Allow me a minute or two for a rant:
For years, we made it a point of visiting Langkawi, Malaysia each lunar new year. In 1997, Tai-Tai and I saw a piece on the old Asia Business Channel about this new resort/duty free island that had several resorts and offered a laid back atmosphere with cheap goods in some duty free shops. We looked into flights and found a hotel through a recommendation from a friend. We were hooked.
Each year, we called for our reservation and we stayed at the same hotel. Five straight years from 1997 through 2001. When we moved back for our Part II experience, the first thing we did was get our reservations in place for a return trip in 2004, in order to carry on the tradition of meeting our friends and spending time together. We did it one better in 2005 by staying for 2 weeks during the holiday, but also another 2 weeks during my first sabbatical from work in the summertime.
When we stay, we rarely ever leave the confines of the resort for meals in town or on the island. Every meal, every beer from the pool bar, added up to thousands of dollars...literally. We recommended friends to stay there, so much so, that one (unfortunate) year, it was almost like hanging around the pool of our housing complex (which I why I say it was unfortunate. I travel to get away from all of them!!).
We returned year after year because of the people and the service. We had our ups and downs with them and we always gave them a second chance. The kids loved the pools...three of them...which they learned how to swim and jump and just be kids for at least 2 weeks a year. The people who worked there are considered more like friends, rather than employees of a hotel. They look out for us and ensure that we are always happy. They would come to the hotel on their day off to say good bye when we were leaving. Great, great people.
This year, because of so many things going on with expat daughter in school and summer holidays, etc., I failed to make an early reservation (which I usually do in July or August) and it was pushed back to October. I sent an email to one of our friends at the hotel and found that he had since moved to another property. So, I found an old reservation and sent a note to the person on that one. The price that was returned stunned me...nearly 3X the price I had paid last year; almost USD400 per night. In fact, the price was exactly the same as the published rate on the internet. Is that any way to treat a repeat customer?
I sent a note back and asked if this was indeed correct...please check again. They did and resent a new price, which was only about 10% off the original price (considering I was quoted 300% higher than my previous years price). So, I sent a note to another friend at the resort who said he would look into it. I was returned another price...USD300 per night for a garden view room. I had stayed in the largest suite in the hotel for the same price, just 2 years ago. This price was about 50% higher than the previous year price for a deluxe ocean view room.
I understand the hotel business. I understand there are early prices and there are the rack rate prices. This was explained to me in the email containing the most recent price. But I also understand when prices of rooms are given out, there is a ton of leeway with the General Manager to be flexible in those costs with all sorts of factors involved...such as returning customers (or frequent guest members) and taking a look at how much dough they have spent in your facility previously.
So, the power of blogging seems to have bitten me in the ass. The GM of the Westin Langkawi, obviously took my remarks of his oblivion that return customers were in his hotel doesn't want anything to do with us in the future, despite his email to us apologizing for his oversight. That is just fine. There are many, many other hotels in Langkawi, as there are resort areas in Malaysia and all of SE Asia to choose from. Many of these resorts offer much more in terms of facilities and comfort than do the Westin Langkawi.
It had become apparent when we visited last year that the hotel was changing both physically and in its consumer focus. Instead of creating a better atmosphere for families, they created a hotel for singles and young couples. Some examples? The kids pool is so uninviting, there were no kids in it, and only young couples surrounding the edge, sunbathing. We were also told that we were unable to order an extra bed for our room last year...which immediately cancels out families with one child that is 9-13 years old...and forces them to reserve a second room for the kids.
So today, I have booked flights and hotels somewhere else.
Part of me is ready to move on...the other part of me is sad, because we will not be able to spend our holiday with our good friends. This is less about the expense, than it is about the snub. I have been loyal year in and year out, and this is what I was shown in return.
Then there is this other part of me that just wants to raise my middle finger towards the powers that be and say; 'Fuck off.'
