ETHFlyer

This is a weird one. So last year I stayed at the St. Regis in Osaka (June 2019) for a total of 4 nights, broken into 2 stays of 3 and 1 day(s). Yesterday, I got an email from the St. Regis telling me that they actually paid me $800 USD to stay there for 1 night instead of charging me. Naturally, they wan't their money back. I have a bad habit of not checking my credit card bills unless the charges are egregious, so I legitimately didn't notice the error. My question then, is simply what are my options. I will definitely try and lower the charge since the exchange rate is awful now (I'm in Canada), but other than this what should I expect? Am I required to pay this? I have never experienced this sort of situation since I pre-pay for every stay. These charges are on my personal card fyi.

Thanks

DELee

You might call your credit card company and discuss this with them.

David

littlevoices

Both legally and ethically you are on the hook to pay this (when you sign out you sign a standard guest portfolio that says you are individually liable for the charge). Whilst you could take some super aggressive approach (cancel the credit card, say you'll never pay, avoid Japan ever again, and likely lose your Bonvoy account) that doesn't seem sensible, and the amount is too much for them to want to write it off. As your profile implies that you spend time in Japan this seems like an even worse idea

As you say, I would focus on how to fairly contribute and suggest you pay a number of Canadian dollars that is double the amount credited to your card, to avoid the exchange rate implications, and ask they accept that as a goodwill gesture (do the calculations for them to understand the difference). The suggestion from David to discuss with the credit card company first also seems sensible, in that they may be able to reverse the transaction to avoid Forex "losses", but after such a long time I am not sure if that would still be possible.

(I know from one COVID refund that I lost perhaps 15% in 4 months on a CAD to USD transaction so I can imagine the exchange rate loss will be a fair amount)

MSPeconomist

Before doing anything, look through your credit card bills and other documents, such as a bill from the hotel at the time and your original reservation, very very carefully. There's a chance that you were previously charged properly and have already paid. Start by beginning to establish whether or not you own them something and exactly what that amount is in Japanese yen. Normally hotel rates are definitive in the local currency, not your own currency even if this is the amount you saw when making the reservation.

Also, is the hotel trying to do dynamic currency conversion? This can make a big difference.

skywalkerLAX

Personally I'd tell them to take a hike if they can just figure this out now. It's not your responsibility to go back and check one year old financial records. Worst case contact Marriott Corporate like Mr. Marriott's Consumer Affairs Office.

I remember when I got a letter from a former Le Meridien (Dom Hotel Cologne) like half a year later telling me there was a problem with the charges of my cash & points booking and some payment was missing. Total bogus, ignored it and never heard from them again.

MSPeconomist

It can also be a problem for business travel if you've already submitted expenses and/or your employer's deadline to submit receipts has passed. While you should be able to explain the circumstances, doing so can be a big pain for everyone.

BRITINJAPAN4

I would be very suspicious of this, could be phishing

LondonElite

Cancelling the credit card won't work. If the hotel charges you, the issuer will simply come after you.

OP - have you actually looked at your credit card statements? What do these indicate? If indeed you have been paid, I would call the hotel, ask to speak to the GM, and explain the situation to them. I expect they'll come with a gesture which will make both of you feel better about this.

Out of my Element

This.

Do the research, see if the claim is accurate. Then set forth on the appropriate path

writerguyfl

Due to the fact that I worked in hotels (and know the challenges involved in running them), I tend to side with the hotel to the point where I've been labeled a hotel apologist here on FlyerTalk. That said, I can't imagine any General Manager I worked for thinking that it would be a good idea to try to force a guest to fix a problem created by the hotel 11 months later. One month, sure. But not 11 months.

One of my hotel jobs was Income Auditor. In that position, I would have been one of the people who should have caught this type of error. This is a huge error, too. The totals for the day would have been out-of-balance (unless they billed another guest $800 that wasn't owed). That means the entire month would have been out-of-balance, too.

I guarantee that if this type of error was found 11 months later in a hotel I worked, we would have eaten the charges. While not insignificant, the $1,600 in question would be tiny compared to the annual revenue of a 160 room hotel like the one in question.

This should be step one. It's really not a difficult task. I just looked at my credit card company lets me see a decade worth of statements online. Maybe having access to that much data is unusual. Still, I'd guess that other companies will provide access to at least 12 months worth of credit card statements.

gcuk

Assuming legitimate, if OP hadn’t been charged for the night, that’s one thing, but they have actually received $800 from the hotel, money they are not entitled to.
As a minimum, I think OP would need to return the hotel’s money.
Many organisations would I’m sure, simply process a $1600 charge, and it’s difficult to argue with that. The fact they have contacted the OP seems to indicate they are looking for an amicable solution, or maybe that’s the suspicious bit!

Mr. Vker

1) I would not respond to that communication at all. As another said, beware of fishing-either by an outside group or a Marriott employee. Data breaches happen way too often at Marriott. The last one was employees looking at data (perhaps they were contractors) but they were onsite. No one hacked in.
2) Verify the claim is true by looking at your CC statements. The folio might not even help. It could be accurate yet something goofy on the backend. You just need to see what really posted.
3) If the claim is true, I'd reach out to the hotel in a separate communication and verify their attempts to contact you.

cmd320

I agree with others that this sounds very fishy and that you should very carefully scan your statements from that timeframe. If it is in fact true I probably still wouldn't part with the money that quickly and easily. Being that it was the hotel's error I would involve your CC company and probably also email Marriott and discuss the situation with them.

LondonElite

OP - I'm confused. Have you actually checked your statements and confirmed that it was an error, as you suggest in your first post?

_fx

+1 that this could very likely be a scam, on multiple levels. For example, even if you investigate and find you do owe the money, this could still be someone who stole records and is now independently collecting and pocketing money. As others have said, contact from a business about a bill a year later is bizarre.

If you decide to work with the hotel, establish contact with them directly using a verified number or email. Don’t click on any links or use any information from the notice sent to you.