Charged a Different Rate?
 

Hey all. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with a similar situation as I've never encountered this before as a Titanium member. I booked a member, non-refundable, prepaid rate. I received the confirmation email that has the total for the stay which was charged to my credit card at the time of booking. I checked out earlier today and my folio has a credit for the prepaid amount but there was a difference of just over $30. I called Marriott customer service who said the prepaid rate is never for the full amount that you owe and how much is charged at the time of booking is dependent on the hotel. I vividly recall the rate being lower than what is on the folio and my confirmation email corroborates that so I'm a bit sketched out. Is the amount displayed in the confirmation email sent by Marriott at the time of booking for prepaid rate only reflect a portion of the total rate?

The other reason why Marriott's explanation doesn't make sense is because the supervisor stated that properties either charge the full room rate and wait to charge taxes upon checking out or will charge a flat percentage of 80% the total cost of the rooms as the prepaid amount. The suspicious part is that neither of these account for what I was charged ahead of time vs. what I was charged after checking out. It seems like someone on the Marriott went in and changed my room rate. As an FYI, there were no incidentals or other charges on the folio. The folio only reflects the nightly room rate and related taxes.

On the folio, you say it lists all of the taxes as well as a room rate. On your confirmation email, if you scroll down, you should see "x nights at [room rate without taxes]" - does that rate match the rate on the folio? If there is a discrepancy there, you have an issue - if not, taxes change. In some jurisdictions, there are additional taxes that aren't listed in the total but are still mentioned a booking - the 20 AED fee in the UAE comes to mind.

As a general rule, municipal and other local tourist taxes are not included in the rate and only charged at check-out, because those taxes are only due if the guest actually occupies the room.

I'm not seeing that. All I'm seeing is number of rooms, guests per rooms, guarantee method, and total for stay (all rooms). The total for stay amount is what I was charged as the prepaid amount.

Is this really true? I thought Marriott had to now display all fees and taxes in the rate at the time of booking. Regardless, even if what you are saying is true, it would still make no sense as the prepaid rate I was charged does not equal to the sum of the nightly rates minus taxes. In fact, the amount that I was charged as the prepaid rate is $2 less than the sum of the total nightly rates.

You’re not looking in the right place. On your confirmation email, scroll all the way down past all the pictures, advertising and your account info. That’s where you’ll find a section called Summary of Charges which will give you a breakdown of rate per night per room plus taxes & fees and total stay. This is followed by Rate Details & Cancellation Policy. (A lot of people don’t know that this information is hidden at the bottom of the confirmation email.)

You want to compare the rate per night listed there to what you were charged before all the taxes and fees.

margarita girl explained it better than I could, but here is a screenshot of what we're talking about:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f1c626ca88.jpg

A picture is worth a thousand words. I was going to do that from my laptop when I got out of bed this morning. :)

Thanks! The summary of charges indicate that the nightly rate was $105 per night but my folio reflects $121 per night. Prior to my stay, I did submit a BRG which was denied but that should not have changed my initially booked rate, right?

It shouldn't have, I think, but could it have? Seems like absolutely.
I would reach out to the hotel and then reach out to Bonvoy, but reach out to the hotel first.

There is no way a failed BRG would have affected your reservation. They overcharged you by $16. I think the hotel has some 'splaining to do!

Thank you! It was actually an overcharge for a bit over $30 since it was a 2 night stay. I reached out to Marriott yesterday but the folio wasn't uploaded for customer service to see just yet. I called the hotel directly but was told to call back later when a manager is available. I'll report back.

The only odd part of all of this is that the Marriott app also reflected the higher rate so I wonder if someone at BRG messed up. I didn't go back and look at what the nightly rate was after the failed BRG in the app under the stay.

You have your original confirmation. That's all that matters. Good luck!

The issue was resolved. I called the front desk who said the manager was in and he could transfer me. He accidentally hung up on me so I had to call back a few times. I finally got through to him again and he said he just gave the manager my phone number so she could call me directly. I waited ~30 minutes but received no call so I called back and was promptly transferred to the manager. She looked at the folio and immediately knew what happened. During our stay, we woke up to our bathroom covered in gnats. When we were given a new room, the front desk agent reset our rate. The manager's tone was rude throughout the entire conversation. Ultimately, I was given a refund for the extra charges and 3k Marriott points for my troubles (which I didn't ask for but is a pretty measly gesture).

Wow, talk about blaming the customer. :td: