IMO, you both could have handled the situation better.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
Lifetime Platinum member, 22 year with Marriott.
I hope that this wasn't mentioned in your contacts with Marriott or the hotel. It's irrelevant to your situation and smacks of DYKWIA and entitlement.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
Earlier this month we checked into Sheraton, I left to park my car and left my two kids in the room with Do Not Disturb sign on it.
At minimum, the hotel should have telephoned the room prior to security knocking on the door.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
That was enough for security to enter our room despite the DND sign.
Huh? What does "That was enough" mean?
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
There was no emergency of any kind, but they wanted to recheck the registration of the guests.
This is what your children told you that security said or did you, yourself, hear this from a hotel staff member?
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
My 9-year-old was left frightened and in tears as after banging on the door the door got open and someone intruded into the room.
And understandably so. But who opened the door? You haven't instructed your children not to open the door for anyone under any circumstances? Just for comparison, my young cousins once refused to open the door to their house for me when I rang the bell even though they knew me, because my aunt and uncle had instructed them that they are never to open the door under any circumstances when there is no adult at home.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
That was definitely a super bad start and since we were still not unpacked we decided to leave the property immediately and switch to another Marriott property on the other side of the city (yes, staying loyal). The receptionist (young man) who had checked me in verbally confirmed twice clearly said "OK" to me saying that I would like to cancel the room as I just checked in and it was reserved just a few hours before arrival.
Not taking sides here, but "OK" could just as easily have signified FDC's understanding that you wanted to leave, as in, "I just arrived, and due to a security breach, I want to check out and leave immediately." . . . "OK. [I'll check you out of the room.]" Did you tell him that you thought that you shouldn't be charged for the room?
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
No harm to the property as the hotel had plenty of rooms available.
Irrelevant.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
The hotel subsequently denied that any cancellation agreement was ever reached.
I'm inclined to agree. I don't see that the FDC's "OK" meant "OK, you won't be charged for the room."
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
In their written response the hotel referred to the receptionist who checked us in as female. So, they could not even get their side of the story straight.
You seem to be implying that the hotel intentionally lied. There are all sorts of reasonable and innocent explanations for this discrepancy. For example, maybe the FDC with whom you spoke had switched shifts with the female FDC who was scheduled to work at that time, without changing the schedule or informing management. Yes, the hotel should have known, but without more I don't see any malice or intent to deceive you in this discrepancy.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
They also accused that we used bathroom, which was a totally wrong claim.
So you ascertained that neither of your children used the bathroom in any way while you were off parking the car?
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
After my demand to speak to the General Manager on this topic the Director of Operations partially apologized and transferred 5,000 Bonvoy points to my account. However he kept the one-night charge of €144 for a room we did not sleep in. He waived the city tax— basically acknowledging no overnight stay occurred — yet charged for the room.
IMO whether or not an overnight stay occurred is irrelevant. For example, if you had planned to arrive at 6 a.m. and wanted a room to be available, you would have had to book and pay for the previous night, even though there was no overnight stay. What's relevant to me is that you left because of a security breach. I agree that you shouldn't have been charged.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
I filed a formal complaint with Marriott Customer Support. Past the promised response deadline I received nothing. When I called to follow up I was told the case had already been closed — the hotel "acted per policy."
That may be true.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
Marriott Customer Support did not care and basically forwarded the case back to the hotel even though that I clearly stated that I did not have a satisfactory resolution with them.
Or maybe, -- Marriott looked into it and determined that the hotel did act consistent with policy. The fact that you disagreed with the outcome isn't determinative. Nevertheless, Customer Support should have communicated that to you.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
So, first shock is that Sheraton does NOT treat the DND sign as offering guests any meaningful privacy or protection.
A bit of an over-generalization, perhaps, making a blanket statement about a chain of hundreds of hotels based on anecdotal evidence consisting of one incident.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
Second shock is that Marriott Customer Support demonstrated complete disinterest in this case and basically left everything in that Sheraton's hands. I suddenly realized that I am not really valued and Booking.com provides more care and protection. They totally did not care that I paid to the Marriott chain that night anyways - at another Marriott property. So, ended basically double-charged by the Marriott network.
I sense that you were quite dissatisfied, and the intrusion into your room was, without doubt, unacceptable. OTOH, there seems to be a bit of hyperbole and outrage in what you wrote. If your communication to the hotel and/or Marriott CS was similar in tone, that might have worked against you.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
Is there a Bonvoy Champion who can assist?
I'm not sure what kind of assistance you want at this point, but I would definitely contact one of the Lurkers here by PM or email.