PayItForward

No more BRG

kklems

Mine got denied anyway

jibi

Thanks William!

writerguyfl

In a perfect world, perhaps. But no hospitality call center that I know of empowers agents to investigate issues like this one. Agents are trained to sell and to trust the computer. They aren't trained to decide what's an appropriate price at the thousands of hotels they sell.

Clearly, this is an extreme case, so it's pretty easy to expect an agent to agree that something is out of whack. But, most of the time it's not going to be so clear. If you empower agents to investigate, you will end up having agents calling hotels for the every little thing. And, the likelihood that agent ends up speaking to the appropriate person at the hotel is low...and close to zero on nights and weekends.

The good news is that there is a system in place. I believe that every major hotel chain an internal system (not email) to contact hotels to resolve issues. This system ensures that the right person is dealing with the problem at hand. However, it is not an instantaneous process.

I will readily admit that this set-up is not perfect. That's particularly true for the individual who just wants the problem resolved. If our OP jibi wasn't a FT member, she or he may not have ever been informed that this problem was fixed.

That said, I'd argue that the system is beneficial at the macro level. By not letting agents (or supervisors) call the hotel for an instant answer, you stop the potential for spreading false information from a Front Desk agent who just wants to check in the people standing in line giving the evil eye because she or he is on the phone. If you've ever been one of those guests in line watching a Front Desk agent talking on the phone instead of checking you in, it benefits you, too.

So, no it's not rocket science. But, it is a lot more complicated than just suggesting that the agent instantly find the answer. That's my 2 cents.

jibi

You'd think so, right? He was very adamant that the hotel was at capacity every night. I asked him over and over if he actually thought it was logical that a hotel would be at capacity every night for 13.5 nights. He said the hotel was very popular. He repeatedly asked if I was a AAA member, etc. and offered a discounted $620/night rate with that membership. I know he was doing his job, but there was an absence of logical thought or simply a refusal to acknowledge that something didn't seem right.

The Sheraton Roma is another one of those situations where simple logic would seem to dictate that something should be questioned. In that case, they had no standard rooms and thus no points availability. It appears that issue may have been resolved and Superior rooms (their basic room) is now available for redemptions.

margarita girl

What was the reason given? Were the rates already fixed before it was processed?

Oxon Flyer

Seems you're right : the only way to get things done nowadays is to go via Social Media, where the operatives are (usually) a bit smarter than the average bear.

kklems

Supposedly the rate was not on the website when they looked. I provided a direct link for them and I was able to see it when I checked. This was yesterday am and by afternoon yesterday they had fixed the rates. I was able to rebook and got a rate lower than the BRG rate anyway so it worked out for me.