I had booked a room at the Hilton on St. Charles in New Orleans this past Sunday as a place for my traveling party to put our suitcases while we were visiting the city before changing clothes to fly back to Hartford after a cruise. When I went to book, Hilton offered me a Day Rate.

Upon arrival at the hotel, I was told that it was sold out the night before and that there was no room to give me. I could store luggage and they'd call me when the room was ready but check-in was at 3 PM (it was about 10:30 AM at the time). I told the desk agent as that was unacceptable as I booked the room as a day room (if I wanted a day room, why would I wait until 3 PM to check in??) and if they couldn't provide one to me at that moment, I wanted the reservation canceled on the spot. Quick check with the manager and it was done.

Did I misunderstand what the day rate should have provided? If you have a customer who has booked a day room the next day, shouldn't you set aside a room for them? I didn't even care how many beds were in the room, we just wanted a secure place to dump our luggage then change before we left for the airport.

We wound up going straight to the airport after doing some repacking in the lobby and stood by for flights that got us home two hours earlier than planned so it wasn't bad in the long run. However, between this and a few other things I've decided not to do mattress runs to retain Diamond status for the 10th year running.

Opinions?