Originally Posted by
writerguyfl
The devil is in the details. Did anyone tell you (particularly in writing) that you were guaranteed the required room type?
The answer to that question is important to know where to place blame. In one hotel in which I worked, groups were offered a slightly cheaper rate for "run of the house" rooms compared to guaranteeing room/bed types. If the group contract didn't allow for the ability to specific room types, I think the blame falls mostly on the group organized, not the hotel. After all, they would also know that the group "skews heavily geriatric" far more than the hotel.
You may have already moved forward with addressing this issue with Marriott. If you haven't, I'd talk to the person who set up the group contract and ask for details before talking to Marriott.
Ummm...no. Betting it is not legal for Marriott to say that ADA rooms are not available as part of the group rate. They can be unavailable because they are sold out, but regardless of whether the block is for "run of house" or a specific room type, I would be shocked if the law did not require Marriott to offer ADA rooms w/in the block. If they did not have to do so, that would be tantamount to saying that disabled folks are not entitled to the same rates as others.
Additionally, "run of house" is something the Marriott sales office puts into the contract to increase its flexibility, not something the event planner requests. It's not the group that "didn't allow for" specific room types to be booked, it's the way the salesperson set up the contract. And even if the contract is "run of house," there still has to be a way specify an ADA room for a guest who needs it. That way may just be a human override (as it appears to have been in this case), but that way still needs to exist. And once the request is made and accepted by the hotel, they need to honor it.