Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - When Mr. Marriott's Office Agrees Customer Service is Poor and Can't Help...

Looking for a bit of advice here. I apologize for the long missive...

My family and I recenty completed a 5 night stay at the Fairfield Inn in Olive Branch, MS. The entire stay was a customer service nightmare. We had an dispute over the room rate as soon as we arrived to which the general manager of the property refused to speak with my wife or me. This prompted a call to Marriott customer care who suggested that because of the franchised-nature of Fairfield Inns that I needed to go through the appropriate channels for customer service including speaking with the the general manager first. Which on the second request on the second day of our stay, was refused twice (again) by the front desk clerk.

Secondly, we were travelling with a youth baseball team. Keep in mind this is a property that has soccer and baseball practice fields on site, advertises their proximity to major sports complexes on their website and had asked to be included in the official hotels of a large baseball tournament my son's team was playing in nearby. Yet, on check in we were provided with a list of do's and do nots and the entire time we were at the hotel, the staff treated the parents and children like third-class citizens who had no right to be staying at the property.

At this point, I'm getting extremely upset at the property. I finally get to speak with the general manager, on the phone not in person, and she tells me that the Fairfield satisfaction guarantee does not apply to me because, in her opinion, I entered my stay at her property with a negative attitude about the stay which is utterly untrue. I go back through Marriott customer care and am told that the hotel is not responding to their requests to address this situation and it is being escalated to Mr. Marriott's office for resolution.

I speak with Mr. Marriott's office and am told that the way my family and the other families in our group were treated is absolutely not in accord with Marriott values and they will be taking the issues up with the general manager at the property and that they WILL get the issue resolved. Two days ago, I get a call back from Mr. Marriott's office telling me that although they are sorry for the problems I had and agree that action needed to be taken that the property GM refused to adjust our rate, etc. and the best they can do is to issue Marriott points equivalent to one night's stay in a property such as this Fairfield Inn.

As a frequent business traveller who stays in hotels a significant number of nights per year, I have NEVER been treated to or talked to in the way this property dealt with our team and parents. Likewise, in 60+ hotel nights already this year, I have had only one other complaint to a hotel so I am not a frequent whiner or a 'do you know who I am type person'. I'm appealing to those of you who stay with Marriott more often to see if this sounds like appropriate compensation for the problems we had and if there are other avenues open to us at this point? Furthermore, does anyone happen to know who the franchise owner/property manager for the Fairfield Inn in Olive Branch, MS would be and have contact information for them? (Although it's printed on a plaque in the hotel lobby, I've lost my paper with the information and the hotel refuses to tell me who their operator is when I call)

Thanks in advance!

Looking for a bit of advice here. I apologize for the long missive...

My family and I recenty completed a 5 night stay at the Fairfield Inn in Olive Branch, MS. The entire stay was a customer service nightmare. We had an dispute over the room rate as soon as we arrived to which the general manager of the property refused to speak with my wife or me. This prompted a call to Marriott customer care who suggested that because of the franchised-nature of Fairfield Inns that I needed to go through the appropriate channels for customer service including speaking with the the general manager first. Which on the second request on the second day of our stay, was refused twice (again) by the front desk clerk.

Secondly, we were travelling with a youth baseball team. Keep in mind this is a property that has soccer and baseball practice fields on site, advertises their proximity to major sports complexes on their website and had asked to be included in the official hotels of a large baseball tournament my son's team was playing in nearby. Yet, on check in we were provided with a list of do's and do nots and the entire time we were at the hotel, the staff treated the parents and children like third-class citizens who had no right to be staying at the property.

At this point, I'm getting extremely upset at the property. I finally get to speak with the general manager, on the phone not in person, and she tells me that the Fairfield satisfaction guarantee does not apply to me because, in her opinion, I entered my stay at her property with a negative attitude about the stay which is utterly untrue. I go back through Marriott customer care and am told that the hotel is not responding to their requests to address this situation and it is being escalated to Mr. Marriott's office for resolution.

I speak with Mr. Marriott's office and am told that the way my family and the other families in our group were treated is absolutely not in accord with Marriott values and they will be taking the issues up with the general manager at the property and that they WILL get the issue resolved. Two days ago, I get a call back from Mr. Marriott's office telling me that although they are sorry for the problems I had and agree that action needed to be taken that the property GM refused to adjust our rate, etc. and the best they can do is to issue Marriott points equivalent to one night's stay in a property such as this Fairfield Inn.

As a frequent business traveller who stays in hotels a significant number of nights per year, I have NEVER been treated to or talked to in the way this property dealt with our team and parents. Likewise, in 60+ hotel nights already this year, I have had only one other complaint to a hotel so I am not a frequent whiner or a 'do you know who I am type person'. I'm appealing to those of you who stay with Marriott more often to see if this sounds like appropriate compensation for the problems we had and if there are other avenues open to us at this point? Furthermore, does anyone happen to know who the franchise owner/property manager for the Fairfield Inn in Olive Branch, MS would be and have contact information for them? (Although it's printed on a plaque in the hotel lobby, I've lost my paper with the information and the hotel refuses to tell me who their operator is when I call)

Thanks in advance!

Another avenue to try would be to ask Marriott Customer Care to give you the name of the person in charge of franchise operations from Marriott's perspective. That would be something to consider. Every hotel chain that franchises out has someone in charge of franchise operations or owner relations.

i have checked in a few marriott properties that had handouts (and postings) for do and donts when kids were a major component of the population - doesnt bother me.

the hotel isnt crazy - they know where the hotel is and who stays there (teams) - but they also dont want it to get out of control - which is pretty easy. just because they advertise their proximity doesnt mean that is why they built the hotel there or that it is ok to be a clubhouse. The other 9 months out of the year it is business people i would imagine

i have also been with AAU BBall teams (my daughter played) and I know what goes on in hotels with tons of kids - slamming doors, running around. the breakfast buffet disappearing in 5 minutes- sometimes a little, sometimes alot

all that being said, the manager should address your concerns in person. was there a specific incident that prompted your (their attitude) finding the GM? did you have a copy of the rez confirming the rate?

More questions about the initial dispute which seem to set the events into motion. Did you have a confirmation number that (presumably) correlated to a specific rate? I've never seen a rate refused unless someone didn't have proper ID corresponding to a discount or something like that. Would you please go into more detail surrounding the rate dispute?

Yeah, I don't get why you checked in if you didn't agree with the rate. They are not the only hotel in Olive Branch. Now that you have made a good faith effort to contact the manager, what I do in such a dispute, is I take my copy of my reservation with the rate clearly marked, along with whatever evidence I have of my good faith attempt to communicate with Marriot (or whoever billed me wrongly, I'm not singling out Marriot here), such as copies of the emails acknowledging that you got poor service, and I would charge back the credit card. I don't know what else you can do. It's a PITA, and I usually have to mail all of my evidence certified mail, with proof of delivery, and sometimes I have to mail my chargebacks in two or three times, but eventually the credit card company will take action.

But I don't understand how it gets to this point. Nor have I experience anything quite like what you describe. Because, quite frankly, I don't think I have ever checked into a hotel that turned around and demanded a higher rate that they said in my reservation...I mean, I guess there are resort fees but not in Olive Branch!

Here's what happened with the rate dispute...

We booked a block of rooms through the sales manager at the hotel and were told at that point that the rate we were being provided was the absolute lowest available, period. She specifically stated that we could not get anything lower online EVER. There was another team in the same tournament staying at the hotel at the same time. Their nightly rate was $30/night lower. Some of our parents asked for the lower rate and had their rates adjusted. Others of us were unsuccessful and were met with not only rude behavior from the hotel staff but unprofessional behavior as well. The GM told me when I asked specifically about one mom whose rate was adjusted that "Mrs. ____ and I continue to go round and round on this and we're not through with that yet." Marriott Customer Care's response was: "if you're on a group contract and the property changes the rate for one guest, they should do it for all guests who are aware of the lower rate and ask for it." This was one of the issues where Mr. Marriott's office agrees but they too were told by the GM that they would not reverse the charges.

i have checked in a few marriott properties that had handouts (and postings) for do and donts when kids were a major component of the population - doesnt bother me.

the hotel isnt crazy - they know where the hotel is and who stays there (teams) - but they also dont want it to get out of control - which is pretty easy. just because they advertise their proximity doesnt mean that is why they built the hotel there or that it is ok to be a clubhouse. The other 9 months out of the year it is business people i would imagine

i have also been with AAU BBall teams (my daughter played) and I know what goes on in hotels with tons of kids - slamming doors, running around. the breakfast buffet disappearing in 5 minutes- sometimes a little, sometimes alot

all that being said, the manager should address your concerns in person. was there a specific incident that prompted your (their attitude) finding the GM? did you have a copy of the rez confirming the rate?

Trust me, as a business traveller, I can argue this point both ways. However, some of the things on their list were fairly offensive when you read them from a parent's perspective. I faxed the entire packet which included the 'group rules' to Marriott and was told by them that they agreed that the rules should be the rules. The rules for one group of people should not differ from the rules for everyone. The person I spoke with in Mr. Marriott's office added to this and said "if a businessman walks away with the linens, they're going to be charged and that is no different from a baseball team where linens disappear. The rules should be the same for everyone who checks into the property."

Here's what happened with the rate dispute...

We booked a block of rooms through the sales manager at the hotel and were told at that point that the rate we were being provided was the absolute lowest available, period. She specifically stated that we could not get anything lower online EVER. There was another team in the same tournament staying at the hotel at the same time. Their nightly rate was $30/night lower. Some of our parents asked for the lower rate and had their rates adjusted. Others of us were unsuccessful and were met with not only rude behavior from the hotel staff but unprofessional behavior as well. The GM told me when I asked specifically about one mom whose rate was adjusted that "Mrs. ____ and I continue to go round and round on this and we're not through with that yet." Marriott Customer Care's response was: "if you're on a group contract and the property changes the rate for one guest, they should do it for all guests who are aware of the lower rate and ask for it." This was one of the issues where Mr. Marriott's office agrees but they too were told by the GM that they would not reverse the charges.

I have properties we book 2,000+ nights a year at. Sometimes we see people with lower rates. When we do, we contact sales and see if something better is available. Sometimes their is a good reason for the rate difference, sometimes not. Sometimes we rework our contract, sometimes we don't. I would never dream of fighting for nights I had already to.

When you say "Your rate of $xxx/night is acceptable to me and I'm going to travel to your hotel and stay x nights" you should be prepared to pay $xxx. If sales later makes a deal for $yyy with someone else, you should have negotiated better. For all you know loads were lighter than anticipated so they tried to dump a bunch of rooms, but I see no grievance here since you were on a contracted rate.

If you are surprised that sales told you "this is the lowest rate, EVER" then I would highly suggest you withdraw from working on group rates. I've had rates drop 50%+ after being told this over and over.

Trust me, as a business traveller, I can argue this point both ways. However, some of the things on their list were fairly offensive when you read them from a parent's perspective. I faxed the entire packet which included the 'group rules' to Marriott and was told by them that they agreed that the rules should be the rules. The rules for one group of people should not differ from the rules for everyone. The person I spoke with in Mr. Marriott's office added to this and said "if a businessman walks away with the linens, they're going to be charged and that is no different from a baseball team where linens disappear. The rules should be the same for everyone who checks into the property."

Such as? What specifically offended you in the rules?

OP,

One of the reasons you are getting so many questions is that you are being incredibly vague about what your problems were. Sometimes people think they are explaining things well, but they already know all the particulars. To others the vagueness may seem like you're trying to tap-dance around nit-picking issues. Not saying that is what you're doing, but I can see readers thinking that. Just spill all the details...:)

OP,

One of the reasons you are getting so many questions is that you are being incredibly vague about what your problems were. Sometimes people think they are explaining things well, but they already know all the particulars. To others the vagueness may seem like you're trying to tap-dance around nit-picking issues. Not saying that is what you're doing, but I can see readers thinking that. Just spill all the details...:)

I think I have a grasp on the situation. I think the OP was more upset that the sales manager told him his group's rate was the lowest it can go but then he found a similar group in house with a lower rate than his. Also, some members of his group were able to get their rate to match the other group but they wouldn't do it for everyone. The fact that the GM wouldn't discuss it is ridiculous.

I think the real problem here is that the other group (the one with the lower rate) should not have said anything about their rate but that's another argument for another day.

OP, as a business traveler, surely you know that every business has different rates, some may be less than your corporate rate, some may be more. If you found out that someone else's corporate rate was lower, were you going to the FD and complain about it and have them lower your rate despite the fact it was negotiated by your business? Once you sign a contract stating my rate is such and such for this amount of rooms that is it. You really can't fault the hotel for not budging.
However, once they decided to do it for 1 person, they must do it for all, otherwise where is the fairness?

I agree with the last few posts. While I empathize that it's annoying to have others pay less for the same service (or room), it happens every day. I am typing this at 30,000 feet and I have no idea what the guy next to me paid for his ticket.

Very large companies sometimes demand (from our business) "most favorite client" status with a specific contractual guarantee that their rate will always be adjusted downward if necessary to preserve their lowest rate. We (obviously) resist that and agree only if it's in a very narrow box (the lowest rate for a company that specifically does XXX or YYY).

There's no way that a Fairfield Inn would have any reason to contractually guarantee to a visiting kids baseball team that they would have that status. As the previous poster said, if you agreed to a rate that was satisfactory, you shouldn't sweat that someone else might have paid less.

Despite the "promises/guarantees" of the sales person, did you try to do an LNF or look online for cheaper rates?

I'm sympathetic but it doesn't sound exactly as initially described.

Here's what happened with the rate dispute...

We booked a block of rooms through the sales manager at the hotel and were told at that point that the rate we were being provided was the absolute lowest available, period. She specifically stated that we could not get anything lower online EVER. There was another team in the same tournament staying at the hotel at the same time. Their nightly rate was $30/night lower. Some of our parents asked for the lower rate and had their rates adjusted. Others of us were unsuccessful and were met with not only rude behavior from the hotel staff but unprofessional behavior as well. The GM told me when I asked specifically about one mom whose rate was adjusted that "Mrs. ____ and I continue to go round and round on this and we're not through with that yet." Marriott Customer Care's response was: "if you're on a group contract and the property changes the rate for one guest, they should do it for all guests who are aware of the lower rate and ask for it." This was one of the issues where Mr. Marriott's office agrees but they too were told by the GM that they would not reverse the charges.

Did you know the members/parents of the other team? Sounds like you knew what their lower rate was before you even checked in? I guess I'm just confused as to how you even found out about their rate.

However, the GM refusing to speak with you is obviously unacceptable.

I agree with the last few posts. While I empathize that it's annoying to have others pay less for the same service (or room), it happens every day. I am typing this at 30,000 feet and I have no idea what the guy next to me paid for his ticket.

Very large companies sometimes demand (from our business) "most favorite client" status with a specific contractual guarantee that their rate will always be adjusted downward if necessary to preserve their lowest rate. We (obviously) resist that and agree only if it's in a very narrow box (the lowest rate for a company that specifically does XXX or YYY).

There's no way that a Fairfield Inn would have any reason to contractually guarantee to a visiting kids baseball team that they would have that status. As the previous poster said, if you agreed to a rate that was satisfactory, you shouldn't sweat that someone else might have paid less.

Despite the "promises/guarantees" of the sales person, did you try to do an LNF or look online for cheaper rates?

I'm sympathetic but it doesn't sound exactly as initially described.

Totally agree! As a business traveller, I recognize that many others staying in a busy hotel may have different rates. My frustration comes from the fact that we negotiated a contract rate and the hotel adjusted the rate for some parents and not all of them. Marriott Customer Care agreed that this was wrong and that the hotel should have adjusted the rates for any parent that had asked and not for a select few. However, Mr. Marriott's office was very clear that these are franchise properties and they can not force them to adjust anything, they can only make heavy-handed recommendations.

That said, they did today provide me with the name of the ownership group and I have made some very initial inroads in reaching the person who would ultimately oversee these types of issues. Hopefully there will be resolution yet!

They are not the only hotel in Olive Branch.

This was during a huge baseball tournament where there was not an open hotel room anywhere on the south side of Memphis and most of the hotels in this area had been booked solid for months.

Did you know the members/parents of the other team? Sounds like you knew what their lower rate was before you even checked in? I guess I'm just confused as to how you even found out about their rate.

However, the GM refusing to speak with you is obviously unacceptable.

No, we didn't know the other parents prior to check in. We were all arriving at the same time and parents began comparing notes about our teams and our early tournament opponents and apparently somewhere along the way the discussion turned to hotel rates and the realization that there was a $30/night difference in rates. Personally, to me, this is a minor dollar figure to argue about. However, we have families on this team that scrape every penny together for their kids to play travel ball and the kids do fundraisers to pay for the vast majority of the travel they do. For some parents, $30/night is substantial and they were royally ticked off that the hotel would adjust a rate for some of the parents and not all who became aware of the lower rate and asked for it!

This wasn't the weekend of May 18, was it? Because Mrs DD and I spent two nights in the Southaven, MS CY and there were baseball teams everywhere. Unfortunately, these teams and their parents (MO license plates) embodied every frightening stereotype about youth baseball teams in hotels. Slamming doors at all hours, yelling in the hallways, locust-like carnage on the coffee bar in the lobby, etc. I know they all aren't like that, but this bunch was...

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Two days ago, I get a call back from Mr. Marriott's office telling me that although they are sorry for the problems I had and agree that action needed to be taken that the property GM refused to adjust our rate, etc. and the best they can do is to issue Marriott points equivalent to one night's stay in a property such as this Fairfield Inn.




I have read through this thread and I can honestly say OP that I don't agree with you.

Yes, I would be angry that some in your group got the adjustment while others did not, BUT Marriott has made a very decent gesture here and I would have let it rest after that.

You state that some families have to scrimp and save to go to this event and yet, if money is such a factor, would they not jump at the chance to have even a 1 day holiday at some place rather than a refund of $30.00????

I think the conduct of the desk and management was reprehensible, but I think that the offer made by Marriott was far better than a refund of $30.00 and it seems to me that you are beating a dead horse.

The proper thing to do is not patronize this hotel again and consider it a lesson learned.

As for the rules, I disagree with you as well.

The poster above described the situation he encountered when he found himself in a hotel overrun by sports teams. I can't say that your team would have behaved in the same way, but certainly, the hotel has hosted these types of events before and know likely from experience what goes on during these events.

It kind of amazes me that you have not encoutered this before ... or was this the first time that you travelled with a team to a sports invitational.

After all, if you read in this forum and the SPG forum, there are numerous complaints by elite members as to how certain families hog the lounge and take all the food for themselves leaving little for other guests.

As a 60 night member, you must have seen this in your travels and yet you seem to take umbrage and express amazement that school age sports teams and thier family entourage would never indulge in such behavior.

It appears to me that both you and the management of the property antagonized one another and it spiralled downwards from there. Your continuing this investiigation when you wre made a more than generous offer by Marriott makes me question your viewpoint -- Are you losing the forest for the trees???????

My frustration comes from the fact that we negotiated a contract rate and the hotel adjusted the rate for some parents and not all of them.

This was during a huge baseball tournament where there was not an open hotel room anywhere on the south side of Memphis and most of the hotels in this area had been booked solid for months.

You agreed to a rate. You were already at the hotel. Why would Marriott want to lower the rate you had already agreed to and travelled (some distance) to use? If the hotel was sold out, their objective was to get as much money as possible for each and every room.

The fact that many families had to save to get their rooms means absolutely zilch to Marriott. Rates = demand. Rates do not equate to need.

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You state that some families have to scrimp and save to go to this event and yet, if money is such a factor, would they not jump at the chance to have even a 1 day holiday at some place rather than a refund of $30.00????



I got the impression the points were only offered to the OP, not the entire group that didn't have their rates adjusted?

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Yes, I would be angry that some in your group got the adjustment while others did not, BUT Marriott has made a very decent gesture here and I would have let it rest after that.

Perhaps I wasn't quite as clear as I should have been. They offered a comparable number of points to what is typically earned for a night stay in a property such as this Fairfield Inn, not enough to redeem for a night's stay in a similar property

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You state that some families have to scrimp and save to go to this event and yet, if money is such a factor, would they not jump at the chance to have even a 1 day holiday at some place rather than a refund of $30.00????

$30/night for a 5 night stay = $150, which to some of these families makes a big deal in their monthly budget.

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As for the rules, I disagree with you as well.

The poster above described the situation he encountered when he found himself in a hotel overrun by sports teams. I can't say that your team would have behaved in the same way, but certainly, the hotel has hosted these types of events before and know likely from experience what goes on during these events.

It kind of amazes me that you have not encoutered this before ... or was this the first time that you travelled with a team to a sports invitational.

We are a travel ball team. We stay in hotels all over the southeastern US and have never encountered a situation like this, which is why it bothers me as much as it does. I freely admit that I can argue this point both ways. As a business traveller, I would be extremely upset if kids were running the hallways, slamming doors, etc. I don't have the luxury in this forum to post the entire packet of rules, but I think most parents would have read the rules provided and been offended. Furthermore, Marriott's customer service to the top of the food chain (Mr. Marriott's office) agreed that it is not part of Marriott's values to have one set of rules for one set of guests and another set of rules for another set of guests. The packet provided clearly states at the top of the page "GROUP STAY RULES." But, it clearly is not intended for all groups since one of the rules (that is not offensive) is "players may not wear game shoes in the hotel." I don't see too many groups of pharmaceutical reps, IT guys, etc. travelling on group rates wearing game shoes.

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As a 60 night member, you must have seen this in your travels and yet you seem to take umbrage and express amazement that school age sports teams and thier family entourage would never indulge in such behavior.

60 nights so far this year, generally over 100 nights per year, and no, if you read my comments throughout this forum and above in this post, I am quite clear that I can argue this issue both ways. I have stayed in hotels hosting rowdy groups before, including college kids, wedding parties, etc. I'm sure Fairfield doesn't meet them at the door with a list of 'thou shalts and thou shalt nots.'

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It appears to me that both you and the management of the property antagonized one another and it spiralled downwards from there. Your continuing this investiigation when you wre made a more than generous offer by Marriott makes me question your viewpoint -- Are you losing the forest for the trees???????

Antagonized is completely the wrong word here. I think questioning a decision that is made for several people in a group and not extended to the entire group, asking to speak with a GM (who refused) and then going to Marriott Customer Care rather than making a scene at the hotel is hardly antagonistic. With my travel history, I'm astute enough to recognize that sometimes there is an end around that achieves much more than antagonizing a front desk clerk who is powerless. Rather, I put the ball in play with Marriott Customer Service and let them run with it. I can honestly say that I have never had a situation like this where even the top of the food chain in customer care has agreed there were major problems and were exasperated that they couldn't get resolution after straight up saying "Customer care may not get a response from the GM, but when I call and tell them I am in Mr. Marriott's office, I will get this issue fixed."

I got the impression the points were only offered to the OP, not the entire group that didn't have their rates adjusted?

Nope. Despite the fact that I have become spokesman for our group, I was the only one offered points.

The difference in rates sounds understandable, and there is not much that can be done about that.

Where the hotel royally screwed up is 1) adjusting the rate for some people and 2) not having the GM address your concerns.

The GM could have easily met with you and explained the difference in rates and while you might be angry... would probably understand if he was polite about it. But when the hotel chose to adjust rates for selected people who were booked in a group block, they are asking for major problems. The GM then ignoring just compounded the issues.

Well, I will allow that $150 is not an insignificant amount of money and that a free night at a similar category level hotel does not cut the mustard.

I also agree with you that the the management's behavior was reprehensible, in fact, I had a similar situation happen to me where the front desk staff refused to acknowledge me; however, the manager of the property when she returned was appalled about my treatment, so I certainly understand your desire to escalate the matter.

What I do not understand, however, is that you and your group were offended by the rules put to you. I do not know if this preceded the contretemps about the refund for some of your group or not, but since you had gone on these trips before, you must have been aware that such rules are often put forth by management and for reasons that you, yourself have acknowledged.

Rather that suck it up, and acknowledge that fact and try to reason with the management over this and the fee refund, it seems that your relationship followed a predictable death spiral.

I think the better thing to do would have been to write a note to management in an even handed manner explaining how your group does not behave in this fashion and that you intend to prove it over the course of the next 5 days and that you intend to again take up the matter of the refund with management prior to your check-out.

Having engendered some good will by a demonstration that you were true to your word as to how your group differed from those who were targeted by that memo could have gone a long way in resolving this matter favorabley to your interests. @:-)

sorry OP I dont agree with You. Could be the others got their rate before you did and once the allotment at that rate was filled that rate amount wasnt gonna be offered again. etc etc Sort of like any flight once a certain is filled thats it most likely not even 1 more tkt will be sold from it its called revenue mgmt and sells only x seats per fare basis

I think the hotel made a mistake by lowering some of those on your program and should have said Im sorry but we have a contract and an agreed upon rate, how many rooms were available when you AGREED on the contract is way to late to know, were you the 1st to book or the last

I think you should be happy that some of your group were in the end able to get a lower rate,which imo they shouldnt have

sorry OP I dont agree with You. Could be the others got their rate before you did and once the allotment at that rate was filled that rate amount wasnt gonna be offered again. etc etc Sort of like any flight once a certain is filled thats it most likely not even 1 more tkt will be sold from it its called revenue mgmt and sells only x seats per fare basis

I think the hotel made a mistake by lowering some of those on your program and should have said Im sorry but we have a contract and an agreed upon rate, how many rooms were available when you AGREED on the contract is way to late to know, were you the 1st to book or the last

I think you should be happy that some of your group were in the end able to get a lower rate,which imo they shouldnt have

Actually, the other team booked their rooms after we booked ours. Otherwise, I agree with you. I would have been perfectly content paying the rate we agreed to in the contract. That's the rate I expected to pay when I arrived at the hotel. I also agree that the hotel made a mistake by lowering the rate for some of our group and not everyone. However, once they did, they needed to honor that request for everyone on our contract that asked and Marriott agrees that is the case.

What I do not understand, however, is that you and your group were offended by the rules put to you. I do not know if this preceded the contretemps about the refund for some of your group or not, but since you had gone on these trips before, you must have been aware that such rules are often put forth by management and for reasons that you, yourself have acknowledged.


This is probably the 20th hotel stay with these boys over the past 2 years and the first that we've ever been given anything like this by a hotel including other Fairfield Inn properties. I wish I had the packet with me so that I could prove the language in their 'group rules' so that you could see how inflammatory some of these things were. Furthermore, it wasn't just the rules so much as the commentary that went with them that was highly accusatory.

One rule, to paraphrase, said something along the lines of "all room contents will be inventoried on a daily basis and anything missing will be added to the room charges." But, the following sentences basically said "people like you steal stuff from our rooms and thus this rule is enforceable." Another said something along the lines of "if we have to lower the rate of another customer per our satisfaction guarantee because of how your group acts, the amount deducted from another customer's room will be added to yours." The commentary with that basically said 'kids don't act right in hotels and we'll be watching.' Again, the form is titled "group rules" not "baseball team rules or soccer team rules." We had kids walk through the lobby with parents 10 feet behind and the front desk clerk scold the kids saying "where are your parents, you're not supposed to be down here without an adult" in an extremely rude way and when they saw the parent make comments about "you need to do a better job of supervising your child." We're talking literally a few feet spacing so a child came around the corner into the lobby before the child. Even Marriott said when they reviewed the fax I sent that (so they have seen the actual wording) the rules were over the top and not in line with their values. That a set of rules for guests should be a set of rules for all guests. That any guest would be asked to leave if they were violating hotel rules not just a youth baseball team.

OK. Here is what you do.

When you speak to the contact at the home HQ, in a reasonsed way express your displeasure and if you find no satisfaction, let it drop that you intend to post the rules on Google documents and cite that the hotel is not family friendly in as many forums as possible, with a link to their accusatory rules.

That should do the trick.

Stop teasing and post the list.

I am a manager at a Fairfield Inn and Suites property and while I cannot comment on the rate issue without knowing the particulars of the group contract, I believe I can shed some light on the "rules" set forth by the property in regards to sports teams.

At my property we also have a "Youth Group and Sport Teams Policy" that is given to all members of such groups at check-in that must be signed signifying agreement with the policy. I'm not sure what types of "offensive" rules this property might have had in place but as far as ours are concerned, they are more a re-iteration of common courtesy to fellow guests. Previous situations created a need for us to implement these procedures to ensure a satisfactory stay for all guests. While not all sports teams are guilty of reprehensible behavior, there are some that unfortunately neglect common courtesy. As a business traveler, I'm sure you would want hotel staff to take action when doors are slamming at 1am and children are playing sports in hotel hallways while parents are drinking in the hotel lobby area (situations which have occurred at my property in the past). While our policy has items such as "quiet hours from 9pm to 7am" and "refrain from playing sports in hotel hallways, stairwells, and parking lots", I don't believe that anyone would argue that this is an unreasonable expectation for every guest that checks in. Would you be able to provide an example of the types of rules that this property enacted that you felt were inappropriate? I am curious to see what types of demands the property made to your group and others like it.

*My apologies, I did not see the example above!

I work in the Front office at a Courtyard property here in Alabama. If it is indeed a franchise property, it's a toss up. Some management companies are great, while others are not. Usually Marriott corporate is your best bet in those circumstances and I see they offered you points. The rules for teams is pretty standard through most brands due to the behavior of most youth teams. We try to make the stay fair for everyone in the hotel. The rate variance is another issue. Sales coordinators are in sales. They will try to make more money, while you try to negotiate down. The 30$ difference could have been that the hotel had X amount of rooms before occupancy, and they offered to fill that gap. They could have been better negotiators, etc. It doesn't make it right, but there are many reasons. The hotel could have treated the situation much differently, just remember to mark that down as a lesson learned and never stay there again.