Recently from June 29th to July 3rd 2020, I travelled to Pennsylvania and stayed in Marriott near Philadelphia. I don’t want to revel the exact Marriott branch as my aim of the blog is not to criticize any management but to provide with the real experience to the readers.
During my stay I will try to evaluate each of 5 below mentioned indicators which will depict the real picture of my stay.
- Pre-Arrival
The process is almost similar as we do in non-COVID situation. The only challenge I faced was that on the Marriott application there was no mention of amenities which would not be available and according to my viewpoint amenities play a crucial role in deciding the location of Marriott one chooses. For example, in my case, I was not aware that there would be no breakfast available (in room or dine in) so I was not carrying anything for my breakfast and there was no delivery available that early for breakfast.
- Arrival and Check in
One can use Marriott app to check in and all other procedures are executed flawlessly without contact on the reception desk. Entry points are control by e-keys which is supposed to be a safe method. Stair cases are open to both entry and exit in case one does not want to use elevators to avoid closed confined areas.
- Accommodation
Surprisingly this time I will not be able to rate my visit even satisfactory, as housekeeping was a lost cause. I abide and agree that no one wants to expose themselves to the possibility that they could get infected so it’s high time that technology can be leveraged for housekeeping.For my 5 day stay not a single time housekeeping was even thought of. So I had to arrange for my own sanitizing products to keep my room clean and germ free.
Individual need to be prepared to manage everything from housekeeping to laundry as right now due to situation hotels may not be able to assist you in any of it.
If you refer Marriott website there is concept of Mobile Dining mentioned which is still far from being implemented everywhere at least at the place that I was staying.
Amenities were limited to zero as there is no fitness center opened for any amount of time and no pool services which is understandable.
- Checkout
Checkout was effortless as one can just checkout using Marriott app without evening going to reception desk and leave back to their destination.
According to authorities they are always following the CDC guidelines and try to bring back what they can to server the customers better. My view point is that we should adhere to what authorities are recommending which can help to revert everything to normal but that does not mean that you totally cut on the basic things like food or cleanliness.
If these two basic things cannot be provided and the person who is staying or wants to stay would be not happy and we all know an unhappy customer will definitely not be a great idea for business.
So to conclude stay safe, follow the rules that have been said by the authorities but do not compromise with the ethnicity because in these difficult time when it is so hard to get out and for some reason someone does, DO NOT make it more difficult for them. Just do the simple and little things so in the end it would be good for the customer and the hotel workers.
