I read the Conrad thread a while ago. What stood out in my mind was how some posters (not saying the OP is one of them) clearly booked multiple stays, sorted out what they wanted to do, then promptly turned around and
implored other posters not to be "greedy." I found that to be the height of hypocrisy, and it really irked me.
Regarding the idea of "well I'll get a massage and that will make it up to the hotel" -- all I can say is
. Do you really believe what you say, or are you just trying to make yourself feel better? If you
really want to make it up to the hotel, pay the real rate! Or tip the cleaning staff. Or the concierge. Don't pretend something is a gift to somebody else when it's something that really benefits you.
Regarding people who say "well I helped the hotel out of its bind by
letting it make me a deal I couldn't refuse" -- please. You get
too. If you want to, call it a negotiation. Negotiation isn't a bad thing, especially in a business situation. But please don't pat yourself on the back for "helping" solve a problem that you were complicit in exacerbating, if not creating.
Now, having said that, I think that one reason people delight in airline and hotel errors is that it's a little bit of "live by the sword, die by the sword." They hassle, charge, and deny me when I make a mistake, so I don't have much sympathy when they make a mistake. And if they hold me to the deals I make (even if they're horrible), then I should be able to hold them to the deals that they make (even if they're horrible). I would like the places that cause pricing errors to own up to their mistakes, ask forgiveness, and if it doesn't come, suck it up and do better next time. But one party shouldn't get to cancel a deal just because it wants to, while the other party can't.