Injury during hotel stay
 

during my stay to a Courtyard marriott,
I cut myself while exiting my car in their underground parking.
There was a sprinkler in a very unexpected place, shoulder level and there was not enough room for any adult to maneuver.

I am of average height and weight for an European adult male.

I am a very careful and alert individual, fully autonomous, neither physically or mentally challenged, not drunk or anything. I never had such issues.

My shirt ripped in that place and I have a cut which goes beyond the skin above 6 cm long and 2-3 mm deep. Drops of blood all over the white shirt.

My goal is to make them either to mark dangerous parking slots as unavailable or post parking instructions, and for the long term to permanently fix this issue.

Second goal: what do you think I should settle for for this?
I am not a litigious person, but this is not acceptable to swipe under the rug with an apology.

thanks

Have photos of the sprinkler - car ?
And you injury?

While I certainly can empathize, it doesn't sound like you suffered an actual injury that would be worth anything even if you are litigious. I do not think an expectation of financial settlement is reasonable here.

I would settle for nothing less than $2 million in marriott stock options, co-ownership of said property and a seat on Marriott’s Board of Directors.

Or you can take a practical approach. Tell a front desk clerk what happened to be aware of it and settle for a band-aid. Bonus points if they give you a beer and buy you a new shirt.

Did you get a tetanus shot as precaution?

A hotel has a duty to maintain a safe environment, as defined by whatever Health and Safety legislation is in place at that locality. If the sprinkler was placed in such a way as being likely to cause injury to a guest acting reasonably, then that may be a route for you. You don’t say where this Courtyard is; clearly some parts of the world have stronger H&S enforcement than others.

Location ?

I do not think any part of the world provides expectations of financial compensation for a cut that doesn't require medical attention.

My post only addressed the OP’s desire to rectify an unsafe / dangerous situation.

Don’t ask. Just tell them what happened and that they should investigate the parking area to see if it could be made safer.

thanks for your replies
location/jurisdiction: Bucharest

I do have many detailed photos of my injury as well as the actual circumstances.

It is not ok to place a trap in an underground parking.
These are notoriously dim lighten. All you need a is a sharp edge on your shoulder level, a narrow exit - and you're set.

I noticed quite a few sarcastic replies, I wish their authors such an event to never occur to them.
I will not entertain them by replying or being sarcastic back. I understand this is not an issue for them - ok.

The injury was larger than any band-aid I know and quite bloody. My shirt was all a mess. It was more like a knife wound than a simple scratch.

I asked here because, maybe, someone has a related incident. I am not a litigious person and I don't think it's reason to sue. I have no infectious symptoms by now and I think my immune system dealt well with the impurities which breach my skin.

What I had in mind was some discounts / free something, not millions or shares.

Three days later the GM come back with an apologetic call. He ensured me the problem will be fixed and asked if I want something as an amendment.

I was not specific, I let it up to him. Noticing I'm a recurring client, he offered free nights. Which did not work for me since I am aiming for the Platinum and I need the nights. Then he said I will get a discount which will make the nights practically free, in order to still count towards the status. I was fine with it.
I don't know how many nights, let's see.

There were several things not in order:
- they didn't had a complains journal
- the receptionist was out of his depth
- that was basically a trap. You cannot park the car correctly and left unscathed

You all know, when you travel you are very tired. I was not and still got it.

But still, hotels are supposed to be safe environments, where such events should never take place.

safe travels to all,
Stefan

yes, that was my approach as well. I wanted to make sure they fix that. And for all other potential parking spaces.

But I was expecting compensation. I just wanted some hints to understand if they're in the ballpark.

My apologies if you mistook honest answers for sarcasm. I do not think saying this was a pleasant or good thing to happen. When you post on a public forum and ask a question, people assume you actually are interested in the answer. You came and posed the question of what a reasonable amount of compensation would be, and referenced litigation. People gave their impression that an expectation of financial compensation for an injury that did not require medical attention, or references to litigation, were not reasonable. You now clarify you were meaning "discounts", which was not clear from your original post. You were offered free nights, which is an extremely generous offer. (If it was indeed like a knife wound, I hope you did indeed seek medical treatment. You mentioned "drops" of blood, and perhaps there is an English issue, but that indicates an extremely minor injury.)

I will add that the laundry list of additional complaints does not help your cause. That the receptionist was "out of his depth" seems like a baseless complaint. If this is a serious issue, it cannot be resolved by the receptionist. It was resolved by the manager. The end.

So why not post the photos?

I remember years ago someone was complaining that he saw large Rat in his suite at the St. Regis Mauritius and wanted some compensation. Long story short, it was a tiny mouse.

I look forward to seeing the detailed photos !