What can I expect for bereavement consideration?
 

I need help from the experts. I am a long time Diamond nearing lifetime status, if that matters.

Summary:

I have a vacation at the beach scheduled on points. My brother died and his funeral will be on the first day of my stay. I am inside the 5-day cancellation deadline for the resort. This is a premium room redemption at 81,000 points per night to guarantee beach front.

I called the hotel directly and asked that my arrival be delayed one day and for a refund of the first day. They said they could not do it as it was points and that the Diamond Desk would have to modify it.

I called the Diamond Desk, and they could not do anything. She said that she could cancel and rebook, but the room might be lost in the process leading to no reservation. She said I could book a new reservation and then cancel, but I do not have enough points for the double reservation.

She finally said that I could talk to the manager at the hotel and that they could check me in and then I could get a refund of the first night points. I would need to contact the manager to confirm.

I called the manager and he said that they could indeed check me in early without me being there, but there would be no refund of points. His excuse is that the points are consolidated for the 6 night stay and they could not split off the points for one night.

My questions for the experts: Is this pretty much what I am stuck with or is there another option?

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Considering the alternatives, this is probably the best option. This is a good compromise and the GM is doing you a favor. I've had a couple issues recently in similar situations. On more than one occasion, Diamond Desk agents goofed up the cancel/rebook process and it was stressful. The last thing you need at this point is more stress. Take the GM up on his offer and don't worry about losing 1 night's worth of points.

I had a somewhat similar situation back in April where I had to cut an award stay short due to a family member having a stroke. Hotel told me to call the Diamond line, who told me to call the hotel and back and forth. In the end the hotel submitted a points refund request for the days I was not there, saying it would take up to 30 business days to get the refund. That was 3 months ago and I haven't seen anything so I suppose I should check on that.

My situation was a bit more clear cut since we checked out early rather than checking in late, but there definitely is a process to get the award stay points amount adjusted. They were all adamant that it had to occur after checkout.

An update and a resolution.

The hotel agreed to a full cancellation on a conference call with the Diamond Desk. They first insisted that I had "agreed" to the manager check in. Well, yes, I did as it was the only option I was given. As soon as the cancellation went through, the DD agent saw that the room was back in inventory for the five nights that I could be there. She grabbed it and all is well.

That is awesome news and not what I expected!

Sorry for your loss... and yes, what a nice surprise.

I hope you can relax once you arrive.

GC