Two Not So Welcoming Pre-Stay Emails: Mainport Rotterdam (Design Hotels) & Barcelona EDITION

Many hotels send pre-stay emails for elite and loyalty program members informing them about their benefits and to sell extra services/upgrades.

Last month, I received two emails from Marriott Bonvoy affiliated hotels in Rotterdam and Barcelona that were not welcoming at all.

Mainport Rotterdam (Design Hotels):

I had made the reservation on the hotel’s own website because the price was lower than both on Marriott’s or Design Hotels’ websites.

During the reservation process I had input my Amex card, which they could have charged for the advance payment. I received FOUR emails like the one above before I arrived to the hotel and never acted upon any of them. Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure if the hotel had decided to cancel my reservation when I went to check-in.

EDITION Barcelona

This is Marriott’s grown up version of W that was launched before the merger to combat the-then Starwood brand. The first few EDITION hotels had very rocky starts and were re-branded.

The tone of the email is negative and a part of the information is simply incorrect.

First, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador members are eligible for suite upgrades at the EDITION hotels. There is no such a thing as a one category upgrade in this regard.

On the “no lounge” statement, I am not sure if there are many asking for lounge access at EDITION hotels considering their price point (close to Ritz-Carlton)?

And finally, should early check-in not be prioritized based on status, rather than simply a guest’s arrival time? Ambassador members could always try to use You24.

Conclusion

Despite these emails, both stays went well.

I liked the design and proper sauna that my room/suite at the Mainport hotel in Rotterdam had (video of it will be on YouTube in due course). The reservation was still intact when I arrived to the property in late afternoon despite of the four threatening emails I had received.  Had it been cancelled I would have just booked another hotel on the spot.

This was my very first EDITION stay, although I tried once to stay at this brand in Istanbul but everything went downhill and I decided to leave (and that hotel is no longer associated with Marriott). The hotel acknowledged that they had wrong information on the email and that the tone could have been better. I chatted with the General Manager who was easily approachable (as they usually are).