I have a 3 nights reservation and tried to drop the last night. I called the Hotel and was told that if I changed the reservation from 3 nights to 2 nights, the rate is going to change.

Right now the rate is $224/night for 3 nights. The new rate is $368 for the first night and $278 for the second night.

So, I kept the three nights. I always think if I need to add a night, it has to go with the current rate, but not the other way around. I also did changes before and had no problem. Does the policy change?

I would think the Hotel would like to have the room back so they can offer it again to the public for higher rate.

Anybody has the same experience?

I have not. But this is one reason I make multiple one night reservations as I have heard this happens and often my trips are cut short by a day if I can end my business early and get home a day sooner. I suppose call around to see if you can get a better rate elsewhere and, if you can, ask to speak to the GM and let them know you will cancel the whole thing if you can't make it a 2 night at the rate you have. Also, perhaps you can reserve with points and cancel the existing reservation? Good luck.

Whenever changing the dates or the number of nights for a stay, the rate can change. The new rate will depend on what the revenue management software is predicting for occupancy during your stay when you try to make the change.

For your situation, I recommend monitoring the rates up to check-in time. Sometimes rates go down again as it gets closer to a stay depending on the projected occupancy level. If they do, just re-book via the web (modify the existing reservation or do a new one and cancel the old one). Finally, if that does't work, you can politely ask the front desk associate at the time of check in. They have a lot of discretion and may be willing to adjust the number of nights for the stay at the same rate but are under no obligation to do so.

--Jon

I've checked out a day early from many hotels and have never been forced to pay for the missed night or been charged a higher rate than booked. YMMV, of course.

We stay at hotel where this happens based on days of week. Marriott Dulles Suites. Sunday-Thursday hotel is $279/night. That's the rate. Varies rarely. However, Thursday drops to the weekend rate of $79/night if you couple it with a Friday or Friday/Saturday stay. So, Thursday and Friday ate $158 but Thursday alone is $279.00. This is a business hotel so weeknights are the premium.

We often stay on weekends for getaways or before flights from IAD. One time, we had to cut a stay short and leave Friday. We made the change at the property Friday morning. They did NOT reprice Thursday night. But, they could have. I imagine if I made it a habit, they wouldn't like it.

Instead of just calling the hotel, I assume you checked the various night combinations using marriott.com? Results?

I presume you don't know people at the hotel? If you are a regular, you can usually just let them know when you are there, and they don't change the rate. At least from my experience.

As a former Revenue Manager, I'll say that this is the biggest misconception about minimum stay controls. To know whether you're doing the hotel a favor by "giving back" a room to resell, you have to check the rate for the night you're not using. The vast majority of time, the night you don't want is going to be the "shoulder" night. That's a room that the hotel doesn't really need because they won't sell out anyway.

The easiest example is a weekend. If a hotel knows it can sell out both Friday and Saturday nights, they might place a minimum stay of 3 nights. If a guest decides they now don't need that Sunday, the hotel only makes money if they can resell that room for Sunday. But, for many hotels, Sundays are quietest night of the week. Since they never were turning away anyone needing Sunday, having that room back is a net loss in revenue.

So, instead of looking at the rates on the nights you'll use, check the rate for the night you don't need. If it's available for a 1-night stay at a lower rate, you're not helping out the hotel.

(I hope I explained that clearly.)

I guess you are right, the last night is priced at $179, cheaper than what I booked.

As a matter of fact, I booked the 3rd night again separately to take advantage of the lower rate, that is why I tried to drop the last night of my initial booking. That's happened before with the same hotel and I encountered no problem then.

I did try to modify my initial booking online without success, since the system just repriced the reservation to the higher rate.

Well, I will keep an eye on the rate but I doubt the rate will ever come down for the first 2 nights, since it is a convention week. If nothing favorable comes up, I just cancel the cheaper 3rd night, sigh...

Thanks for all the feedbacks,

This.

Or not.

<OnSoapBox> With the additional information you just provided, this is a totally different scenario. I wouldn't expect the hotel to adjust the rates for you at check-in.
While it is fine to continue to look for better deals after making a reservation (I frequently do), it isn't fine to try to get the best of both worlds (e.g keep the lower blended rate for the first two notes and ask for the bargain basement rate for the last night as well at check-in). I have only done this went trying to shorten (or less frequently extend) the length of my stay. My two cents... <OffSoapBox>

--Jon

I normally try to call Marriott directly to shorten my stay. I never had any issue about rate change.

That is the opposite of what I experience here in the US. The phone will reprice my stay, the last time at a SHS they didn't bother to tell me of the rate change. At the front desk, never ever a problem shortening up...

You could try this, too, especially if you have status. My husband and I recently had a 3 night stay at a Hilton property which we'd booked for a great rate about 6 months in advance. About a month in advance we realized we couldn't arrive for the first night, so I tried to rebook the reservation online, but the price for 2 nights was now about the same as the price for 3 nights had been earlier. My husband has Hilton Diamond status, so he called the Diamond desk. That agent said he wasn't authorized to re-price it, but he called the hotel on our behalf, and the hotel agreed to let us have the discounted rate, so the agent was able to drop the first night for us.

BUT after writing that, I re-read the thread and see that you actually want to stay the 3rd night but have it priced as a cheaper one-night stay. I don't think they'll price your other 2-night stay in your favor if that's the case.