It could have been the owner of the property who decided to "de-flag" the hotel. Whether the "flag" was transferred, sold or stripped, the existing reservations were transferred to the new owner, management or "flag." As long as Marriott acted in good faith up to the turnover, it�s difficult for me to believe that they can be held responsible for the subsequent actions of the other party.

I'm not a lawyer so maybe there is some legal responsibility and liability. To me, a hotel room doesn't rise to the level of legal action.

. . . To me, a hotel room doesn't rise to the level of legal action . . .

I completely agree . This is not a crime against humanity, it's a human error and it can be redressed with dialogue and not threats. Either the new flag will step up and fix the error, or they will drop the ball and lose a potential customer for the future.

In a situation like this one, it all comes down to who you talk to and how you speak to them. Perhaps the OP has simply not latched onto the right person at the top who can intervene on his behalf -- management often hides behind coporate structure.

Frustrating? Yes. Legal? No.

In any case, I sense that if this were strictly a Marriott problem, it would have been fixed long ago.

Barry

Talk about making something out of nothing. Nobody here, including myself, has suggested any legal action whatsoever against Marriott. I responded to somebody's suggestion as to legal action against S-8 and pointed out that the OP has no agreement with S-8. Suing somebody over a hotel reservation makes as much sense as performing unnecessary surgery on a patient. Not that there aren't physicians willing to do this or individuals willing to sue over anything. BUT, I deal with Marriott, not S-8. I have trust in Marriott to deal with situations like the above because my relationship is with Marriott, not S-8. In fact, knowing Marriott's excellent customer service-the best in the business as far as I'm concerned, I would guess that if the OP contacts the right person in Marriott customer service, a reasonable resolution will be offered.

Bottom line: the OP's reservation and relationship is with Marriott, not S-8. The OP stated that Marriott dropped the ball by failing to inform him of the reflagging (no matter who's behest the reflagging was at). At this juncture, if S-8 refuses to help, the ball is in Marriott's court. Sheesh.

I'm usually not litigious by nature. I've never filed a suit regarding anything in my life. But you are right, this is a case where there is a high potential for "pass the buck" and I have to believe that an action in small claims court naming both as defendants would result in the matter being settled rather quickly. In my mind, a reservation was made and should be honored. I'd pay more if I had to do so to secure the room, but I'd expect that difference to be refunded one way or another. Hire a lawyer? No way. Not worth that. But a trip to small claims court? Perhaps...

Unless the hotel was actually "owned" by Marriott I don't see how Marriott had the reservation. Every hotel I've been at is "owned" by some local company. The reservation is taken by Marriott, but is taken on behaf of the hotel. If the owner of the hotel decided to change to Super 8 then it is the hotel itself that should be held to honoring the reservation as the reservation is with the hotel not the company he's getting a franchise agreement with.

IMO Marriott would gain major customer points by doing something for this customer no matter if they have to or not.

No, I'm not going to sue anyone - life is way too short for something that silly.

I received an email reply from Marriott saying they would like to speak by phone to "ensure my concerns are addressed as I desire". Hmmm - I desire a million dollars.

Now, after venting sufficiently, and being much more P.O.'d at the FIA than Marriott, I need to figure out exactly what I "desire". An apology. A root cause so it doesn't happen next year (the race isn't until the 25th next year so I need to wait at least a week to hunt for reservations). Maybe a credit for the room rate difference - perhaps in points at a reasonable exchange rate. Or an upgrade in my award travel later this summer...

I suspected Marriott customer service would come through. They usually do.