It's not at all unusual for a hotel to assign parlors with murphy beds or similar to guests in a sold-out situation. My husband and I have made out very well that way a number of times, where the bed wasn't the greatest, but the extra space for all our equipment was really useful. But it behooves the hotel to make sure that the guests are able to deal with the arrangement. Assigning unrelated co-travellers to this kind of room is a BAD thing, assuming you did in fact have a reservation for a double double. (If you didn't, don't blame the hotel for assuming that there was no reason you and the other person in the room weren't OK sharing a bed.)

Still, I would have insisted on speaking to someone higher in the food chain than the front desk staff in this situation. If you checked in before all the rest of the guests had showed up, something should have been able to be worked out. But of course if you waited until everyone was in a room, there isn't much anyone could have done.

Morals: make sure your reservation correctly reflects your needs, and don't wait to make sure the room they give you is acceptable.

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The Delta Flyers' Guide
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