Is this something that would qualify for the $100 bed-type guarantee? Process?
 

Marriott plat here. My adult brother and I are staying at the ORD Marriott Suites this weekend; we're using the park n fly rate, so moving the hotel is far from ideal. I reserved, and have a copy of the reservation stating, 2 double beds under the "guaranteed" section. I received an email from the hotel today asking to confirm if I made a reservation for a 2 double bed room. I replied that yes, I did make that reservation and still wanted the double beds and I asked if there was an inventory issue. I received a reply that said yes, there are no double beds available, and we upgraded you to a family suite with 1 king and 1 murphy bed.

I wanted 2 double beds. I reserved 2 regulat beds. The reservation said they were guaranteed, and the marriott Platinum guarantee website says "we’ll always honor your bed type request." And if not, it would fall under the $100 compensation guidelines.

Would the hotel be correct in saying since there are 2 "beds" in the room, they fulfilled the bed type? Can I ask for the compensation ahead of time by replying to the email, or should I wait until check-in? First time with anything like this, but my gut is saying to get the compensation sorted out now.

Thanks!

I'd wait until check in. Chances are a double bed room will mysteriously appear when you try to collect on the guarantee.

If the goal is to collect the $100; wouldn't it be better to reply and reject their upgrade offer, citing that two double beds is more important than a family suite? Otherwise they may just tell you that you 'accepted' the upgrade.

I think I remember reading in the fine print that one of the ways hotels get out of the bed type guarantee is by providing an upgrade, so you may be out of luck.

Just out of curiosity, why is the family suite not acceptable?

The combination of my going to bed early last night and my love of reading fine print shows you are correct. From the T&Cs:

The other day while making a reservation on the SPG site I noticed that you can change your settings when making a reservation to let the hotel know you want your specific room type rather than getting an UG. You can also specify that you would rather get your room early than get an UG.

Speaking strictly for myself, I wouldn't consider a Murphy bed to be an acceptable substitute for a confirmed second bed, the enticement of a suite nothwithstanding.

Probably would rather a real bed than a Murphy bed. I'd have to think there's someone else they can upgrade that would rather have the upgrade if OP insists on the double beds. Of course they may also be short on several double bed rooms.

Yes I agree. The OP unintentionally started a negotiation by asking if the there is a problem. Probably best to email back and decline the suite and insist on what he booked.

FWIW, I've slept in Marriott murphy beds several times as part of suite upgrades. I'm a pretty picky sleeper and never had an issue. If this is more than an 8 hour sleep stay & run, I'd grab it without a second thought...

A family room or suite is unlikely to be a real suite. It's probably just some larger room that can hold more beds and therefore more people. Presumably the assumption is that a kid can sleep in a Murphy bed.

BTW in most hotels, most one bedroom suites have one king bed. Many hotels don't have a real suite with two beds.

This. If the OP doesn't reply then the hotel thinks it's solved the problem/is off the hook on the guarantee.

FWIW - I've gotten 2 great upgrades at dif properties & the bed was a murphy bed. No problem sleeping, & because of housekeeping I didn't have to pull it down at night or put it back up in the morning. So if you're just worried the murphy bed isn't that great & aren't interested in the $100 then accept the upgrade.

Cheers.

Correct, possibly as part of a large hospitality suite as well. Had an amazing suite upgrade at San Antonio FS Riverwalk, complete with balcony and full king/queen size murphy bed. If I was spending a weekend with my brother or other male, I would appreciate all the extra room I could get. To each his own...

The property itself is an all-suite hotel. It offers king suites, double double suites, family suites, hospitality suites.

Cheers.

Thanks for the info Sharon, and to everyone for your responses.


My concern is primarily with sleep quality, since my brother and I are splitting the room cost it doesn't seem fair that now, one of us has to sleep on a "not-real" bed. Whether or not the murphy bed will be comfortable is of course, subjective, and while I'm glad several people have had comfortable experiences with Marriott murphy beds, it's not something that can be guaranteed, unlike bed-type apparently.


The compensation is secondary, and although it would cover a large portion of the room rate, it's more about the principle of Marriott getting out of something that is supposed to be guaranteed and advertised as such.


It is not my intent, however, the be unreasonable, and at the end of the day it's just 8hrs in a bed, and not the end of the world.


For the record, the hotel is an all-suites hotel near ORD, so the "suite upgrade" not having 2 beds isn't really an excuse IMO. I made the reservation two weeks ago, and 2 doubles was a selectable option and the availability of 2 double beds, plus the park n fly rate, was why I chose this hotel. Now, since the hotel for whatever reason has decided to not honor a "guaranteed" request, I'd like to have the program rules followed.


If there's truly no availability for double rooms, and I was allowed to reserve a double, then the hotel should have no problem following through on the $100 guarantee. Alternatively, if they can shift my reservation to another Marriott (ORD in-terminal or the Ren) that includes the reserved 9 days of parking, that would be acceptable. My intent is to propose the above to the hotel.


Thanks again for your insights, and I'll keep the thread updated.

According to Marriott.com, the configuration of a Family Suite at Chicago Marriott Suites O'Hare is a suite with "1 King or 1 Double Murphy, Sofa bed." The square footage (575 sq ft) is the same as other suites at this all-1-bedroom-suite hotel.

Based on the description at the website, a Family Suite is not substantially different than a regular 1-bedroom King Suite, except that the bed might be a Double Murphy. It seems one adult brother would sleep in "1 King or 1 Double Murphy" in the bedroom and the other adult brother would sleep on the "Sofa Bed" in the living room.

Unless the website is incorrect, calling this an "upgrade" is dishonest.

The right response would seem to be, "I have a guaranteed reservation for a 1-bedroom suite with 2 double beds in the bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room. I want to keep this reservation as it is. I expect it to be honored under Marriott's Ultimate Reservation Guarantee. Thank you."

Would start, as suggested above, by replying to the hotel that you are not accepting the "upgrade" which is not really an upgrade at an all-suites hotel, and expect the room that was guaranteed as provided for in Marriott's Ultimate Reservation Guarantee. See what they say. I/M/O they're playing games by calling the room change an "upgrade."

Thanks to you and Ohmark for the input. I just send the following to the hotel:




"Thanks for the reply.


Unfortunately I will have to decline the upgrade as itdoes not meet my needs. I have aguaranteed reservation for a 1-bedroom suite with 2 double beds in the bedroomand a sofa bed in the living room. I want to keep this reservation as-booked,since I need 2 regular beds, not 1 bed and 1 murphy or sofa bed.


I expect my original reservation to be honored underMarriott's Ultimate Reservation Guarantee and/or Guaranteed Room TypeGuarantee.


Thank you for your attention to this matter."


I'll update with their reply.

For what it's worth, I used to work in a hotel that had murphy beds. They had identical mattresses as "normal" beds, just without the box spring.

Since they weren't used every night, our murphy bed mattresses were actually in much better condition. We even had 2 or 3 repeat guests that specifically requested the rooms with them.

Not sure I care about the murphy bed but calling it an upgrade seems pretty sketchy, considering the room is the same size.

I checked a double double & it didn't list room size. The family room did. I didn't bother going through all the rooms to see the size.

But again, this is about the bed, not the room size. Remember, the OP is going to be there for 8 hours only. He's doing a park-n-fly & is looking for a place to rest his head only while getting cheap parking.

Cheers.

Update from Hotel
 

Here's the latest; doesn't reference any of the guarantees that I mentioned in the previous email:

"Unfortunately we will not be able to accommodate a double bed Suite. I apologize for the inconvenience. Please let me know if you would like to keep your reservation here with us or cancel. Once again Mr. PaceLaw2009 I truly apologize for the inconvenience."

Thoughts on how to reply? I've talked w/ my brother and we're ok keeping the hotel but only if we can get the $100. I'm thinking about saying something along the lines of "I will keep the reservation but will expect the $100 cash compensation upon checkin as outlined by the Bed Type Guarantee"

If you respond as you mentioned, include the link to the Marriott T&Cs showing the penalty.

Cheers.

Keep the reservation. This sounds like a clear-cut $100 to me. I believe the rules require it to be a $100 payment to you, not a $100 adjustment to the bill.

I don't think it's being overly nitpicky to insist on the $100 when you're getting 1 King + 1 Murphy, regardless of the size of the Murphy. Hell, a lot of sofabeds in this world are fulls or queens, yet I don't think anyone considers Marriott to have met the room-type guarantee if a sofabed exists.

I sleep like a rock. I've slept on sofabeds and Murphys and not had a problem. But it's *not* the same as a room with two actual beds in it.

Also a bit frustrating to get that crappy response for the hotel. That makes me *more* likely to push for the $100.

Agree 100%. Here was my response:

"That is most unfortunate. I plan on keeping the reservation but will be expecting the $100 cash compensation at check-in as per the Marriott Guaranteed Room Type guarantee for Platinum and Gold elite members. https://www.marriott.com/marriott-rewards/member-benefits/guarantee.mi#gtdroomtype."

Again, i'll keep the thread updated with their response.

Another question: If they refuse the compensation, is there a way to convert this into a walk and get the $200/90k? Again, i'm more upset on principle of how a Plat is being treated by a hotel over something that should be straightforward. The text of the walk compensation only says "if for some reason we can't honor your reservation". Their email says they will not "be able to accommodate." I dont think its to that point yet, but would like opinions on courses of action should it get there.

If anything else, it's good to know that this property has terrible guest service.

Just telling the guest to cancel because the hotel couldn't hold up their end of the agreement? I would ask if that was Marriott Corporate's official policy.

So, apparently the hotel has agreed to pay $100 cash upon check-in.

The response to my previous email:

"Absolutely, Mr. PaceLaw2009".


I'll update the thread on Saturday if/when I get the cash.

Thanks all for the advice.

1. I really think you are beating a dead horse here, not everything needs to be litigated this intensely for what amounts to a nap before your vacation? Do you really want to be "walked"? Are you more interested in the $100, the parking deal or a walk?

2. Don't be surprised if magically your double beds appear in some form upon arrival.

Have a good trip regardless...

I tend to agree with #2 here. I still think it's nuts that a basic airport hotel is sending this email to a Platinum member about two double beds. Is the hotel really *that* full of Plats who also have 2-doubles as their room preference? I half-expect a 2-double room to turn up before you check in.

As for whether this is something to get worked up about, I see both sides. One side is sure, I'll sleep in a Murphy bed, no big deal. The other is...these guys are totally being jerks about it, so yeah I'm willing to be a pain in the a** and not get bullied into taking anything less.

I'm fully aware that a reasonable interpretation of my attitude is being overentitled and raising a fit over a first-world problem. But, the attitude of the hotel via email really incentivized me to push for the $100. If I get the double beds, great, I'll be getting what I paid for. In that scenario, I will be talking to the general manager about using the emails as a training opportunity on what word choice to (not) use in addressing customers (plat or not) via email.

At least the hotel knows you are expecting the $100 and has agreed to pay it if they dont honor your bed type.They also now that you know your benefits as a platinum. Be sure to keep the emails on hand at check in. They may be sold out on 2 doubles but there's always cancellations so i think they will keep tabs on that so they dont have to pay you. Also they may just end up upgrading someone else thats not a plat or gold to the suite so they cant claim the 100.

Your reservation isn't until Saturday and it's Wednesday right now? I'm thinking it might be sold out due to a kids' competition or sports thing, where the group's budget depended upon a lot of kids per room, and that's why they need the 2 double beds more than you.

I'm guessing neither of you have set foot on this property. Putting aside the OP's issue for now, this is actually a very nice property with excellent customer service. Calling it a basic airport hotel is wrong. The uniqueness of the property - it's all suites - creates a situation where there are not many rooms with two double beds. While the hotel might have room for improvement in it's reservations, remember they did reach out to him well ahead of time, rather than letting him show up and find out. The hotel should be commended for that. They also apparently worked with the OP and reached and amicable solution. Shouldn't we appreciate when hotels do that? I can think of two other active threads where people never heard back from the hotel when there was an issue. Labeling the customer service "terrible" in light of this seems wrong, at it defies what I've experienced at this very nice property.

Correct, the res is on saturday; I figured something like this might be the case. I guess i'll find out at check-in

It's in Rosemont. It's an airport hotel. Sorry, good or bad, that's what it is. That's why the OP is there. That's why 99% of the people in the hotel are there. (When I traveled for sports, we didn't get booked into full-service Marriotts!!!)

And yes, I've stayed in several Marriott Suites before. I might have even stayed in that one because I've stayed in *most* Marriotts in the NW 'burbs, but I can't be certain.

Hopefully, once on-site, they'll be great. But the tone of the emails isn't exactly a great start to the relationship.

Sometimes I find the Marriott Suites properties to be less interesting than regular Marriott FS properties ... mainly because they often don't have a Concierge Lounge.

I don't think its entitled to say I booked a double and that's what I want. Of course, the last couple of times I've invoked the guarantee (one time they denied there was any such thing), the king bed ultimately appeared. As a PP, I would have appreciated that when I check into a hotel at midnight, my room is waiting and I'm not arguing over a bed size. Entitled ... perhaps but there is a significant difference in the mattress quality between the king normally found at Marriott's and a double.

1.

It seems to me that OP simply wants the reservation honored. The OP has a Guaranteed Room Type reservation for a 1-bedroom suite with 2 double beds in the bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room. Marriott corporate has structured the Platinum benefits to make sure that Platinum members get their Guaranteed Room Type, or the hotel has to pay a penalty to the member.

With a Family Suite at this property, one brother would get a King or double Murphy. The other brother would get a sofa bed.

Normally, sofa beds at Marriotts are not made as beds ahead of time. Sometimes there's not even bedding for the sofa bed in the room. So then it's a matter of waiting for a runner to bring up bedding. And often the guest is stuck making the sofa bed into a bed for sleeping, even at "full service" Marriott properties. With the OP's already limited time at the hotel, this means less sleep. And sofa bed mattresses are usually more appropriate for children than for adults.

Calling a Family Suite an "upgrade" when the guest has booked a suite with two real double beds is ridiculous. Trying to fool a Platinum guest into accepting this as an "upgrade" is truly awful customer service. In fact, it's deceit. Shame on the Chicago Marriott Suites O'Hare.

2.

I think the OP would be pleased if the two real "double beds appear in some form upon arrival."

$100 for failing to honor the Guaranteed Room Type is a not a particularly good penalty if it means less sleep, worse sleep, and an aggravating situation -- especially when it's already a short stay.

At least the penalty for a Platinum guest to be "walked" at a full-service hotel under Marriott's Ultimate Reservation Guarantee ($200 USD + 90,000 points) is worth losing some sleep over.

The Marriott O'Hare Suites doesn't have a lounge, but the Renaissance O'Hare Suites does have a concierge lounge. I'm mentioning it since we're discussing an ORD property in this thread, in case someone else needs to do a quick overnight stay. The Ren is my preferred property when staying near ORD (even before this mess w/ the Marriott Suites).

Cheers.

I've stayed at a few Marriott Suites, and none had a lounge. I just assumed that back when they were built, that was the design. Anybody aware of a Marriott Suites with a concierge lounge?

I was just pointing out that the Ren O'Hare Suites does have a lounge, so if someone was considering the two suite properties & lounge access was a consideration, then the Ren would be a better choice. I've stayed at both properties & prefer the Ren Suites which actually is more like a FS property.

I'm w/ you, though, in that I don't think the Marriott Suites when they were built, were built w/ exec lounges.

FWIW - most of the time the Marriott ORD Suites is more expensive than Ren ORD Suites. Ren ORD Suites rates on weekends, in particular, are usually inexpensive. This weekend, for example, Ren is 94/night regular rate, 89 AAA rate. During the week the MAR Suites often runs $20 higher than the Ren.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see if the Marriott Suites does come up w/ a double-double or if they just hand over the $100 to the OP. Edited to add: if a sports tournament/teams are staying at the property then that's probably where the double-doubles went & it's probably cheaper for the property to pay $100 to a single elite than turn away the sports team bizness. While on the one hand I think the elite should get what he booked, I also do think the property was good in pro-actively reaching out vs. telling the elite at check-in.

Cheers.

This is my guess. The hotel is probably overbooked and has guaranteed the rooms with two beds to some group, maybe a group that returns every year.