Originally Posted by
thegoderic
A personal first after 1000+ Marriott nights and probably another 1000+ elsewhere.
I was staying at the Icon in Houston, one of my favourite business Marriott properties this week, and when I arrived back last night, my card key would not work.
Surprisingly, there were no lights at all on the lock - normally when your key doesn't work, a red or orange light shows.
I tried my second key card - same result, then, just before heading down to get the card recut, pushed the handle and the door opened! A few minutes further playing showed that the door was completely unlocked and there was no need for any key of any sort to get in.
I called the front desk and explained what the issue was. The first response was to send someone up with a new key. Next came a maintenance man who confirmed that the door lock wasn't working, told me that he couldn't fix it and suggested I lock the door from the inside.
He then asked what time I'd be up in the morningt (7 a.m.) and said he'd have someone up to the room at that time so I could get breakfast.
I was actually on a call 7 - 8 and when that finished, I gathered my things together and went to check out. It seemed to come as a total surprise to the front desk that there was any issue with the room at all.
So I'm now doubly cheesed off with the hotel. Firstly because it happened in the first place and my belongings were available to anyone who wanted for an unknown period of time, and secondly with the totally underwhelming way they responded to what, to me at least, was a serious issue.
I will speak with them again more formally and let you know what the outcome was.
In my brief time on this forum, I have noticed that there are FTers with ALL kinds of personal ethos. Therefore, I would almost guarantee you will get some people that say "No Harm, No Foul" and that you shouldn't make a big deal of it because nothing was taken, etc. However, I completely agree with you that this is a serious issue, and just because nothing happened doesn't mean that nothing COULD have happened. When considering the severity of the issue, you have to consider all circumstances under which this could have occurred. You could have been travelling with your wife, kids, etc. and would have been unable to rely on the lock to keep them safe. Not only could your valuables have been taken, but something far more nefarious could have potentially occurred. Therefore, I would definitely follow up with Management, as you have said. I don't know what kind of compensation you will get, but it is obviously worth bringing it to Management's attention so that they can (hopefully) discover what caused the lock to malfunction, and keep it from recurring. You may be able to press for some points, or a discount on a future stay as it seems you frequent this hotel often, but I doubt you will get any type of monetary compensation.
I'll be interested to hear if anyone else has had similar experiences and what their opinions are. Just be prepared for some idiot to tell you not to worry about it.