Originally Posted by
sabre31_98
I absolutely agree that Marriott is not in the wrong here, and yes $371 is not worth dying on that hill, but it's not like I'm a serial canceller. I don't think I've ever contacted Marriott for anything significant in 12 years. I just think that exceptions can be made and it would have been nice for them to feign like they were trying at the very least. I think the dismissive attitude of the CSR probably is what made me dig in on this. I've vented. I'll surrender.
Have you only spoken with the reservation call center? I'm not surprised that the agents and supervisors have to follow the rate rules of the hotel.
Or have you spoken to a manager at the hotel? Maybe, if you explain nicely, a manager might bend the rules. You might explain that you and your wife expect to be unable to use the reservation and that you're aware that you're beyond the cancellation period. Mention your status carefully so that it's not misinterpreted as "Do you know who I am?"
I looked at Marco Island on weather.com. The 10-day forecast shows "Scattered Thunderstorms" on days when you are likely to be there. There's not a Tropical Storm Warning or anything else along those lines. I don't think you can demand a waiver based on a storm threatening Puerto Rico, more than a thousand miles away — even if the remnants of that storm might cause some rain on Marco Island in the future.
I also looked at NOAA online. There is not a hurricane forming at this time. Tropical Storm Dorian is strong enough to threaten Puerto Rico with winds and rain; by the time its remnants are at Florida on September 1, it's expected to fizzle out to just a breeze.
I've been to Florida a number of times when the weather forecast called for daily thunderstorms — and I've managed to have great vacations anyway. Yes, I had to go indoors for an hour on days when a storm came through. On other days, the thunderstorms bypassed where I was.