Hi,

I recently had a bit of an issue at a Marriott hotel, and without naming the property, I'd like to gather some input as to what you think a successful resolution to the problem would have been.

I made a reservation for a particular property, call it A, for tonight. The property is nearby where I live, and I only made the res because of a cheap weekend rate and the fact that the front desk kindly confirmed an upgrade to a particular jacuzzi suite that is quite nice. When I arrived, I was checked-in, but unfortunately, the room in question was absolutely infested with bugs. When I went back down to the desk, the FD manager offered to comp me for the night and offer me another room, albeit not a suite. Given my state of mind, and shock (were talking several dozen bugs), I was obviously rather disinclined to stay at this particular hotel.

The sub-issue was also that a regular room was rather redundant--I have an apartment much nicer than a standard hotel room 20 minutes away, and the trip was meant to be a special night in for my girlfriend and I. However, this is secondary, especially as I indicated my willingness to pay the difference for a suite if necessary.

The manager then got on the horn to find rooms at the two other Marriott-family hotels nearby, call them B and C. B is nicer than C. C has a double-bedded room available, while B is sold-out. I call the Platinum line and am told the same thing.

I leave the hotel, taking the manager's card. I walk over the B, where, perhaps due to a relationship with the property, am told they can squeeze me into a room. I call the manager at A, who tells me to tell the FD at B to call them. Naturally, hotel B is a bit befuddled by this. Finally, I get someone useful on the Platinum line who is, after 45 minutes on hold, able to get the manager at A to call B and confirm that they will handle the payment of the room. As an update, it took another hour on the phone this late-morning to confirm the inclusion of breakfast and parking (part of the package I had booked at hotel A) at hotel B. Hotel B was not at fault, as the Marriott Platinum desk had called me last night to ensure that it was taken care of, but evidently no communication ever transpired. So again, I had to do the work to get the appropriate parties in contact with one another.

It seems to me that it would be standard operating procedure to immediately comp a guests' charges following such a bad infestation. Thus, the jostling around (most of which I did, with little assistance from the manager at A beyond 'sorry') was simply an attempt to find me appropriate equal accommodation. I don't feel like I"ve been compensated for this issue all that much, given the fact that it took up four hours of my time, required most of the leg-work to be done by me, and is a response to an absolutely filthy issue. This is a major property in the Northern United States, not a tent in the jungle. I will be speaking to the GM of property A on Monday, as well as following up with the Marriott Platinum people. What would be an appropriate bit of compensation be to ask for?

I would think that a $200 credit or a certificate to be used for a night at another Marriott would be fair, given that to me, simply comping the room and offering no remotely acceptable alternative without work on my end was the bare minimum that needed to be done.


If you need further clarification, feel free to ask. I feel as though I should not name the property until, if at all, I communicate directly with the GM.

Please name the property so the rest of us can avoid it! Walking into a room full of bugs would really ruin my day...

Just curious what type of bugs & location of the property?

While I would not be happy with a room "absolutely infested with bugs" I realize there are some climates where bugs are a continual problem. I was recently in Florida at a Marriott property and there were lots & lots of bugs outdoors. A few would get inside the room but it wasn't a major problem.

The hotel didn't have anything else available for you, or you were convinced that all rooms would be infested with bugs? Since you were familiar with the jacuzzi suite I assume you've stayed at this property before and didn't have a problem with the bugs?

I just spent some time in South America, and, well, you have to make your peace with bugs there. However, this is a major city hotel in the Northern US. Additionally, these weren't 'outside' bugs; they were lovely creepy-crawling things.

I greatly preferred not to stay in the same hotel, as this wasn't just one spider on the bedsheets, it was several dozen all around.

Any thoughts as to what I should be asking for? I snapped a picture on my cell phone which clearly identifies the suite (a jacuzzi and the finishes are pretty distinctive) and am considering posting it on tripadvisor. I don't want to embarrass the property, but other travelers really should be aware of what goes on there...

We were in Miami Beach and our room at the SOBE Marriott had plenty of mosquitoes in it. We had a terrific room and the management was apologetic and accommodating. We received a $100 resort credit. We decided not to move rooms, hung fly paper, and stayed as we had the top room. We later deduced that the prior occupants probably left one of the terrace sliding doors open during their stay, or maybe housekeeping did. We were also on the top floor and also thought that the AC units were pooling water providing a breeding ground.

Insects, lizards, iguanas, whatever, are part of the territory in tropical locales.

Now, if you were referring to cockroaches or other crawling pests, that is another story. I would just check out.

Ok, I'm confused. You're not willing to name the property on FT until you hear back from the manager re: possible compensation, yet you're going to post on TripAdvisor w/ pictures so others can be aware of the problem? Why not post the property's name on FT so we can be aware of the property? Also, when the manager responds to whatever compensation you're requesting, post that as well.

Cheers.

I want to give the manager a chance to explain the issue. If it was a one-off kind of thing, and he explains the procedures he took to ensure that it's been rectified and won't happen again, blah blah, I don't feel a need to publicly embarrass the property. It's obviously an issue and one that would result in a negative image for the hotel.

If the response leads me to believe that the issue isn't being addressed seriously, then I'll decide then.

I agree with not naming the property. I did the same with my bug bed incident a few months ago. The hotel said the right things to indicate they were fixing the problem and compensated me (refund plus enough points to stay there again for the same number of nights). I didn't feel like pushing the hotel more or identifying the hotel.

In your case I think money back plus 20,000 or 25,000 points would be more than reasonable compensation. Stuff happens.

Thanks for the frame of reference.

That's basically what I"m asking for. I've received money back, and the ~$200 is around 25k points, just preferred on my end as I'm in the middle of a Platinum Challenge.

In addition to an email, I sent a snail mail letter to Marriott. Hopefully they'll resolve the issue on both the corporate and property end in a satisfactory way.

Maybe I'm an anachronism these days, but I just don't understand most of these "what is the proper compensation for my little inconvenience" threads. You tried to get a quick, cheap getaway and the hotel was giving you a fantastic suite. It had bugs so you didn't want to stay there. Then all kinds of options were presented, each of which gave you a free night in a full-service hotel. You hemmed and hawed, finally decided on something, and now after-the-fact you want more.

Again, I just don't get it. Hotels must love me, because I guess I'm just a sucker who tends to give them the benefit of the doubt and who never expects more than what I pay for.

I'm not sure how you're equating a room full of bugs with a 'little inconvenience.' I have a pretty strong stomach for that sort of thing, and it was disgusting, unsanitary, and pretty pathetic for a four-star hotel. But, to each his own.

I think the real issue is that you were not, on that night, an ordinary traveller. An ordinary traveller, who was out of town on business or pleasure, who had then been upgraded to a nice suite, then there was an issue with said suite when they open the door, would 99 times out of 100 be satisfied with being moved to a regular room in the same hotel and having htat room comped. You are paying for a room, and that's all you can demand, and they offered you a room, for FREE.

I really don't understand the OP, and find parts of his story strange. He refuses to name the hotel so that others can be warned before going there. He refuses to describe the "bugs". The hotel offered him other rooms, for free, and he declined. They put him up at another hotel, the one he went to that was nicer, of course he went there after he was told by the PLT desk and hotel that Hotel B was full, and he is now upset he spent time on the phone getting the free room at the sold out hotel.

Now the OP comes here asking us to tell him how much more he should get in addition to the free night he already received at this "major" no-name hotel.

I am confused why people post here that they found bugs in their room and/or bed bugs on the bed, and want the help of the FT community, but they will not disclose the hotels so the rest of us are not subjected to bed bugs and other "bugs".

Also- really? You spent a total of four hours the night before and the morning after to get a free night at a hotel room in your own city with your girlfriend? I'm thinking at some point I would have gone home and had my special night there.

I think bedbugs is a much worse problem than spiders. Spiders probably won't end up infesting your house. (I'm assuming we're not talking black widows or tarantulas...)

If the problem were bedbugs, I would be reluctant to stay at the same hotel. Spiders? Not so much. I'm guessing an egg sac just hatched in that room. I think the fact that OP spent 4 hours dithering with everything instead of just going home is not the manager's fault.

OP - For more sympathy, post the picture on FT. Or post it on Flickr and link to it here. We agree not to speculate on the name and location.