Amid the revisionist history propagated by its brass and the disrespect the company is showing for its own architecture, MGM Resorts is having a rough day around these parts. But bad things come in threes, as they say, and another blunder today shows that, one year on, CityCenter's customer service leaves a lot to be desired.Y'all might remember my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. I wrote a Las Vegas Weekly column about how much they loved CityCenter for all the reasons CEO Jim Murren said some people would. They were back this weekend and, of course, they returned to Vdara. They were there for four nights.
Their flight leaves today at 4 p.m., so sis-in-law hoped to stay in the room until 2 p.m. You know, a late checkout. She called down. She learned no can do, if she wanted to stay past noon, she would have to pay another $50. Not even a "Well, we can give you until 1." You know, like pretty much every hotel I've ever stayed at would do. Also, as Bellagio would usually do.
Did I mention that Vdara was so empty all weekend it could have easily been mistaken for Neonopolis? This weekend, with the marathon and the National Finals Rodeo and whatever else was happening, we never saw a single other soul in the hall or on the elevator. So the demand is soft. It's no skin off their teeth to give it another hour.
But a return customer who had stayed for four days can't get another hour or two in her room? The company is so hard up, they want to extort her?
Tacky tacky.
11 comments:
Sounds lame, but at least MGM properties (or at least the ones I've stayed at) have noon checkouts instead of the 11 a.m. checkouts at many other LV properties.
And just to offer the alternative, when I needed a late check out during a recent stay at Stratosphere, they said "How's 3 pm?" Great, says I. Then I wondered if they were giving me special treatment. "No, that's our standard late check out." THREE PM. No extra charge.
It's no Vdara, of course. But they do have remodeled rooms that aren't bad ;-)
And let's not forget the infamous daily $12-$20 "resort fee" charged by the MGM properties that make a lie out of their advertised room rates.
Is there no common sense within that company? I think you are right, Steve. There is no cost or harm to the company in letting a guest stay a couple hours during the slowest month of the year. Let them slide now because of the season and explain to them during peak times that as much as you would like to, it's just not possible, sorry. Give them a bone so you can give them a boner later. Give them a boner now and they won't come back.
Steve..I have not had your luck at bellagio for a later checkout. They are always snippy at bellagio. A few yrs ago I had the MGM credit card which had some perks including guaranteed late checkout. The only guarantee was a fight with the front desk when they told me no dice and I had to complain until they did me a favor. Card said guaranteed Late and they said only when they feel like it. No hotels offer late checkout without status. Even then not always unless stated. Face it they have cut costs on housekeeping and just want the room clean whether they need the room or not,
Your family has a sense of entitlement & is pissed because the hotel will not honor that without an additional charge? Seriously?
Does your family think their flight would also revolve around them & their personal schedules?
Of all the petty, lame reasons not to like a hotel. Geez, I normally love to hear anything bad about Shitty Center, but this is just ridiculous on your family's part! Especially thinking it is justified because the hotel is perceived as empty is their justification leads me to believe this is a get over yourself issue & not a fault with the hotel.
Anon: anyone staying at what is billed as a top-tier resort has a sense of entitlement. Thats the whole concept behind indulging onesself on vacation. And this is a very reasonable request, one which vdara tried to suck more money out of a customer instead of being courteous. It's bad customer service and bad business when a place is as empty and ignored as that is. An extra hour is not an unusual request in the hospitality world. In one this competitive, it's ridiculous.
Oh, I don't think that sense of entitlement ends with the hotel room! But then again, Vegas does have a reputation of obnoxious drunks chasing strippers as their wallets are quickly emptied in the casinos. VIP Bottle Service is just one prime example of how a fool & his money are soon parted....FAST!
I agree it's rather ridiculous, during non-peak periods late checkout used to be an easy perk for hotels to give and many have stopped doing it. I've had numerous occasions where HET and MGM properties wouldn't grant one.
It's just another area where these 'service' companies don't seem to understand it's an easy service to provide to their consumer that costs them little to nothing. (outside of possibly rescheduling housekeeping.)
Ive never had a problem with late checkout cause Ive never requested one. I never leave a room until 2-5pm. I just checkout on the TV system and stay as long as I want. If I have to leave the room for anything, I check the key and leave the door ajar if it no longer works.
Mirage recently changed their policy also. No late check outs. A casino host can get you a 2pm check out (used to be 4pm or 6pm with their approval). Now, if you go later than that, there is a cost associated which will add onto your bill or come out of your comps if you're a player.
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