LNF rate denied -- I call shenanigans!
Aug 4, 2013, 4:54 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hold it down for The Bay, reppin' Oakland
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LNF rate denied -- I call shenanigans!
Here is the text of the cranky email I just sent.
Does anyone think there is a chance that the location lowered my rate innocently, unaware that it was denying me the guaranteed 25% discount? Am I being too cynical here?
I hate to say it, but someone is cheating here. I booked on the Marriott website at $139 per night as noted below. I have the original confirmation email. I also booked three other rooms at that rate, which were adjusted with the LNF guarantee. Just after those three rooms were adjusted, as if by magic, I received a new confirmation for confirmation number 9250XXXX. The new confirmation included a new price - the competing price on Travelocity. I have attached pdfs of the original email, and the altered reservation.
Ultimately, it appears to me that the location tried to get around honoring the LNF guarantee by changing the rate that I booked (which was the lowest available rate at the time I booked it). I am very displeased with this. I expect that you will be able to make the proper adjustments, but I should not have to chase this down. It really is unfair to require that I waste my time like this, and it reflects very poorly on Marriott and whoever made these changes.
Ultimately, it appears to me that the location tried to get around honoring the LNF guarantee by changing the rate that I booked (which was the lowest available rate at the time I booked it). I am very displeased with this. I expect that you will be able to make the proper adjustments, but I should not have to chase this down. It really is unfair to require that I waste my time like this, and it reflects very poorly on Marriott and whoever made these changes.
Aug 4, 2013, 5:19 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
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Posts: 2,379
LNF rate denied -- I call shenanigans!
Are all four rooms on the same reservation?
Aug 4, 2013, 5:27 pm
#3
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No. You can only book up to three rooms at once on the website. I had one reservation for three rooms and another for a single room. The LNF claim first reservation (for three rooms) was honored and the new rate (inc. 25% discount) was issued. I received a confirming email to that effect. Hot on the heals of that, I received what appeared to be a duplicate reservation confirmation for the reservation with a single room. It was not, however, identical to the original; the rate had been magically lowered to match the Travelocity rate I had included in my LNF claim. As a result, I received an email denying my claim on this reservation.
Aug 4, 2013, 5:34 pm
#4
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Oops. I was wrong. But I still think they're guilty of shenanigans. It turns out that I was denied, not because the rate I claimed was the same, but because the lower rate was available on the Marriott website.
Of course that rate was not available on the website WHEN I BOOKED. They added it after honoring my first LNF claim on the same rates. Of course I have no idea if I can prove that the rate was not on the website, but I expect that the result of my first claim should at least provide circumstantial evidence. So annoyed.
According to the Terms and Conditions of Marriott's Look No Further(SM) Best Rate Guarantee, when multiple rates for the same hotel, reservation dates, and room type are displayed on a Marriott web site, you must reserve the lowest rate to be eligible for the guarantee. According to our review, we have determined that, along with the nightly room rate you confirmed, the following offer was available via Marriott's web site:
Book Early and Save rate is $119.95 for September 06, 2013 through September 08, 2013/
The rate changes to $129.95 on September 08, 2013.
This is the same rate as Travelocity.
Book Early and Save rate is $119.95 for September 06, 2013 through September 08, 2013/
The rate changes to $129.95 on September 08, 2013.
This is the same rate as Travelocity.
Aug 4, 2013, 6:18 pm
#5
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if the lower rate WAS available at the time of your claim submission then the LNF team would have seen it and denied your claim............if they "blew it" then IMO you should not be "penalyzed" now since they approved your LNF.........assuming you still have the LNF approval, go back to LNF team and have them reinstate their approved rate.......
Oops. I was wrong. But I still think they're guilty of shenanigans. It turns out that I was denied, not because the rate I claimed was the same, but because the lower rate was available on the Marriott website.
Of course that rate was not available on the website WHEN I BOOKED. They added it after honoring my first LNF claim on the same rates. Of course I have no idea if I can prove that the rate was not on the website, but I expect that the result of my first claim should at least provide circumstantial evidence. So annoyed.
Of course that rate was not available on the website WHEN I BOOKED. They added it after honoring my first LNF claim on the same rates. Of course I have no idea if I can prove that the rate was not on the website, but I expect that the result of my first claim should at least provide circumstantial evidence. So annoyed.
Aug 4, 2013, 6:23 pm
#6
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if the lower rate WAS available at the time of your claim submission then the LNF team would have seen it and denied your claim............if they "blew it" then IMO you should not be "penalyzed" now since they approved your LNF.........assuming you still have the LNF approval, go back to LNF team and have them reinstate their approved rate.......
Aug 4, 2013, 6:27 pm
#7
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if the lower rate was available at the time the LNF team was verifying your additional claim then IMO they correctly denied your claim............previous claim OKs are not binding on future/additional claims............
It's not a question of reinstating the rate. They gave me the LNF on the first, but not on the second (because the rate had been added to the website in between processing the two claims). I have three rooms at the correct rate w/ 25% discount and one room without the discount.
Aug 4, 2013, 6:32 pm
#8
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Now they said they made an error on the first claim -- that the rate was there all along. They are not canceling the discount I received, so I guess I should be grateful for that...but I know that they are wrong. So annoying.