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
Apr 21, 2019, 8:54 am
#751
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,773
How is this kosher? The OP (if I'm reading correctly) paid for all his nights on points. He didn't cancel or no-show. He showed, just one night later. So the OP in fact "forfeited" one nights worth of points since he couldn't make it the first night. But he still showed for the remainder of the ressie. So why should the hotel get cash? They already got "paid" in points. Why should they penalize him because he didn't sleep in the bed that first night? They didn't lose out on anything. Perhaps I am misunderstanding something here.
Apr 21, 2019, 10:53 pm
#752
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Some properties are now requiring on award stays a deposit in the full amount of the cancellation penalty, even if the reservation is refundable, as award stays usually are. CC preauthorizations are not a viable option for stays booked well in advance as cc issuers will release the funds back to the cardholder if the merchant does not complete the transaction within 15 to 21 days after making the hold.
Apr 24, 2019, 10:29 pm
#753
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Eh, waiving it in exchange for evidence of the airline cancelling the flight would seem to be a reasonable compromise. It isn't like flight status is top secret information (flightaware.com is always there if all else fails), so requiring a copy of original booking confirmation/check-in combined with a flight status report showing a delay that blows a connection (or a cancelled flight, etc.) wouldn't be an unreasonable middle ground.
Apr 25, 2019, 8:06 am
#754
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It's not unreasonable to ask for proof that one's flight was cancelled, but I don't know how one would conclusively prove that one could not get another flight the same day, for example by chartering a private jet or flying into some airport far away and taking a long limo ride.
Apr 30, 2019, 4:51 am
#755
Join Date: Oct 2014
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Apr 30, 2019, 7:45 am
#756
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The former is a property apparently owned by entities which seemingly don't want award / redemption business and therefore don't care that they insist on something which may be offensive. The latter is an employer of a person whom he presumably values and does not want to lose because the employee feels mistrusted.
May 2, 2019, 10:43 am
#757
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: IHG Spire, Marriott
Posts: 574
I read my analogy again and found it perfectly understandable.
Has it been proven the hotel cares more about revenue booking customers? If one arrived late on a revenue booking, does the property show more empathy on the no-show charge?
IMO, if a manager asks for proof/evidence from what a customer claims, he might not be fit for the role.
IMO, if a manager asks for proof/evidence from what a customer claims, he might not be fit for the role.
May 10, 2019, 8:01 am
#758
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,192
Incidentally, the person who brought me to my room at a Fairmont in Switzerland today told me she used to be a Butler here. She said it was a beautiful property... And that flights always delayed.
She didn't know anything about the outrageous fee thing. But if flights always delayed, I am guessing the property will charge a lot of no show fees.
Again, the risks are too high for guests. Not worth staying here until they change policies.
She didn't know anything about the outrageous fee thing. But if flights always delayed, I am guessing the property will charge a lot of no show fees.
Again, the risks are too high for guests. Not worth staying here until they change policies.
May 10, 2019, 3:29 pm
#759
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 31
UPDATE: This has finally been resolved. In particular, I received a refund of $2,226 from the Aspen St. Regis, which includes the $1,000 no show charge for each of 2 rooms plus tax. It took a little over 2 months to get this resolved but I am glad to finally be able to put this behind me.
I am very grateful to everyone on this forum who provided advice on how to get this resolved. I am also grateful to any and all Marriott (and Aspen St. Regis) personnel that helped get this favorably resolved. Fortunately, I was able to get the refund without taking legal action and without disputing the charge on my credit card (there were conflicting viewpoints on whether or not this latter tactic would have ultimately been effective). In the end, I believe patient persistence and patient escalation moved this to a favorable resolution. Specifically, I followed closely the advice offered in post #508 and fortunately did not need to involve Elliott Advocacy. I believe the email to Mr. Sorenson was the one that finally moved things along but my guess is that all the earlier emails and efforts had to be exhausted before such an email would have been effective. My understanding is that ultimately it was the hotel manager that agreed to the refund but my guess is that this was done only after some pressure from Marriott because the hotel manager explicitly indicated an unwillingness to do this previously. Nonetheless, I am grateful she came around regardless as to the reasoning. Finally, I believe my particular facts were helpful. That is, the fact that I booked under SPG and my confirm emails indicated that I could opt to forfeit points in lieu of any no show charge probably helped.
I am hopeful that Marriott will publicly update its policy as relates to this type of situation. If not, this will make make me (and I suspect many others) very hesitant to make higher end points bookings. The problem is greatly exacerbated on 5 nights points bookings at such properties because you might be trading a refund of zero points for a hefty one night charge if your flight is delayed.
I am very grateful to everyone on this forum who provided advice on how to get this resolved. I am also grateful to any and all Marriott (and Aspen St. Regis) personnel that helped get this favorably resolved. Fortunately, I was able to get the refund without taking legal action and without disputing the charge on my credit card (there were conflicting viewpoints on whether or not this latter tactic would have ultimately been effective). In the end, I believe patient persistence and patient escalation moved this to a favorable resolution. Specifically, I followed closely the advice offered in post #508 and fortunately did not need to involve Elliott Advocacy. I believe the email to Mr. Sorenson was the one that finally moved things along but my guess is that all the earlier emails and efforts had to be exhausted before such an email would have been effective. My understanding is that ultimately it was the hotel manager that agreed to the refund but my guess is that this was done only after some pressure from Marriott because the hotel manager explicitly indicated an unwillingness to do this previously. Nonetheless, I am grateful she came around regardless as to the reasoning. Finally, I believe my particular facts were helpful. That is, the fact that I booked under SPG and my confirm emails indicated that I could opt to forfeit points in lieu of any no show charge probably helped.
I am hopeful that Marriott will publicly update its policy as relates to this type of situation. If not, this will make make me (and I suspect many others) very hesitant to make higher end points bookings. The problem is greatly exacerbated on 5 nights points bookings at such properties because you might be trading a refund of zero points for a hefty one night charge if your flight is delayed.
May 10, 2019, 3:49 pm
#760
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May 10, 2019, 5:29 pm
#762
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I believe patient persistence and patient escalation moved this to a favorable resolution. Specifically, I followed closely the advice offered in post #508 and fortunately did not need to involve Elliott Advocacy. I believe the email to Mr. Sorenson was the one that finally moved things along but my guess is that all the earlier emails and efforts had to be exhausted before such an email would have been effective.
To save others the time of hunting it down, here's the link to the post referenced by OP: Post 508
May 10, 2019, 9:03 pm
#764
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