Starwood Preferred Guest - Problem with Starwood keeping their word

First earlier this year, I was bumped in Dallas. AA gave me my choice of hotels to stay at. I called the Sheraton DFW and asked if they would give me credit at their hotel if I requested AA to put me up their. They assured me that would be no problem.

Well needless to say ....... I should have gotten it in writting. Now being told that there is nothing they can do about it and the night desk should never have promised that. Starwood says TUFF LUCK.

Second item.

Westin Stonebriar Resort in Frisco Tx - I was shopping around for a hotel to host a get together for 10 rooms. The sales department promises that if I bring my function there I will get the points and the stays since all would be on the same folio paid by myself. Sounds great. I ask for a contract but the Sales Manager says one is unnecessary since they do this all the time. I question her on the stated rules for SPG and she says that it is a non-issue and will be handled. She is even on a conference call with my assistant and states the same on a third follow up call. Guess what........ No points and No stay credits Just an apology from the GM that there was obviously a mis-understanding. No mis-understanding from my view point or my assistants. Basically we were lied to ......to encourage us to bring our function to their hotel. The commitment was specifically reconfirmed on 3 separate occasions.

:mad:

I can promise you no more business from me unless it is in writing on any promises from Starwood. :td:

Westin Stonebriar Resort in Frisco Tx - I was shopping around for a hotel to host a get together for 10 rooms. The sales department promises that if I bring my function there I will get the points and the stays since all would be on the same folio paid by myself. Sounds great. I ask for a contract but the Sales Manager says one is unnecessary since they do this all the time. I question her on the stated rules for SPG and she says that it is a non-issue and will be handled. She is even on a conference call with my assistant and states the same on a third follow up call. Guess what........ No points and No stay credits Just an apology from the GM that there was obviously a mis-understanding. No mis-understanding from my view point or my assistants. Basically we were lied to ......to encourage us to bring our function to their hotel. The commitment was specifically reconfirmed on 3 separate occasions.

:mad:

I can promise you no more business from me unless it is in writing on any promises from Starwood. :td:

Call Starwood Corporate and give them her name. Advise them she lied and promised to break rules. Ask to know what was done about it.

Better yet: Repeat process, use different name, different function, talk to same person, tape promise, then contact Starwood Corporate, provide recording of promise to break rules. Also, ask to know what was done about it.

FWIW, I agree that if you are going to arrange things that are not normally allowed under the Terms and Conditions of the program, you should probably get it in writing from the person that promised it. Otherwise, disappointment will abound when someone else is asked to account for their mistake.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

First earlier this year, I was bumped in Dallas. AA gave me my choice of hotels to stay at. I called the Sheraton DFW and asked if they would give me credit at their hotel if I requested AA to put me up their. They assured me that would be no problem.

Wow. I had a very similar experience. Also in Texas! Only with a Houston Starwood and a United Airlines bump!

I never did get my promised stay credit. Nor the Platinum 500 amenity she said she'd give me. I did get a nice Suite upgrade, however.

Wish very much now that I had gotten her name. Post-stay phone call to the hotel yielded nothing but a "Who told you they would do that?" and a "I'm sorry, but we can't do that." :(

i hate having to take down names. but, i guess since these instances are the exceptions rather than the rules (how often do you get bumped?), maybe getting names is an important step. it just seems so juvenile.

We found that we could send in the airline vouchers and get $, from Delta anyway. We wanted to stay at ATL Sheraton when bumped, they gave us vouchers for another place. We stayed at the Sheraton, I paid, got full stay credit, platinum amenity, upgrade to club floor, etc. Then I sent the vouchers to DL and I got back nearly the $ I spent, just FYI. I know it doesn't help with the past situation, but may indeed help with the future.

i hate having to take down names. but, i guess since these instances are the exceptions rather than the rules (how often do you get bumped?), maybe getting names is an important step. it just seems so juvenile.

Actually, I have contact names in both situations and in both cases the person confirmed that they did make the promise but the GM and Starwood says it doesnt matter since it wasn't in writing.... TS

The first matter was not practical to go further on it, but I probably should have canceled the function at the Stonebriar as this example of SPG honoring their word. Right now I am disputing the issue with the Westin Stonebriar since the amount spent there was so much.

* agree, prodent to always take names.

* bad business for a company to have its reps make promises, but not honor those promises.

at the end of the day, the customer needs to be # 1.

If the company isn't having you feel like you are valued, take your business elsewhere. That's what I did and I feel very good about it.

Just for the record, I checked my account this morning and the Points posted but still not the nights. 1/2 way there.......

Just for the record, I checked my account this morning and the Points posted but still not the nights. 1/2 way there.......

Did they specifically tell you that you would receive credit for 10 rooms times X number of nights? I know you feel you were misled, but I would never believe this to be possible regardless of what someone told me.

From personal experience, you can get credit for multiple nights in terms of points, but only the one in which you lay your head for night credit. I'd take the points and call it good unless it was very clearly stated what you would receive. If someone simply said that I'd receive credit for all the rooms, I'd take that to mean points and not stays.

Actually, I have contact names in both situations and in both cases the person confirmed that they did make the promise but the GM and Starwood says it doesnt matter since it wasn't in writing.... TS


well, if an agent/employee of starwood makes a promise, it's very poor customer service to not make good on said promise...especially on such a trivial matter as stay credits and points. i'm surprised, given the usual customer service friendly nature of spg.

If the person has apparent authority to do so (reservation agent, front desk) and his promise was relied upon in good faith and wasn't unreasonable, the hotel might be found bound to it.

This isnt a hotel clerk promising corporate perks that he couldnt give out. Points are disbursed from the hotel so the issue of points is similar to a monetary promise.. Book the convention with us and we'll take off $100. They didnt take off $100, hence they are violating said verbal contract. Now stay credit being that a local hotel can override it in some case if prebargained it should be treated the same way. Instead of x dollars they promised x pts and x stay credit which to you is quivalent to x dollars

[QUOTE=dingo]Did they specifically tell you that you would receive credit for 10 rooms times X number of nights? I know you feel you were misled, but I would never believe this to be possible regardless of what someone told me.
QUOTE]

Correct that is what I and then later my assistant was told to BOOK the event at this hotel by the Sales Manager. In my case I went into excrutiating detail about what I was being promised and specifically commented on the follow up call that this was contrary to SPG guidelines.

It was nice to see the points posted but I was more interested in the nights since my projects this year prevented me from staying at many Starwood properties.

for the inconvenience and mis-understanding at the Westin Stonebriar........ I think complaining to AMEX had just as much to do with the credit though.

;)