Brandmans comment in the post above, and I hate to say it, but what ever happened to modesty?

Thompson is a new brand and does not have the cachet of W, or Morgans Hotel Group - so they have to differentiate themselves with service - especially if they are charging high rates.

I'd say that service has definitely improved or else they would not be growing - and in fact would be closing locations. When i go to an expensive hotel - there better be something that makes me want to go back, or at least feel that the $400 was worth it, otherwise I'd stay at a courtyard for $80..

Things I look for are the personality of the employees, the fact that when you pick up the phone for roomservice, or the front desk if they identify you by your name "Thank you for calling Room Service Mr so and so, how can I help you?" - most importantly, I want the feeling that if I have a question, if I have a complaint, if I need to speak to an employee that they dont make me feel as though I'm bothering them - a SIMPLE yet seemingly very difficult thing to find in todays hotels - high end or low end.

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

i love when the front desk answers the phone and greets you by name. that does make you feel good. and just in general, staffers should be glad you are in their hotel and be able to express that.

i'm not saying they should ask you how you are liking your stay every time you step out of your room but there is a way to be nice without overdoing it.

so far the only two hotels that i have ever had this experience was the Ritz in Battery Park and the Observatory Hotel in Sydney. Two very old school hotels chains... (observatory is orient-express hotels) and the Ritz was under $300 a night in August no less!

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

Brandman (ha! is that really his name? Excellent) sounds like a proper snob. I can't imagine him serving anyone.

"We are not like a lot of other hotels that are bars with rooms attached."

What's wrong with a bar with a room attached?

Rather that than pay 600 squits for a Brandman-style dose of snottiness. Let's hope he's not in charge of staff training.

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

And Mr Brandman had better start being more polite to us poor, lowly bloggers.

Because if his rich clients google 'Thompson Hotel' and get hit by blogs saying how crap the service is....it doesn't take an advertising manager to work out what'll soon happen.

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

Prizes on offer for the best pun on Brandman's name...first prize, free night in a Thompson Hotel.

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

I would say repeat business is easier to come by in New York than it is in any other U.S. city because occupancy overall is so tight. $600 a night sounds crazy, but in the best areas of Manhattan it's not so out of whack these days since hotels are routinely packed out without even trying hard. Could he charge anything close to that in other cities and get away with it? Only if service was really blow-you-away fantastic. In all fairness though, it's a tough challenge getting New Yorkers to provide fawning service. Staffers adapt more easily to the "I'm too cool to help you--just check me out instead" attitude.

Re: OpenThread: Is The Thompson Hotel Experience M

Brandman sez...

While I don't think that {TripAdvisor} is the end all of info on this subject it is an indication.

Another indication is management responses to negative interviews so the rest of us can see they're serious about addressing problems and safisfying guests.

Sounds to me like Brandman is more concerned with bloggers than with customers.

Gild Hall

I am staying at Gild Hall in two weeks. Does anyone know much about the rooms? From what I understand, the renovations are not completed but you can request a renovated room.

Re: The Thompson Hotel Experience

These guys know how to run a hotel!!!! I've stayed at The Gansevoort, Mondrian, and Maritime; they are night clubs with rooms on top. No Respect for the guest.  
60 Thompson and especially the Roosevelt staff lock it down after hours, respecting the guest experience.
Its nice to go to a hotel that you can party your ass off, and get a good nights sleep, so you can start all over again the next day!