Marriott Hotel Chiang Mai Reception Conflict: Why I Ended My Gold Elite Membership After Three Years as a Loyal Customer
Spoiler: How unprofessional behavior at the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel reception turned into a three-week conflict — one step from a loyal customer to an enemy.
This is my personal story of how I went from being a loyal Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Member since 2023 (Member #121435315), with a history of 69 nights stayed, to feeling like an enemy at the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel — ultimately leading to my decision to stop using Marriott hotels and services altogether.
My personal story of how I went from being a Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite member since 2023, with a history of 69 nights stayed, to feeling like an enemy at Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel.
How They Ruined My Wife’s Birthday on August 10
How Can a General Manager Mr. Rajat Chatterjee Sign a Birthday Card with One Hand — and Refuse an Incident Report with the Other?
On August 10, it was my wife’s birthday, and I wanted to surprise her by booking a room at the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel.
At around 5:00 p.m., I called the hotel to ask whether they could decorate the room with balloons and flowers, prepare a birthday card, and provide a cake. I was told that they could arrange this.
After that, I made the reservation through the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app. I then called the hotel again to confirm the details, and they confirmed that the booking had been received and that they were expecting us.
Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel Reservation Confirmation
At that point, nothing suggested the problems that were about to follow.
Arriving at the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel in a Festive Mood
To be completely open about it, the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel used to be one of our favorite hotels. We stayed there four times over the past two years and even celebrated Christmas there with friends. I had become familiar with many of the staff, including the doormen and parking attendants.
We left our car in the underground parking area and went upstairs to the reception.
There are three check-in desks at the reception: the first two are for regular guests, while the third is designated for Elite Members. Since I held Gold Elite status, we went to the third desk.
We approached check-in desk number three, where I recognized one of the employees by sight. Whether he remembered me, I do not know. Whether this played any role in the personal conflict that followed, I also cannot say.
The first thing we were asked for at the desk was our passports. I explained that we had not brought our physical passports with us and only had photographs of them. We were told that photographs would not be accepted. I also explained that we had our original Thai driving licences with us, but these were not accepted either.
I felt that the conversation was becoming unfriendly, so in order to avoid further conflict, I stepped away from desk number three and approached desk number one, where I spoke with another employee. She asked me what had happened, and I explained that I did not want to continue speaking with the employee from desk number three because of the way he had spoken to me.
After that, the employee left his own workstation and came over to desk number one, where the conflict continued to escalate. At that point, I felt that my rights might be affected, so I began recording the employee while he was at his workplace because, to the best of my understanding, he was not following the expected standards for dealing with guests.
When I began recording the situation, the employee who had previously spoken to me rudely and raised his voice started covering his face with his hands and moving from side to side.
After that, I asked for a senior manager who could help resolve the situation. A reception department manager came over, but instead of first trying to understand what had happened, her first question was why we were recording, followed by a request to delete the video.
I found this very strange. I expected her to try to calm the situation, listen to both sides, and find a solution. We explained again that we had our original Thai driving licences and photographs of our passports. However, as I understood the manager’s words, we were first expected to delete the video, after which the hotel would consider checking us in using our Thai driving licences together with the passport photographs.
At that point, I perceived this as a condition being imposed on me and as a form of pressure, so I decided that I would not delete the video.
I would also like to note that hotel security was already standing nearby. My wife was in tears and also tried to take out her phone. At that moment, the manager reached for and grabbed her phone with her hand, but stopped almost immediately.
Overall, the situation appeared extremely inappropriate to me. I have travelled extensively and stayed at different Marriott hotels, but I had never experienced this kind of treatment as a guest. Knowing that employees of an international hotel chain receive corporate training, I believe this situation could have been handled much more calmly — by listening to both sides, explaining the rules, and trying to find a reasonable solution.
However, in my view, the employee at check-in desk number three continued escalating the conflict instead of trying to de-escalate it, which only made the situation worse.
We are publishing the video we managed to record, showing the intimidating presence of a security guard who stood nearby and, through his body language, made us feel that he was ready to use physical force against us. And all of this happened on my wife’s birthday. Instead of calmly resolving the situation, the staff called security. To us, the whole situation felt completely absurd.
Personal Meeting with Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel General Manager Mr. Rajat Chatterjee the Next Morning
On the morning of August 11, I called a friend of mine who is a lawyer, explained the entire situation to him, and asked for his assessment from a legal perspective. After listening carefully, he told me that, in his opinion, we had every right to expect an official apology, as well as the possibility of some form of goodwill gesture or compensation from the hotel.
That same day, we prepared a formal written statement. I sent one version to the hotel by email and decided to deliver another copy in person.
At around 12:00 p.m., I arrived at the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel. At the reception, I said that I wanted to meet with the General Manager and personally discuss the incident that had happened the previous day.
While waiting for the meeting, I spent about an hour at the hotel, had lunch, and drank some coffee. After that, the General Manager, Mr. Rajat Chatterjee, came down to meet me, and we had a conversation.
During the meeting, he told me that he had personally reviewed the CCTV footage. However, from the way he spoke, I got the impression that he had already taken the side of his employees and was not prepared to look at the situation from another perspective or assess it objectively.
At the end of what was, unfortunately, an unproductive conversation, I offered him the printed copy of my formal statement. He refused to accept it and simply said, “We will contact you.”
After that, I left the hotel. Despite my disappointment with the meeting, I still hoped that, after an internal review of the incident, Marriott management would contact me and offer a fair resolution to the situation.
Official Response from General Manager Mr. Rajat Chatterjee
We received a response by email from the General Manager, Mr. Rajat Chatterjee. Unfortunately, his response was much like our previous in-person conversation — it did not resolve the issue and showed that our position was still not fully understood.
We were not looking for complimentary benefits or bonuses. What we expected was simply an understanding of the situation, acknowledgment of the mistakes that had been made, and a sincere official apology.
Instead, we were offered the opportunity to make and pay for a new booking. We were also offered a room upgrade, although, as a Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite member, room upgrades are already included among the standard benefits, subject to availability, and I have often received upgrades at other Marriott properties, including rooms with better views or on higher floors.
We were also offered access to the M Club Lounge, but this did not address the core issue.
Unfortunately, this response did not resolve the situation and did not reflect what we had genuinely expected from the hotel management.
How Our Instagram Complaint Video Reached 1 Million Views
After we received the official response, which we felt was not proportionate to the emotional distress and nervous breakdown my wife experienced after our birthday was ruined and she was brought to tears, we realized that we needed to escalate the matter further.
To draw attention to the situation, we decided to post the video from the reception on my wife’s Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcAwtbvzYuU/?igsi=bmk3cGUzMzMzdTZy
Within just two days, the video reached one million views!
Following this, the official Marriott Bonvoy account contacted us in an effort to resolve the situation.
Dinner During the Conflict and Our Attempt to Be Heard
On August 16, I was trying to improve my wife’s mood, so we decided to have dinner at Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel and, at the same time, see in person how our case was being handled.
For 4:30 PM, we booked 90-minute massages for each of us at Quan Spa at Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel.
I would especially like to thank the staff at Quan Spa at Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel for their professionalism and for the excellent massages.
For 7:00 PM, we booked a table at Favola Chiang Mai Marriott through the Eatigo app with a 50% discount.
After the massages, we realized we would not make it by 7:00 PM, so we changed the reservation to 7:30 PM through the official app. We received confirmation that the new reservation time had been accepted.
When we arrived at Favola Chiang Mai Marriott at 7:30 PM, we were told that we were late and therefore would not receive the discount.
What was that?!
About 15 minutes later, we received a notification saying that the discount had in fact been activated. How were we supposed to understand that? Still, we did not want to get into another conflict, so we simply acted as if everything was fine.
We ordered a salad, pasta, pizza, and a bottle of Italian Prosecco.
Then came the most interesting part.
The manager, Miss Nguyen Huong, approached us. She explained that she had received instructions from her manager to cover the cost of our dinner, but not the alcohol.
To be honest, this offer surprised us even more. In the end, we decided to pay the bill ourselves and declined this rather “strange compliment.”
I paid the bill myself and received a 10% discount thanks to my Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
What happened to the advertised 50% Eatigo discount, we still do not know.
I would also like to thank Miss Nguyen Huong for her help in trying to resolve the conflict. It was clear that she sincerely wanted to help, but unfortunately, she had to follow her manager’s instructions and could not go beyond her authority. In any case, I appreciated her attitude and effort.
Conversations with the Head Office via Instagram
In fact, our conversations with the head office also produced no result. We kept receiving the same standard messages: apologies, an offer to make and pay for a new booking ourselves, a complimentary room upgrade, and dinner — but without alcohol.
Moreover, a few days later, there were mass attempts to get our account blocked through reports. Was this their doing? I do not know. We have no facts or evidence to prove it.
Our reviews on TripAdvisor were also removed
Of course, we restored them, but after everything that happened, we had a fairly clear impression of where these actions may have come from.
Our Request to Brad Edman, Market Vice President – Thailand, Cambodia & Myanmar, Marriott International
…as one final attempt, we reached out to Brad Edman, Vice President at Marriott International, hoping that he would personally review our case and independently assess the actions of Mr. Rajat, the General Manager of Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel.
Unfortunately, as of today, our case still remains unresolved.
At this point, we have also decided to end our Marriott Bonvoy membership and no longer stay at hotels owned by Asset World Corporation (AWC).
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
If we put emotions aside, the conclusion is simple: one unprofessional response at the reception desk can undo years of customer loyalty.
In our case, more than three years of membership, dozens of nights stayed, and the trust we had built in the brand were all undermined by what we experienced as a lack of empathy and professionalism.
And when the usual channels fail to provide a meaningful resolution, sometimes you have no choice but to escalate the matter further — even to the level of a vice president. Yet even that does not guarantee that the situation will be resolved.
In the end, despite the disappointment, there is one clear lesson: sometimes you have to close one chapter and move forward, choosing places where customers are valued not only in words, but through actions.
Please write in the comments what you think about this matter. Share your opinion, because an independent and objective view on this situation is also very important to us. Thank you for your comments.