Originally Posted by
yscleo
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.
I think that this kind of behavior serves the same purpose as kidnapping. If the goal of Trip Advisor is to inform other guests, you've allowed the hotel to ransom your review for a sufficient number of points. You've benefited no one other than yourself by putting points in your pocket.
In a similar situation, I approached it slightly differently. I had a problem with a tour company which really ripped me off. In fact, I consider what they did to be pretty much predatory pricing and theft. I wrote them and told them that I was unhappy, but made no specific demand; and I also posted accurate, but very negative reviews on FT and Trip Advisor. Long and complicated story short, a couple of years later they offered a written apology along with an description of their complete replacement of senior management (which I verified on their website), and a full refund, in exchange for which I removed my negative posts at their request.