the Westin hotel in
Providence.
The Westin Hotel in Providence is working to regain a coveted four-diamond rating, which the AAA yanked last September after an unannounced inspection that reported 20 lapses in service.
The Automobile Association of America officially downgraded the Providence Westin to a three-diamond rating last December. Since then, the hotel has been training its staff to enhance the hotel’s service, said Mark Anderson, general manager of the Providence Westin.
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In November, the Rhode Island Convention Authority, which owns the hotel, will begin a $3 to $4 million renovation of the 25-story hotel’s lobby, common areas and 364 rooms, said Anderson.
“We’ve pretty much addressed the issues, we’re on target, our plan is in place,” said Anderson. “Getting a four-diamond rating back from AAA is a top priority that we’ve been addressing all year. There’s not a lot new to report. We’re continuing what’s already in place.”
Anderson was brought to the Providence Westin specifically to improve service, after the downgrade by AAA, according to Starwood Worldwide Resorts & Hotels, the company that manages the Providence Westin for the Rhode Island Convention Authority.
Anderson said the Westin expects to be re-inspected by AAA sometime in February.
Earning back the coveted four-diamond AAA rating is crucial for the Convention Center Authority and for Starwood because market research shows that corporate convention planners, business travelers and top-tier leisure travelers pay close attention to the rating system, and will pass on three-diamond hotels in search of better service.
When it was built in 1994, the hotel was designed to attract such upscale travelers and contribute to the city’s urban renaissance. Located at One West Exchange Street, the hotel has a glass-domed rotunda, heated indoor pool, full-service business center and top-of-the-line restaurant and fitness center.
The Westin was the only four-diamond hotel in Providence – now there are none. Prior to the downgrade, the hotel had had a four-diamond rating since it opened eight years ago.
Substantial media coverage and public outcry resulted from the Westin’s downgrade by AAA, in part because the hotel is a taxpayer-funded building, having relied on a public subsidy for some of its financing when it was built in 1994.
Criticism of the hotel increased after Weston managers blamed the downgrade on the daily pedestrian traffic through the hotel’s lobby to reach the skybridge connecting the hotel to the Providence Place mall. In March, hotel management briefly barred non-guests from using the lobby as a shortcut to the mall before city officials threatened action against the hotel.
Westin managers estimated that 30,000 to 50,000 pedestrians pass through the lobby each month, and said the hotel was downgraded by AAA largely because hotel staff couldn’t differentiate between patrons and non-patrons in the lobby.
But AAA said an overall lack of top-tier customer service resulted in the downgrade.
“It’s never just one thing; it’s usually a variety of different issues. For a four-diamond property, service is extremely important,” said Janie Graziani, an AAA spokeswoman.
The AAA report downgrading the Westin’s status last September rated its housekeeping and maintenance as excellent, but listed 20 lapses in customer service. Bellhops had failed to make eye contact with guests as they entered the lobby, then gave basic “drop and run” baggage service. Telephone calls placed from guestrooms to the front desk went unanswered for many rings. The AAA evaluator didn’t receive a cheerful greeting from the doorman, according to news stories earlier this year about the AAA report.
“Whoever has personal contact with a guest, it’s always very important how the guest is treated throughout that contact,” said Graziani last week. “For instance, from the point where a person is making a reservation, to the time they check in, to housekeeping services, a wake up call, room service delivery – until the time they check out, every contact is extremely important.”
