Originally Posted by
techie
Ooh Marriott, you have been a naughty boy...
Apparently, if the first time Marriott run your card for a reservation and the Marriott system doesn't like what it gets back then they cancel your rate but if it goes through fine the 2nd time they run it then the system auto-rebooks you but at the rate at the time, which is likely to be noticeably higher.
There is clearly a flaw in Marriott's system, because they shouldn't cancel the original rate at the time of booking until all tries -- however many Marriott do -- are exhausted.
It seems like an easy enough fix for them to implement, they just have to have the system remember the original rate or not cancel it right away. And unless you cross-check your folio with the email made for the booking, you will not know.
And there are no obvious signs at the time either: Amex didn't contact me to say there was a problem and neither did the hotel when I checked in.
Not cool Marriott, not cool...
Marriott has a few properties in Miami, so still not sure the people you are dealing with. Not to be a fanboy or Marriott, but it may be the system is doing exactly what it is designed to do. I find many properties will run the cards the day before arrival to verify the account. That is done by an individual. If that person has been trained to dump any rez that does not get approval, then they have a serious in-house training issue and is far removed from Marriott proper. There are many cascading issues involved here, my first question would be did it actually get declined and why? Apparently they continued to run the account and reinstated the rez once approved. Yes, they should have checked the booked rate, but the property may be hoping you don't notice and they get the higher rate (by the way, that is one thing that you should confirm when checking in). Again, all this points back to the people running the Marriott system.
I would file a complaint with MR and let them do the legwork to determine where the problem surfaced and get the people trained or the system fixed. Regardless, I see a reckless management team that may need some attention.
Did you have any discussion with the staff on-site? Is this all supposition on your part? Maybe this is a one-off situation and not their normal operation. Something about baby and bath water comes to mind.