UKTraveller4Fun

I would never ask a random employee in the lot area can I get an upgrade! I would go to the desk and ask there, they would then do the paperwork accordingly and I would sign!

I am afraid the fact you have come up with such an irrelevent explanation to try and justify your position about sums up how weak it is! If a hotel wishes to change the rate that you have booked and agreed to via that booked and also agreed to by signing the form at checkin they need to issue new forms or write the rate on the existing form and get you to sign / initial next to it. If they do not do this they simply do not have a position!

Simple question, what is to stop a hotel telling you the upgrade is free then just charge you anyway in your world? Afterall when was the last time you were given an upgrade at checkin did you ask for written proof it was a free upgrade?

Sacfitz

Sulley -- sorry to hear about your experience there, we have had mostly great service when we go for our annual holiday trip.

I believe that Randy Zupanski is still the GM at the Westin so will PM you his email address and hopefully he can assist

good luck
Sacfitz

craz

1- I dont do National, I usually do Budget or Alamo whos ever cheaper or even a brand X, price is all that matters to me Once with Hertz I took a car that was in the same lane but on the opposite side at the booth I was asked where did I get the car from since every car in that area is preassigned.I returned it and went to where I could pick what I wanted only to be told with my Elite level I had to pick from only the Right side and the car I took was from the Left side I can take it but there will be an upcharge. Budget doesnt say a word and simply up rates the contract based on what you drive off with via the computer.

2- I honestly had no idea that a new rate card had to be initialed. I always on the rare occasion that I wanted a room facing 1 way or higher up or lower down and if it had a higher rate I simply thought it would be done w/o my having to do anything.and its extremely rare for me to request a room that would mean paying more

I dont get why everyone is in a tissy, William said he was going to look into this, I know over all the years that William has been with FT that he does what he says and usually hits the nail smack on its head and if need be makes sure a person is made whole and that a hotel is called on the carpet and made sure not to repeat something if in fact it ended they did something wrong. Nor am I saying the OP is hiding something , leaving something out or changed things around or is trying to get their $$ back fully knowing they agreed to the extra fee. I wasnt there so I cant say what was said and by whom or the way it was said and by whom. there may have been a complete misunderstanding by 1 or both partys to what was agreed to or proposed, I have no idea I wasnt there.. I just hope that the OP can and will eventually update us with how Williams hunt went.

I dont own the hotel , work there nor ever stayed there = I have no skin in the game

RogerD408

Some people just keep track of who's doing things in a way they don't like and stop going there. After a while you run out of places to avoid or you forget why you stopped going and start over. If you're lucky they may have had an ownership/management change and things have improved. If you are not willing to address the issue with the property then you aren't giving them a chance to correct. Service recovery tells me a lot about the company because I expect all of them to make a mistake at some point (sometimes pleasantly surprised when it's a long time between).

UKTraveller4Fun

Really struggling to see the relevance?

RogerD408

Thinking of the sheep-like people that won't complain about a situation and just avoid the place...

Mistakes happen. It's how they get solved that tells you a lot about the place.

Eujeanie

Even though I was shouted down before, I will reiterate:

If the OP had said "are there any complimentary upgrades available, it's a special occasion" this thread would not exist.

And I bet the Lurker comes back to say:

"As a goodwill gesture, the hotel will not charge the OP for the upgrade".

Which will tell us nothing about who said what.

I will continue to always use the word "complimentary" (it's not embarrassing, it's sensible)...and if I get upgraded to a fabulous suite, I will call the FD to ask "wow, this is great, are you SURE this is free?"

An ounce of prevention...

gengar

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Because your argument is ridiculous? You yourself admitted that you don't actually know hotel SOP so why do you act confused when others rebut your commentary?

The notion that the onus is on the guest to figure out the intent of a hospitality venue is beyond absurd. The venue has already failed hospitality at that point.

craz

well it seems you were standing there at the time and know exactly what each side said so why not fill us all in. Ive been waiting to checkin at times when the person ahead of me would say something like,I really need that upgrade isnt there anything you can do, why are you so sure something like that wasnt said by the OP, maybe not and the hotel is 100% at fault. I just dont get why everyone is blaming the hotel(maybe rightly so but still unknown) when all they have to go on is what the OP said happened, Im not saying the OP isnt telling the truth, but as Ive said already when a person says something and it appears to the other person that this person wants/ needs the better room for a special night/s then i too would assume if the party asking didnt say I really need a comped upgrade that they would be willing to pay for it. You dont see it that way, thats fine. i prefer to let someone know Id really like it and need it but Im not willing to pay for it then assume that & after all my begging pleading that well if I have to pay for it then its no longer that important to have.

gengar

Oh, c'mon - this has nothing to do with the OP's credibility and everything to do with your repeated assertions that the onus is on the guest to question upgrades (beginning with your post I quoted here, just in case you forgot already).

It's amazing to me that you admit you don't know hotel operations, yet act surprised that others are so quick to rebut your points.

clarkef

That is not my experience. Whenever I have requested an upgrade whether complimentary or paid, a new contract is signed either electronically or on paper. I have been renting cars for nearly 20 years from Budget, Avis, Hertz and Enterprise and not once have I rented a car without a contract in hand which details the specific car type, mileage and rate. This contract is presented to me for signature either at the front desk or at the guard station.

This notion of leaving the rental lot without that contract is inconsistent with my experiences.

clarkef

I wouldn't presume to claim to know what transpired between the OP and the hotel, nor assign blame. I would only opine that the burden of production rests solely with the hotel to present credible evidence that the OP agreed to pay for the upgrade. The hotel is in the superior position as it can easily protect itself by having the OP sign a new rate sheet. The OP enjoys no such similar ability. Thus, the onus must be on the hotel, otherwise, how would you have confidence that an upgrade is really complimentary.

I think that is the main point of contention. Who prevails absent proof of what actually transpired. I am very comfortable to say that the guest should generally prevail.

Kacee

And I would say also that the guest will prevail if the hotel can't present that evidence. There will certainly be multiple writings (including the initialed rate card) showing that the guest agreed to the original rate . . . if the hotel can't show an amendment to that reflecting the higher rate, it's going to lose. Though this should never get to the stage of either a chargeback or a small claims action. I would expect it to be resolved in guest's favor as soon as management is involved.

craz

Well its obvious you never rented from Budget @ LAX using Fast Track, you get dropped off atb the FT booth see what row on the board they tell you to go to, pick whatever car is on that row (or flag down an employee when there are no cars and thats happened a few times) drive to the booth hand over your CC and DL and paper work if they are any damages to the car the rep inputs everything on the computer and off you go w/o any contract whatsoever, you wont see any amounts to pay till you return the car and get your receipt.

I on the other hand when I was told the Nissan Versa was indeed a mid-size along with what seemed to be compacts to me asked for a printout and she went to the next booth to get it for me, as I pulled away it showed I took a Compact but booked a Mid-size. Another time when the row was empty and I was told to simply take from the next row again after asking for a printout it showed a higher rate and booked Mid-size but took a Ful- size. Ive had problems in FL as well

the other week @ Alamo LAX where I was able to simply by pass the counter had I not mentioned Irenes name the employee who OKed taking a full when I booked a mid and when i told that to the person in the booth and she looked towards Irene who gestured with her hand that she OKed it Im sure otherwise I would have been charged.

CLEguy

What in the world does the Budget car rental at LAX have to do with it? Who is Irene? What are you talking about?