Several months ago, a friend blogged about the baffling twelve o’clock check-in that hotels still swear by, even though travellers now tend to arrive and depart either early morning or late evening. He happened to mention the Westin, Tokyo, since that had been his latest stop. It was not a complaint about the Westin, merely an example to illustrate his main point that concerned all hotels. It was a very good point. But the highlight of that post is the first comment it received: the e-Business Coordinator of the Westin left a detailed reply to the post, complete with email address.
The Westin thanked the blogger for his feedback, acknowledged the fairness of his points and assured him that they would “look into ways, to deliver flexible check-in and check-out times… recognizing this significant need”. They also apologized for the inconvenience he experienced and invited him back.
Click on this link and read it – it’s the best example of corporate response I’ve seen. Timely, sincere and truly customer-focused.
