nachosdelux

Or How my Starwood Platinum Challenge started with a bang.

I booked 4 nights at the Four Points Sheraton in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

On night 3, at about midnight, I awoke to the smell of smoke in my room.

I turned on the light, and sure enough there was a layer of smoke against the ceiling.

I felt the door to see if it was coming from the hallway, but it was cool to the touch.

I quickly got dressed and then the smoke detector in my room sounded.

The smoke was quickly getting heavier.

I left the room, and called 911 from my cell phone on the way to the lobby.

The police and fire department responded quickly, and discovered there was an electrical fire in the HVAC closet in my room (air conditioning unit)

Once the fire was extinguished, I was able to go back in to my room and gather my belongings.

The front desk agent said they were fully occupied, so I found a room at the nearby military base (getting to bed at 4am) for the last 2 nights.

The 4 Points front desk agent working that night said they would comp my entire stay.

I spoke to the 4 Points manager the next day who said the same, and that I would be given 4000 points.

My credit card was charged for the first 2 nights.

No points in my account.

Also I had to leave about $20 worth of food in the room fridge because I did not want to spend any more time in the smoky room to gather my things, since the acrid smoke was hurting my lungs.

I don't want be a complainer, but this seems a pretty poor way to handle my situation.

Essentially I have received nothing from the hotel. (actually lost $20)

thoughts?

MSPeconomist

Yikes. It's fortune that you woke up quickly and knew what to do.

awu25

How many days has it been? Is your credit card actually charged or is it a pending charge?

clublounger

To use your own words, " this seems a pretty poor way to handle my situation". Yes, you're handling it poorly.

Follow up with the hotel or SPG before concluding that you're out the two nights and the promised points.

The food? That's on you. You could have asked the staff to go in and fetch it.

nachosdelux

actually charged.

nachosdelux

I agree that I should follow up with the manager, which I will do next week.

I conclude that I am out the 2 nights because I was charged the 2 nights.

The staff could not fetch the food because the night shift desk agent was the only person working at the hotel, and he told me that he was not permitted to leave the front desk.

I am glad that no one was seriously injured. My lungs ache but I did not want to spend 8 hours in the ER at 2 in the morning. I spoke to a doctor and will follow up as necessary.

howtofreetravel

I suggest you follow up with spg champion , those guys are pretty good at making sure the points credit.

MSPeconomist

In a sense, the OP was "walked" in the middle of his/her stay, in the middle of the night. The hotel was obligated to find him/her a room at another hotel, not leave the OP to find a place to sleep.

miloworld

OP!! I'm just glad you're okay!

tfong007

I dont think the OP has handled this wrong at all. He has been totally restrained. Do you know how difficult it is to get the smell of smoke out of clothing. 4000 points wouldn't even begin to do it for me. I would want to know the precise cause of the fire and whether the hotel is at fault or if it was some kind of freak accident. If the hotel is at fault I would expect a lot more than 4000 points.

ean2015

That is very true!

In such rare situation, everyone would have been panic and not knowing what to do exactly.

4000 starpoints to compensate for such incident wouldn't work for me as well. Need to know the root caused!

travelswithmyself

May I know what the hotel suggested you do besides telling you they were full? Seems a real p*ss-poor way of handling the situation. I presume you're in the military which is why you ended up in an army base?

I agree that you have been very restrained and have not "handled this poorly". Maybe if you had gone to the local ED and been gotten a diagnosis of smoke inhalation injury, the hotel would have taken you more seriously.

ken98230

I can't believe you were treated that way. What if you didn't have the option of staying on base? They expect you to sleep in the lobby? I would have thought they would have bent over backwards to help you and look after you.

I agree that you have been very restrained in your handling of this but you should escalate this. I had to re-read the 4000 point offer because I was sure it was 40,000 points. What should the compensation be for a guest to go through this type of experience? A lot more than what they have offered.

Glad that you are OK and hopefully they will make it right. Please let us know how it turns out.

clublounger

Yes, I do.

And the OP said NOTHING about his clothing smelling of smoke. Presumably he told us the complete story, which consisted of his not being able to retrieve his food and having to move.

Follow up posts should NOT make up elements of an OP's post.

Again, OP should follow up with the hotel or SPG before concluding that he's not going to be refunded his 2 night payment, nor receive the 4,000 points that he was promised and agreed to.

Keyser

i agree....4k points seems like very little compensation in this case....