I have a room booked in Indianapolis next week for 2 nights for the Indy 500. I booked this room 10 months ago at a rate of $109 per night. The cancellation rate on my reservation currently says cancel at least 1 day in advanced to avoid the penalty.

I received an email from the hotel's operations manager this evening saying that because this is a special event, and per Marriott's terms for special events, they are charging me a non refundable one night stay.

I am 99% sure I will be there those nights, but how can they change the terms and charge my card on file the non refundable rate for one night?

This is more of a curiosity thing that got me wondering and not a huge deal, but wanted to see what the experts say.

Here is the email:

Welcome Race Fans!!!!

We are excited to have you back at the Indianapolis Airport Courtyard this May for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Currently we have 1 king room reserved for you at a rate of $ 109.00 plus tax for 2 nights starting May 27, 2016 and checking out on May 29, 2016. Per Marriott’s booking rules regarding special events, we need to place a non-refundable deposit of one night’s stay to continue to hold the reservation by May 20, 2016. I will use the card you inputted when guaranteeing the reservation. If you would like to use another form of payment please contact me either by telephone or e-mail. Changes can be made to the payment type at arrival.
It should be an exciting race and we look forward to your stay at the Indianapolis Airport Courtyard!

I would email him back & say...

"I'm glad you're excited, but here's my confirmation & since there are no details re: non-refundable deposit, I expect you to honor my original reservation & no legally you do not get to change the terms after the fact, regardless of Marriott's special events policy. If the policy was in place when I made the reservation & it showed on my confirmation I'd be in agreement w/ you, but since it wasn't I expect you to honor the reservation as it was made. If you have a problem w/ that we can either resolve it w/ Marriott HQ or the Indiana Attorney General; your choice. I expect to keep the reservation & look forward to seeing you soon, but I will not accept after the fact a change in my reservation terms & a non-refundable deposit." Love & kisses... (ok, you can drop the love & kisses part ).

Cheers.

I had the same thing happen when I made a pre-emptive Superbowl reservations hoping the Ravens would repeat and play at Metlife Stadium. (big mistake) The property emailed me and said very similarly that they were changing the cancelation etc etc etc. and that I needed to acknowledge the changes or my reservation would be canceled.

I called MR and told them of the email. They called the property and spoke to GM who sent email. He got his butt handed to him. My terms at time of reservation were continued. I canceled when Ravens were eliminated.

If I were you, i would contact Marriott to document and make sure your reservation isn't impacted.

Im with "SkiAdcock" and "Mr. Vker". I think they are on the money.


Also, the GM should have cited the actual "special events T&C" in the E-Mail.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work with hotels. As happens every year around major events, people learn that this is a huge gap in consumer laws. Many people will find, around the Super Bowl, the Indy 500, and other major events, their reservations are simply cancelled and all they ever get is a shrug.

While I personally believe that once a room is rented under a set of t&c, those must be honored (as DOT post-purchase rules require), regrettably they don't.

Unless you are very certain of the result, I would not get into an email back-and-forth with the GM. You may simply find your reservation gone. And you may find that nothing ever comes of your complaint.

If you are dead set against providing a guarantee, call the guy and tell him your concern. If he won't budge, you have a decision to make. Don't provide the guarantee, lose the room, and maybe he gets a nasty letter from his AG, but you watch on TV vs. give him the CC #, and enjoy the race.

It's shoddy because it's not as though this date isn't pretty well known out there, but it's the world you are stuck with.

I'm with Sharon and Mr. Vker. You don't get to change the rules after you have accepted the reservation. If it was a special event, those details should have been loaded in when those dates elevated to the reservation system.

I would definitely respond and indicate that you expect the reservation to be honored and that you do not authorize them charging you in advance. I would also advise that if you arrive and your reservation is not honored you will invoke the Ultimate Reservation Guarantee and demand the compensation you are entitled to.

If you have further issues with the GM I would contract Plat customer service and see if they can educate him.

Seems to me that instead of making it an issue up front, you could ignore the email and carry on as planned. If, in fact, you do cancel your trip, you still have the original confirmation and could call your credit card company to dispute the unauthorized charge. I can't imagine you'd have much difficulty getting it charged back, since you never authorized it.

I don't think that's what this is about. The GM is looking for approval. If he doesn't get it, I suspect that the reservation gets cancelled.

Problem is that OP has a $109 rate during a major event. The GM likely hopes that OP won't get back to him so that he can cancel the reservation and then rent the room for $500.

In situations such as this, playing too cute by half can leave you very disappointed.

I would make 100% certain that you have this properly lined up and confirmed before your arrival. If you can talk the GM out of the deposit all the better. If you can't, you will need to pay the deposit and deal with it afterwards if you can't make it (but having agreed to it, the chargeback won't work).

That's why I got MR involved. I didn't deal with property.

I would disagree about the chargeback, if the OP never approves the charge. Unless the GM sent a letter, certified mail, return receipt requested, there's no proof that the OP was ever notified.

I don't see anywhere in the OP where the GM is looking for approval. He says he's going to charge the card and to contact him if there's a different form of payment.
I would ignore it. Email gets ignored all the time and this one doesn't ask for acknowledgment.
If you go, you've got a room. If there's no room, OP is platinum and it will cost the hotel dearly.
If the OP cancels, he's got the terms he originally agreed to for a charge back.

Got Marriott Rewards involved when a property changed the cancellation terms from "day before arrival" to "four months before arrival." This was an award reservation. The property scheduled a huge convention after I made my reservation, apparently resulting in the change to my reservation. After MR's involvement, GM sent me e-mail apologizing and changing my reservation back to original cancellation terms.

Sounds like a simple scare tactic to scare up some possible cancellations in order to resell the rooms at a much higher rate. Probably well known in the GM circles. Little downside for the property other than being reported to Corporate as the smarter one's have done. I would also bet if you did nothing the property wouldn't cancel & resell knowing the penalties and costs when you show up.

Also believe most non FT'ers gladly comply to alleviate the stress of not having a room when they show up after a major effort to get there.

Definitely an underhanded scare tactic IMO.

I've had this happen multiple times when I book 11.5 months out in these small SEC football towns. They LOVE to change their policies, and even rates, after the fact. Sometimes without calling me.

My response is always the following: "It is not my problem that under your leadership you failed to establish the correct rate/cancellation structure when I made my reservation. I'll gladly speak with Marriott Corporate Customer Care about this if needed."

All but one hotel has quieted down after that response.

If the hotel cancels the OP's reservation but he shows up, yes it will cost the hotel something, but that amount is probably less than the rate for which the hotel can sell the room. If there are no rooms available in town, getting the compensation but being walked to a Motel6 fifty miles away would not be a good outcome for the OP.