Originally Posted by
joshua362
How you (& I) would like the (hotel) world to work and how it actually does are two different things...
I don't follow. Was this a prepaid advance special rate when your card was first declined? And the rate changed at check-in but you failed to notice it?
Or first declined at hotel check-in? They let you upstairs without telling you the card was declined? And the rate increased? And again you didn't take notice?
More details please. Do you have the original confirmation of the initial rate? (my never seem to come to my email so I feel for you if not.)
Just today I spent an extra 15 minutes in line at Staples where a CORPORATE email & coupon did not match the SKU and description of the case paper they were pushing. The poor LOCAL branch manager scrambled to figure out what was wrong and correct it. In a nutshell, getting angry or trying to explain to CORPORATE was not going to fix anything, it was resolved locally.
I booked a room -- Marriott Rewards Member Rate, if it matters -- so nothing different to what I usually do.
Between booking and staying, no contact from either Marriott or Amex. At the hotel, gave them my card like I always do and the check-in guy didn't say that there were any issues. I got the bill under the door overnight, but didn't check it before checking out -- was a late night, had a flight to catch, but ok no excuse -- so didn't catch the discrepancy until I started doing expenses.
The booking confirmation that I get in the email breaks down the rate and the taxes, so I can see what the total should be and what the rate is.
The person on the phone tried to brush it off as a rare occurrence and how they have many people in many hotels all over the world that they can't possibly catch every time this happens. Being a technical person, I didn't buy that, since they know the symptoms, so it seems they can put in "if this then that" handling but they have every incentive not to, because many people probably don't check their bills/statements.
Originally Posted by
SkiAdcock
That's not true at all.
When you check in, Marriott runs your credit card for room+incidentals for your stay - as does every hotel/chain If it 'doesn't like what it sees' & there's a problem, that means your card got declined. Your issue should be w/ your credit card provider (in your case AmEx), not Marriott.
If your card is declined they (Marriott & others) will ask for another card. That's easy to solve. Give Marriott another card to get checked it or call your provider to get the current card situation resolved.
BUT - Marriott DOESN'T change the rate - Marriott literally does not care which card you use or how many you use - it doesn't change the rate - at all. Total BS.
However, in addition to your credit card problem, if by chance you thought you had a reservation & didn't & then tried to book it the night of arrival, then yes the rate can change.
I know Marriott staff & they will bend over backward to help folk out, but the potential decline or other issues is not the propert(ies) faulrt).
Please be specific on the property, what what said, your card (sans#), etc, etc,etc.
Cheers.
This was at Courtyard Miami Airport West/Doral. There was no problem with my reservation. In fact, I specifically called the property earlier in the day to advise them of my late arrival, so they put a note on the reservation.
My card was not declined, the check-in guy didn't ask for another card. The card itself is Amex Plat, never had another issue like that at any other Marriott property.
When I call this afternoon, the lady on the phone said that if the first time they run the card and it doesn't go through then they cancel the rate but if it goes through the 2nd time then they re-book at the current, likely-higher rate. That could be complete BS, but that is what I was told, so I am relaying it here as such.
Originally Posted by
RogerD408
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.
Nothing was declined at any time as far as I was made aware and the stay was charged to the same card I used for the online reservation.
This issue did not come to light until today and I checked out Tuesday morning, so I should have queried it at check out, but it should not have happened in the first place. The lady on the phone from the Marriott helpline did say that she is aware of these things happening occasionally and she called the hotel to discuss and they'll be issuing a refund for the difference.