IMHO, the hotel should not have charged for the meal. I mean, legally - yes, I'm sure they could charge for it. But the kind, human thing to do would be to not charge for the unserved meal.

I don't know the context of the return visit and the failure to recognize her - even at my most frequently-visited Marriotts, I occasionally see a new clerk who doesn't know me. That part is not unusual. Nor would I expect free nights or anything like that.

But getting charged for the meal, yes, that would honk me off a bit...