GoPhils

So the actual check-in date was the night before the 7am arrival? Hindsight is 20/20 but it might have been easier to make the check-in date the day of the 7am arrival and ask for an early check-in. That way you're only asking for 1 thing instead of 2 (the late checkout and for them to not cancel the room after midnight or whatever).

i guess I can see the rationale for up to 20,000 total, but I wouldn't count on anything more than 10,000 and 50,000 seems excessive.

Often1

Two separate issues:

1. The property screwed up, but an experienced traveler such as a FA would have had the FD specifically confirm at check-in that housekeeping had/would be notified that the room was not to be cleaned until after 4:00 PM. An experienced traveler would also buzz Housekeeping and make sure that Housekeeping knows not to disturb. This may generate some minor customer service gesture --- certainly no compensation --- of 1K-2K points, but 10K is way too high and 50K is laughable.

2. Then there is the issue of the violation of the program rules. OP is upset that the property screwed up, but so did OP. Doesn't make the property correct, but calling attention to the program violation leaves open the possibility that the account is shut down, status revoked, or some nasty thing happens to the account.

I would leave this one alone. If it was really that big a deal, the friend would have handled this directly with the property on the spot.

jphripjah

Let's say I have a regular checkout at noon and the maid knocks on the door at 10:30. Do I get the night for free because staff woke me up?

What if I wasn't really sleeping but I was naked and inconvenienced by having to momentarily put on clothes to answer the door. Free night?

Staff at a Courtyard knocking despite a DND on the door is something that a guest should be "miffed" about, not "irate."

SkiAdcock

This.

djjaguar64

Next time tell Front Desk & Room Services, "No need to make room"!

hhoope01

Wouldn't work for a 1 night stay as the hotel has to clean it before another person can stay in that room.

For those stating the OP might get into trouble due to not actually staying in the room. That depends. If the hotel was told a friend would be staying in the room and that the Plat elite would not be there and the hotel still offered to give a 4pm check-out time, then that is on the hotel, not the OP.

But in general, I do agree that the OP probably shouldn't expect too much. It is very common for the cleaning staff to miss or just ignore the DND signs and late check-out requests.

I do like the idea of taping a note to the door and putting something in the key slot. While it might not stop all cleaning staff, it may well cause a number of them to think before they try to get into the room.

mahasamatman

Correct. You do not have to be elite to get 4pm checkout.

But 4pm checkout doesn't mean you don't be disturbed before then. It even happens in the middle of a stay. Lots of people request late checkout and don't use it, so it's completely understandable (though slightly annoying) that housekeeping will knock to see if you're really there.

Kacee

Yes, this happens so frequently (not at Courtyard specifically, but at properties of all stripes) that it barely registers for me. The reality is the cleaning staff is under extreme pressure to turn the rooms and really not attuned to complications like "I have a confirmed late check-out."

Tedgrrrr

"2. Then there is the issue of the violation of the program rules. OP is upset that the property screwed up, but so did OP. Doesn't make the property correct, but calling attention to the program violation leaves open the possibility that the account is shut down, status revoked, or some nasty thing happens to the account. "

This has nothing to do with it. I never even knew we had 4 p.m. check-out; I told the property "I WILL BOOK WITH YOU IF MY FRIEND CAN CHECK-IN AT 7 A.M. AND CHECK-OUT AT 4 P.M." - I am sure this would work with leisure travelers without status. It is NEGOTIATING with a hotel in exchange for my money (points in this case). Any hotel would be foolish not to take this deal - unless they are completely sold out.

SkiAdcock

Sure you did. From your own OP:

"Prior to booking the room, I made sure that she could have a 4 p.m. check-out; and they said that as a Platinum it would be guaranteed. " (bolding mine from your own post).

Basically you booked her a night before stay w/ a 4pm check-out & they said she'd get it based on your status. She was not entitled to it because she's not a Plat. If you literally had no idea there was a 4pm check-out policy & thought it would work w/ 'leisure travelers w/o status' (most of whom would never think to negotiate a day rate), then why ask for 4pm specifically? Doesn't pass the sniff test.

Your comment that any hotel would take this deal, well maybe it was a high paid room yeah, but a Cat 2 on points - nah, not so much.

I'm sure your friend appreciated your effort to get her an extra 60 minutes of sleep (well maybe 30 if you take into consideration shuttle schedules; it does take time to get to hotels in both directions) & it sucks you weren't ultimately the knight in shining armor that you wanted to be.

But come on - you really don't think your FA friend hasn't had housekeeping knock on her door before a wake-up, ignoring the DND sign. Heck, we've ALL had experiences like that & that includes a lot of us who arrive late at night or early am. And yes it sucks to have a hard time going back to sleep. In fairness, if she had known the shuttle would probably eat into the 60 minutes or that housekeeping would have knocked on the door she probably would have just driven the 30 minutes & slept in her own bed (FWIW - even if you had offered it to me, I would have rather gone home & stayed in my own bed/had my own bathroom/toiletries vs. a generic hotel room).

So to your question - an apology is what you're due, maybe 10K points, certainly not 50K.

BTW - I'm a bit confused on the 17 hour flight & then 10-hour turn, unless it was int'l to domestic. That doesn't usually fit into most airline rest crew standards.

Cheers.

jphripjah

Haha, the hero syndrome is indeed strong with this one.

controller1

You're Platinum with Marriott which indicates a certain level of travel and hopefully travel expertise. You had enough concern that you called the hotel at least three times prior to your friend arriving at 7:00 a.m. Therefore it is obvious you were aware of the risks involved in this arrangement.

With that said, the risks involved in potentially getting only one hour of additional sleep do not seem to be worth it. Something is amiss here.

joshua362

I think the biggest fallacy here is anyone expecting to sleep undisturbed by noise midday in any hotel, especially a CY. I know I can't when circumstances dictate trying to get a few.

Having said that, if the FA could, given the late shift & being perhaps used to it/ the off hours, was a knock on the door enough to ruin the remaining 4 hours?

Tedgrrrr

I tried that - hotel said it was better to do it the way it was ultimately done, because otherwise if the hotel were sold out, they would not let her have a 7 a.m. check-in.

The "start at 1 p.m. end at 7 a.m." was a 6 hour flight. So 12 hours of actual travel; but then I suppose getting to airport to check-in; and then the time for the plane to get cleaned and what not before the crew headed back. So I don't know if they count it as a 12 hour flight v. 17 hour.

Well, if her sign-in time at the airport is shortly after 5, a 4 p.m. check-out seems like the natural time to ask for.

Living in NYC it may be different, but even though I am usually 30 minutes from LGA, I usually plan for 1.5 hours for traffic though it rarely takes more than 30 or 40 minutes. So the stress of a "30 minute drive" at the start of rush hour traffic in her hub city may have lead her to leave home with significantly more time to spare just to be "safe."

The first time I called was to see if they would allow 4 p.m. check-out, as again I did not know it was a "benefit". I always thought 2 p.m. was the latest you could check-out and even then I've had to fight for it on the rare occasions I used it.

The third time was because I wanted to make sure that her name had been added to the reservation such that she wouldn't have trouble checking in.

jphripjah

This sounds like a lot of effort to try to get a flight attendant to like you. Next time just ask her out on a date.