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Published on August 14th, 2016 | by Dr. Jerry Doby

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Embassy Suites by Hilton: Five stars does not ensure employee integrity or professionalism

I honestly hate being confrontational because things tend to go from a contextual phase to something much less desirable. Such was the case today at Embassy Suites (@EmbassySuites) in Orlando (Orange County Florida) when trying to deal with the front desk manager over my missing wallet. I’d stayed at this particular location and as is my usual when in a 5-star hotel, I relaxed my personal security measures and left things unattended in my room that I shouldn’t have, like my wallet and work credit card. Needless to say, when I checked out of the hotel, I forgot my wallet and so the story begins.

I attempted to deal with the hotel management by phone, but roadblocks and stalling (I’d called them three times to no avail) caused me to return to the hotel and deal with the manager on duty, Kiria Garcia Diaz. Based on the contents of the wallet which included federal government issued documents allowing me to package and certify shipments of hazardous materials including ammunition and explosives, I contacted the necessary authorities to file reports. No need to have my family, and I dragged through some insanity because of misuse of those documents at some future time.

While I was on the phone making my report, my colleague who was with me, attempted to engage the manager on duty as well, to stress the importance of the situation. How did THAT interaction work out?! Well, Kiria attacked my colleague on camera and in front of several of her subordinates right in front of the Embassy Suites hotel valet station:

The kicker to this whole story is, subsequent to contacting the hotel and speaking with this person about the loss, things started to go wrong. Significant charges were made from my credit card from a location in Miami, four hours away and of course, that means my whole identity might be in play SOMEWHERE!!!

Needless to say, with all the commotion created by the manager, it caused me some embarrassment as this happened directly on the main entrance walkway. While my personal interaction with Ms. Diaz was not confrontational, her attitude changed drastically with my colleague. I hate messy but here’s clip two of the lively interaction between my colleague and the Embassy Suites Hotel manager:

Lessons learned:

No matter WHAT caliber of hotel you are in, secure your sensitive items like ID, wallets, etc., if there is a safe in your room, USE IT! This particular Embassy Suites location is staffed by third party companies from the valet to housekeeping, and thus, the company has no direct connection with many individuals working in its establishment. That means we as consumers, paying premium dollars to be comfortable, safe and secure, may not get what we feel we are paying for as in this instance.

What did I learn about the manager acting out in the videos above? She’s been in the hotel and hospitality industry for quite some time, moving between properties like Sheraton, Hilton, etc., according to her LinkedIn profile where she proudly displays the Embassy Suites logo. Her experience should have allowed her to conduct herself in a manner which brought credit to herself, and her employer Embassy Suites by Hilton; it did not. Should I be surprised?

 


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About the Author

Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.


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