A couple of days ago, I covered an absolutely wild story, whereby hotel reviewer Ryan Walker had booked a stay at the newly opened $6K per night Amanvari property in Mexico, only to have his reservation canceled the night before arrival, and have security at the hotel’s gate gaslight him, and then call the cops.
Based on the details we know, this is perhaps the most egregious service failure I’ve seen at any luxury hotel, and I can’t even begin to fathom the lack of common sense it takes to think that this was the way to handle the situation and achieve the best outcome for the hotel. I wouldn’t trust the people who were behind this decision to keep a plant alive, let alone to run a luxury hotel.
As you’ll see in the comments section of the previous post, people had a lot of opinions on this situation. I’d like to write a follow-up post with some observations from the past couple of days. But before you read this, I recommend reading the previous post for context.
Obviously the hotel was scared of review, had change of heart
First, let’s be clear about what was going on here. The hotel claimed they were limiting arrivals due to having just opened. That’s not actually the truth, because even after they canceled Ryan’s reservation, they continued to sell stays for that night.
Obviously management at the hotel just didn’t feel like they were ready to be reviewed, despite having been in contact with Ryan about doing what they can to facilitate filming.
But here’s the crazy part. If that’s how hotel management felt, that’s fine, and even understandable. However, you don’t handle the situation by gaslighting the person and refusing to communicate with them:
- They should’ve offered to comp his stay, explaining that they don’t think they’re quite ready for “primetime” yet, and he can come back at some point in the future and film
- They could’ve offered to put him up at the adjacent Four Seasons in recognition of the last minute cancelation, and offered to invite him back to Amanvari in the future on a complimentary basis, so that he can experience the finished product
When you cancel a stay on a guest last minute, especially when they spend $6K per night, that’s the only professional way to handle things.
Did Ryan know his reservation was canceled before arriving?
The hotel emailed Ryan the night before to tell him that his reservation was canceled. While arriving at the hotel and talking to security, Ryan claimed he didn’t see that email, because he receives a lot of emails, and also pointed out how he had been in contact with the hotel even more recently than the cancelation.
So did he drive up to the gate knowing that his reservation was canceled, and he decided to still show up to see what kind of a response he’d get? I don’t know. Honestly, not to question Ryan, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did. This is the first time I’ve seen him publish a video where he’s filming enroute to the hotel, so that suggests that maybe he knew there might be some drama.
But the bigger point is… who cares? Whether he knew about it or not doesn’t change the hotel’s abhorrent handling of this situation. Gaslighting a customer and claiming he may have canceled his reservation, management refusing to speak to him, and security even calling the cops on him? That is completely inexcusable no matter what, and that’s the core of the problem here. He was treated like a criminal for — as far as we know — absolutely no reason.
Aman’s refusal to acknowledge this is just wild
What’s amazing is that Aman has been radio silent in the two days since this has happened. I’ve reached out to the company’s press email, and haven’t heard back. If you ask me, silence is simply the worst way this could be handled.
As I see it, at a minimum, Aman should acknowledge this incident, and say that it’s being investigated. Then the company should go in one of two directions:
- Either release a statement with a different side of the story, if there’s something that Ryan hasn’t disclosed, or isn’t being honest about
- Acknowledge that what was shown in the video is completely unacceptable, doesn’t reflect Aman’s values, and promise to take action to correct this
Instead, the company has just been silent. Amanvari general manager Diego Lozano Vara has removed his LinkedIn. Some people suggest he has already been sacked, but that’s just a rumor (if he was involved in this situation, I absolutely think it should be a career ender, quite frankly).
Aman has started limiting comments on its social media platforms. Look, I can’t say I’m shocked by Aman’s poor handling of this, given the direction the company has been heading in recent years, but this is just really bad.
Also, the Google Reviews situation is hilarious. Not surprisingly, we saw people flood Amanvari with negative reviews, given what happened. But then you have people trying to impact the star rating in the other direction. Below is perhaps my favorite, about how “security is exceptionally professional, ensuring that only guests and authorized visitors have access to the property.” Are you serious?!?!
So, who is this person? Well, OMAAT reader jb84usa put together the below, which suggests that this Matilda person is actually related to the GM, and they’ve had a bunch of family leaving reviews as well. My gosh, imagine how off base you have to be to say “hey, leave a good review, and make sure you mention how good security is, calling the cops on paying guests!”
There are so many bad takes on this Amanvari situation
I’m not even going to give these people the time of day by mentioning their names, but it’s amazing how many (particularly) travel advisors have really bad takes on this, and are trying to at least partly defend the hotel.
Were the facts not as presented? Then Aman needs to come out and clearly state that. But other than that, the defenses I’m seeing in support of the hotel are ridiculous.
“The hotel has the right to deny service to anyone.” Right, of course they technically do, but if you’re paying $6K per night for a hotel, you should expect that your “service refusal” won’t come the night before you arrive, and that you won’t be gaslit and have the cops called on you.
“Influencers are just looking for drama, good on Aman for looking out for other guests.” Say what you will, but Ryan does a fair job with his reviews. And what sets him apart is that he actually pays for his stays. Hotels can set their own rules about filming, but he was a paying guest, and deserves to be treated with respect.
If someone who is paying for a stay and has influence is being treated this way, how do you think someone is going to be treated if they don’t have as much influence? This isn’t the winning argument that the “anti-influencer” crowd thinks it is. This isn’t some dude trading a 60-second Instagram reel for a free avocado toast.
Want to talk about looking out for the experience of other guests? I mean, look at the uber-luxury hotel guest profile nowadays, and the number of rent-by-the-trip girlfriends we see at properties, who are doing endless photo shoots. Should other guests have to put up with that, or should those travelers also be “denied service?”
Bottom line
Hotel reviewer Ryan Walker had his reservation at the newly opened $6K per night Amanvari resort in Mexico canceled the night before arrival. When he showed up at the hotel, they claimed they didn’t have a reservation for him, suggested he may have canceled it himself, refused to let him speak to a manager, and called the cops on him.
This is so beyond that it’s hard to even imagine this is real. Yet in the two days since this has unfolded, Aman has just been silent. I don’t think the brand understands how much damage it’s doing by ignoring this, since this isn’t just going away.
Rather hilariously, Virtuoso Week, the biggest meeting of luxury travel advisors, happens in Las Vegas in just two days. Amanvari will certainly be the most talked about property, but not for the reason they hope…
What’s your take on Aman’s silence following this incident?