dd992emo

This wasn't the weekend of May 18, was it? Because Mrs DD and I spent two nights in the Southaven, MS CY and there were baseball teams everywhere. Unfortunately, these teams and their parents (MO license plates) embodied every frightening stereotype about youth baseball teams in hotels. Slamming doors at all hours, yelling in the hallways, locust-like carnage on the coffee bar in the lobby, etc. I know they all aren't like that, but this bunch was...

NJUPINTHEAIR

]I have read through this thread and I can honestly say OP that I don't agree with you.

Yes, I would be angry that some in your group got the adjustment while others did not, BUT Marriott has made a very decent gesture here and I would have let it rest after that.

You state that some families have to scrimp and save to go to this event and yet, if money is such a factor, would they not jump at the chance to have even a 1 day holiday at some place rather than a refund of $30.00????

I think the conduct of the desk and management was reprehensible, but I think that the offer made by Marriott was far better than a refund of $30.00 and it seems to me that you are beating a dead horse.

The proper thing to do is not patronize this hotel again and consider it a lesson learned.

As for the rules, I disagree with you as well.

The poster above described the situation he encountered when he found himself in a hotel overrun by sports teams. I can't say that your team would have behaved in the same way, but certainly, the hotel has hosted these types of events before and know likely from experience what goes on during these events.

It kind of amazes me that you have not encoutered this before ... or was this the first time that you travelled with a team to a sports invitational.

After all, if you read in this forum and the SPG forum, there are numerous complaints by elite members as to how certain families hog the lounge and take all the food for themselves leaving little for other guests.

As a 60 night member, you must have seen this in your travels and yet you seem to take umbrage and express amazement that school age sports teams and thier family entourage would never indulge in such behavior.

It appears to me that both you and the management of the property antagonized one another and it spiralled downwards from there. Your continuing this investiigation when you wre made a more than generous offer by Marriott makes me question your viewpoint -- Are you losing the forest for the trees???????

DillMan

You agreed to a rate. You were already at the hotel. Why would Marriott want to lower the rate you had already agreed to and travelled (some distance) to use? If the hotel was sold out, their objective was to get as much money as possible for each and every room.

The fact that many families had to save to get their rooms means absolutely zilch to Marriott. Rates = demand. Rates do not equate to need.

GoPhils

I got the impression the points were only offered to the OP, not the entire group that didn't have their rates adjusted?

BHMFlier

Perhaps I wasn't quite as clear as I should have been. They offered a comparable number of points to what is typically earned for a night stay in a property such as this Fairfield Inn, not enough to redeem for a night's stay in a similar property

$30/night for a 5 night stay = $150, which to some of these families makes a big deal in their monthly budget.

We are a travel ball team. We stay in hotels all over the southeastern US and have never encountered a situation like this, which is why it bothers me as much as it does. I freely admit that I can argue this point both ways. As a business traveller, I would be extremely upset if kids were running the hallways, slamming doors, etc. I don't have the luxury in this forum to post the entire packet of rules, but I think most parents would have read the rules provided and been offended. Furthermore, Marriott's customer service to the top of the food chain (Mr. Marriott's office) agreed that it is not part of Marriott's values to have one set of rules for one set of guests and another set of rules for another set of guests. The packet provided clearly states at the top of the page "GROUP STAY RULES." But, it clearly is not intended for all groups since one of the rules (that is not offensive) is "players may not wear game shoes in the hotel." I don't see too many groups of pharmaceutical reps, IT guys, etc. travelling on group rates wearing game shoes.

60 nights so far this year, generally over 100 nights per year, and no, if you read my comments throughout this forum and above in this post, I am quite clear that I can argue this issue both ways. I have stayed in hotels hosting rowdy groups before, including college kids, wedding parties, etc. I'm sure Fairfield doesn't meet them at the door with a list of 'thou shalts and thou shalt nots.'

Antagonized is completely the wrong word here. I think questioning a decision that is made for several people in a group and not extended to the entire group, asking to speak with a GM (who refused) and then going to Marriott Customer Care rather than making a scene at the hotel is hardly antagonistic. With my travel history, I'm astute enough to recognize that sometimes there is an end around that achieves much more than antagonizing a front desk clerk who is powerless. Rather, I put the ball in play with Marriott Customer Service and let them run with it. I can honestly say that I have never had a situation like this where even the top of the food chain in customer care has agreed there were major problems and were exasperated that they couldn't get resolution after straight up saying "Customer care may not get a response from the GM, but when I call and tell them I am in Mr. Marriott's office, I will get this issue fixed."

BHMFlier

Nope. Despite the fact that I have become spokesman for our group, I was the only one offered points.

doctor15

The difference in rates sounds understandable, and there is not much that can be done about that.

Where the hotel royally screwed up is 1) adjusting the rate for some people and 2) not having the GM address your concerns.

The GM could have easily met with you and explained the difference in rates and while you might be angry... would probably understand if he was polite about it. But when the hotel chose to adjust rates for selected people who were booked in a group block, they are asking for major problems. The GM then ignoring just compounded the issues.

NJUPINTHEAIR

Well, I will allow that $150 is not an insignificant amount of money and that a free night at a similar category level hotel does not cut the mustard.

I also agree with you that the the management's behavior was reprehensible, in fact, I had a similar situation happen to me where the front desk staff refused to acknowledge me; however, the manager of the property when she returned was appalled about my treatment, so I certainly understand your desire to escalate the matter.

What I do not understand, however, is that you and your group were offended by the rules put to you. I do not know if this preceded the contretemps about the refund for some of your group or not, but since you had gone on these trips before, you must have been aware that such rules are often put forth by management and for reasons that you, yourself have acknowledged.

Rather that suck it up, and acknowledge that fact and try to reason with the management over this and the fee refund, it seems that your relationship followed a predictable death spiral.

I think the better thing to do would have been to write a note to management in an even handed manner explaining how your group does not behave in this fashion and that you intend to prove it over the course of the next 5 days and that you intend to again take up the matter of the refund with management prior to your check-out.

Having engendered some good will by a demonstration that you were true to your word as to how your group differed from those who were targeted by that memo could have gone a long way in resolving this matter favorabley to your interests. @:-)

craz

sorry OP I dont agree with You. Could be the others got their rate before you did and once the allotment at that rate was filled that rate amount wasnt gonna be offered again. etc etc Sort of like any flight once a certain is filled thats it most likely not even 1 more tkt will be sold from it its called revenue mgmt and sells only x seats per fare basis

I think the hotel made a mistake by lowering some of those on your program and should have said Im sorry but we have a contract and an agreed upon rate, how many rooms were available when you AGREED on the contract is way to late to know, were you the 1st to book or the last

I think you should be happy that some of your group were in the end able to get a lower rate,which imo they shouldnt have

BHMFlier

Actually, the other team booked their rooms after we booked ours. Otherwise, I agree with you. I would have been perfectly content paying the rate we agreed to in the contract. That's the rate I expected to pay when I arrived at the hotel. I also agree that the hotel made a mistake by lowering the rate for some of our group and not everyone. However, once they did, they needed to honor that request for everyone on our contract that asked and Marriott agrees that is the case.

BHMFlier

This is probably the 20th hotel stay with these boys over the past 2 years and the first that we've ever been given anything like this by a hotel including other Fairfield Inn properties. I wish I had the packet with me so that I could prove the language in their 'group rules' so that you could see how inflammatory some of these things were. Furthermore, it wasn't just the rules so much as the commentary that went with them that was highly accusatory.

One rule, to paraphrase, said something along the lines of "all room contents will be inventoried on a daily basis and anything missing will be added to the room charges." But, the following sentences basically said "people like you steal stuff from our rooms and thus this rule is enforceable." Another said something along the lines of "if we have to lower the rate of another customer per our satisfaction guarantee because of how your group acts, the amount deducted from another customer's room will be added to yours." The commentary with that basically said 'kids don't act right in hotels and we'll be watching.' Again, the form is titled "group rules" not "baseball team rules or soccer team rules." We had kids walk through the lobby with parents 10 feet behind and the front desk clerk scold the kids saying "where are your parents, you're not supposed to be down here without an adult" in an extremely rude way and when they saw the parent make comments about "you need to do a better job of supervising your child." We're talking literally a few feet spacing so a child came around the corner into the lobby before the child. Even Marriott said when they reviewed the fax I sent that (so they have seen the actual wording) the rules were over the top and not in line with their values. That a set of rules for guests should be a set of rules for all guests. That any guest would be asked to leave if they were violating hotel rules not just a youth baseball team.

NJUPINTHEAIR

OK. Here is what you do.

When you speak to the contact at the home HQ, in a reasonsed way express your displeasure and if you find no satisfaction, let it drop that you intend to post the rules on Google documents and cite that the hotel is not family friendly in as many forums as possible, with a link to their accusatory rules.

That should do the trick.

jayer

Stop teasing and post the list.

radman430

I am a manager at a Fairfield Inn and Suites property and while I cannot comment on the rate issue without knowing the particulars of the group contract, I believe I can shed some light on the "rules" set forth by the property in regards to sports teams.

At my property we also have a "Youth Group and Sport Teams Policy" that is given to all members of such groups at check-in that must be signed signifying agreement with the policy. I'm not sure what types of "offensive" rules this property might have had in place but as far as ours are concerned, they are more a re-iteration of common courtesy to fellow guests. Previous situations created a need for us to implement these procedures to ensure a satisfactory stay for all guests. While not all sports teams are guilty of reprehensible behavior, there are some that unfortunately neglect common courtesy. As a business traveler, I'm sure you would want hotel staff to take action when doors are slamming at 1am and children are playing sports in hotel hallways while parents are drinking in the hotel lobby area (situations which have occurred at my property in the past). While our policy has items such as "quiet hours from 9pm to 7am" and "refrain from playing sports in hotel hallways, stairwells, and parking lots", I don't believe that anyone would argue that this is an unreasonable expectation for every guest that checks in. Would you be able to provide an example of the types of rules that this property enacted that you felt were inappropriate? I am curious to see what types of demands the property made to your group and others like it.

*My apologies, I did not see the example above!

unkn0wndj

I work in the Front office at a Courtyard property here in Alabama. If it is indeed a franchise property, it's a toss up. Some management companies are great, while others are not. Usually Marriott corporate is your best bet in those circumstances and I see they offered you points. The rules for teams is pretty standard through most brands due to the behavior of most youth teams. We try to make the stay fair for everyone in the hotel. The rate variance is another issue. Sales coordinators are in sales. They will try to make more money, while you try to negotiate down. The 30$ difference could have been that the hotel had X amount of rooms before occupancy, and they offered to fill that gap. They could have been better negotiators, etc. It doesn't make it right, but there are many reasons. The hotel could have treated the situation much differently, just remember to mark that down as a lesson learned and never stay there again.