Left out in the cold - what would you do?
 

OK, so it's not cold, but I've sure been left hanging.

Last November I made a reservation at an FI in Indianapolis for the F1 race this weekend - $54/night. I always book as soon as dates are announced as I know where prices will be going.

Last week, I happened to be looking up another reservation and I see "Cancelled" next to my reservation. Huh?? I called the PLT line - oh yes, that property was sold to Super 8 - you should have been notified. Umm, no. I have every email sent and received for the last 3 years, including hundreds from Marriott with confirmations, cancellations, etc., so they have my address, and no message was ever received. It would have been interesting to show up to an address and find a Super 8 where I was expecting a FI. Strike one - I never received the email you claim you sent.

Yes, they tell me, your reservation was passed on to Super - well, at least I have a room, right? Not so fast. I call Super 8 - sorry, no reservations for you. Yes, the transition was a mess and we know we lost lots of reservations but we can't fix it. How about a $130/night Super 8 room. Ummm, no. Strike two - you didn't pass on my reservation as you say you did.

Call Marriot again - "please hold". 15 minutes later - I'm all set with my original $54 reservation.

Just for grins I called tonight. Two reservations under my name at $130/night. "It's race weekend, ya know, there's no way we can give you a room at $54/night". Umm, no thanks. Strike three - you didn't fix the problem as you told me you did - I'm out.

So now, at 3am the night before an 8 hour drive, I have nowhere to stay. The best Marriot has to offer is $120/night (double+) in Bloomington, 47 miles away or $180/night (triple+) in the area. No thanks.

I really look forward to an hour of hotel hunting, probably netting $100+/night 50 miles away. Hmmm - maybe if I beg hard enough, I can get back to paying double my original rate for a Super 8-quality room.

Or am I just being overly critical....

Bring a copy of your original reservation confirmation....the purchasing hotel is suppose to honor it

Doubt that will get you anywhere
 

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Super 8 isn't too likely to care about your original reservation on a weekend they can get triple the average rate. Unless your a super 8 regular customer it will be no dice.

I would think your better bet is to demand a better rate at the local Marriott property...maybe not 54 but something like 79 or 89. Don't know how much you stay ar Marriott in a given year, but they messed up and they should try to do something to accomodate you.

This is the kind of thread it would be nice to have an official representative of Marriott respond to.

The problem lies more with Super 8. Marriott sold the property, probably with the stipulation that Super 8 honor all previous reservations. Marriott can investigate the issue but the Super 8 has the real power to resolve this problem.

Water way under the bridge on this deal, but I would have done two things:

First, I would've tried for any last minute distress inventory on Priceline.

If no joy, then I would've booked a Marriott I was comfortable with and worked out the deal with corporate after the stay. As a PLT, the OP has some clout with Marriott, but likely none with Super 8. IME, Super 8 can be anything but "super" ;)

BTW, doesn't Socrates have a working knowledge of coporate policy on this? It appears his advice is definitive, though not official.

Hope you enjoy the race!

Pat

If Super8 was supposed to honor the reservation as part of the deal, wouldn't they have gotten all the reservations copied over to their system? So, you might have a reservation? The worst that can happen if you pay the new rate and get billed by Super8 for no show.

When a hotel converts from one flag to another the "old" flag provides a list of current reservations in their system to the "new" flag (this is a manual process for both flags), both flags are also suppose to try to contact all guests with reservations and let them know of the flag change and that their reservation would still be honored by the new flag, in this case none of that has happened but the obligation to honor the reservation does still exsist with the property not the flag

As others state, it's no longer a Marriott problem and you must deal with the new flag.

At the moment, your problem is more about whether or not the new flag will address and work out their mistake before the date of your stay. In truth, you have a reservation at the location you want -- except that you don't like the new price that the new flag has imposed upon you. I myself would not start searching for rooms 50 miles distant at this point -- it only inconveniences you.

Assuming that you possess all of your supporting documentation, it is more a matter of time and how long Super 8 is going to drag their feet in addressing your problem. Rather than argue over the principle of their mistake, it might be more expeditious to pay the extra $80 and negotiate a cash refund or some future discounted accomodations with the corporate powers that be.

It's not a perfect solution, but neither is it a perfect world in which we live.

Barry

I disagree with some of the above. To the extent that Marriott failed to notify the OP, it is still a Marriott problem and if S-8 refuses to fix it, Marriott should. My $.02.

Marriott Concierge doesn't seem to have posted a whole lot in the last month or so. Hmmm, I wonder if he's still monitoring Flyertalk.com.

He still responds rather expeditiously to direct email.

I'd copy the thread and sent it to:

[email protected]

I am sure you have some legal recourse. Contact a lawyer as a see, you may be able to get some hefty compensation from Super-8 or at least a settlement since this is such an important weekend. Even cheap hotels go for over $100 per night that weekend!!! If this was an airline you would be SOL because the contract of carriage.

I don't see that the OP has a contract with or legal remedy against S-8. The OP has a contract or reservation with Marriott, and Marriott has a contract with S-8.

I agree that this is Marriott's responsibility. When Marriott chose to de-flag the property, that did not relieve them of the obligations it had to customers with reservations. As Seinfeld said, "you've taken the reservation, now you need to KEEP the reservation..." ;)