We held my sister’s wedding at the Westin San Francisco Airport on Saturday, December 15, 2018. When our vendor arrived to decorate the ballroom, she informed us that the hotel had placed two ceiling high Christmas trees, with huge red ornaments inside which completely clashed with our aesthetic vision. My sister, the bride, spoke to a member of the hotel staff to have the trees removed and was told the hotel would *have to* charge us $500 per tree for removal. She spoke at length with a man named Josh. Josh appeared to be empathetic, helpful, and reasonable. He specifically told my sister he didn’t see why we would have to pay to remove the trees and that the hotel would remove them. After some time passed, I went down to the ballroom to see if the hotel had followed through on this and it had not. I went to the reception to ask for Josh. This time he was accompanied by the Banquet Manager, Alfredo Chavez. Alfredo’s approach was immediately confrontational and stubborn. He... Read more was condescending toward Josh and stated he shouldn’t have told us that they’d be able to move the trees without charging us because he didn’t know what he was talking about. He told us that if we wouldn’t pay $1,000 he couldn’t do anything, since the hotel *had to* call in a vendor to remove the trees. We explained the following grievances once again to Alfredo: * we were never informed there would be Christmas decor erected in the venue on the date of our event; * the venue did not have Christmas trees when the bride did a walkthrough with hotel staff in summer (obviously) and at no point was she told they would be there on the date of her event; * the contract did not state the hotel would put such decor in place and only remove it at our expense; * the trees were gaudy and clashed horribly with our entire vision for the event which consisted of minimalistic designs (bright white linens, fresh florals and cherry blossoms in light colors); * and that we do not celebrate Christmas and felt it was discriminatory for the hotel to force a religious symbol upon us on such an important occasion At no point in our interactions with Alfredo did we get any sense that customer satisfaction mattered to Westin. The entire discussion revolved around him wanting us to pay $1,000 or keep the trees. He was set on making us choose between two options that were completely unfair to us as the customers who paid to use and decorate the ballroom per our tastes. After much back and forth, he gave us a second unacceptable option which was to cover the oversized trees with black curtains, also at our own expense. I asked him, “What’s the deal with moving these trees? Do you need some special equipment?" His response, which clearly demonstrates he didn't care or listen to our voices grievances earlier, was "Have you ever set up a Christmas tree before?" Obviously, Alfredo has no appreciation for diversity in Westin's clientele and is incapable of empathizing with, and accommodating, people of all religious backgrounds. I once again clarified to him that "No, I have not set up a Christmas tree, because as I told you, we are not Christian and do not observe Christmas." He shrugged it off with a "Oh that's right." He remained belligerent and stubborn. He then tried to tell me he would no longer speak to me on the matter since I was not the one who signed the contract. I invited him to come speak to the bride in her suite, and he, with much sass, said "No, that's fine, I'll wait for her to come down." I told him she would not come down as she was the bride and had to get ready for her wedding. I called her and put the phone on speaker. She expressed her concerns and frustration. He again behaved as if his hands were tied. We escalated the situation. The bride called Vicki, the catering director, multiple times but she did not answer her calls (although I heard Alfredo speak to her, addressing her by name on the phone in the lobby). Ultimately, my sister was able to speak to the manager in charge, and the hotel miraculously moved the trees out of the ballroom using its own staff (my sister observed Alfredo himself walk around gathering staff to help move the trees). It cost the hotel just a few minutes of staff time to move the trees. I would like to hear how Marriott/Westin would allow an individual like this to be on the customer facing end of its operation. I sincerely hope you will require him to attend a diversity training, or remove him from a role that will require him to courteously and empathetically work with people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs who may not share his values. In addition to the Christmas trees, we have grievances regarding mixed messaging and communications we've received from hotel staff and management (namely Vicki). Vicki made promises to us in writing that she then took back verbally and did not honor. Lastly, we do not understand why Westin hotel staff thought it was appropriate and within their authority to touch the box full of wedding gifts (cash), without informing a single family member, and move it to the bridal suite. When we asked for the removal of the Christmas trees, Westin behaved as if its hands were tied and exercised no problem solving skills at all. Yet, in this case, without being asked, overzealous staff apparently decided to be proactive and remove valuable items without our permission. Please note that we will scrutinize in detail the wedding gifts, and should any gifts be missing, we will be contacting your hotel. Every vendor we hired for this occasion provided us with excellent service and treated us with respect, with the exception of your hotel. We are shocked at the complete lack of customer focus from your management. If Marriott/Westin truly adheres to the core values of "putting people first, pursuing excellence, embracing change, acting with integrity and serving our world," I suggest a major overhaul at your Westin SFO location. The event management there clearly does not live up to these espoused values.