Local Hoteliers on Westin Action: ‘Not Our Policy’
Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 4/10/2008 12:17:00 PM
The local industry was stunned by last weekend’s published reports about the Westin Casuarina going after meeting attendees for bills unpaid by a meeting planner.Suzanne Black, president of the Coaching Center, confirmed that in March the Westin had begun charging attendees of an alumni reunion that she produced for the dental training institute last October. According to her, the Westin Casuarina charged attendees several hundred dollars each, “an equal share of my bill,” to defray the $57,000 in unpaid costs from the meeting.
By last week’s end, the hotel had reversed its policy, sending letters to attendees stating that they would be reimbursed for charges made to the credit cards they had used to pay for their rooms at the Westin.
Black described the default on the bill as the unfortunate result of several converging factors: tough times for the recently purchased company in the economic downturn, low attendance at the meeting and a bookkeeping error.
Nevertheless, she said, she had paid about a third of the total bill, making payments in December, January and February. Westin representatives had told Black they were sending the bill to collections, and gave her no notice they were planning to charge attendees until it had already happened.
A spokesperson for Columbia Sussex, owner of the Westin, did not return calls from TSW Las Vegas.
Black said she has produced many seminars during her 20 years in the business – including two others in 2007 that went well – and she’s never seen anything like the treatment she got at the Westin. In the late summer, she could see that registration was low for the October meeting, but went ahead with it anyway, because of her commitment to the hotel.
“It costs a lot to do these things and the hotels expect to be paid,” she said. “You don’t want to do it, but if you have to, most people will work with you” on finding a way to make payments.
Asked if she would ever return to the city, Black said, “Never again will I come to Las Vegas. Never, ever again.”
Although she was relieved that the Westin had decided to reimburse her clients, Black said at press time that the situation “wasn’t over yet.”
“They (hotel officials) still have not communicated with us. We’ve sent requests for an updated bill, and they have not answered,” she added. “There are lots of questions left to answer, but thank goodness our clients are protected and they’re OK.”
To determine whether the policy of charging attendees for planners’ unpaid bills is common, TSW Las Vegas informally polled hoteliers around the city. Following are some responses:
“This is not our policy.” – Richard Harper, vice president of sales and marketing, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
“My fear is that, in promoting attendance for future events, such policies would make attendees fearful, because they’ll question if they’ll be exposed to such policies. And there will be more complications, with show organizers wondering whether they have to go through additional disclosure to their attendees about what they might have to expect from the hotel. … It’s not worth it. It’s also a hotel’s due diligence to do research on the groups they work with. … I want to thank my competition for putting into place questionable policy’s that will undoubtedly redirect group business to our attention.” – Alan Fields, convention sales director, Riviera Hotel & Casino
“In my opinion the responsibility for establishing credit is exclusively that of the hotel or exhibit hall. If through my failure to establish proper credit a bill went unpaid, I own that debt. We hoteliers would never consider registering a room without a credit card. And in the rare occurrence that we fail to establish proper credit that results in a ‘skip’ … shame on me.
“Trade Shows are the fastest, most economical way to introduce goods and services in to the economy. Could you imagine what would happen if buyers and sellers alike knew they may be responsible for an unpaid tab at a convention center or hotel? It would be gambling every time you put on a delegate badge. It would seriously reduce attendance.” – Gary Gregg, COO, Hooters Casino Hotel
“No we do not have such a policy and found that news highly unusual.” – Rob Stillwell, vice president of corporate communications, Boyd Gaming Corporation
“I have never heard of this before.” – Jennifer Herring, director of sales, Grand Hyatt Las Vegas at the Cosmopolitan Resort | Casino
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