No Hot Water Advice

 
Old May 23, 2017, 1:49 pm
  #1  
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No Hot Water Advice

Going to run this by the experts as I need an opinion. Stayed at the new Calgary In-Airport Marriott Hotel last week. I'm Platinum status and stay at least bi-weekly.
Beautiful Hotel by the way, clean and contemporary with a ton of space. Last week I got up to catch my flight and after running the water for 5 minutes there was no hot water. I left it for 15 minutes and went back and tried it again and still no hot water. For the next 15 minutes I called my service 3x letting it ring for 15 - 20x on each call but no one would pick up. Decided on a quick cold water dunk and run for my flight as I was now cutting it close. Quickly stopped by the reception desk to see what was going on and they said the whole airport was out of Hot water and apologized and asked if they could get me a coffee to go.
While I understand these things happen it is how it is handled that makes a difference. Do you think they could have done more?
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Old May 23, 2017, 2:04 pm
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Just one of numerous threads on this topic:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...hot-water.html
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Old May 23, 2017, 2:21 pm
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Originally Posted by UpgradeMe
Just one of numerous threads on this topic:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...hot-water.html
Thanks, I didn't mean to start a new thread and when a searched I didn't say compensation so couldn't find another post. My apologies for wasting every ones time.
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Old May 23, 2017, 2:44 pm
  #4  
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Originally Posted by ewok22
Do you think they could have done more?
If the entire airport didn't have hot water, what more did you expect them to do? Fire up a pot in the kitchen? A cold shower sucks, but it's not the end of the world and you made your flight. No compensation due IMO.

Cheers.
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Old May 23, 2017, 3:01 pm
  #5  
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Happened to me at a Fairfield last week, one morning with no hot water. I got an unsigned apology letter under the door but nothing else. If it matters, I think the trigger cause was external, a couple of water mains in the are had broken the night before.

At checkout, I spoke to the manager on duty and asked for something more. He asked me to name it, I requested 10K points, and it was immediately granted (though only 9K posted?). I have a feeling I could have gotten more, but in my mind, 50% refund seemed right, and that's about how I valued what 10K.

Had it been no water at all, I'd have wanted a full refund.
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Old May 23, 2017, 3:18 pm
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I've had to take a couple of cold showers at properties when something happened to the hot water that was beyond their control. Never occurred to me to ask for compensation. If by chance it happens again I still wouldn't.

Cheers.
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Old May 23, 2017, 4:04 pm
  #7  
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I'm not a plumber, so I can't say whether it's beyond their control or not. The hotel never completely lost water, and the cold water pressure was normal that morning. So why does a change of pressure, then a restoration, break their hot water heater? Would a different sort of heater be more robust? As I said, not a plumber, so I don't know.

But the hotel does have a promise of "we'll make it right", guaranteed by up to the night's cost. I think guest safety is the most important thing for a hotel to provide, but after that, hot and cold running water probably comes in #2 , in my mind, more important than mattress comfort, heat/AC, housekeeping issues, etc. So I had no problem asking for something.
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Old May 23, 2017, 5:19 pm
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The OP was told the airport was w/o hot water, which sounds external. I'm much more likely to give a pass to a hotel if the problem is caused by an external problem vs. an internal problem.

I was at the AMS Marriott one time & the morning of my 4am wake-up a part of the city grid went out (literally just after my wake-up), which impacted the Marriott's electricity other than emergency generators for the hallways. You could see the part of the surrounding city area that was dark, which actually was a bit weird to look at. I was just happy they were willing to send a bellman up to manually schlep my luggage down the stairwell. It never occurred to me to ask for compensation. (And I took a chance that not too many people would be awake at 4am, so slightly propped open my door for a bit of hallway light so I could see to shower ).

Every person has to make a decision for themselves when to ask for compensation. I tend to reserve mine for major screw-ups & not the occasional one off.

Cheers.
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Old May 23, 2017, 6:00 pm
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If the "whole airport" had no hot water, then the "whole airport" is on a single hot water boiler system. Systems that big are supposed to have double or triple redundancy to prevent such an occurrence.

The brand standards for the in-airport hotel should have included specific measures and procedures for the consistent supply of hot water before Marriott allowed the hotel to be branded one of their 30 (!) brands.

Sounds like a major fail at the airport back end, followed by poor service recovery on the part of the hotel staff. You should let Marriott know. I believe it's worth some kind of compensation, even if nothing more than x thousand miles.

Lack of hot water simply. shouldn't. happen. at. Marriotts.
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Old May 23, 2017, 6:24 pm
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Originally Posted by SkiAdcock
If the entire airport didn't have hot water, what more did you expect them to do?
Maybe answer the phone?
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Old May 24, 2017, 7:39 am
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Originally Posted by SkiAdcock
If the entire airport didn't have hot water, what more did you expect them to do? Fire up a pot in the kitchen? A cold shower sucks, but it's not the end of the world and you made your flight. No compensation due IMO.

Cheers.
I appreciate your comments although a bit sarcastic, but it was actually not being able to get hold of anyone to know if it was going to come back on.

Cheers
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Old May 24, 2017, 7:41 am
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Originally Posted by swag
Happened to me at a Fairfield last week, one morning with no hot water. I got an unsigned apology letter under the door but nothing else. If it matters, I think the trigger cause was external, a couple of water mains in the are had broken the night before.

At checkout, I spoke to the manager on duty and asked for something more. He asked me to name it, I requested 10K points, and it was immediately granted (though only 9K posted?). I have a feeling I could have gotten more, but in my mind, 50% refund seemed right, and that's about how I valued what 10K.

Had it been no water at all, I'd have wanted a full refund.
Thanks for the constructive input that was what i was looking for, I'm not going back to the hotel to ask for anything I was simply interested in the future stays. Nice to know how others handle these situations.

Last edited by ewok22; May 24, 2017 at 7:43 am Reason: spelling error
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Old May 24, 2017, 9:23 am
  #13  
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Originally Posted by ewok22
I appreciate your comments although a bit sarcastic, but it was actually not being able to get hold of anyone to know if it was going to come back on.

Cheers
In fairness to you, I would have been more po'd at no response on the phone than the lack of hot water. Although they might have been receiving lots of calls, hence the phone ringing & ringing as they were answering others calls, or someone was off trying to figure out what to do (but it shouldn't need all the staff).

Re: comp. As I mentioned I try to save it for bigger items, but others go immediately to what's the compensation even on smaller items.

BTW - did you tell the front desk that after being thoroughly awakened by the cold shower you didn't need the gratis cup of coffee

Cheers.
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Old May 24, 2017, 1:47 pm
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Originally Posted by SkiAdcock
In fairness to you, I would have been more po'd at no response on the phone than the lack of hot water. Although they might have been receiving lots of calls, hence the phone ringing & ringing as they were answering others calls, or someone was off trying to figure out what to do (but it shouldn't need all the staff).

Re: comp. As I mentioned I try to save it for bigger items, but others go immediately to what's the compensation even on smaller items.

BTW - did you tell the front desk that after being thoroughly awakened by the cold shower you didn't need the gratis cup of coffee

Cheers.
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Old May 24, 2017, 1:49 pm
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No I didn't tell the FD ....but still sometimes shiver for no apparent reason ...
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