May 11, 2019, 9:00 am
Last edit by: SanDiego1K
Description of resolution can be found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31088204-post759.html
Outrageous No-Show Fee Incurred At St. Regis Aspen
Mar 19, 2019, 6:16 am
#316
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: SLC/HEL/Anywhere with a Beach
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Unless the practice has changed, its my understanding from others on the forum that MR paid a higher rate depending on occupancy thresholds as well.
I wonder what this guy thinks as he writes the email telling people the cancellation penalty is $32,000!!!!!
I wonder what this guy thinks as he writes the email telling people the cancellation penalty is $32,000!!!!!
Mar 19, 2019, 6:57 am
#317
Join Date: Sep 2018
Programs: Alaska
Posts: 2,188
Marriott can’t pay high enough, otherwise, the properties will open more award availablity to attract more customers.
Mar 19, 2019, 6:58 am
#318
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Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Buffalo, but live from suitcase
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He had multiple rooms for multiple days and was thus charged appropriately, For you SPG people. Sorry that your SPG "sold you out" The Marriott people have always thought the Marriott program was better - esp the Ritz. Stop the complaining and learn the new rules "there is a new sheriff in town". If you don't like it go elsewhere, I am sure that the Marriott elites won't mind.
Mar 19, 2019, 8:39 am
#319
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On Dec 19th, I booked a 3 night points stay in mid-January for 60,000 points per night. The 60 day no cancellation policy was described up front, so I made sure I wanted to make the trip before pressing confirm. Zero mention of an additional cash fee for cancelling in the booking flow.
I immediately received the automated confirmation -- again no mention of any fee. The next day, "Trace" emailed me from the St Regis Aspen saying:
"We would also like to bring to your attention that a 60-day cancellation policy is in effect for the dates of your reservation. The time for cancelling without penalty has passed; cancellation penalties and additional fees will apply. Due to our remote resort destination we strongly recommend you purchase travel insurance. Please note that a monetary fee will be assessed in the event of a cancelation within 60 days prior to arrival in the amount of $3,000."
First, it's ridiculous that they think it's okay that once I have a binding reservation within 60 days that they can just unilaterally tack on a cash fee that was mentioned nowhere in the booking process. Since when do we have unilateral undisclosed contract terms in this country??? Further, even if the OP had truly no-showed, I would argue that a no-show is not a cancellation. A cancellation is when you call or go online and cancel. Third, showing up late is not a no-show.
I'd just like to add that by the skin of my teeth, I ran to make a connection in Denver and made it with only about 5 minutes to spare before the door closed. It was the first and only flight of the day from DEN that made it to ASE, and thus if I'd misconnected I probably wouldn't have made it to the hotel till the next day and I would have been hit with this ridiculous charge as well. I was so close to being in the OP's same situation.
I'm warning all my friends about Marriott's shady business practices and in particular about St Regis Aspen. This merger has been a disaster from an IT standpoint, a marketing standpoint, an anti-competitive standpoint. It's been bad for the consumer in every way. Makes me very happy I'm a Hyatt Globalist so I can focus on staying more at their properties this year.
I immediately received the automated confirmation -- again no mention of any fee. The next day, "Trace" emailed me from the St Regis Aspen saying:
"We would also like to bring to your attention that a 60-day cancellation policy is in effect for the dates of your reservation. The time for cancelling without penalty has passed; cancellation penalties and additional fees will apply. Due to our remote resort destination we strongly recommend you purchase travel insurance. Please note that a monetary fee will be assessed in the event of a cancelation within 60 days prior to arrival in the amount of $3,000."
First, it's ridiculous that they think it's okay that once I have a binding reservation within 60 days that they can just unilaterally tack on a cash fee that was mentioned nowhere in the booking process. Since when do we have unilateral undisclosed contract terms in this country??? Further, even if the OP had truly no-showed, I would argue that a no-show is not a cancellation. A cancellation is when you call or go online and cancel. Third, showing up late is not a no-show.
I'd just like to add that by the skin of my teeth, I ran to make a connection in Denver and made it with only about 5 minutes to spare before the door closed. It was the first and only flight of the day from DEN that made it to ASE, and thus if I'd misconnected I probably wouldn't have made it to the hotel till the next day and I would have been hit with this ridiculous charge as well. I was so close to being in the OP's same situation.
I'm warning all my friends about Marriott's shady business practices and in particular about St Regis Aspen. This merger has been a disaster from an IT standpoint, a marketing standpoint, an anti-competitive standpoint. It's been bad for the consumer in every way. Makes me very happy I'm a Hyatt Globalist so I can focus on staying more at their properties this year.
Does anyone know anything about the Colorado Attorney General's office?
Mar 19, 2019, 8:41 am
#320
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Colorado
Programs: Lifetime UA 1K, Lifetime Hilton Diamond, Lifetime Marriott Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 1,261
This thread is too long to read everything but I think a class action lawsuit would be appropriate here. Yes, they can set the T&Cs to anything they want but I don't think a jury would agree that is reasonable when a room is pre-paid and circumstances are out of your control. In some cases the cancellation date is months in advance of the stay so if something happens and you need to cancel. you still have to pay the ridiculous fee.
This has almost happened to me multiple times. I would definitely sue Marriott over this, even if it cost me 10X the penalty. Reading this thread, especially the last post, makes me want to throw up.
This has almost happened to me multiple times. I would definitely sue Marriott over this, even if it cost me 10X the penalty. Reading this thread, especially the last post, makes me want to throw up.
Mar 19, 2019, 8:43 am
#321
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The Office of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section is responsible for protecting Colorado consumers from deceptive trade practices, anti-trust infringements, and a wide range of other violations. Our office works with the Better Business Bureau and other agencies to investigate consumer complaints against businesses, creditors, and collection agencies within Colorado.
Mar 19, 2019, 8:53 am
#322
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: UA 1MM; Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 678
He had multiple rooms for multiple days and was thus charged appropriately, For you SPG people. Sorry that your SPG "sold you out" The Marriott people have always thought the Marriott program was better - esp the Ritz. Stop the complaining and learn the new rules "there is a new sheriff in town". If you don't like it go elsewhere, I am sure that the Marriott elites won't mind.
As a data point, for flight cancellations I have had SPG and Marriott remove a day off the reservation after cancellation/change deadline with no problem. I would have expected the hotel to provide the same courtesy here.
Mar 19, 2019, 9:00 am
#323
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: SLC/HEL/Anywhere with a Beach
Programs: Marriott Ambassador; AA EXP 3MM; AS MVP, Hilton Gold, CH-47/UH-60/C-23/C-130 VET
Posts: 5,234
This thread is too long to read everything but I think a class action lawsuit would be appropriate here. Yes, they can set the T&Cs to anything they want but I don't think a jury would agree that is reasonable when a room is pre-paid and circumstances are out of your control. In some cases the cancellation date is months in advance of the stay so if something happens and you need to cancel. you still have to pay the ridiculous fee.
This has almost happened to me multiple times. I would definitely sue Marriott over this, even if it cost me 10X the penalty. Reading this thread, especially the last post, makes me want to throw up.
This has almost happened to me multiple times. I would definitely sue Marriott over this, even if it cost me 10X the penalty. Reading this thread, especially the last post, makes me want to throw up.
He had multiple rooms for multiple days and was thus charged appropriately, For you SPG people. Sorry that your SPG "sold you out" The Marriott people have always thought the Marriott program was better - esp the Ritz. Stop the complaining and learn the new rules "there is a new sheriff in town". If you don't like it go elsewhere, I am sure that the Marriott elites won't mind.
I initially thought of this as another example of the SPG "Résistance" and nothing to do with Marriott. Now, I realize its a guy pushing blockchain and using this property as the first blockchain REIT so that he can market other blockchain ideas. Simply short term.Independent of any mergers/changes/etc., charging such a huge fee while not disclosing it at the time of the reservation is sleazy and short sighted not matter what the company.
Mar 19, 2019, 9:05 am
#324
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Mar 19, 2019, 9:06 am
#325
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I don't think I'm entitled to anything beyond program benefits ... as I'm staying 125 plus nights a year, that's 4 PM checkout, suite upgrades without games/begging, and a real breakfast. That's really not anything special ... just basic program benefits.
For hotels that deliver that, its a real revenue enhancement as many of us will stay at that hotel more often, rather than stay at hotels that cheat.
For hotels that deliver that, its a real revenue enhancement as many of us will stay at that hotel more often, rather than stay at hotels that cheat.
But that's sort of the inverse of the prior assertion that entitled elites are wrecking things and somehow driving up rates at hotels that consistently fail to deliver on their basic promises to guests. calguy77 suggests it's "fake credit card elites" ruining everything. I'm failing to see the connection between that and high rates.
If anything, disappointed elites - regardless of whether we are disappointed because we're overentitled or not - will leave and cause rates to drop. As it is, I know for a few of my regular cities which hotels do not treat elites well, and I will only book them if the price is comparatively low.
Mar 19, 2019, 9:17 am
#326
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Location: Shanghai
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Most magagent contracts explicitly state that the management company's policies trump the owners' wishes, though I will admit that desirable properties in limited real estate availability markets often tip the balance in favor of the owners (e.g RC Singapore).
Mar 19, 2019, 9:19 am
#327
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: SLC/HEL/Anywhere with a Beach
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Read about Elevated Returns ... this is obviously their policy. I'm certainly not seeing anything like this at other Marriott properties, although one of the bloggers says this is common with different hotels in the Maldives.
Mar 19, 2019, 9:43 am
#328
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 805
Mar 19, 2019, 10:17 am
#329
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What would the damages be in a class action lawsuit? The penalties actually paid by those who have been hit with a penalty that wasn't disclosed at the time of booking? Even at triple damages for punishment, it's not much for class action lawyers.
Mar 19, 2019, 10:52 am
#330
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: SFO/SJC, JFK
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Long time lurker, new poster. I have worked in hotels and the travel industry for basically my whole life. I ran across this thread and will note I have skimmed maybe a third of the posts and certainly not read the whole thing.
As a hotel industry veteran, I feel inclined to point out that the vast majority of hotels do not engage in these types of shady business practices. Fortunately, I think that is obvious to many posters here as I am sure many posters here have arrived a day late for or had to cancel their hotel reservations because of airline IRROPS, weather, or other circumstances that are clearly beyond their control. Most properties are pretty forgiving in these circumstances.
In all my years working in hotels, I only ever worked for one property that had a strict no-excuses policy after the cancellation deadline and that was for a smaller boutique property and even then the policy was that if we could resell the room we would refund the money. At pretty much every other hotel the policy was forgiving even on nonrefundable reservations.
The rationale for being forgiving is somewhat a matter of good business in that in many circumstances we will be able to resell the room anyway (and in many of those cases for more money) and if guests feel we are being unduly harsh then they will never return. That is a big risk especially in business hotels especially if dis-servicing the wrong person. Some properties might target corporate travelers on the rationale that those on expense accounts will not care, but there is a lot of risk playing that game. However, the much bigger impetus is that it is a simple matter of good customer service. It is never nice to try to hold guests accountable for circumstances that are genuinely out of the guest's control.
As a hotel industry veteran, I feel inclined to point out that the vast majority of hotels do not engage in these types of shady business practices. Fortunately, I think that is obvious to many posters here as I am sure many posters here have arrived a day late for or had to cancel their hotel reservations because of airline IRROPS, weather, or other circumstances that are clearly beyond their control. Most properties are pretty forgiving in these circumstances.
In all my years working in hotels, I only ever worked for one property that had a strict no-excuses policy after the cancellation deadline and that was for a smaller boutique property and even then the policy was that if we could resell the room we would refund the money. At pretty much every other hotel the policy was forgiving even on nonrefundable reservations.
The rationale for being forgiving is somewhat a matter of good business in that in many circumstances we will be able to resell the room anyway (and in many of those cases for more money) and if guests feel we are being unduly harsh then they will never return. That is a big risk especially in business hotels especially if dis-servicing the wrong person. Some properties might target corporate travelers on the rationale that those on expense accounts will not care, but there is a lot of risk playing that game. However, the much bigger impetus is that it is a simple matter of good customer service. It is never nice to try to hold guests accountable for circumstances that are genuinely out of the guest's control.