Booked on residenceinn.com. Tried other dates but just semmed to come in on these dates. Received confirmation right away. You have to cancel by Aug.21.

Awesome, just booked similar. It looks like it has to be 7 nights to get that rate.

Someone post it before me ^ .

I found the deal from biddingfortravel.com ( http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddingnewyorkcitynonewjersey. showMessage?topicID=6416.topic). Its' $26.00 (or $24.90 depends on the room type) per night with a 7-night minimum stay for the month of August only. Since I found this from biddingfortravel.com I'll give out their link REMOVED LINK TO COMMERCIAL SITE to show support. I know many of you here don't agree/like Sheryl but you have to give credit when it's due. Not sure if the link violate TOS, if so moderator please remove.

thanks to the OP!

I can't believe it... I'm 2 for 2 on cheap NYC trips for this year

Looks like you can book it from 8/22-9/5 this includes labor day weekend.

Looks like you can book it from 8/22-9/5 this includes labor day weekend.

Watch out. If you look at the rate detail, 09/01-09/05 will have the regular rate.

Interesting. It looks like the rate is only available if you start your stay on a Tuesday in August and stay at least a week.

No Tuesday checkin required. Only available in August with 7 days minimum.

It's showing up on orbitz also.

Yeah, there is a mispalced decimal point. Regular Rate is 249.00.

Booked 2 at that rate 8/22-29 and will just check out early.

Thanks to the OP. I booked a room for myself and one for my sister/niece.

Deleted.

I booked a few dates, but I think it's gone now!

I booked

Arrive Friday 8/4/06 depar 8/11/06
Arrive Friday 8/11/06 depar 8/18/06
Arrive Friday 8/18/06 depar 8/25/06

I will cancel the ones I don't want later.

gone on travelocity and residenceinn.com

still there on expedia!

I booked a few dates, but I think it's gone now!

I booked a few dates, but I think it's gone now!

Make sure you do 7 days. It just worked for me.

Still on orbitz.com

BOOK FAST

Rate shows up but no rooms available at that rate. I'll keep trying. Great find OP!

dead now..

ACK! It's not showing up anymore...

Good deal to those who got in. ^

Gone from Orbits too. :(

Just booked Aug. 22-29 at $31.73 per nite including taxes, etc. What a deal!!
Thank you for the tip! :) :) :) :) Used marriott.com!

Thanks, op!
Wondering is there penalty on earlier check out? Will they honor these res?

Thanks, op!
Wondering is there penalty on earlier check out? Will they honor these res?

no one knows..maybe a cancellation email will come tonight.. :rolleyes:

I can't get it. It shows the 24.90 then when I go to select the rates it does not pull up. I will be there on an MR during that time period too.

IT'S STILL THERE!

Damn... can't find it anywhere and I have to leave the house now. Shame.

Oh well, still happy I got in on the $33 Alitalia/Cyprus deal ^


To those who scored this one:
Have fun in NYC!

I can't get it. It shows the 24.90 then when I go to select the rates it does not pull up. I will be there on an MR during that time period too.

Same problem as me...

That's actually a good location - I think it's on the corner of 47th and 7th, on the same block as the Virgin Times Square. There's a subway stop on the corner, too.

We just booked August 8 through 15 on residenceinn.com

I have no reason believe marriott will cancel these booking. Or just wishful thinking.

I was not able to book this on Expedia.com at 3:00 PM PST on April 8 (today).


:mad:

I have no reason believe marriott will cancel these booking. Or just wishful thinking.

To draw an analogy, I believe Starwood is honoring the $19 South Portland, Maine deal. This deal is both a higher price and a more restrictive time period than that was, so I would imagine they will honor it as Starwood did.

And I was wrong - the hotel is new construction at 39th and 6th. :)

For a fleeting moment, it was available on residenceinn.com. Then when I tried to book it, it went away faster than cookies in front of cookie monster.

I'm so sad right now...but another great deal will console me :D

Yeah lets see who is going to call in and say hey I see this rate on your system but when I go to click on it, it disappears. :D

Booked on residenceinn.com. Tried other dates but just semmed to come in on these dates. Received confirmation right away. You have to cancel by Aug.21.

Nice find, and only 4th post. Way to go...I got in for a family reunion thanks to you. ^ ^ ^

Nice.

But no longer available apparently, right? :D

Txs BuzzyBuzz!!

I got in earlier for 8/22 - 8/31. I booked two rooms through residenceinn.com and got a confirmation email.

I'll have a drink/toast for you during my stay.

txs again!!

Whiskarina :) xoxo

I happened to be in the right place at the right time and snagged rooms for my family in August. Kudos to Buzzy for getting us in on this deal.

Was anyone able to get anything other than the "studio"? I didn't have the time to look carefully, so I booked the studios.

I'll have to check the reviews of this property, but a Residence Inn should be a good place to stay a week in NYC. They usually give free breakfasts everyday and have free drinks and snacks (and sometimes even full meals) on weekdays. And you should get a kitchenette, which would be handy.

Now we have to see what Marriott does. As another poster said, the Sheraton in Portland is honoring their $19 rate -- but only after much drama and continued bellyaching (like we're not sure they're going to let people shave days from existing reservations). Have there been any similar instances with Marriott? Logic tells me this rate isn't so low (like $2) to be a preposterous mistake -- priceline routinely has rooms under $100 in Manhattan. That said, if Marriott wants to be nasty and claim it's a mistake, there's probably not much that can be done.

Booked a week earlier through Travelocity. Thanks OP!

I happened to be in the right place at the right time and snagged rooms for my family in August. Kudos to Buzzy for getting us in on this deal.

Was anyone able to get anything other than the "studio"? I didn't have the time to look carefully, so I booked the studios.

I'll have to check the reviews of this property, but a Residence Inn should be a good place to stay a week in NYC. They usually give free breakfasts everyday and have free drinks and snacks (and sometimes even full meals) on weekdays. And you should get a kitchenette, which would be handy.

Now we have to see what Marriott does. As another poster said, the Sheraton in Portland is honoring their $19 rate -- but only after much drama and continued bellyaching (like we're not sure they're going to let people shave days from existing reservations). Have there been any similar instances with Marriott? Logic tells me this rate isn't so low (like $2) to be a preposterous mistake -- priceline routinely has rooms under $100 in Manhattan. That said, if Marriott wants to be nasty and claim it's a mistake, there's probably not much that can be done.

Well, if you booked through Travelocity, there's always their "guarantee". ;) :D

Here is the website for the hotel with lots of info:

http://marriott.com/property/abouthotel/default/nycri?WT_Ref=mi_left

free breakfast, free internet in rooms, Mon-Thu complimentary evening social hour. Just don't bring your car with you - $42/night for parking! But in NY, that is expected.

Booked it for a week but not sure if I will be able to go.

Very good reviews on tripadvisor. Brand new hotel, just opened in December. They even give you free dinner (of a sort) Mondays thru Thursdays.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60763-d578305-Reviews-Residence_Inn_Manhattan_Times_Square-New_York_City_New_York.html

I spoke with a friend in marriott who's cool... he's not gonna tattle, and he told me per Marriott's policy, they should be honoring it.

Well, the good thing is that August is about as off-peak as NYC can get when it comes to hotels. Summer rates can be the bargain .... just not as good as this usually. :D

Hope all of you who got this enjoy it. And thank you to the OP.

Not that it's likely to matter, but the "cancellation policy" on my email confirmation is sloppy (or inaccurate):

"Cancellation permitted
- up to 1 days before arrival
CANCELLATION FEE
1 nights rm & tax cxl fee - Total 63.46 USD
- as first night payment"

This suggests you might have to pay $63.46 if you cancelled. That's not true, though, according to the rules. It's FREE cancellation up to 1 day before arrival, and that penalty if you cancel with less than 1 day.

Looks like it is dead.

Not that it's likely to matter, but the "cancellation policy" on my email confirmation is sloppy (or inaccurate):

"Cancellation permitted
- up to 1 days before arrival
CANCELLATION FEE
1 nights rm & tax cxl fee - Total 63.46 USD
- as first night payment"

This suggests you might have to pay $63.46 if you cancelled. That's not true, though, according to the rules. It's FREE cancellation up to 1 day before arrival, and that penalty if you cancel with less than 1 day.

Try logging in on Marriott.com and you should see a better version of the reservation.

Unlike other Residence Inns, it looks like this hotel only has studios, which is not surprising given its Manhattan location. Some of the rooms have king beds (which is what I got), some have only queens, and some rooms are a little more expensive because they're corners or "view" rooms (didn't see any of those offered when I booked).

I wonder about the pullout sofas. I was in a Residence Inn recently and, to my surprise, the sofabed was only a twin, which sleeps only one. I see on the website that maximum occupancy here is only 3, so I wonder if that's also the story in Manhattan.

Count me in New York, I also happened to be in the right place at the right time and was able to snag rooms for my family in August.

Holy Mozes, BIG BIG Kudos to Buzzy for getting us in on this MARRIOTT SUPERDEAL. ^ ^ ^ ;)

The other funny thing from the confirmation email:

"Rest easy. You have received the best possible rate on your Marriott room. Guaranteed."

This time I'm inclined to believe them. :cool:

Thanks OP! Was in between flights on another FT deal, but managed to grab 2 different rooms! Ok, now to find flights. Keep those deals coming! Great find! ;-)

Not that it's likely to matter, but the "cancellation policy" on my email confirmation is sloppy (or inaccurate):

"Cancellation permitted
- up to 1 days before arrival
CANCELLATION FEE
1 nights rm & tax cxl fee - Total 63.46 USD
- as first night payment"

This suggests you might have to pay $63.46 if you cancelled. That's not true, though, according to the rules. It's FREE cancellation up to 1 day before arrival, and that penalty if you cancel with less than 1 day.

I'm confused. If it's $24.90 per night, plus taxes. How would a cancellation fee which is " 1 nights rm & tax cxl fee - Total 63.46 USD"? That looks like 2 nights cancellation fee to me...

I'm confused. If it's $24.90 per night, plus taxes. How would a cancellation fee which is " 1 nights rm & tax cxl fee - Total 63.46 USD"? That looks like 2 nights cancellation fee to me...

Oh, I guess it's because I have 2 rooms booked.

There is no off-peak in NYC. Anyway, where can you get a new hotel in a prime spot in NYC for $24? I live in NYC, and I wanted in on the deal for my mattress run! Too bad I missed out, but congrats to all who got in on the deal!

And I bet you someone did call to ask about the $24 rate. :mad:

The rate was gone within minutes after it appeared here. I wonder why?

Anyone with mistakenly booked extra rooms or rooms that cannot be used...is there a way to transfer the booking ;)

There is no off-peak in NYC.

There are off-peak times in NYC when it comes to hotel rates. Summer time and weekend rates are lower at many times, at many places, for a reason. And there are peak times/rates too when it comes to hotel rates.

There is a way to "transfer" ... but that involves adding a name of a second guest to the reservation or in the comments section. Best done on the phone .... but not now. :D However, it won't always work well for night/stay credit.

No matter how off-peak (which is a relative term since the occupancy in NYC is always high) it wouldn't even come close to offer $24 a night especially in such a good location (but it's certainly not at the Time Squares).

Anyway, where can you get a new hotel in a prime spot in NYC for $24?



The infamous $25 per night mistake rate for W Times Square when it first opened 4 years ago. :D Even a better hotel and location then the Residence Inn. Now we know to check on all these new hotels to hunt for cheap stay. :D :D

Yikes who can stay in Manhattan for seven days!?

not many people can... I'm gonna checkout early. I've spoken with the hotel (not about this rate, or my reservation :) ) and they have no penalty for an early checkout.

Yikes who can stay in Manhattan for seven days!?

Those who live in Manhattan. :p

One can make this deal even sweeter by using bonus bucks. I know I am really pushing it :D

What are "bonus bucks"? I presume something with MarriottRewards, right?

I'm not very familiar with that program (I'm a comped silver elite), but it looks like a typical hotel program that earns points based on dollars spent, which obviously isn't very lucrative if you're only spending $25/night.

bonus bucks come in either $100 or $50 in US. Only the $50 one can be used in Residence Inn for every two night stays. If you stay a week, you can use three $50 bonus bucks toward your final bill. In this case, a 7 days stay would cost $222.11, if you use 3X$50 at check out, you bill can come down to $72.11 :D
However, as per the rule of bonus bucks, you have to call Marriott to make the reservation on an eligible rate. For more "important" details, do a search on the marriott forum. :D

so far the reservation is still there and no email..:) :D

so far the reservation is still there and no email..:) :D

Like the Sheraton South Portland $19 deal, I wouldn't anticipate receiving any further communications from them about this, nor would I feel a need to re-re-re-confirm. ;) JMHO.

Does anyone think there will a hassle checking in?

Can't find it anymore!!
Darn it...That's what you get for not visiting this site every day!

Like the Sheraton South Portland $19 deal, I wouldn't anticipate receiving any further communications from them about this, nor would I feel a need to re-re-re-confirm. ;) JMHO.

Yeah, these things have a rhythm to them. I think the best thing to do here is lie low for several weeks (nobody is going before August) so the legal principle of estoppel comes more into play. Amazingly, there hasn't been much "internet fare mistake" litigation yet, but I suspect when it happens, an important principle will be how fast the travel provider notified customers of the mistake. The longer the travel company waits, the less likelihood they'll be able to get out of the deal, because the customers will rely on the validity of their reservations and make other (costly) travel arrangements accordingly.

Usually after a week or two, somebody at the company figures out they have "a problem," somebody throws a hissy fit, and then cooler heads prevail and they honor the reservations. Given the limited nature of this sale/mistake -- and the fact that $25 for a Residence Inn is far more plausible than, say, $2.50 -- I'll be surprised if the reservations are dishonored. That said, I wouldn't bank on it yet, either.

Yeah, these things have a rhythm to them. I think the best thing to do here is lie low for several weeks (nobody is going before August) so the legal principle of estoppel comes more into play. Amazingly, there hasn't been much "internet fare mistake" litigation yet, but I suspect when it happens, an important principle will be how fast the travel provider notified customers of the mistake. The longer the travel company waits, the less likelihood they'll be able to get out of the deal, because the customers will rely on the validity of their reservations and make other (costly) travel arrangements accordingly.

Usually after a week or two, somebody at the company figures out they have "a problem," somebody throws a hissy fit, and then cooler heads prevail and they honor the reservations. Given the limited nature of this sale/mistake -- and the fact that $25 for a Residence Inn is far more plausible than, say, $2.50 -- I'll be surprised if the reservations are dishonored. That said, I wouldn't bank on it yet, either.

Yeah, and consider, too, that August is a predictably slow month in NYC for hotels and that there are lots of suites at this new hotel - I doubt that even by honoring the res'n's they have received, that doing so will have much impact in terms of room availability. And the $25 probably covers a fair portion of hard costs associated with the stay.

FYI,

This hotel is now showing $299-335 per night, for those dates...

FYI,

This hotel is now showing $299-335 per night, for those dates...
Sorry, not correct ---> still $249 per night===> still high enough!!! :td: :td:

Good Day Mr. wzwjon,


I’m writing to inform you of a rate error in your reservation at the NYC Residence Inn arriving July 30, 2005 for confirmation numbers 841***** and 841*****. The rate on your reservation will be changing to $249.00 per night. The $24.90 rate will not be honored. If you would like me to cancel your reservation please let me know otherwise you will receive a confirmation with the rate change of $249.00.



We apologize for this inconvenience this may have caused you.



Thank you!



Inventory Manager

New York City Marriott Hotels

Good Day Mr. wzwjon,


I’m writing to inform you of a rate error in your reservation at the NYC Residence Inn arriving July 30, 2005 for confirmation numbers 841***** and 841*****. The rate on your reservation will be changing to $249.00 per night. The $24.90 rate will not be honored. If you would like me to cancel your reservation please let me know otherwise you will receive a confirmation with the rate change of $249.00.



We apologize for this inconvenience this may have caused you.



Thank you!



Inventory Manager

New York City Marriott Hotels

Oh my. :eek:

Good Day Mr. wzwjon,


I’m writing to inform you of a rate error in your reservation at the NYC Residence Inn arriving July 30, 2005 for confirmation numbers 841***** and 841*****. The rate on your reservation will be changing to $249.00 per night. The $24.90 rate will not be honored. If you would like me to cancel your reservation please let me know otherwise you will receive a confirmation with the rate change of $249.00.



We apologize for this inconvenience this may have caused you.



Thank you!



Inventory Manager

New York City Marriott Hotels\

I am tired of this rate error non-sense. How do one suppose to know what deal is too good to be true? What good is the reservation confirmation and the credit card guarantee for? Guarantee just a room with a rate they can change if they like :td: I would definitely bring this up to the Marriott headquarter.

Good Day Mr. wzwjon,


I’m writing to inform you of a rate error in your reservation at the NYC Residence Inn arriving July 30, 2005 for confirmation numbers 841***** and 841*****. The rate on your reservation will be changing to $249.00 per night. The $24.90 rate will not be honored. If you would like me to cancel your reservation please let me know otherwise you will receive a confirmation with the rate change of $249.00.



We apologize for this inconvenience this may have caused you.



Thank you!



Inventory Manager

New York City Marriott HotelsOk arent we in 2006 and I didnt realize that this deal was available in July. Something is off.

The deal started 30/7/06. Has anyone else received this email yet?

Ok arent we in 2006 and I didnt realize that this deal was available in July. Something is off.
That was what I was thinking myself. That property was not even open then.

The deal started 30/7/06. Has anyone else received this email yet?
No I have not received the email.

wzwjon, did you initiate contact to confirm the rate?

No, I didn't contact them. Arrgh..don't tell me its because my booking starts in July.

No I have not received the email.

wzwjon, did you initiate contact to confirm the rate?

There is an e-mail posted on BFT that the deal is not being honored
http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddingnewyorkcitynonewjersey. showMessage?topicID=6416.topic

I have several reservations and have not received any e-mails about the rate not being honored.

We've got to contact the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and other media. In 2002, the WSJ was instrumental in getting the W Times Square $25 rate from being changed or cancelled.

Urgg, one user from BFT did call and inquiry the rate....... :(

Urgg, one user from BFT did call and inquiry the rate....... :(

A call won't kill a deal like this. Do you really think the inventory manager didn't see the masses of weeklong stays being booked at his hotel? When a high-season week suddenly becomes sold out, someone notices.

There is an e-mail posted on BFT that the deal is not being honored
http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddingnewyorkcitynonewjersey. showMessage?topicID=6416.topic

I have several reservations and have not received any e-mails about the rate not being honored.

We've got to contact the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and other media. In 2002, the WSJ was instrumental in getting the W Times Square $25 rate from being changed or cancelled.

Evan Perez at evan.perez@wsj.com wrote about the Cyrpus situation. Maybe he would be a good place to start. Definitely press the Marriott Best price advertisement.

Well, I haven't gotten one of these messages yet, but I'm sure I will.

The irritating thing is the peremptory tone of the message. There's no apology, no attempt to make good. They should at least be sending out Marriott Bucks (or whatever they're called) or offering Marriott Rewards points or some kind of compensation when they're refusing to honor a guaranteed reservation.

I plan to complain to Marriott corporate (although that got no response when I got bad service at a Courtyard in Atlanta).

Of course, this decision to back out the reservations seems to be a local one. If publicity can get corporate involved . . . .

A little surprising given the rate (heck, I just stayed at a Residence Inn for less than 50 bucks on priceline), and the way others have handled similar situations. Legally, though, we probably have an uphill fight given their prompt notification of the error (at least those who received the notification -- I haven't).

My guess is this isn't the end of this. At a minimum (for pr purposes if nothing else), they should provide SOMETHING to the res holders. I don't think there are really that many of us.

One way to fight the system is to NOT cancel your reservation even if they change it and file one of their Best rate guarantees for their own rate!! Also make other reservations and hold them until the last minute cancelling them 24-48 hrs from arrival if they don't make some kind of gesture of fairness. Heck, its not OUR mistake!! Sorry, Im just bitter because this would have given us the opportunity to see NYC for an affordiable price!!

I have not recieved any email yet. Once I do, I'll complaint to the Marriott HQ and cc to Bill Marriott's office.
What they do is no different than changing your rate on your inexpensive rate confirmed credit card guaranteed reservation once the hotel is nearly booked! If you don't pay a higher rate, cancel it and we'll let someone book it with a higher rate. :mad:

A call won't kill a deal like this. Do you really think the inventory manager didn't see the masses of weeklong stays being booked at his hotel? When a high-season week suddenly becomes sold out, someone notices.

No it won't but it's certainly not necessary to call so early.

I knew it that was the deal. That person from BFT or whatever it is called pulled the deal early.

I booked through a TA and they still have my rate confirmed at $24.90/night for 7 nights. Marriott doesn't have an EMail address for me or the TA so it will be interesting to see how/if I am notified of any rate change.

I knew it that was the deal. That person from BFT or whatever it is called pulled the deal early.

When will people learn...if you see a deal here, book like it's a normal booking, but secretly gloat at your good fortune! If you catch a deal, share amongst your FTers and we can all secretly gloat at our shared good fortune! The $&#@ers!!! :mad:

alrighty... this is actually against Marriott policy. If you are quoted a rate, you pay it. This is someone who messed up and is scared of losing their job over this rate. I say let them raise this... I'll no-show and dispute the CC charge.

alrighty... this is actually against Marriott policy. If you are quoted a rate, you pay it.

Do you have a copy of that policy? I don't see it on their website.

:td:
wondering how much will marriott will lose if they honor the reservations.. :rolleyes:

Guess i will have to stay in NJ :(

Do you have a copy of that policy? I don't see it on their website.
it's not a published one... it's one I've learned from a contact at Marriott. Here's my IM conversation with a good friend of mine in Orlando who's a Revenue Director for their Orlando hotels (and no, he didn't rat us out... he's a member of this site who'd be likely to hop on the 24.90 rate as well)

Here's the conversation

ME: XXXX... speaking theoretically, if one of your company's hotels lists an incorrect rate, to the tune of 90% off, and someone books it online, will your company honor it after that person has received confirmation?

Friend: yes...if they have written documentation by the company stating the lower rate. Did your revenue manager screw up?

ME: Nope... someone in your company did. http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/NYCMD. I got it for quite a bit less than anywhere else in the area... less than $100/nt

Friend: good catch. someone is getting terminated

Friend: good catch. someone is getting terminated
:eek:
I hate to get anyone terminated over a booking error.

:eek:
I hate to get anyone terminated over a booking error.
If it's exploited like it usually is once it hits this site and the others, this wouldn't be the first person to have lost a job over an incorrect rate/fare/price

I doubt they'd get canned if this was the first time they messed up though. Maybe a warning, maybe even a suspension, but I doubt termination. If I was this persons boss, and this was their first offense, I'd counsel the employee responsible and have their rate uploads overseen by another staffer (at least temporarily).

There's also the chance it could be a computer error, or just showing a new Revenue Manager how to upload their rates.

I doubt anyone lost their job, but I know my friend runs a tight ship. One mistake like this cost one Orlando area hotel of his almost $1 million last year... that person lost their job. But the most I'm estimating they stand to lose over this, is MAYBE $10-15k.. and the rooms will be generating revenue, just no profit.

Enough ranting... I need sleep. I have a long trip in 4 hours.

But the most I'm estimating they stand to lose over this, is MAYBE $10-15k.. and the rooms will be generating revenue, just no profit.

Each reservation will cost the hotel a minimum of $1568.70 ($249 x 7 nights minus $24.90 x 7 nights). Between my friends and myself, it will be more than $15K.

The deal was posted on multiple travel forum sites on Saturday, FlyerTalk not being the first one. On one site for at least 6 hours or more before the rate was pulled. I'd raise your estimate considerably.

Each reservation will cost the hotel a minimum of $1568.70 ($249 x 7 nights minus $24.90 x 7 nights). Between my friends and myself, it will be more than $15K.

The deal was posted on multiple travel forum sites on Saturday, FlyerTalk not being the first one. On one site for at least 6 hours or more before the rate was pulled. I'd raise your estimate considerably.

NYC in August? I'd definitely not value the "cost" to the hotelier of a one-week reservation at this rate as being a cost of $249 X 7. Some fraction thereof would be more appropriate under most situations in August.

NYC in August? I'd definitely not value the "cost" to the hotelier of a one-week reservation at this rate as being a cost of $249 X 7. Some fraction thereof would be more appropriate under most situations in August.

$249 is not an unreasonable rate (this year) for a brand new all suite hotel close to Times Square even in August.

4 years ago, the rate at the then brand new W Hotel Times Square should have been $259 for the nearly 2 days (over the New Years holiday) that the rate was posted here on FlyerTalk for $25 per night (and eventually honored after it got into the press). That rate was good for stays over many months from Winter to Summer 2002.

There are 2 posts from biddingfortravel that make me want to both laugh and cry. Remember, though -- you can't be that hard on the newbies. After all, without one of them, we never would have known of this deal in the first place.
__________________________________________________ ______________

Heybud2 wrote: "That is odd because even after I made my reservation I called their reservation number to make sure they would be honoring this price. The gentleman that I spoke to talked with his supervisor and I was on the phone with them for around 7-8 min and they said they would be honoring the price! A sorry email is not acceptable!
If you have received the notice did you reserve through Marriotts web site or through others like Orbitz?"
__________________________________________________ ______________

PhillipC27 wrote: "Re your question in response to my post Sheryl,

(1) I didn't mention this site at all

(2) I called to see if there was any chance of making a reservation at the previously posted rate of $26/night for August, they said that rate was a computer glitch and that they (a) could not make a reservation for me at that rate (shocking) and (b) would probably not be honoring confirmed reeservations at the error rate.

Thanks!"

it's not a published one... it's one I've learned from a contact at Marriott. Here's my IM conversation with a good friend of mine in Orlando who's a Revenue Director for their Orlando hotels (and no, he didn't rat us out... he's a member of this site who'd be likely to hop on the 24.90 rate as well)

Here's the conversation

I guess, we'll see mkt. BTW, how do you load a daily rate that only prices as a "mistake" if it's a 7-day booking? Much less a 7-day booking only for August? To a non-programmer like myself, that seems like an odd screw-up. Given the amount of money at stake, you would think there also would be some sort of "fail-safe" code to prevent somebody from leaving off zeros from room rates (like a minimum acceptable rate for each hotel).

I didn't receive an e-mail but did get a phone call this morning - when the woman (Elizabeth IIRC) from NYC started in on her spiel about mistake I hung up - she called back and left a message saying that they needed me to call to either accept the $249 rate or cancel the booking - obviously I'm not doing either - but just checked and the $24.90 is still in place on Marriott's reservation system.

Each reservation will cost the hotel a minimum of $1568.70 ($249 x 7 nights minus $24.90 x 7 nights). Between my friends and myself, it will be more than $15K.

The deal was posted on multiple travel forum sites on Saturday, FlyerTalk not being the first one. On one site for at least 6 hours or more before the rate was pulled. I'd raise your estimate considerably.

Hardly anyone pays "rack rate" and these are incremental bookings that the hotel would not have had if the rate were not so low. Hotels give Priceline and Hotwire such rooms to sell at deeply discounted prices. The breakeven point for the hotel is probably way less than $249 but more than $24.90.

I wonder if the ladies from the Polident commericial who are taking advantage of the friends fly free deal got in on this one. Yeah were going to New Yook. :p

Hardly anyone pays "rack rate" and these are incremental bookings that the hotel would not have had if the rate were not so low. Hotels give Priceline and Hotwire such rooms to sell at deeply discounted prices. The breakeven point for the hotel is probably way less than $249 but more than $24.90.

I obviously don't know the average room rate at this property, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the $200s. NYC is an expensive place. They've got decent location, and are throwing in breakfast and an evening reception.

I didn't receive an e-mail but did get a phone call this morning - when the woman (Elizabeth IIRC) from NYC started in on her spiel about mistake I hung up - she called back and left a message saying that they needed me to call to either accept the $249 rate or cancel the booking - obviously I'm not doing either - but just checked and the $24.90 is still in place on Marriott's reservation system.

Why'd you hang up? That's just not very nice! I will simply state that I expect them to honor my guaranteed reservation, and that any other choice is unacceptable.

I obviously don't know the average room rate at this property, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the $200s. NYC is an expensive place. They've got decent location, and are throwing in breakfast and an evening reception.
FWIW, we booked a points reservation at the RI shortly after they opened for this coming October. Current rate for our dates? 399.00/nt for the basic room. Good bang for the point at that rate :)

Best of luck on this deal. Marriott is extremely hard-nosed on rate issues, IME. You'll likely have to enlist corporate to put pressure on the franchisee. IIRC, this property is independently owned, as are most Marriott's.

Pat

399? what a joke. I am not going to pay 399 for a RI even it has 'times square' in its name. :td:

... I will simply state that I expect them to honor my guaranteed reservation, and that any other choice is unacceptable.

This morning an associate of mine, whom I alerted to this rate, received a telephone call from the hotel offering the choice of accepting rack rate or cancellation. My associate accepted neither, stating they would take it up with Marriott HQ. Within minutes they received a cancellation notice via e-mail from Marriott. A call to customer service revealed that the hotel themselves had arbitrarily cancelled the reservation. When pressed, the rep stated that it was within Marriott's right according to their terms and conditions and made the same offer to reinstate the reservation at rack rate. I guess Marriott wants to set a precident and NOT honour obvious errors. Surely there must be a better way to handle such situations. :td:

399? what a joke. I am not going to pay 399 for a RI even it has 'times square' in its name. :td:
I thought that too, but must say the location sure is convenient. I saw the property nearly completed when we were in NYC for the CMA's last November. That's why I booked it (location). We've stayed at the Marquis before, for about the same price (on points), and at the Radio City Apartments, up on 49th, for substantially less money. NYC is like another planet when it comes to hotel prices. It's usually a great place (along with London and Paris) to burn points and save cash, since taxes are usually included in the award reservations, and can get onerous at the prices charged.

BTW, on-topic, Marriott Shanghai handled their rate issue in a similar fashion. I don't recall anyone staying on that rate, but could be wrong. I got in on that deal, and recall receiving a minor discount offer, but no capitulation to the issue. Needless to say, I passed.

Pat

I don't know if this is up to date or not (from late June of last year) but here is some background on the hotels management.
----------------------------------
Interstate Hotels Names Daniel Fevre Area General Manager
and GM of the 357-suite Residence Inn in New York City,
James McCabe Named Director of Sales

First Residence Inn in Manhattan on Schedule to Open in November
ARLINGTON, Va., June 30, 2005 — Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: IHR) announced two key management appointments for the Residence Inn Manhattan / Times Square, currently under construction at the corner of 39th St. and 6th Ave.

Daniel Fevre, currently general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Times Square South, has been named area general manager and will take on the additional position of general manager of the Residence Inn. James McCabe has been named director of sales for the Residence Inn. The new 36-floor, 357-suite property, owned by New York-based MG Hotel LLC, is slated to open in November. Interstate will manage the hotel under a long-term contract.

“With this being the first extended-stay Residence Inn by Marriott in New York City, we named a GM and DOS with the kind of relevant experience that will help this hotel reach its full potential,” said Tom Bardenett, executive vice president of operations, Crossroads Hospitality, a division of Interstate Hotels & Resorts. “In addition to a proven track record and strong leadership skills, both have experience with Marriott or the Residence Inn brand, both have worked in Manhattan and know the market well, and both have worked during a construction phase or a renovation. When it is fully ramped up, we expect this hotel to assume a leadership role in this market, particularly among those travelers who typically stay for five days or longer.”

Daniel Fevre

Daniel Fevre takes the Residence Inn management reins with more than two decades of leadership experience in the hospitality industry. Under his guidance as general manager of the nearby Courtyard by Marriott Times Square South, the hotel has ranked consistently among the top three properties in the Courtyard system, in terms of occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room (RevPAR) during his seven-year tenure. The property also has won Marriott’s Gold Award for guest satisfaction twice, and Fevre is a two-time recipient of the Courtyard Leadership Award.

Fevre, who has been with Interstate since 1996, previously served as general manager at a number of Marriott and Holiday Inn properties in California, all of which experienced dramatic increases in occupancy, RevPAR and customer satisfaction under his leadership.

A native of Paris, France, Fevre began his career as a chef in Paris and later in Southern California. In 1981 he was named executive chef for Holiday Inns, Inc., and worked his way up through the F&B department, ultimately serving as F&B director of four Holiday Inn hotels, including the 650-room Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza at Los Angeles International Airport.

James McCabe

The new director of sales, James McCabe, has more than 15 years’ experience in hospitality industry sales and joins the new Residence Inn from the Flatotel in New York, where he served as director of sales since 2002. Working with a sales team he assembled and led, he secured the hotel’s position in more than 25 corporate hotel programs, increased group bookings by more than $1.3 million and increased revenues from new corporate accounts by $1.7 million.

During a previous stint as senior sales manager at the Flatotel, McCabe successfully oversaw efforts to reposition the hotel from a tour and travel focus to corporate transient during a major renovation. He also held sales positions at The Time Hotel and the Empire Hotel/Ian Schrager Hotels, both in Manhattan. Previously, he was general manager of the Residence Inn in White Plains, N.Y. and director of sales and marketing at the Residence Inn in Plainview, N.Y.

Interstate Hotels & Resorts operates more than 300 hospitality properties with nearly 72,000 rooms in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Russia.

I really like "CalItalian's" idea of contacting the WSJ, and other media.
Since I booked one of these, I will work on emails to the media tomorrow, when I return home--I encourage others to do the same!

I guess Marriott wants to set a precident and NOT honour obvious errors. Surely there must be a better way to handle such situations. :td:

Yeah, I've kind of been expecting this kind of response from somebody. Outside the travel industry, online merchants generally do not stand behind their "mistakes." They simply don't ship the product and tell you "sorry, we made a mistake." Sometimes they send you a modest gift certificate for your trouble.

It does seem like there should be some compensation to travellers for these booking errors. Having no financial consequences for errors will no doubt spawn more of them (keeping your travel pricing right has got to be very hard work). At the same time, it's hard to argue that travel merchants should be on the hook for their entire mistake -- especially if they promptly notify the affected consumers after an "obvious" mistake.

The real difficulty comes in when the mistake isn't so "obvious." What about a $39 fare from BWI to LAS? Yup, they existed this past weekend. Is that much different from a $25 Residence Inn? And what if I booked that airfare, made a non-changable priceline hotel reservation in LAS, and US said "sorry, your airfare is a mistake that we can't honor."

Yes just yesterday there was a $39 fare from BNA-ONT.

Soo what does this statement from their original email mean in relation to the current position??
"Confirmation Authenticity
We're sending you this confirmation notice electronically for your convenience. Marriott keeps an official record of all electronic reservations. We honor our official record only and will disregard any alterations to this confirmation that may have been made after we sent it to you."
Now they want to "alter" the reservation??

Today's email explaining the error.....

It was a technical error and on Marriott.com under the terms of use there is a disclaimer that summarizes we are not responsible for mistakes. I’ve copied the disclaimer below:
Marriott Information may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Marriott reserves the right to make changes, corrections and/or improvements to Marriott Information, and to the products and programs described in such information, at any time without notice.
Below is a link to the customer care section of Marriott.com where you are welcome to express your concern and an agent would be happy to address the issue.
https://marriott.com/suggest/suggest.mi
In the interim we would be willing to honor you a rate of $199 to compensate for the error but that is the best we can do. The hotel will not honor the $24.90 as this was a technical error and we reserve the right.
We apologize for your inconvenience.
June N. Friedmann
Inventory Manager
New York City Marriott Hotels

Soo what does this statement from their original email mean in relation to the current position??
"Confirmation Authenticity
We're sending you this confirmation notice electronically for your convenience. Marriott keeps an official record of all electronic reservations. We honor our official record only and will disregard any alterations to this confirmation that may have been made after we sent it to you."
Now they want to "alter" the reservation??

Interesting legal theory -- tell it to the judge. :)

Not sure it will work, but it's a plausible legal argument. The specific language of the confirmation -- promising to honor this "official record," arguably trumps boilerplate language contained on the website.

Given their barely apologetic response, I wouldn't mind holding their feet to the fire.

Soo what does this statement from their original email mean in relation to the current position??
"Confirmation Authenticity
We're sending you this confirmation notice electronically for your convenience. Marriott keeps an official record of all electronic reservations. We honor our official record only and will disregard any alterations to this confirmation that may have been made after we sent it to you."
Now they want to "alter" the reservation??

Today's email explaining the error.....

It was a technical error and on Marriott.com under the terms of use there is a disclaimer that summarizes we are not responsible for mistakes. I’ve copied the disclaimer below:
Marriott Information may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Marriott reserves the right to make changes, corrections and/or improvements to Marriott Information, and to the products and programs described in such information, at any time without notice.
Below is a link to the customer care section of Marriott.com where you are welcome to express your concern and an agent would be happy to address the issue.
https://marriott.com/suggest/suggest.mi
In the interim we would be willing to honor you a rate of $199 to compensate for the error but that is the best we can do. The hotel will not honor the $24.90 as this was a technical error and we reserve the right.
We apologize for your inconvenience.
June N. Friedmann
Inventory Manager
New York City Marriott Hotels

Of course the inventory manager fails inform that they have agreed to provide rates well below $199 to some persons/parties at the same property. This is not the best they can do, since they do better for others rather routinely.

Of course the inventory manager fails inform that they have agreed to provide rates well below $199 to some persons/parties at the same property. This is not the best they can do, since they do better for others rather routinely.

Do you have some specifics as to what has been offered in the past? It would be helpful for others when they get their grimacing phone call. :)

Do you have some specifics as to what has been offered in the past? It would be helpful for others when they get their grimacing phone call. :)

They discount rates for stays involving two or three rooms at a time. $169/room night for two-week stays comes to mind. And that's probably not the best either.

Evan Perez at evan.perez@wsj.com wrote about the Cyrpus situation. Maybe he would be a good place to start. Definitely press the Marriott Best price advertisement.
I've sent emails outlining the rate error issue to the address above and also to info@consumeraffairs.com and travelmail@nytimes.com. I will see if anyone responds....maybe if it makes the papers/news we might get a little satisfaction...Heck, I had an issue with one of the Starwood properties (overbooking) and they gave me a pile of Starwood points and put me up across the street for free about a year back and I did not even have to complain!!

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=111

I've still not been contacted about my 2 reservations. I wonder if they'll miss some?

This June Friedman seems a fairly unsophisticated sort, judging from her poor English in her emails. But you know, had they offered the $199 in a well-worded, apologetic, kiss-my-... email, I'd be much less likely to pursue a complaint with Marriott.

It's too bad. Here's this new property--they had a chance to make a splash in the news with tons of free publicity by honoring the rate. Lots of people could have seen the property and told others about it. It's a low occupancy time anyhow. Why not think about it as a bunch of fam trips? Instead, they've chosen to make enemies of a lot of frequent travelers and give the company a bad name. Over the long term, I think they'll lose more money by NOT honoring the rate.

I think I know why I haven't received the cancellation emails:

I booked at $26 for the corner suite rather than the $24.90 rate. Maybe they haven't figured out yet that both rates were screwed up.

I'm waiting to hear about my reservation as well :)

same here. 24 rate, no email no phone call.. :rolleyes:

It's too bad. Here's this new property--they had a chance to make a splash in the news with tons of free publicity by honoring the rate. Lots of people could have seen the property and told others about it. ...Over the long term, I think they'll lose more money by NOT honoring the rate.

I doubt they would have gotten much publicity out of this. I doubt any media outlet will pick this up, as much as we would hope so. The rate was only available for a very short time last Saturday afternoon. Only a handful of people got wind of this before they pulled it. But I still have not been contacted as well so we will see. However I didn't book directly on Marriott's website so that might or might not make a difference. Certainly they don't have my EMail address in order to contact me that way.

We will just wait and see.

I've still not been contacted about my 2 reservations...

Same for me. No contact at all.

Are they treating Marriott Rewards members different/better? Does anyone who has been contacted have any status?

I am only a silver but stil...

Just waiting now

deleted

duplicate

I have deleted the reference to the other rate type.
It may not help but I plan to contact as many people as I can and create as much smoke as possible hoping someone will pick up the torch....

Same for me. No contact at all.

Are they treating Marriott Rewards members different/better? Does anyone who has been contacted have any status?

I am only a silver but stil...
I was wondering this too or if June is just slow. I have not received any email or phone call. I am only a silver too.

delete

Any more cancellations received? I haven't gotten any for my rooms. This reminds me of "Portland" so far. Hopefully, it will have the same outcome. :)

Especially the ones that bring revenue to your business? I wouldn't call $24.90 a night in New York for a room, revenue. More like theft, unless they're trying to help the homeless.

They have a disclaimer, so I wouldn't show up expecting to have the $24.90 a night rate honored and personally I would be embarrased to expect them to. They're trying to run a business. It's obviously a mistake and the $199 offer is pretty reasonable for New York.
So if I offer you a item for below cost, advertise it in public channels and you accept it at that price and give me a method of payment how is that theft??
I do run a business and accept the fact that the price is below cost but that is irrelevant as a agreement has be made between a willing seller and buyer. We routinely sell items well below cost to price match competitors and increase traffic to our facilities and the end result is always customers that are happy and come back for more (read profit). All operations sell part of their inventory below cost for various reasons and this is considered a "cost of doing business" Wal-Mart does it, GM does it, grocery chains do it a lot and rooms are sold on Priceline for unreal discounts also. While Marriott's franchise will lose money I doubt that everyone who booked will actually show up and the ending revenue "hit" would be rather small as I seriously doubt their occupancy rates would be near 100% in August. Sorry to rant but If I was the Inventory manager I would try for some sort of compromise to make the masses happy without breaking the bank like giving every reservation holder "points" equal to half of their booked stays for future use....My 2 cents....

I still have not received anything. What is the subject line from the email? The Travelocity SIMSIT went into my spam folder. So I have been watching that folder for this one too.

I haven't received an email or a phone call from the infamous "June the Prune". This is good news for me. :)

I booked through Residenceinn.com ... maybe that makes a difference... who knows.

Whiskarina :)

Here is what I sent to "USA Today's" Linda Burbank who troubleshoots travelers' complaints for the Consumer Reports Travel Letter. She now writes regularly for Consumers Union publications and is a contributing editor for National Geographic Traveler. E-mail her at travel@usatoday.com.

To linda Burbank:

How Three hotel Chains have handled recent Internet Pricing errors posted on their own Websites

I thought that this would make a good story. Hyatt and Starwood honored their rate mistakes. Marriot did not. All these chains have "Best Rate Guarantees."

I have included links from the "Flyer Talk" website which have details on each.

What are a consumer's rights--especially if they have incurred costs (such as airline tickets) based on their reliance upon a confirmation email from Marriot's Website?

Thanks

If this is an Interstate run hotel like has been shown previously in this thread, good luck. They're one of the largest (if not the largest) independent hotel operators in the US... and IME, they make sure every single one of their hotels is run their way, and not per their franchise standars. This is what I've experienced. I stayed at one of their Crowne Plazas, booked through crowneplaza.com, and had an issue with the reservation. Rather than they try and help me fix it (which was well within their power), they told me since I booked through an outside company (Sorry sir, you booked through Holidex, which is not part of this hotel), I'd have to call them to fix it... ...?!?!? The owner/operator are supposed to be invisible to me. It's supposed to be seamless.

So yeah... this sounds like the Interstate Hotels I've dealt with before. They will not admit to making a mistake, nor will they give you any option other than to admit you're wrong when they mess up.

Yay?

We routinely sell items well below cost to price match competitors and increase traffic to our facilities and the end result is always customers that are happy and come back for more (read profit). All operations sell part of their inventory below cost for various reasons and this is considered a "cost of doing business" Wal-Mart does it, GM does it, grocery chains do it a lot ...
Selling retail below wholesale is where most grey markets come about, for example, powdered milk and baby formula are sold below cost to get customers in the door to buy the overpriced stroller. Some companies exist to do nothing but buy baby formula from retailers and then sell it back to them. Amazing but true.

What does this have to to with the price of tea in a room in Manhattan - just to support that low prices are sometimes intentional and that buyers should not be expected to inform the seller they would be willing to pay more if asked.

FYI _ Crowneplaza is a Holiday Inn Brand - NOT a Marriott brand.


If this is an Interstate run hotel like has been shown previously in this thread, good luck. They're one of the largest (if not the largest) independent hotel operators in the US... and IME, they make sure every single one of their hotels is run their way, and not per their franchise standars. This is what I've experienced. I stayed at one of their Crowne Plazas, booked through crowneplaza.com, and had an issue with the reservation. Rather than they try and help me fix it (which was well within their power), they told me since I booked through an outside company (Sorry sir, you booked through Holidex, which is not part of this hotel), I'd have to call them to fix it... ...?!?!? The owner/operator are supposed to be invisible to me. It's supposed to be seamless.

So yeah... this sounds like the Interstate Hotels I've dealt with before. They will not admit to making a mistake, nor will they give you any option other than to admit you're wrong when they mess up.

Yay?

FYI _ Crowneplaza is a Holiday Inn Brand - NOT a Marriott brand.
same management company however. I've stayed in other Interstate owned hotels of varying brands.. CP, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Doubletree, and others with no brand affiliation... and all have left a sour taste in my mind. The experiences I've had would make me suggest that they start their own brand, rather than soil other brands.

Selling retail below wholesale is where most grey markets come about, for example, powdered milk and baby formula are sold below cost to get customers in the door to buy the overpriced stroller. Some companies exist to do nothing but buy baby formula from retailers and then sell it back to them. Amazing but true.

What does this have to to with the price of tea in a room in Manhattan - just to support that low prices are sometimes intentional and that buyers should not be expected to inform the seller they would be willing to pay more if asked.
My point exactly, we regularly post pricing that is a fraction of our cost and like this hotel ask the buyer to purchase a certain amount knowing we are losing money. If they like the product then we have a customer for a long time and they tell others of their good fortune and we get referrals. No, I don't sell rooms but we sell high dollar machine and heavy equipment parts some costing in the 10's of thousands of dollars. I can recall a instance where we made a customer very happy when we sold them precision reamers that were old stock for 20% of the original cost saving them over $5,000 but costing us much more. The customer purchased over 100K from us last year and our margin was over 30%. Would the customer have bought from us anyway?? Who knows but relationships are what business is built on not brick and mortar. Marriott needs to address this with kind words and stop the "shadow boxing" as I call it....

It's been more than three days since I booked and received confirmation. I wonder how much longer I should wait before I book my airflights? What's the minimum time I should wait before I'm clear to make other arrangements to New York? If Mariott wants to cancel my reservation, I wish they'd do it now and not making me dangling like this!

I've not received anything since the first infamous email from June on Monday morning at 10:09 am. I just checked and my reservations are still online at the "discounted" rate. I did try to put my Marriott rewards number in and it told me that any reservation change would result in a rate change. I backed out of the screen immediately.

I added my rewards number with no change in rate

It's Thursday now, and I have not heard from the hotel yet, nor has my booking been amended. I wonder if they have gone into hiding and trying to figure out what to do in a concrete manner before coming back to the reservation holders.

I sent a note to the travel writer at the LA Times regarding this matter, citing this message board if she wants to delve into the details.

It's Thursday now, and I have not heard from the hotel yet, nor has my booking been amended. I wonder if they have gone into hiding and trying to figure out what to do in a concrete manner before coming back to the reservation holders.

I sent a note to the travel writer at the LA Times regarding this matter, citing this message board if she wants to delve into the details.
Nothing in my Inbox since Monday and my res. is still showing the same rate....

He said that if I don't call 212-390-4791 (Customer Service) by 5:00 pm today and reinstate my reservation at the correct price. Then they are going to cancel my reservation.

I told him not to cancel my reservation and that I expect them to honor the rate which was guaranteed to me via email.

OK, now what...

Whiskarina :mad:

He said that if I don't call 212-390-4791 (Customer Service) by 5:00 pm today and reinstate my reservation at the correct price. Then they are going to cancel my reservation.

I told him not to cancel my reservation and that I expect them to honor the rate which was guaranteed to me via email.

OK, now what...

Whiskarina :mad:

I just got the same on my voicemail. I also left a message informing them to honor the rate I have secured and requesting a return phone call to "discuss" the situation. I realy don't appreciate the ultimatum-like choices, threat of cancelation or $249 a night, not even an appology. Very POOR FORM :td:

I just got the same on my voicemail. I also left a message informing them to honor the rate I have secured and requesting a return phone call to "discuss" the situation. I realy don't appreciate the ultimatum-like choices, threat of cancelation or $249 a night, not even an appology. Very POOR FORM :td:

Maybe you should have deliberately made a typo yourself when you entered your phone number in the reservation form? :D

I KNOW I should have made a typo w/ my phone #. I got the same call this morning from a woman at the property. I called Residence Inn Guest Relations and filed a complaint. Yvonne, my rep stated that they are duty bound to honor the rate. She said THE HOTEL entered that rate and since it was booked on Marriott.com it should definitely be honored. She said that they would intercede on my behalf and let me know. About 10 minutes later she calls back and says they got a memo about this rate yesterday. And they now have a liason working to mediate between Guest Relations and this hotel. Guest Relations want them to honor the rate no matter what. The hotel says no. She said this will be resolved within 3 to 5 days. I told her I would not let the hotel charge me $249 a night! She checked w/ her lead and from what they know about this disaster she said do not let the hotel cancel the stay. And worse come to worse let them change the rate because it is documented that there is a complaint made and that the original rate is $24.90. She said if they cancel the room then we have no recourse. But, if they change it to $249 and they come to the agreement of $24.90 the rate would be lowered.

I'm still not sure what to do. I have two reservations. I may let them change one and hold the other and see what happens. So, if you haven't already you can try and file a complaint w/ Guest Relations 1-800-535-4028. Hopefully, if there are enough of us they will realize we are not playing and honor the rate.

I got a phone mail on my home and work. "Pat" of "Marriott International" (is he really from Marriott International) informed me of the "mistake", the correct rate is $249 and if I did not call by 5pm today the reservation would be cancelled.

I call Guest Relations 1-800-535-4028 and filed a complaint. I was advised to contact the number given and ensure that I had a reservation. I will call after this post.

I will also send a letter/fax of confirmation and complaint to:

Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square
1033 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10018
USA
1 212 768-0007
Fax: 1 212 938-0180

I KNOW I should have made a typo w/ my phone #. I got the same call this morning from a woman at the property. I called Residence Inn Guest Relations and filed a complaint. Yvonne, my rep stated that they are duty bound to honor the rate. She said THE HOTEL entered that rate and since it was booked on Marriott.com it should definitely be honored. She said that they would intercede on my behalf and let me know. About 10 minutes later she calls back and says they got a memo about this rate yesterday. And they now have a liason working to mediate between Guest Relations and this hotel. Guest Relations want them to honor the rate no matter what. The hotel says no. She said this will be resolved within 3 to 5 days. I told her I would not let the hotel charge me $249 a night! She checked w/ her lead and from what they know about this disaster she said do not let the hotel cancel the stay. And worse come to worse let them change the rate because it is documented that there is a complaint made and that the original rate is $24.90. She said if they cancel the room then we have no recourse. But, if they change it to $249 and they come to the agreement of $24.90 the rate would be lowered.

I'm still not sure what to do. I have two reservations. I may let them change one and hold the other and see what happens. So, if you haven't already you can try and file a complaint w/ Guest Relations 1-800-535-4028. Hopefully, if there are enough of us they will realize we are not playing and honor the rate.
Keep us posted if you hear anything, the number I left on my reservations was my home number and I will not be home for a few days.

yay! I got the phone call!

Well I spoke to soon! I just received an email stating the same as everyone elses. It is now 3pm est and I have until 5pm est to respond. Not a lot of time.

yay! I got the phone call!
Two of my three reservations have been cancelled!!!

My travel agent got the call and passed the news on to me. Unfortunately, I am on my way out of the country for a few days and don't have the time to respond back to the hotel. If the Mariott head office is aware of the situation, then I have faith this will be fixed somehow.

I'm gonna call guest relations in a bit and offer to cancel it in return for corresponding marriott points for the full rate... if not, then inform them of my intention to contact appropriate legal counsel and notify the appropriate consumer protection agencies :)

email
marriottguestrelations@marriott.com
to file your complaint :mad:

Anyone contacted the office of Elliott Spitzer, the attorney general of New York state? He's been very tough (brutal) on businesses the last couple of years. He's running for the Dem. nomination for Gov. of NY, of course, but contacting his office might be a good place - in an election year - to try especially if the case is they are cancelling reservations.

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/

He said that if I don't call 212-390-4791 (Customer Service) by 5:00 pm today and reinstate my reservation at the correct price. Then they are going to cancel my reservation.

I told him not to cancel my reservation and that I expect them to honor the rate which was guaranteed to me via email.

OK, now what...

Whiskarina :mad:

I deleted my voicemail with the call back phone number. I tried the above 212-390-4791 but only got a fax machine. Anyone else has that number so I could call before they cancel my reservation.

I called back to the 212-930-7657 that Pat from Marriott International left. It was an automatic voice mail that instructed me to leave my confirmation number to agree to the rate increase. I hung up and called the hotel at 212-768-0007 and asked for Pat in Reservations. I was transferred to Marriott Customer Care and Reservations, a call center and the person did not know why I was calling. Call center person advised me to call the Hotel Front Desk Manager at 21-768-0007. I am still holding>>>>>>>>>>>> more to follow.

The correct number is (212) 930-7657 for their reinstatement line.

It is set up just for reinstatements.

If you press 0, it brings you back to the same message.

I'm gonna call guest relations in a bit and offer to cancel it in return for corresponding marriott points for the full rate... if not, then inform them of my intention to contact appropriate legal counsel and notify the appropriate consumer protection agencies :)
Call the customer relation line and file a complaint, the girl I spoke to indicated there was considerable "chatter" about what to do and that the reservations should not be cancelled. I gave her the numbers and she filed the complaint and promised a callback from a supervisor within a few days. My adivice CALL, FAX or EMAL anyone that will listen!!

As both a Platinum member and as an owner of a timeshare through Marriott Vacation International, I am EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED in how this has been handled.

I called Monday and spoke to a CSR at the Platinum desk. She told me that the rate would be honored.

That afternoon I bought SIX tickets for myself and family members to enjoy the time there at the hotel.

As most of you know, I have ALWAYS spoken VERY highly of this brand and have MUCH loyalty with them including over 560K points in my account.

I am shocked how they would call at 10:00 and leave a message with an utimatum to call back by 5:00 to get the 'correct' rate.

I hope that they do reconsider - as I will never cross their doorways again - nor will I allow employees to stay with their brand.

As a fellow Marriott owner and shareholder, I'm particularly distressed about Marriott sub-contracting out management of certain hotels under its flag to Interstate Hotels. My understanding in the past is that hotels flagged under the Marriott banner were/are staffed by employees trained in the Marriott culture of customer service. This does not appear to be the case with the new Residence Inn. If an employee wears the Marriott badge, their conduct reflects on the Marriott name.

What I'm reading so far, regarding the NYC RI, doesn't smack of the "empowered employee" philosophy Marriott espouses to take care of its customers. As I posted earlier, corporate will likely have to get involved and put pressure on the hotel/Interstate. It appears that is beginning to happen.

We'll be at this property in October on an award stay and I will be sure to scrutinize their customer service very closely, on all levels.

Pat

Nobody likes listening to their voice mail. Why not call the 212-930-7657 number and leave them your warm felt "thoughts" regarding their practices. They can listen to each of us as they go through the messages to catch the few that will agree to a rack rate.

The correct number is (212) 930-7657 for their reinstatement line.

It is set up just for reinstatements.

If you press 0, it brings you back to the same message.

Thanks for the number :)
What did you guy leave on the machine? I'll call just leave my name and tell them not to cancel my reservations.

Has anyone had luck contacting a reporter(s)? I have. I don't want to disclose who they are but now that this situation appears to being turning a bit ugly, at least one of them is highly interested. I still suggest contacting your favorite travel or consumer reporter especially in light of the way this situation is currently being (badly) handled by the hotel and Marriott.

I still havent heard anything and my reservation is still on marriott.com. Anyone else still havent heard anything yet??

I called the marriott cust. care # and the gal immediatlely transferred me to Residence Inn cust. care. They all were very familiar with the goings on. I registered a complaint about the harshness of the infamous "Call before 5". They took my Conf#'s and said they would be getting back with me.

Marriott must be beside themselves. Interstate is basically destroying all the customer loyalty, brand comfort and general goodwill Marriott has been cultivating. It is now Thursday and Interstate decides to really start ticking people off. Go Figure.............

Just received the dreaded call from Pat. I canceled but not without protest.
Will think twice in the future before booking any Marriott brand hotel. :td: :td: :td: :td: Very disappointed!

For what it's worth, I filed a complaint to
BBB of Metropolitan New York
257 Park Avenue South
New York,NY - 10010 7384
www.newyork.bbb.org

Sue of Marriott left a message on my answering machine too. I called back and left a message that I do not want my reservation cancelled. We need to united and fight this! This is B.S.!

I received an email about 3 days ago from the hotel asking me to contact them if I wanted to cancel. Otherwise, I would be sent a reconfirmation with the higher rate. There was no deadline on this email.

I sent a complaint email to Reservations yesterday and they forwarded it to the hotel executives. I was told I would receive a reply within 3-5 working days.

Anyway, since some FT-ers had contacted Marriott Guest Relations and were advised not to let the reservations be cancelled, I replied to the email saying that I wanted to keep the reservations with some protest. I've just received the confirmation email (similar to the ones received just after booking) with the $249 rate on it.

Now waiting to see how this plays out and whether Marriott HQ can turn up the heat. I've also written to Marriott Guest Relations and am still waiting for a reply.

Edited : I've noticed something else strange. Initially, I made a booking for 2 rooms under 1 reservation number. Then in that email I received 2 days ago, 2 reservation numbers were mentioned. I looked up both numbers on the website and could only find one (the original one for 2 rooms). Today, after replying to say I wanted to keep the reservations, I received 2 confirmations, each room on a separate reservation. Also, my requests were removed (high floor, etc). It only says non-smoking now. I'm wondering if the hotel rewrote the entire reservation, then there would be no record of the 24.90 rate. :(

I left Pat a voicemail explaining who I am, what I know, who I know (should I mention the letters I have from JW Marriott thanking me for professional services?), and an offer to be compensated out of my reservation... and a promise to call my contacts with Reuters/AP if I don't get what I want.

Marriott should put a lock on these reservations right now. No changes without going through them until this situation is addressed and resolved by both Interstate and them. Marriott is handing this as badly as the property.

There are 2 posts from biddingfortravel that make me want to both laugh and cry. Remember, though -- you can't be that hard on the newbies. After all, without one of them, we never would have known of this deal in the first place.
__________________________________________________ ______________

Heybud2 wrote: "That is odd because even after I made my reservation I called their reservation number to make sure they would be honoring this price. The gentleman that I spoke to talked with his supervisor and I was on the phone with them for around 7-8 min and they said they would be honoring the price! A sorry email is not acceptable!
If you have received the notice did you reserve through Marriotts web site or through others like Orbitz?"
__________________________________________________ ______________

PhillipC27 wrote: "Re your question in response to my post Sheryl,

(1) I didn't mention this site at all

(2) I called to see if there was any chance of making a reservation at the previously posted rate of $26/night for August, they said that rate was a computer glitch and that they (a) could not make a reservation for me at that rate (shocking) and (b) would probably not be honoring confirmed reeservations at the error rate.

Thanks!"

Thanks iahphx, I consider myself a newbie to this forum but not BFT. I actually booked this on April 7th and wanted to make sure it was accurate before I posted the news on BFT. Maybe I shouldn't have posted and I would have had great rate all by myself! Now that wouldn't be nice would it? :rolleyes:

I just got a call from David McDonald, 1-800-899-7224 stating he was calling from Marriott headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska stating that could either cancel my reservation or pay the $249 a night. No apology either.

I told him not to cancel my reservation and I'd make a note of it. I have my complaint into the Boston Globe.

Whiskarina :mad:

From my friend. I've still yet to get any calls or emails.

--------------------------------------------

Okay.
I called Marriott International.
I got a woman who asked which brand's Customer Relations I was looking for.
She gave me the number for Residence Inn Customer Relations and I got a woman who asked for my
reservation numbers and then told me the rate was not 26.00, but infact $264.00
She asked me if I wanted to keep the reservation and of course I said YES.

She told me Marriott had cleared this through their legal department and they apparently had a number of
people they needed to change rates for (No kidding????)

There was no other number I could get that got me Marriott Corporate.
But, I do have my original confirmations, and I will continue to press this and if nothing comes of it,
the hotel will see a massive scale cancellation 25 hours before people are due to arrive for their reservations.

(That will be a very minor lesson for them to learn. I still want satisfaction!)

I just got a call from David in Omaha. Same two choices as above, accept $249 or they would cancel, thats it. He told me that Interstate had already cancelled the reservations. I checked and they are all cancelled.

See the post on the third page at 4:02 PM today 4/13/2006
http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddingnewyorkcitynonewjersey. showMessageRange?topicID=6416.topic&start=41&stop=48

Preserve your reservations by re-booking at the new, higher rate. This will allow you up to 1 day before the check-in date to resolve and get the lower rate. If everyone books this way, we should be in a better position to get the lower rate. Do it now!!

I just re-booked my dates.

I just got a call from David in Omaha. Same two choices as above, accept $249 or they would cancel, thats it. He told me that Interstate had already cancelled the reservations. I checked and they are all cancelled.

All my reservations are still intact on the Marriott website. No changes yet.

If Marriott and the hotel itself want to be this way, I suggest we all book reservations during peak times at the hotel. Then cancel as late as possible. Marriott and Interstate have got to realize that if they intend on encouraging people to use technology to utilize their services, we have the ability to disrupt their business and affect their profitability.

An e-mail conspiracy? That's rich!!

If Marriott and the hotel itself want to be this way, I suggest we all book reservations during peak times at the hotel. Then cancel as late as possible. Marriott and Interstate have got to realize that if they intend on encouraging people to use technology to utilize their services, we have the ability to disrupt their business and affect their profitability.

An e-mail conspiracy? That's rich!!
Email conspiracy? This was only available on FT for about an hour on Sat and I think it was posted on BFT for about 4 hours. And FareAlert didnt even kick in. Marriott should be lucky FareAlert didnt pick this one up.

If Marriott and the hotel itself want to be this way, I suggest we all book reservations during peak times at the hotel. Then cancel as late as possible. Marriott and Interstate have got to realize that if they intend on encouraging people to use technology to utilize their services, we have the ability to disrupt their business and affect their profitability.

An e-mail conspiracy? That's rich!!
This is not being handled well at all, I had two reservations cancelled today with NO phone calls just emails with cancellation numbers in them!! And they call it our fault!!! Book the rooms and cancel at the last minute!!!

nice... I've been given the same message as well. I'm going to take care of this myself.

Like I said, this isn't the first time I've heard of an IHR Managed hotel pulling a stunt like this... let interstate know how you feel as well..

thomas.hewitt@ihrco.com
paul.burke@ihrco.cm

In case anyone is interested in staying (or not staying) at an IHR property in the future, here is a link which lists their properties by franchise. Hmmmm--does anyone know any corporate travel managers?

http://www.ihrco.com/Portfolio/franchise.htm

nice... I've been given the same message as well. I'm going to take care of this myself.

Like I said, this isn't the first time I've heard of an IHR Managed hotel pulling a stunt like this... let interstate know how you feel as well..

thomas.hewitt@ihrco.com
paul.burke@ihrco.cm
Emails sent!!! But one of the addresses is evidently incorrect....I know the 2nd one should have been .com. Hewitt's address failed....
this is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.

Delivery to the following recipients failed.

thomas.hewitt@ihrco.com

I didn't book the rate (saw the thread too late), but was scheduled to stay at one of their other properties this weekend with DH. FWIW, after reading this, I'm switching my reservation to a different hotel.

I was automatically cancelled and found out by looking up my confirmation number on Marriotts website. I received the phone call and said not to cancel but I also would not be accepting the higher rate. After about 3 hours the cancellation showed up on their web site, no email, no nothing, great customer service! I tried to rebook through the marriots website and they aren't allowing any reservations for this hotel for the entire month of August! Maybe they put a halt to reservations until they get this mess resolved!

I got a call from Sue at 7pm saying that I had to call by 5pm.

Oh great I just looked at that list of IHR hotels and I have 2 reservations exsisting for future stays at their properties. I only stay enough days to usually just end up as silver and I have 2 stays in different parts of the country booked through them. :mad:

In case anyone is interested in staying (or not staying) at an IHR property in the future, here is a link which lists their properties by franchise. Hmmmm--does anyone know any corporate travel managers?

http://www.ihrco.com/Portfolio/franchise.htm
Thanks for that..... only property we've stayed at from my quick perusal was Marriott Laguna Cliffs. Nice property but staff was sterile. At the time, I just thought an off stay, but now I wonder.

BTW, the link for the NYC RI takes on to the Portland RI and the Portland link takes one to a Crowne Plaza. Sounds about right ;)

Pat

Thanks for that..... only property we've stayed at from my quick perusal was Marriott Laguna Cliffs. Nice property but staff was sterile. At the time, I just thought an off stay, but now I wonder.



Pat
That is one of the properties that I am booked for. I have stayed at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Nigel, but I had some RPIB certs and had a wonderful stay.

I got a call from Sue at 7pm saying that I had to call by 5pm.
At least you got a call, all I got was cancellation emails!! I have since emailed complaints to the BBB and various newspapers. The least they could do would be to acknowledge they were sorry and made a mistake by offering their customers some type of gesture of good faith...

I just got a call from David McDonald, 1-800-899-7224 stating he was calling from Marriott headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska stating that could either cancel my reservation or pay the $249 a night. No apology either.

I told him not to cancel my reservation and I'd make a note of it. I have my complaint into the Boston Globe.

Whiskarina :mad:


OH MY GOSH! I thought David was making that name up! I called back to Guest Relations because I refused to leave my info on a generic email. I feared, like someone said in a previous post, that Marriott would cancel the 2 original confirmations w/ the $24.90 rate and book 2 new ones w/ no trace of the $24.90 rate and I'd have no leg to stand on. I got transfered to David who called me an idiot! He said, "Ma'am no reasonable adult would ever think that a New York hotel would charge $24.90 a night. I mean, come on!" And then he sucked his teeth. I said, "So you're calling me an idiot?" He said, "well, ma'am. I mean, no reasonable..." I was gone. :mad: I could barely breathe I was so p...... :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: I told him my fiancee works for Hilton, mainly Interstate Hotels and their employee rates are $29 in NYC so yes $24.90 is reasonable for a special for a slow month! He just said you can cancel or you can change the rate. He wouldn't let me talk, just kept talking over me. I said give me your id # and name. He hesitated and kept talking over me. I finally got his info & asked for his supervisor info. He said his DIRECT REPORT was president of the company. And he gave me a disconnected #. I called Marriott International Headquarters and talked to Mr. Marriott's office. The people there were just as shocked and disgusted by his behaviour. And once I said my name they knew exactly who I was and what my problem was. The first nice rep had passed along my info to the liason handling the prob. They promised that my rooms would not be camceled or the rate changed until there was some sort of resolution. The rep called me @5pm, but I missed his call. I'll report back first thing in the morning and let everyone know the outcome. But, the lady said they think the hotel is wrong and they should honor the rates!

I got transfered to David who called me an idiot! He said, "Ma'am no reasonable adult would ever think that a New York hotel would charge $24.90 a night. I mean, come on!" And then he sucked his teeth. I said, "So you're calling me an idiot?" He said, "well, ma'am. I mean, no reasonable..."

:eek: :eek: :eek:
This guy hits the lowest. I though travelocity's Osaka mess is the worst. Now this guy breaks the record :eek:

Marriott as "victim of email conspiracy"? :D ROTFLOL :D

Poor approach to the issue.

IIRC, Marriott Guest Relations is in Salt Lake City, Utah, and their headquarters are in Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C....

Whenever I've contacted elite guest relations, I invariably get someone in SLC. Nice folks. "Thank you for choosing Marriott, Mr. camachinist"...

Sounds like folks are getting contacted by Interstate Hotel.....perhaps they're trying to do an end run around Marriott corporate. :td:

Pat

OMG! What a $#%*ing nightmare! I hope you all show a united front and win this battle! I can't imagine what it would be like talking to someone who calls us (and by that I mean those of us who would jump on such an offer) unreasonable idiots.

Thanks also for letting us know who's in control of this hotel. Interstate management? I'm cancelling any reservations I have under their management. Bye bye Crowne Plaza DC...I'd rather stay at the Willard anyway.

There are too many different phone numbers and email addresses to Marriott or Interstate's. Maybe we should write or phone one phone number or email address, so we can voice our concerns to one source?

The ironic thing... this is the same company that managed the WDW Holiday Inn in MCO and honored the 93 cent rates a few years back.

It's a definite change of atmosphere. They cancelled me... so far I've gotten a few thousand Marriott Rewards points, but I'm still not happy about this.