Originally Posted by
alemaz8
Thank you for the detailed and balanced response — genuinely appreciated!
And thank you for the additional info. Fills out the picture some.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
On the door — security entered using a keycard. My children did not open the door.
I can't remember the last time that I was in a hotel room where the door didn't have one of those fold-over latches which physically prevent anyone from opening the door, key or no key. You should have instructed your children about this, and need to do it. Then remind them about it next time you're in this type of situation.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
On the "OK" — I understand the ambiguity argument, but I would push back. A front office professional dealing with a guest who has just checked in and is asking to cancel their reservation cannot reasonably claim that saying "OK" without any mention of a charge constitutes adequate communication. Thinking "OK, but you will still be charged" while saying only "OK" is not a language proficiency issue — it is a professional duty to communicate clearly, particularly on billing matters.
Did you mention anything about not being charged? You said that you wanted to check out and the FDC said OK. Why would you assume that that meant that you wouldn't be charged? When I don't want to be charged for something, I always make it clear to the merchant. It's not FDC's responsibility to ask you whether or not you'd like to be charged.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
On the bathroom — I can actually say with confidence that the room was not used. My children confirmed this to me directly. And from experience: my kids never put the lid back down — it stays open. The lid was closed when I inspected the room in a joint inspection with hotel staff.
Fair enough, but I see this as secondary. You probably share some responsibility here, you shouldn't have let the conversation be sidetracked into discussing use of the bathroom. You wanted to leave because of a security incident. Even if you (or your children) had used the bathroom, that doesn't change anything. Your room security was breached, leaving you and your children feeling insecure and at risk. Doesn't matter whether you used the bathroom or not.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
On Lifetime Platinum — I take the point about tone. That said, it is entirely natural for a 22-year loyalist to expect that Marriott has both a track record with them and an interest in retaining them. That is not entitlement — it is a reasonable expectation of any long-term relationship.
While I understand this from our (the consumer's) perspective, Marriott sees it differently. Remember, according to filings with the SEC, Marriott had
1,706,331 rooms in its system at the end of 2023, that's almost 623 million available room-nights per year. And it's been increasing since then, as well, due to both construction and acquisition. Your stays, like mine, do not even rise to the level of a rounding error to Marriott.
Originally Posted by
alemaz8
The core issue remains: security entered a room displaying a DND sign with children alone inside, with no emergency present and no attempt to reach me
I completely agree. The rest is irrelevant distraction.