Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: AA (PPro/3MM/Admirals Club), AS, UA, Marriott (Gold), HHonors (Gold), Accor (Plat)
Posts: 2,602
It can't hurt to say that you were on board the plane and list the mechanical issues that you heard with your own ears.
That said, I typically have better luck in booking my own hotel when I have to stay overnight. Sometimes there are only a few hours available to sleep and the airline will make you wait in line to get a voucher and then shuttle you somewhere far away because it's cheaper. By the time you get there, you might as well stay up. This happened to me with AS at 3 a.m. in SEA and I really regret I didn't just book something near SEA rather than the one they put us up at south of Tacoma.
I figure with all the travel I do I am going to eat some costs now and then.