MD/DC Flyer

Wow, all I can say is wow.

A contract (and any modification to it) requires a meeting of the minds. If one party wishes to change the contract it cannot be done by a random e-mail. You need to be explicit about it, and not hide it in an e-mail that contain many other things. If you wish to change the terms the communication needs to be explicit (i.e, the e-mail would be titled modification of the terms and only talk about that) about AND allow for the contract to be void and null - which did not happen for those who booked inside the cancellation window.

I am just amazed what lengths some will go to justify bad behavior.

Gadot

then his problem should be with spg and not marriott. If you go to trip advisor for st regis aspen - his is virtually the only complaint.
Chatted with Marriott, hotels don't get paid points unless the guest arrives and signs in. Otherwise the hotel gets paid with $$. Sounds like they had a problem with people using points in the past

geminidreams

Nope, not how contracts work. You dont get to unilaterally change the agreement. There is so much legal precedent that it really is nothing you can say that could justify your position.

geminidreams

Marriott bought SPG so it is Marriotts problem to deal with. Did the op not deny he wrote the trip advisor comment?

C17PSGR

I haven't looked at the contract part of this but I presume there are sufficient exceptions/T&C to get this by. I don't really see this as a legal issue.

Instead, its just exceptionally bad behavior almost certainly dictated by the property owner since we're not seeing reports elsewhere of this. A property with a 60 day cancellation policy should be a good hint that its a problem property.

mysterym

you obviously do not understand how contracts work, in the most basic sense

"supplement" LOL

please, just stop

mysterym

ouch, didnt know this prop is managed by marriott. they should be able to solve this more easily then i would think?

i have a feeling the whole REIT thing plays into it somehow... i have seen REITs acquire properties and the first things they try is charging fees left and right, many of them bogus or absurd, some flat out illegal. i will give you an example... i lived in a building for 5 years, REIT came along bought it, a week later, they tried charging for trash collection and water usage... i said no way, they pushed back, i cited how its illegal (you cant charge water if its not metered in the state, they were trying to divide it by apartments, then # of occupants, initially even tried to layer in the building's own use for things like watering in the yard, laundry room, etc). told them to take it off, they took it off but continued charging hundreds of other people. those that complained saw it disappear, those that did not got charged. i moved out for a dozen other reasons (building went to ....) but i heard they started charging things to tenants such as pest control for the entire building, dividing it out by # of apartments. talk about penny pinching. they are now one of the lowest rated buildings, dozens of bad reviews, and higher vacancies than ever before. they chose the path.

C17PSGR

Managed doesn't mean controlled. Some building owners are fairly passive, some are very active. Sames as with apartments ... there is passive ownership and a management company running things. In other places, the owner is very involved and directing the management company.

freed0m

freed0m

C17PSGR

I think the hotel is behaving inappropriately but .... you've identified a valid issue. Since the guest didn't check in, Marriott didn't pay the hotel for that night. Obviously, in hindsight, the guest would have said, I'll be arriving first thing in the morning, can you check me in so the room is ready and everyone gets paid or the FD would have proposed the same thing. While I can normally get early morning checkins after over night flights, I've done this from time to time.

That doesnt change the bizarre emails about $32,000 penalties or not recognizing OP's issue was legitimate.

moondog

If he didn't notice the modification email, he did not receive it. In your business, do customer contracts permit you provide notice of $30,000 add collects via email without receipt confirmation or similar?

MePlatPremier

The terms and conditions of all bookings made via spg.com (and all other MAR websites) explicitly incorporated and referred back to the T&Cs of the loyalty program, which in turn explicitly provide for unilateral modification. The ability to reverse the no-show penalty by forfeiting the points was dropped with new T&Cs, as is the provision that no-shows are charged the cancellation penalty. In the case of this thread however I still believe that no soundly managed property should have regarded OP as a no show and he should have been checked-in when he called advising of his late arrival.

mysterym

Just a thought... has anyone filed a complaint with the SEC or lodged a written complaint with the shareholders of the REIT?

Kacee

Just because it's in the T&C doesn't mean it's legally enforceable. I suspect the property would have a real problem enforcing this fee, especially on these facts. In addition to the contract law issues, there's a real possibility the practice would be deemed an unfair or deceptive business practice.