Skyline Tower

[RRedlich]

VIP platinum here. We are sitting in the lobby of Atlantic City Skyline. We arrive 3:45 to check in. We were abruptly informed that check in is not until 4. I said ok, even though on their phone system it states VIP is at 2. It’s now 4:35 and still no room and the front desk informed us that check in does not start until 4 and it could be anytime after that and there are no guarantees that a room will be ready for hours.

At least we are not alone. Several others are waiting too. A woman is in tears at the desk now because of the treatment she is getting.

Ok… I think it is just the rude attitude, we are getting is eating at me. I’m laughing that Wyndham is promoting this property has having just won travel and leisure award.

At least they could do is offer us a cup of coffee.

 

[susieq]

That is absolutely horrible!!!!

 

[chapjim]

VIP platinum here. We are sitting in the lobby of Atlantic City Skyline. We arrive 3:45 to check in. We were abruptly informed that check in is not until 4. I said ok, even though on their phone system it states VIP is at 2. It’s now 4:35 and still no room and the front desk informed us that check in does not start until 4 and it could be anytime after that and there are no guarantees that a room will be ready for hours.

At least we are not alone. Several others are waiting too. A woman is in tears at the desk now because of the treatment she is getting.

Ok… I think it is just the rude attitude, we are getting is eating at me. I’m laughing that Wyndham is promoting this property has having just won travel and leisure award.

At least they could do is offer us a cup of coffee.

I would ask to see the General Manager and I would call Wyndham while waiting for the unit to become available. I think you're due for some kind of compensation.

 

[55plus]

One would think with all the work permits given to the "new comers", the service industry would have plenty of employees in the housekeep field to hire from. There's no reason for delays checking in to a lodge establishment these days, especially when they can hire them at minimum wage.

 

[jp10558]

One would think with all the work permits given to the "new comers", the service industry would have plenty of employees in the housekeep field to hire from. There's no reason for delays checking in to a lodge establishment these days, especially when they can hire them at minimum wage.

There's no real excuse in the vast majority of places and jobs for places to be understaffed at all - it's just they're all trying to see how bad the service can get before they lose business, and even then they often don't seem to realize a large part of lost business may be having either no staff, not enough staff, or not competent staff. It all comes down to not wanting to pay for staff, whether that's paying the wage necessary to get good skilled workers or paying for enough unskilled labor to actually reasonably staff even a McDonalds. While I understand not wanting to "throw money away", so many businesses literally cannot sell their products because they're either so understaffed they can't take orders (local Chipotle) or are so understaffed or scheduled to not be staffed that they're closed. I guess you have to "save" all the money on anything you can when you aren't making any money cause you're leaving gobs of that money on the table... /s

 

[chapjim]

There's no real excuse in the vast majority of places and jobs for places to be understaffed at all - it's just they're all trying to see how bad the service can get before they lose business, and even then they often don't seem to realize a large part of lost business may be having either no staff, not enough staff, or not competent staff. It all comes down to not wanting to pay for staff, whether that's paying the wage necessary to get good skilled workers or paying for enough unskilled labor to actually reasonably staff even a McDonalds. While I understand not wanting to "throw money away", so many businesses literally cannot sell their products because they're either so understaffed they can't take orders (local Chipotle) or are so understaffed or scheduled to not be staffed that they're closed. I guess you have to "save" all the money on anything you can when you aren't making any money cause you're leaving gobs of that money on the table... /s

The minimum wage in New Jersey is $15.13 per hour (compared to the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour), a wage one would think to be attractive to unskilled or semi-skilled workers like housekeepers. Most likely, the Skyline Tower General Manager feels housekeepers aren't worth $15/hour. He/she does, after all, have a budget.

 

[dioxide45]

While it is easy to get frustrated and mad, it is also hard to see what is happening behind the scenes with the staff. They may be curt or rude because they too are frustrated with the situation. That certainly isn't an excuse, but when you have 10 people coming up every 15 minutes to ask about their room, then their responses can become short. The front desk staff has absolutely zero control of rooms being cleaned. Cut them some slack. In all honestly, I suspect there is pressure on housekeeping to clean the rooms as fast as they can. It isn't like the staff there isn't trying.

There is really only a four to five hour window to get all rooms cleaned if they expect them cleaned by 4pm. If one or two people call in and no replacement can't be found, then it really cut into the number of rooms that can be cleaned before 4pm.

Perhaps there is a fundamental problem of understaffing. Perhaps they don't want to pay enough to attract staff. When the increase the wages to get more workers, then the owners complain because their maintenance fees are going up. This isn't like some hotel operation where you aren't the one paying all the bills and increases in expenses can just cut into profits, increases in wages are always 100% reflected in increased maintenance fees to the owners.

 

[dioxide45]

One would think with all the work permits given to the "new comers", the service industry would have plenty of employees in the housekeep field to hire from. There's no reason for delays checking in to a lodge establishment these days, especially when they can hire them at minimum wage.

It should be noted that not all "new comers" are eligible for work permits. Some can obtain them rather quickly if they come from a TPS country, but others may have to wait years to obtain a work permit as an asylum seeker. Very few jobs pay minimum wage these days, at least federal minimum wage and in many cases even state minimum wage. Employers often have to pay more in order to attract employees.

 

[Floridaman76]

Is worth noting that check-in is 4pm for everyone. Everyone, including VIP's.

Early check-in is a VIP Privilage. And is granted if and when it is available. Just like VIP room upgrades. It's not a right, and is given when they can. And I would think that you showing up at 3:45, if they had a room available, they would give it to you. They obviously didn't.

It's unfortunate you had to wait, but it seems you are making a bigger deal out of this than you probably should. Everywhere is experiencing labor shortages right now because people aren't willing to work for less than it costs them to actually live where they live. And Coastal New Jersey isn't exactly a cheap place to live. We have seen this at all the resorts since COVID.

This doesn't excuse a staff being rude to you, if that happened.

 

[jp10558]

The minimum wage in New Jersey is $15.13 per hour (compared to the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour), a wage one would think to be attractive to unskilled or semi-skilled workers like housekeepers. Most likely, the Skyline Tower General Manager feels housekeepers aren't worth $15/hour. He/she does, after all, have a budget.

The problem I see here however is - if it's a bad experience checking in and it's because of staffing shortages and there's no interest in remedying that, then you're going to have people less interested in going / staying at the location and you can death spiral a resort eventually. Of course, being part of Wyndham, there's a lot of buffer if people own there or CWA owns enough and people just don't go there.

And sadly, we know Wyndham can't manage their way out of a paper bag in many cases, but it does seem to me like they either have to raise MFs and have enough staff, or otherwise manage the check in times and get less staff more time to complete the unit cleanings. If I thought Wyndham IT could manage anything, I'd suggest they probably should try working out a staff to room cleaning system that perhaps more smartly allocates the order of cleanings. Or they need to run the place at a lower occupancy level so there's more unused units to place people that show up right at 4PM or even early while previously occupied units are waiting for the staff to clean.

 

[chapjim]

The problem I see here however is - if it's a bad experience checking in and it's because of staffing shortages and there's no interest in remedying that, then you're going to have people less interested in going / staying at the location and you can death spiral a resort eventually. Of course, being part of Wyndham, there's a lot of buffer if people own there or CWA owns enough and people just don't go there.

And sadly, we know Wyndham can't manage their way out of a paper bag in many cases, but it does seem to me like they either have to raise MFs and have enough staff, or otherwise manage the check in times and get less staff more time to complete the unit cleanings. If I thought Wyndham IT could manage anything, I'd suggest they probably should try working out a staff to room cleaning system that perhaps more smartly allocates the order of cleanings. Or they need to run the place at a lower occupancy level so there's more unused units to place people that show up right at 4PM or even early while previously occupied units are waiting for the staff to clean.

We need to distinguish Wyndham corporate and the local HOA and resort management staff.

I don't know how much discretion a GM has in doing such things as restricting availability.

For certain, OP's post suggests some serious management failings.

 

[RRedlich]

Is worth noting that check-in is 4pm for everyone. Everyone, including VIP's.

Early check-in is a VIP Privilage. And is granted if and when it is available. Just like VIP room upgrades. It's not a right, and is given when they can. And I would think that you showing up at 3:45, if they had a room available, they would give it to you. They obviously didn't.

It's unfortunate you had to wait, but it seems you are making a bigger deal out of this than you probably should. Everywhere is experiencing labor shortages right now because people aren't willing to work for less than it costs them to actually live where they live. And Coastal New Jersey isn't exactly a cheap place to live. We have seen this at all the resorts since COVID.

This doesn't excuse a staff being rude to you, if that happened.

I see your point, it’s me. Thank you. I apologize profusely.

 

[RRedlich]

For those interested. I got my room at 5:45 yesterday. The manager called at 7:18 pm to apologize. I told him, I understood as I have a child in the hotel industry but my issue was the attitude. I don’t need or want anything. I just think a cup of coffee or a smile would have been nice.

 

[rickandcindy23]

For those interested. I got my room at 5:45 yesterday. The manager called at 7:18 pm to apologize. I told him, I understood as I have a child in the hotel industry but my issue was the attitude. I don’t need or want anything. I just think a cup of coffee or a smile would have been nice.

You also own Disney. We do too. When Disney doesn't have our room ready, they give us a credit for one of the onsite restaurants. We received a $50 credit for Olivia's Cafe during a stay on our owned points. It was such a great help to us, and we were able to enjoy an early dinner while our room was being cleaned. I love Disney. Wyndham is not the same. We have been glared at when we have made special requests at check-in at Bonnet Creek.

 

[RRedlich]

You also own Disney. We do too. When Disney doesn't have our room ready, they give us a credit for one of the onsite restaurants. We received a $50 credit for Olivia's Cafe during a stay on our owned points. It was such a great help to us, and we were able to enjoy an early dinner while our room was being cleaned. I love Disney. Wyndham is not the same. We have been glared at when we have made special requests at check-in at Bonnet Creek.

Agreed, Wyndham is not Disney. I Disney makes you feel valued. I enjoy my travel with Wyndham but they do not make you feel valued.