Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
The bicycle vouchers sound strange. Could it be that the bellman was *independently* promoting the bicycle shop, maybe because it was owned by a relative? Some of these tourist activity vouchers are set up to drive business (revenue and profit) to the establishment, so you pay a lot to rent a helmit or they hope you'll return the bikes late, etc. Unless the hotel's name was on the voucher, I would assume that management didn't even know that the vouchers were being distributed on their property, by their employee, to certain hotel customers.
They vouchers were official with the Vespera branding on them, sorry if my wording implied otherwise. These were as "official" as printed businesses could get.
Originally Posted by
yscleo
Two moves in rooms with smoke, the OP definitely deserves compensation. Hopefully the clothes did not end up with smoke smell. At least points for one night.
We once stayed at a Marriott hotel and I got bed bug bites. I found one bug and squished it with the pillow. Front desk had me wait, for more people to come and ask me questions, fill out form, etc. then changed us to a smaller room (saying hotel was full). Afterwards I asked for 90k points (after seeing someone had that compensation for a similar 3 night stay). Marriott HQ said 45k points. I told them if they don't at least offer the 3 nights (75k) points, I'll no longer keep quiet about the hotel name. They wouldn't budge, so I wrote on TA about the bed bugs in Renaissance Newark airport hotel. They didn't about the bed bug issue being publicized, basically saying every hotel can get bed bugs.
That sounds like a nightmare. Luckily, I have yet to experience any major pest issues during my travels. That is insane that that they low-balled like that. My issues seem minor compared to yours, and you were only offered 45K. This doesn't bode well me, hopefully they resolve everything to my satisfaction.
Originally Posted by
HNLbasedFlyer
Anyone who travels frequently is going to find themselves switching rooms at some point. The hotel doesn't owe anything.
If this happened to me I would:
1) Speak to the manager and voice my frustration at changing rooms - and point out the problem at the hotel. If he/she gave me points, wine, or something else - great. If not - I move on.
2) Leave a review so other travelers know about the situation. Goodwill compensation or not.
Yes, I think I should have been more assertive and spoke directly with the manager. I assumed that a manager would have been notified that a guest had to switch rooms twice. But then again, who knows what the protocols are for such new hotel. Do you think the hotel was appropriate in placing a guest in a room with a known design defect? I don't see how the hotel wouldn't owe the guest anything. From my understanding, they placed a guest into a defective room hoping that they guest would not care enough to switch.
Originally Posted by
BigJC
If you felt that you were entitled to compensation, that was your opportunity to let them know your expectations. Be direct and to the point - "Say, I have no use for the bike vouchers but since we had to move twice a bottle of wine sent up (or X amount points or dinner discount or whatever) would be appreciated". If no satisfaction, then take to corporate, FT, TA, etc to lambaste accordingly.
She said she was handling it, so I took her word. I'll be sure to speak with a manager directly in the future.. I'm not the confrontational type, but I suppose action is due when action is due. Their lack of appropriate action the first room switch should have indicated that this "luxury" hotel had issues with their protocol of handling guest issues.
I've emailed a lengthy complaint to corporate Marriott regarding my experience, hopefully their course of action is more appropriate than the hotel's. I can forgive them about room issues, but I cannot forgive them for how the handled the situation. They sent the bell hop to give me 3 one hour bicycle vouchers after having to relocate me to a different room
twice. For a luxury hotel, that is bonkers!