Hyatt Regency Apologizes for Comments About a Name

Hyatt NoteWhen Karim Abouelnaga, CEO, Practice Makes Perfect, checked into a Hyatt Regency, the woman at the front desk laughed at his last name. He tweeted to the hotel about the situation and received a message in return, a call from the hotel manager, and an apology note with a few gifts, shown here. Abouelnaga's LinkedIn post received almost 66,000 likes as of today, and more may come.

Karim Abouelnaga

The apology note is a good example of a handwritten note, discussed in the introduction of Chapter 6. They are so rare that one can differentiate you and your business from others, as this example shows.

Discussion:

  • What do you think about the initial interaction with the front desk? Should the agent have known better? How can this be avoided in the future?
  • How well did Hyatt Regency respond? Some might think they went over the top. What's your view?