Marriott lost my laundry ... ?
 

All-

Anyone have experience with a hotel, specifically Marriott, losing items you handed over to their laundry service? I'm not talking about socks and underwear here, more like a sportcoat or slacks, etc. You know, expensive stuff.

Currently staying at a Marriott (Renaissance) in Atlanta and had them clean some shirts and my favorite $500 sportcoat. The shirts made it back but the sportcoat never arrived. The official word from reception is, "um, can't seem to find it. We don't know what to do for you." (Really?) Event after explaining that I was checking out tomorrow in the a.m., the response was, "are you sure you gave us a sportcoat?" My laundry receipt clearly shows that a spotcoat was part of my laundry that went out for cleaning.

Assuming they can't find this before I check out in a few hours, what are my chances of demanding that I be reimbursed for the coat? Even if they find it two weeks from now, I need it for meetings tomorrow.

Frustrated. Annoyed. Welcome comments.

Jake

No, that's never happened to me (thank goodness). If I remember the fine print on those little laundry slips, though, I think their liability is limited to some ridiculously low amount like ten times the amount the charge to clean an item.

And I know this won't make you feel any better, but why did you send a $500 sportcoat out via the hotel cleaners, the day before checkout, when you needed it for meetings the next day? Unless somebody spilled a glass of red wine on you, it just seems like an unnecessary risk (that in this case, unfortunately, was realized).

All that being said, I'm still hoping the hotel does the right thing. Either by finding and returning your cleaned coat or by reimbursing you without lots of grumbling and delay. Any chance you can find out what cleaning service they use and try to deal with them directly?

No, I haven't. Hope everything works out.

if the receipt you tendered along w the laundry think you'll find yourself limited to either the laundry charge or twice that amount (general hotel cop-out language) as a limitation of liability but hopefully (for you) the hotel won't be that strict.....

Thanks all.

to answer DJ_Iceman, yes, it got some food stains on it from dinner the night before. Thus the last minute cleaning. And yes, I just looked at the laundry slip, and the "Claims for Loss" states that they are limited to 5x the cost of cleaning ... or $50.

Packing to check out and the on-duty manager claimed to be working with the cleaners to open their shop and search for the coat -- on a Sunday. We'll see how that goes. I've been a Platinum Marriott Rewards member for the better part of 10 years. Let's hope that counts for something more than the gray colored card key I receive at check-in.

If they don't find your jacket and refuse to give you more than $50.00 for it, I would write an e-mail to the hotel's general manager, cc'ing Marriott corporate. I had a similar situation arise a couple years ago at a stay in NYC. The regular staff wasn't very helpful, but once I got a hold of the GM they offered to cover the loss (but ultimately the item was found). Good luck!

In this day & age, not likely that Marriott will ante up more than it has to + a few courtesy points.

I'll bet somebody looked really spiffy on Saturday night ...... In ur sport coat!

If I were the OP, I would contact the GM of the hotel to explain the situation. I expect hotels to not lose dry cleaning items. Dry cleaning is a profitable service for hotels consistently, unlike room service which often operates as a necessary loss leader, and people often will dry clean expensive items like sports coats and suits.

I have used dry cleaning with one Marriott hotel twice, but in my case, it would have been real hard for them to lose my clothing since the dry cleaner is in the same mall as the hotel.

If the hotel does not make good, I would contest the hotel bill with the credit card company.

happened to me at CY Munich... Hotel and Mr. Marriott's office told me to take a hike... Hope it works better for you.

All-

Thanks for the feedback and similar stories. Considering the hotel's inability to find the jacket before I checked out, I think boss315's assessment of this situation may be correct. (Cracked up when I read that. Thanks for the levity.)

I had a stern but friendly conversation with the 'supervisor on duty' at checkout stating that I expected some resolution to this situation before they put my hotel charges through. The agreed ... and then a couple hours later the charges hit my credit card anyway. This prompted an email to [email protected], asking if my 10-year loyalty to Marriott was worth anything to them, which seems thus far to have had an impact. Got a call from the Atlanta regional manager who expressed a desire to, "make this right." Will post back if that happens.

Cheers--

Jake

Despite what it may say on your laundry slip to a limit to liability, if you push enough the hotel will be required to either find the sport coat or reimburse you for the value. It's no different than if you valet parked a car at the hotel, and the next day valet states they can't find it. The legal term for what happened is "bailment." The hotel took bailment of your coat, and now they can't find it, hold them to being liable.

The only thing they wouldn't be liable for is if you had sent the coat off to be cleaned, and when it came back you found out you had left your $25,000 Rolex in the pocket which is now missing. The hotel knowingly took bailment of the sports coat, not the Rolex.

I was once at a Courtyard, and when ironing my own shirt, the iron left black streaks on the front (which didn't come out in the wash). The hotel reimbursed me for the full amount.

Hopefully this hotel will do better than 10% of the value.

Well, good news I think.

Spoke with the regional manager of Marriott Hotels (Renaissance brand) in the Atlanta area just now. Nice guy actually, who informed me that, "yes, of course we will reimburse you for a new jacket. We have insurance for these things." He noted that I could simply get fitted for a new jacket and send him the receipt ... ! Fingers crossed.

Appreciated the input from TheChallenge on the legal aspect of this situation. Learn something new everyday.

Safe travels-

Jake

Extending this a bit, several months ago at Seattle Airport Marriott, my laundry came back good but for one dress shirt - torn. When pointed to the front desk, they referred me to the manager who wasn't available at the late hour. At check-out I preferred to deposit the torn shirt with them and pursue the matter over phone. After heeing and hawing, hotel manager offered free laundry on my next visit :rolleyes: