Starwood Preferred Guest - Maui Westin room charge 10,000 pts +400.00???

I was a guest at the Westin Maui January 10 through the 15th. I used Starwood points for 3 nights. I have stayed at this resort several times and have always been given a very nice room. I have used both points and cash in the past. I do not book the cheapest room when making reservations, I am happy to
pay more for a nicer room.However, this last stay, I used Starwood points for 3 of the 5 nights.I was traveling with a co worker and had booked a room that had the separate bedroom with the fold out couch. Upon arriving I found that I had been booked into a standard room that was the basic 1 room 2 double bed variety. (I had paid cash for the first night)
I went to talk with the front desk about
getting something with a bedroom. I was told that there was a suite available, and that it would be an extra 400.00 for my stay, not 400.00 per night! This was in addtition to the 30,000 Starwood points that I was using.
I agreed to the extra $400.00 for the stay. Now, upon reviewing my bill, I see I was charged $400.00 per night! I happen to know that this particular room was going for $600.00 per night while I was staying there. This means my Starwood points were being valued at $200.00. Absurd! Considering the lowest room rate was 319.00!If I had known that the charge was $12,000 I would have simply paid cash for a second room at $319.00 per night, and recieved credit for my stay. I recieved 0 Starwood points for the $12,000. I didn't have time to review my bill prior to checking out, which I truly regret.
I have never experienced any problems in my past visits to this resort and have always found the bill to be accurate.
I would never had agreed to pay 12,000 for
the 3 nights, as it would have been much less expensive to simply book another room for $319.00 per night and kept the original room that was offered using the Starwood points.
To add insult to injury, I was awarded 0 Starwood points for the $12,000.
The hotel was no where close to being sold out during my stay.
Unfortunately, I did not have time to review my bill prior to checking out as I was running late to catch a plane. Any thoughts on this? Also, no Platinum points awarded for the paid nights.

should of asked for it comp based on plat status :-)


write a letter to customer care and maybe they'll credit u $800 of the $1200 or possibly just split the difference?

What you have described is unacceptable. I would find out the name of the GM (THE top person) of the hotel and call him or her. I'd be very nice and polite in explaining all the circumstances and enroll him/her in helping you work out a mutually-agreeable solution.

In my experience, GM's are best at resolving these kinds of situations. They are the people ultimately accountable for the bottom line at the hotel and have the power to make whatever decisions they need to make.

Did you sign or initial the new rate?

I assume you mean $1200 and not $12,000?

I did sign for the new rate, and yes, I did mean $1200 not $12,000.
I will give the GM a call on Monday, I am hoping that they will be reasonable. Since it is already paid for I am wondering how willing they will be in adjusting the bill.
Thanks for your replies. William?? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by KarensuePDX:
I did sign for the new rate, and yes, I did mean $1200 not $12,000.
I will give the GM a call on Monday, I am hoping that they will be reasonable. Since it is already paid for I am wondering how willing they will be in adjusting the bill.
Thanks for your replies. William?? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.</font>
If you meant $1,200 rather than $12,000, why didn't you edit your original post to correct that? Very confusing and hard to follow.


Kathy

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by KarensuePDX:
I did sign for the new rate...</font>

I don't see how this is different than this recent thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum74/HTML/009321.html

As a Platinum you should know what "rate" means. To quote user ehe123, "When the hotels or airlines do make an error (such as Bora Bora), they should correct it. But when the customer makes a mistake, it is not their fault... "

I do believe that SPG should give you a deal as a goodwill gesture.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by KarensuePDX:
I was a guest at the Westin Maui January 10 through the 15th........ Unfortunately, I did not have time to review my bill prior to checking out as I was running late to catch a plane. </font>

there is almost NO excuse for not having time to review your bill. You can review it on the tv at any time during your stay, or you can ask the front desk at any time during your stay. THis excuse is way too tired.

Not to pour salt in your wound, but I do agree that one should always, always make time to review the bill before leaving. It is SO much easier to get resolution on the spot than after-the-fact. I never leave the front desk until I'm comfortable with all the charges.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AZ Travels the World:
Not to pour salt in your wound, but I do agree that one should always, always make time to review the bill before leaving. It is SO much easier to get resolution on the spot than after-the-fact. I never leave the front desk until I'm comfortable with all the charges.</font>

This is nice in practice, but does not always work for all people. I agree that checking your bill is always preferable. But what if it takes an hour to dispute and correct the charges? Am I expected to miss my flight because there is a misunderstanding over the rate or something else that may have appeared on the bill?

I think not. At that point we need to rely on the sensibleness of SPG.

First and foremost, SPG was not responsible for any of this. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

But, if it were me, I would call Hotel Customer Service and report it as a rate discrepancy issue after check-out. 1-800-328-6242.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by lintemut:
This is nice in practice, but does not always work for all people. I agree that checking your bill is always preferable. But what if it takes an hour to dispute and correct the charges? Am I expected to miss my flight because there is a misunderstanding over the rate or something else that may have appeared on the bill?

I think not. At that point we need to rely on the sensibleness of SPG.

</font>

I repeat, "You can review it on the tv at any time during your stay, or you can ask the front desk at any time during your stay."

It was a 5 night stay. On MAUI. Someone's too busy to check the bill ONCE during their stay?

Suddenly it's flight time? I don't think so.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by clublounger:
I repeat, "You can review it on the tv at any time during your stay, or you can ask the front desk at any time during your stay."

It was a 5 night stay. On MAUI. Someone's too busy to check the bill ONCE during their stay?

Suddenly it's flight time? I don't think so.

</font>

OK.. ok folks.. we all screw up once a while.. but if big money at stake due to a oversight.... SPG would be generally courteous enough to find a middle ground.. just my opinion...

Here again, SPG had nothing to do with this and has no say in the outcome.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by lintemut:
But what if it takes an hour to dispute and correct the charges?
</font>

But what if it only takes 5 mintes to clear up the problem or clarify the issue. Certainly worth the time to at least figure out if there is an issue. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I recieved a phone call from the manager of the Westin Maui yesterday. He apologized for the misunderstanding and told me he would be crediting my Am Ex card for 800.00.. He also followed up with an email confirming our conversation. He could just as easily ignored or denied my request. A big thank you the GM at the Westin Maui. And yes, I will stay there again. Thanks for all the posts regarding this topic.