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Was I being unreasonable - echeck-in/room type change -- walk?

Was I being unreasonable - echeck-in/room type change -- walk?

Old Mar 14, 2019, 8:05 pm
  #1  
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Was I being unreasonable - echeck-in/room type change -- walk?

Curious what fellow frequent travelers think about this and if it could have been handled better. In 900+ nights with Hilton it was a first for me.

When booking a room I always book a King and if I one isn't available I'll skip that property.

Recent stay I checked in the night before with digital key and got the not common but not infrequent "no rooms available for selection" and clicked through to confirm my room was "TBA" and would be assigned by the hotel. It's happened a few times before and never had an issue getting the room I booked or better.

At some point midafternoon I got at "We're giving you a new room" notification from the app, and when I arrived at the hotel I headed to the room and found two doubles. That's not what I booked: I checked my reservation confirmation just in case I screwed up.

I went down to the front desk and mentioned that the room I had been assigned to was not the type I reserved and wouldn't work for me. The FDA told me that "that's the room you picked. We don't change rooms when you use digital check in." -- I showed him the "new room" notification and mentioned that I wasn't able to choose a room when I checked in and even if I had chosen a room the notification was proof that this wasn't it [and can't FDAs see the room assignment history anyway?].

The FDA went on to claim that there were "no kings available" and he "couldn't just change my room because I changed my mind." I asked him to confirm that the hotel was unable to honor my reservation asked to speak to the MOD about walking my reservation to a property that could provide an acceptable room.

MOD came over and before I could even say hello, the FDA told her that I "changed [my] mind"and "didn't want the room picked" -- despite the evidence to the contrary. I showed the MOD the notification from the app about the room change and a copy of the reservation email showing I had reserved a king. MOD worked her magic and put me in one of the kings that supposedly didn't exist.

Honestly, the FDA's condescending and accusatory tone put me over the edge probably more than it should have... had he actually tried to do anything to resolve my issue -- or even just apologized on behalf of the hotel -- I definitely wouldn't be fuming. Instead, I have hotel #3 on my "never again" list.

For the hive mind:
- Was I being entirely unreasonable, partially unreasonable, or reasonable in insisting on the booked room type? E.g. should I just be happy to have a room?
- Had the MOD not been able to find a room of the correct type on property does the fact that they have any room available save them, or would it be legitimate to expect them to walk me following brand standards for relocation (invoking 701.3.D) vs. just cancelling my reservation and booking a different property myself?

TIA
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 8:18 pm
  #2  
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the * on the benefits pg and clicking it results on the very bottom of the pg-" Available at participating properties. Pre-arrival room selections are not guaranteed and subject to the hotel's availability at time of arrival. Apple, the Apple logo and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple "

That said it shows as a benefit to precheckin is available even for a reg member w/o any status

So yes you were unreasonable, and probably mixed up the benefits with those of another chain

fwiw, I never saw even for Diamonds where HH Guarantees the bed type as a benefit
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 8:23 pm
  #3  
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Originally Posted by craz
the * on the benefits pg and clicking it results on the very bottom of the pg-" Available at participating properties. Pre-arrival room selections are not guaranteed and subject to the hotel's availability at time of arrival. Apple, the Apple logo and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple "

That said it shows as a benefit to precheckin is available even for a reg member w/o any status

So yes you were unreasonable, and probably mixed up the benefits with those of another chain
To clarify I was referring to having made a reservation for a room with a King bed, and then being assigned a room with 2 doubles, not the specific room assignment changing with digital check-in. I wasn't even able to select a room when I checked in, let alone a specific type of room. Had I selected, e.g. "King room 456" and been changed to "King room 789" that would have been fine -- and has happened more times than I can count. This was no room selected but booked as King and trying to foist a double on me.
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 8:31 pm
  #4  
 
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Of all the things that can happen when you travel, this is near the bottom of the list IMO. No guarantees, and its hard to believe you gave this more than a moment's thought. Move on...lifes short and you still had a bed (two of them, in fact).
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 8:52 pm
  #5  
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well, i may be in the minority, but i'm on your side with this if only with regards to what the front desk agent said. i will not tolerate being called a liar. period. i think you didn't even go as far as i would have with regards to the agent's behavior. i would have made a huge scandal. in fact, i would surely write to hilton and complain about this agent's behavior. simply not acceptable in my book.
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 9:03 pm
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Originally Posted by BenSenise
well, i may be in the minority, but i'm on your side with this if only with regards to what the front desk agent said. i will not tolerate being called a liar. period. i think you didn't even go as far as i would have with regards to the agent's behavior. i would have made a huge scandal. in fact, i would surely write to hilton and complain about this agent's behavior. simply not acceptable in my book.
As with most of these tales of woe, I'd love to hear the other side. Often enlightening.
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 9:10 pm
  #7  
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Personally, I don't think you were being unreasonable. As a Diamond myself, I'm amazed at what rooms I've been given in the past few weeks - all at HH properties that are supposedly on the upper end of the Hilton brands but have had defects/issues and, when perusing the back of the door map, clearly the smallest in the hotel. For me, it just means that I either have to find a Hilton that I'm happy with or simply go back to Marriott (or even Hyatt) since I am guaranteed the room I book as an elite.

I suspect that you were amongst the first to have pushed back with the FDA - it appears that the FDA is used to doing whatever appeals to his whims up until you confronted him.

If this is the behavior and attitude you're given, push back. The awful service you received was both uncalled for by the FDA and unacceptable.

David
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 9:17 pm
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I don’t know if I’d mark it on your ‘never again’ list as you were able to get a room as requested. Although it took a bit. FDA was not very pleasant and that would be frustrating, but, at the end of the day you did get what you reserved.

If you like the property for other reasons (and you must, as you picked it) I wouldn’t boycott it just because of the initial confrontation. That just seems to be cutting off your nose to spite your face.
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 11:27 pm
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Originally Posted by lincolnjkc
To clarify I was referring to having made a reservation for a room with a King bed, and then being assigned a room with 2 doubles, not the specific room assignment changing with digital check-in. I wasn't even able to select a room when I checked in, let alone a specific type of room. Had I selected, e.g. "King room 456" and been changed to "King room 789" that would have been fine -- and has happened more times than I can count. This was no room selected but booked as King and trying to foist a double on me.
1- Understood

2- type of beds are not a guarantee and even if they were , maybe a few had to be pulled off line due to some problem with them and by the time you got there all the others were already spoken for, as long as they have any type of room for you its not a 'Walk'. Not long ago at a different chain I arrived after midnight only to be told Im being walked , seems a pipe burst on a floor so they had to remove 1/2 the floor from the inventory, by the time I got there all the usable rooms were spoken for
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 11:44 pm
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Understandably annoying, but I have bigger fish to fry and would not even have gone to the FD. If this was a special property and I was on a luxury holiday for two weeks it would be a different story.
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 11:48 pm
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I'm more concerned with the FDA's behavior. I find that's the major issue issue in the OP's post. I think that should be addressed in a complaint to the Diamond Desk via email or feedback through the app. You could even post a complaint about it on the Hilton Honors FB page.

The FDA needs to be put on notice as so he won't do this again to other customers.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 12:54 am
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by lincolnjkc
- Was I being entirely unreasonable, partially unreasonable, or reasonable in insisting on the booked room type? E.g. should I just be happy to have a room?
- Had the MOD not been able to find a room of the correct type on property does the fact that they have any room available save them, or would it be legitimate to expect them to walk me following brand standards for relocation (invoking 701.3.D) vs. just cancelling my reservation and booking a different property myself?

TIA
Without knowing the reason why you need a king bed every time you stay in a hotel, it is hard to say whether you are being reasonable or not. If you are traveling alone on business, and can physically fit on a double bed, then the occasional double or queen sized bed is reasonable.

Since they did have a room for you, I don't think that you should expect them to walk you in that situation. In my mind, hotels only walk a guest when they are oversold and have no rooms at all. A compromise in lieu of walking would be to ask the hotel to cancel your reservation without penalty and then find another hotel for the night.

One final comment is that the FDA might not have had the authority to release the room with the king sized bed. The OP said that it was the manager that finally assigned the king room. That might be a factor.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 1:26 am
  #13  
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Originally Posted by DELee
Personally, I don't think you were being unreasonable. As a Diamond myself, I'm amazed at what rooms I've been given in the past few weeks - all at HH properties that are supposedly on the upper end of the Hilton brands but have had defects/issues and, when perusing the back of the door map, clearly the smallest in the hotel. For me, it just means that I either have to find a Hilton that I'm happy with or simply go back to Marriott (or even Hyatt) since I am guaranteed the room I book as an elite.

I suspect that you were amongst the first to have pushed back with the FDA - it appears that the FDA is used to doing whatever appeals to his whims up until you confronted him.

If this is the behavior and attitude you're given, push back. The awful service you received was both uncalled for by the FDA and unacceptable.

David
Sorry to read that you've been going through this as well. Have had my fair share of problems with HH the last couple of months as well.


@OP, you're not being unreasonable at all. A reservation for a King bed is a reservation for a King bed. The ........ about the "digital check-in" is just that, BS. Have done that plenty of times, and still got assigned another room ("Upgraded") when arriving at the front-desk. The FDA was rude and called you a liar., while actually he/she was the liar. That alone would suffice for a complaint to Hilton. Luckily, the MOD could sort it out for you .
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 1:37 am
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Ok, I’ll comment too. First of all I am not a big traveler. The only place I have any status is with one airline.( and I stay in my 2nd home, not a hotel”)

That being said, the lying by the front desk is unacceptable.AND this unacceptability goes whether you are a frequent guest with high status or a lowly, nothing of a guest- who is paying for one night in the least expensive room. ( and my self description is based on the attitude so many posters have, so I thought I’d save you the trouble and write it myself). Even nobodies deserve to be treated with respect.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 3:26 am
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I think it's worse when it goes the other way...when you want 2 doubles and all they have are kings (traveling with a friend, etc.)

Married 42 years we don't care what they give us, and often use that to our advantage ("so sorry, the king you booked won't be ready for 6 more hours, all we have are 2 doubles..." "Great! we'll take it")

We recently got upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite at an ES, so a total of 3 beds, and we slept in all of them during our stay - I felt like Goldilocks finding the bed that was "just right".

But doesn't excuse the attitude you received.
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