Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

391–400 of 533 posts

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#391

Post by rconti »

torlok wrote: post #345
hansvm wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big problem is the power imbalance. There's a reason they start your stay by putting a hold on a credit card. And even if you could charge them, they can afford a legal battle better than you.

Is this a US thing? I stay at hotels from time to time across Europe, and I always pay a fixed price either when booking or at arrival for the whole stay. Never had to enter credit card information anywhere, and I never would precisely for this reason. I put my credit card information once when booking a car at an airport and was scammed with random scratches being found at return. Can't imagine ever going through th…

No, it's not. I just checked into 6 hotels across 5 countries in both Eastern and Western Europe last month, and every single one needed a tapped physical credit card for a deposit on top of my pre-paid booking (sometimes via booking.com, sometimes direct with the hotel).

I can't remember ever NOT having to leave a CC for a deposit in any hotel I've ever stayed at in any country in my life. I'm sure it's happened, but it sure isn't remarkable when they DO require a card.

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#392

Post by scoofy »

pksebben wrote: post #386
scoofy wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it is. “Democracy” from the Greek: “common people rule” and “Republic” from the Latin: “the thing, public.” Republic and democracy mean the same damn thing, rule by the people as opposed to rule by a monarch.

In what way is this country ruled by the people? You're periodically given a non-choice between two options that have equal disdain for your actual concerns, who then go on to play games to see who can get the most bajiliionare backing for reelection, and if you don't like what they're doing you're perfectly free to vote for the OTHER jerk who also doesn't give a shit about you. This is oligarchy. The 'democratic' pr…

Oh, god, this tired nonsense. Yes, obviously, it's ruled by the people. We have parties, we vote, anyone can run for office. Anyone can vote third party, and they occasionally even win. That your neighbors don't share your views does not make it undemocratic. It's not perfect, but it's democratic.

It's like people can no longer imagine living under a totalitarian state... where you don't even get a vote, and if you don't like what's happening and you say something about it, you're shot. That's literally the way things were done before democracies and republics existed... it's still the way things are done in places like North Korea.

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#393

Post by seszett »

ericmay wrote: post #382
torlok wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this a US thing? I stay at hotels from time to time across Europe, and I always pay a fixed price either when booking or at arrival for the whole stay. Never had to enter credit card information anywhere, and I never would precisely for this reason. I put my credit card information once when booking a car at an airport and was scammed with random scratches being found at return. Can't imagine ever going through th…

No, it's a common practice in most western countries and can confirm for you a list of a dozen or more hotels ranging from $100/night to $1000/night that do this in countries ranging from Ireland to France to Japan. It's really no big deal and is extremely common. In fact, France as I discovered does this at the gas stations where they put $200 or so authorizations on your card for absolutely no good reason. There ar…

> France as I discovered does this at the gas stations where they put $200 or so authorizations on your card for absolutely no good reason.

It's the same here but I'm not sure how it could work another way? They have to make sure you have the money to pay for the fuel you're pumping, it doesn't seem weird to me.

I can't imagine a pump that allows you to pump as you wish and then just begs you to pay. That works for the manned stations with low traffic only.

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#394

Post by maccard »

SoftTalker wrote: post #290
jmb99 wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally speaking, no. Most major hotel chains require a credit card.

Credit card is a proxy for an acceptable credit score. It's a filter so they can exclude irresponsible people without exposing themselves to claims of discrimination or racism. Unfortunately people who simply choose to live without using credit are caught up in that too.

In Europe, UK and Ireland it’s not an actual credit card - a debit card is perfectly acceptable and normal.

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#395

Post by maccard »

seszett wrote: post #393
ericmay wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's a common practice in most western countries and can confirm for you a list of a dozen or more hotels ranging from $100/night to $1000/night that do this in countries ranging from Ireland to France to Japan. It's really no big deal and is extremely common. In fact, France as I discovered does this at the gas stations where they put $200 or so authorizations on your card for absolutely no good reason. There ar…

> France as I discovered does this at the gas stations where they put $200 or so authorizations on your card for absolutely no good reason. It's the same here but I'm not sure how it could work another way? They have to make sure you have the money to pay for the fuel you're pumping, it doesn't seem weird to me. I can't imagine a pump that allows you to pump as you wish and then just begs you to pay. That works for t…

That’s how it works if I choose “pay at cashier” - if I walk up and don’t have the money the fuel is already in my car.

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#396

Post by [deleted] »

izacus wrote: post #340
variadix wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trading the long term reputation of your company for short term profits. What could go wrong?

Nothing, it worked and keeps working for most of the companies, especially if they have sufficient market share and ability to prevent competition.

[deleted]

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#397

Post by jwr »

recipe19 wrote: post #259

It reminds me of a hotel I stayed at that had a stocked mini-fridge. Removing any item from the fridge resulted in an automatic, silent charge. Putting it back did not remove the charge. So if you simply took something out to check it in, or if you wanted to chill your own beverage, they counted that as consuming the item. They removed the charges if you checked the bill and objected at checkout. But how many people…

I am amazed that hotels are still stuck in this old mindset of charging exorbitant amounts to some customers (unpleasant to customers) rather than providing a good service to all customers (good for customers).

If I knew that a hotel chain will have my room fridge stocked with beer at reasonable prices (small markup or even no markup, because this does not need to be a revenue stream!), I would pick that hotel every time. Just for the convenience, and the nice feeling of not walking a minefield.

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#398

Post by MichaelZuo »

Terr_ wrote: post #374
jimt1234 wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked at a small hotel during college. A couple of girls wanted to rent a room, but they didn't have a credit card. We didn't rent rooms without credit cards, but I made an exception. They paid for the room in cash and provided a small deposit. The girls were so sweet, how could anything go wrong? Well, they threw a party and completely trashed the room. Lots of damage. The police eventually showed up, but the gir…

It feels like if nobody proactively creates a privacy-preserving solution, exploitable ones arise into the vacuum. Or, as a more-depressing thought, they win out anyway.

At least the bottom quarter of the American population in terms of virtue would run away in situations like that. There are a lot of scoundrels.

Maybe even more… so what kind of cash based solution could there be? (that’s not physically preventing them from ever travelling)

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#399

Post by NewJazz »

HWR_14 wrote: post #176
DudeOpotomus wrote: post #100

If I got one of these I'd pay it and never, ever, ever stay at any hotel owned by the entity again. Being that I spend $25k-50k a year on hotels, their loss is a small hotel's gain. In fact, whoever does this will lose my business ahead of time as I will never stay at any hotel that uses this service. A few minutes on Tripadvisor and you'll know. Such incredible business myopia. Hotels are one of the few businesses t…

It's not myopia. The hotel owner only owns one or two locations. They damage the national brand but they make more money for themselves. As long as new people loyal to Hyatt keep coming to their location, they are fine. Of course, that's why Hyatt imposes standards on their hotels to keep the name.

And those standards always need updating to keep up with social norms, new technologies, consumer expectations, et cetera. Hence my recommendation to start by communicating with Hyatt or whatever franchise.

Re: Hyatt Hotels are using algorithmic Rest “smoking detectors”

#400

Post by cyanydeez »

idiotsecant wrote: post #285
vkou wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why can't there be a human membership union that sets these automatic binding arbitration agreements on service providers on behalf of members? Those already exist, we call those things 'governments'.

I think we got some wires crossed somewhere, my government is helping them beat me up more ...

That's because another group of people made a pact with the devil, and a third group just shrugged their shoulders when everyone had a chance to nullify that pact....
Post reply on HN