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 14, 2019, 10:23 pm
#151
Join Date: Apr 2015
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Funny, similar story for me for this hotel. I booked a room for 5 nights on points in March 2019 back in early January 2019. They told me they would charge me $7200 if cancelled inside 60 days of arrival. I immediately cancelled my reservation . That cancellation policy is ridiculous.
Mar 15, 2019, 5:05 am
#152
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Funny, similar story for me for this hotel. I booked a room for 5 nights on points in March 2019 back in early January 2019. They told me they would charge me $7200 if cancelled inside 60 days of arrival. I immediately cancelled my reservation . That cancellation policy is ridiculous.
Fortunately, there are still properties that care about providing good service, counter-balancing these bad actors, otherwise I suspect most of us would be gone already.
Mar 15, 2019, 5:33 am
#153
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 902
Funny, similar story for me for this hotel. I booked a room for 5 nights on points in March 2019 back in early January 2019. They told me they would charge me $7200 if cancelled inside 60 days of arrival. I immediately cancelled my reservation . That cancellation policy is ridiculous.
Currently, for award bookings this property is charging a prepaid deposit in the amount of what appears to be the cancellation penalty. This is definitely a worrying trend with Marriott properties.
Mar 15, 2019, 6:24 am
#154
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if that was a definition there would be no way for anyone to book a room for, say, 4 am arrival - the system would code them all as no show and charge a fee.
In reality hotels just need to mark late arriving guests appropriately so the software doesn't automatically flag them as no shows with all associated consequences.. and most hotels promptly do as long as you warn then of late arrival (had that with JW in asia last month on travel package stay after flight changes delayed arrival by nearly a day)..
the only thing not clear to me is whether OP situation developed due to hotel incompetence/poor communication (eg noone bothered to note OP's late arrival) or by informed and intentional "noshowing" OP in the system which IMO is an outright fraud
In reality hotels just need to mark late arriving guests appropriately so the software doesn't automatically flag them as no shows with all associated consequences.. and most hotels promptly do as long as you warn then of late arrival (had that with JW in asia last month on travel package stay after flight changes delayed arrival by nearly a day)..
the only thing not clear to me is whether OP situation developed due to hotel incompetence/poor communication (eg noone bothered to note OP's late arrival) or by informed and intentional "noshowing" OP in the system which IMO is an outright fraud
Mar 15, 2019, 6:48 am
#155
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 31
@Gadot: see your post #132 where you quoted my original post which says in part:
On what planet does this imply that I talked to "the envoy reservation people?" I did indeed talk to the front desk and have call logs to support it. In fact, I called first to hotel concierge to let them know that we no longer need our scheduled ride from the airport. Then, had concierge transfer me to front desk to advise of our travel situation. At the time of the first call, I did not yet have an alternative travel plan setup. Better yet, though, I called again (the call referenced in my original post at around 5 PM MST) directly to the front desk to confirm exactly our new travel plans (i.e., driving to hotel and expected to arrive around 12:30 PM next day).
Seems this is your second post in this thread and in both you take a very minority position that this is somehow my fault or not the hotel's fault. Any reasonable person as evidenced by this now lengthy thread does not support the hotel in any way on the way they handled this. Just saying.
Seems this is your second post in this thread and in both you take a very minority position that this is somehow my fault or not the hotel's fault. Any reasonable person as evidenced by this now lengthy thread does not support the hotel in any way on the way they handled this. Just saying.
Mar 15, 2019, 7:41 am
#156
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I think there are a combination of issues here ...
(snip)
2. Unlike most hotels, the StR Aspen isn't going to get any last minute walk-in and is likely fully booked. So, since they didn't check the OP in, the room went empty and they didn't get paid.
(snip)
That being said, lots of people were impacted by weather this week. If you're a ski resort property, its a cost of doing business. Additionally, as a higher end property, you would think they care about reputation but, my worst cancellation experience, is with a StR before the merger and I agree with the concept that they can be arrogant. I believe their approach is that you must have the money to stay there so just pay up.
...
(snip)
2. Unlike most hotels, the StR Aspen isn't going to get any last minute walk-in and is likely fully booked. So, since they didn't check the OP in, the room went empty and they didn't get paid.
(snip)
That being said, lots of people were impacted by weather this week. If you're a ski resort property, its a cost of doing business. Additionally, as a higher end property, you would think they care about reputation but, my worst cancellation experience, is with a StR before the merger and I agree with the concept that they can be arrogant. I believe their approach is that you must have the money to stay there so just pay up.
...
I don't think this is accurate. Keep in mind if planes are not coming in, that also means they are not going out. I have had Aspen trips last longer than expected and also been traveling with people who had to extend trips due to flight cancellations (including one a couple weeks ago)...
It is interesting that the OP was given advice to check in with the app. As others have noted, even when checking in with the Marriott app, you still need to go to the front desk and pick up your key. I have wondered what would happen if I checked in on the app, then didn't make it to the hotel until the next day if they would really consider me "checked-in" or a no-show. Using that to avoid a no-show penalty seems like a pretty good reason to use the app.
Last edited by tods27; Mar 15, 2019 at 7:53 am
Mar 15, 2019, 7:52 am
#157
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Seems like Lucky picked up your thread: https://onemileatatime.com/st-regis-...lation-policy/
Mar 15, 2019, 8:10 am
#158
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Seems like Lucky picked up your thread: https://onemileatatime.com/st-regis-...lation-policy/
So if you need to cancel your points booking, you’ll not only forfeit your points, but will be charged $5,000 ($1,000 per night). That. Is. Outrageous.
And I’m sorry, “due to our remote location” is a complete BS excuse. This isn’t St. Helena. Aspen has flights from most major US hubs, and lots of people plan ski trips only a couple of weeks out, so they could probably even sell a room again if it was canceled within a month or so.
But that’s not the point.
You might think “oh, but I’m sure they’d never enforce that.” Nope, it gets much worse than that. Much, much worse than that.
...
The St. Regis Aspen isn’t the only hotel in the world to charge cash in the event that you no-show for your points stay. However, their execution of this is one of the worst I’ve seen from any hotel:
And I’m sorry, “due to our remote location” is a complete BS excuse. This isn’t St. Helena. Aspen has flights from most major US hubs, and lots of people plan ski trips only a couple of weeks out, so they could probably even sell a room again if it was canceled within a month or so.
But that’s not the point.
You might think “oh, but I’m sure they’d never enforce that.” Nope, it gets much worse than that. Much, much worse than that.
...
The St. Regis Aspen isn’t the only hotel in the world to charge cash in the event that you no-show for your points stay. However, their execution of this is one of the worst I’ve seen from any hotel:
- When you book, the terms don’t actually state that you’ll be charged cash in the event that you no-show; rather this is hidden at the bottom of a personalized follow-up email you get from the hotel
- To charge that even when someone has the intention to come but has their flight cancel, resulting in them arriving a night late, is beyond outrageous
Mar 15, 2019, 8:12 am
#159
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Mar 15, 2019, 8:28 am
#160
Join Date: Oct 2017
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Posts: 352
Just for the record, when I booked this hotel it was after the SPG / MR merger and the email was still mentioning the late cancellation fees and also that it could be reversed to points if asked. It was booked on the Marriott website but the email still had the SPG "style". I recently book a room at the St Regis NY with points, after the Bonvoy rollout and just before the price rose, and no "late cancellation charges" appeared at all. I read all the email and my understanding is, if you don't cancel before the deadline or no show, you lost the points and that's it (and maybe the great destination fee of 50$+tx, but nothing else).
i had the same experience as you. i believe i was one of the first to use a marriott free night cert here so i got email confirmation from the hotel reservations manager that the cert would be treated like points in the event of a no show and i wouldnt be charged the outrageous fee. was concerened about the experience of the op with flight cancellations.
i should also note that this isnt the only issue with this hotel, they along with the str in deer valley are the only two str not to abide by brand standards and offer buttler service to every guest (only suites). after pushback at checkin though they agreed to extend it to our room as a courtesy 🙄, guessing they are hoping that regular str guests dont stay there
Mar 15, 2019, 9:01 am
#162
Join Date: Jan 2014
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I raised this point earlier, but with London coming to mind.
Of course, look, I think the issue here comes down to (1) the original poster didn't check-in using the application and (2) the hotel failed to communicate its purported policy and then subsequently failed to use commonsense to resolve this matter, which admittedly may have been caused by an automated or semi-automated audit.
Of course, look, I think the issue here comes down to (1) the original poster didn't check-in using the application and (2) the hotel failed to communicate its purported policy and then subsequently failed to use commonsense to resolve this matter, which admittedly may have been caused by an automated or semi-automated audit.
Mar 15, 2019, 9:14 am
#163
Join Date: Feb 2010
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I'm glad the blogs are starting to pick this up. The St. Regis Aspen isn't the only property where I have seen these ridiculous fees and prepayments for award stays. Sadly, ordinary guest complaints don't seem to matter much so pressure from the major travel bloggers is probably the only way to get Marriott's attention. Now whether they will do anything about it, who knows.
Mar 15, 2019, 9:20 am
#164
Join Date: Jan 2014
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So...
If you cancel within 60 days, the penalty applies. This isn't, per OMAAT, in the T&C on the website but rather in the follow-up email. So, does this mean that if you book inside the 60-day window you're just screwed from the moment you book? I'm wondering because a "surprise" $1000 charge coming post-booking that you weren't informed of at booking time would make for an entertaining small claims case. I would pay to see Judge Judy deal with that one.
If you cancel within 60 days, the penalty applies. This isn't, per OMAAT, in the T&C on the website but rather in the follow-up email. So, does this mean that if you book inside the 60-day window you're just screwed from the moment you book? I'm wondering because a "surprise" $1000 charge coming post-booking that you weren't informed of at booking time would make for an entertaining small claims case. I would pay to see Judge Judy deal with that one.
Mar 15, 2019, 10:04 am
#165
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So...
If you cancel within 60 days, the penalty applies. This isn't, per OMAAT, in the T&C on the website but rather in the follow-up email. So, does this mean that if you book inside the 60-day window you're just screwed from the moment you book? I'm wondering because a "surprise" $1000 charge coming post-booking that you weren't informed of at booking time would make for an entertaining small claims case. I would pay to see Judge Judy deal with that one.
If you cancel within 60 days, the penalty applies. This isn't, per OMAAT, in the T&C on the website but rather in the follow-up email. So, does this mean that if you book inside the 60-day window you're just screwed from the moment you book? I'm wondering because a "surprise" $1000 charge coming post-booking that you weren't informed of at booking time would make for an entertaining small claims case. I would pay to see Judge Judy deal with that one.
IANAL but I wonder whether one party to a contract can unilaterally amend it later by email. If so, anyone could do almost anything to a signed contract and perhaps even hide the notice of the change by having the email appear to be spam or some promotion.
I don't normally pay much attention to the post-reservation emails I get from Starriott hotels these days as they never seem to contain useful information, such as my room category, cancellation deadline, or information on how to get to the hotel and parking. If I have to click further to find basic information, it's easier just to look at my reservation or the hotel's website from the Starriott/Bonvoy website.
I don't normally pay much attention to the post-reservation emails I get from Starriott hotels these days as they never seem to contain useful information, such as my room category, cancellation deadline, or information on how to get to the hotel and parking. If I have to click further to find basic information, it's easier just to look at my reservation or the hotel's website from the Starriott/Bonvoy website.
