Rate DOUBLED without notification because of one less night stayed
 

Advice seeking: Was charged a lot more for a hotel room than what I reserved it for $150/night. I got charged: $174 (1st night) / $304!! (2nd night) / $314!!! (3rd night) / $244 (4th night).Is this even legal?
Recently, went with my son to Las Vegas for a tournament and stayed at the Element Hotel, Summerlin. I had reserved a room online at $150/night for 5 nights and when I got the invoice the rate was VERY different for each day (details above) and in some days more than double the rate I had reserved the room for. I called the hotel as soon as we got home and they said I had to speak with the manager, which I did the next day. He said that because my initial reservation was for 5 nights and I only stayed for 4 nights they can charge a different rate WITHOUT letting me know and this is the hotel policy !!!
Important info: when I checked in I mentioned to the reception that I had made a mistake and booked for 5 nights instead of 4 that I was staying and asked if this will impact my bill and the answer was; NO! I have been travelling all my life and this is the first time I see that happening....

1. Have you seen this before and is there anything I can do? I have tried to dispute the extra charge through my credit card already
2. I would not recommend to anyone to stay in that hotel EVER!
3. I sent a complaint to marriott and they said 'Changing the reservation subjects it to rate changes per hotel policy. The hotel is independently owned and operated and as such reserves the right to manage their inventory as they see appropriate. We in the corporate offices do not have the authority to change hotel rates.' SERIOUSLY?? I have been a member for more than 20 years and this is the response you give to a member???
4. Can the hotel based on that charge ANYTHING they see fit??? So they could have charged me $1,000/night if they wanted to?

Thank you!

How come you didn't see this during the checkout process?

Well, too late for this time but from my experience the hotel can decrease or extend your stay at whatever rate they choose. So I usually ask beforehand, and they may just let me cancel 1 day and let the rate stay the same.
Did you actually ask them to decrease the stay or did you just checkout without changing the reservation first?

Yes, completely legal. Your contract with them is 5 nights for 150$/night. Change the nights, then they are free to charge you whatever BAR is of that day.

It's like one of those MR deals/packages of stay 5 nights and get 25% off, any nights less than that it's standard rate. You can't book 5 nights with a discount and get away with staying 4 or lesser nights for the same price per night.

Now the hotel can give you leeway, but if they go by the book then you can't complain. And no, asking front desk doesn't count. They don't have the authority.

Here's the small print (it's not small, actually, same size as the rest of the rate description ;)) for any long-stay rates:

"Shortening your stay below the minimum numbers of nights will result in the rate being updated to the best available rate per day of your actual stay dates."

We were rushing to get to the airport as they told us the lines are huge - I only reviewed the invoice on email when I got home. I've never experienced this before and have never seen this happen with any of the hotels I stayed at.

Yes at the check-in process I said that I had made a mistake and that we are staying 4 nights instead of 5. I asked if this will impact my rates and they said 'NO'. I am happy to pay the full 5 nights that I reserved BUT I never agreed to pay $300+/night to stay at THAT hotel.

That truly sucks. Sorry man. My only suggestion is in the future, whenever you make a change in your reservation, and especially if you shorten a stay, arrange your schedule to physically check out of the hotel on the last day and get a receipt. It is infinitely easier to resolve issues while at the hotel than later. For example, had you been presented with the higher bill, you might have said, screw it, we will stay for the 5th night even though no one will be in the room. Not this specific case, but whenever you get a long term rate, it pays to check the daily rates. A $150/night rate might actually be $175/nt for the first four nights and $50 for the last night. Any number of permutations is possible.

It may not be the OP's case, but we have seen many posts about people seeing that it is much cheaper to book an extended stay rate and then checking out early hoping that the cheaper rate sticks. It's no wonder that a hotel would add the clause as there would be a lot of gaming of the system. As if there's not that already, but this one they are privy to...

I do agree here. Questions for the online poster:

1) Do you know whether the rate was an extended stay rate? Sadly, Marriott is terrible with this on their emails. Call Marriott and ask them to check up on the original rate and if it was a long term stay rate or regular rate.

2) I know others may disagree here, but the fact that a hotel employee, a representative of the company, told you it was ok for you to check out a day early, you have every right to believe them. Management should properly train their employees. It is not a customer's burden to determine whether an employee is following company policy or not. If the employee. If you were told it would be a problem, I'm sure you would have stayed the 5th night or just sneak out a day early.

3) Like others have said, always get a physical receipt when checking out of a hotel. Yes, it might mean extra time. But it is much easier to dispute a bill in person than over the phone. When over the phone, you are easier to ignore.

Sadly, with these types of disputes, they are very difficult to handle. Businesses ultimately want you to just to away so that they can keep your money. If you are willing to fight, there are some guides you can follow:
https://www.elliott.org/answers/how-...sumer-problem/
https://www.elliott.org/ultimate-con...the-right-way/
https://www.elliott.org/company-cont...ntact-details/
https://www.elliott.org/blog/5-magic...sumer-problem/

Best of luck!

I think the problem is some people (especially nowadays given many people are new) don't actually know things before they answer.
The person probably didn't run it to see if it makes a difference. The person also may not have had much ability to do anything.

Usually I wait til I check in, and then ask later and say I think I need to leave a day early, can you check to see about my rate? And actually have them check. And then ask if they can keep it the same, if they come back with it changes.

So I don't know if Las Vegas properties are worse than others, but I wouldn't bother contacting Marriott. I would contact the hotel and try to speak to someone who has some power (like a manager) and explain the situation, being very apologetic about the change, wondering if they could honor what the front desk person told you. Explaining you didn't know the proper procedures, but would be grateful to learn.

Agreed. I review my reservation thoroughly (especially during MAR times. LOL)..but honestly I constantly look at them. The OP made the reservation knowing it was cheaper for 5 days and had no idea it was messed up until check-in, hence the question to the FD?

Now, understandably there are times when a person is staying in a hotel and an emergency happens and/or change of plans and you need to leave, period. I have NEVER arrived at a hotel on a reservation and realized I made the incorrect reservation when checking in.

Hotels have 'dynamic' pricing. Each night is priced differently. When searching a reservation , you will see $150. Pay attention before ending the reservation what the REAL price is. First night $150---second night $300 etc etc etc. Hotels will post rates - but IMO they are a bit sneaky about it.

Is it completely legal for hotel to change the billing rate on a contract to a sum of their choosing without notifying the customer ? Particularly when a representative of the hotel had previously stated there would be no additional cost ?