I frequently don't know exact arrival and departure dates very far in advance so I'll book online a day or two early. Three for three today as I tightened up the reservations they raised the daily rate on the remaining days! This is essentially charging for changing reservations. Is this new????????

Some rates apply only on certain days of the week & or require a Sat.-night stay, so Fri.--Wed. may qualify for an Endless Weekend Rate or whatever, while Mon.--Wed. pays a higher Corporate Rate.
Your situation is more common with Hilton than Marriott, where they often just give an average rate per night instead of an itemized rate calendar. Just try different dates at the Palmer House of Chicago 4a demonstration.

This is also very common at Residence Inns which frequently have a tiered pricing structure - the longer you stay the lower the per night rate.

I've run into this, too. One time, not very long ago, I had a reservation for three nights and couldn't arrive on the first night because of a flight cancellation. I called in plenty of time (before the cancellation deadline) and shortened the reservation to two nights (the last two of the original three nights). The airline took care of me the first night, in case you're wondering.

The daily rate went up considerably. I asked why. (This was not a case of needing weekend days or anything like that. The original reservation was for Friday-Sunday nights; the revised reservation was for Saturday-Sunday nights.)

Anyway, after multiple, long conversations with Marriott reservations and the hotel itself, I was eventually told by somebody that Marriott's practice in my situation is to cancel the original reservation and make a new one at the lowest rate then available, which is almost always higher.

I objected strenuously to this and insisted that I would pay only the rate that I had reserved. They were equally insistent that I was, in effect, cancelling that reservation and making a new one. In the end, the hotel manager forced my original rate into the system, but it was clear that this was a special favor for a Platinum guest who would not take no for an answer!

Bruce

And I would agree with them, in the strictest sense. Rules are made for the 98% cases - extraordinary situations like these require a logical mind to deal with it, as they did.

Without knowing the specifics this is the only situation that I can think of where this should happen unless you no longer meet the rate rules/restrictions with the new stay

Hi,

I have made changes to shorten or add a day also. If I made changes on line my rate was always increased. But, when I call the 1-800 reservations and tell them to add or drop a night they seem to be fine with leaving my rate at the original rtae. Seems like if you dont like the answer on the first call hang up an try again later and get a different answer. Deb - Indiana
( I recall this with Fairfield INN and Courtyard)

I'm not surprised that most of these incidents have happened when someone tried to cancel the first day or two of a reservation. As mentioned by others, the obvious issue is that the shorter reservation may no longer comply with the original rate/stay requirements.

I'm also sure that wise Bruce and others know that it is sometimes possible to game the reservation system to obtain a lower rate on a high capacity night or availability on a sold-out night by making a reservation for a longer stay that includes the desired dates. In many cases, subsequently cancelling the unneeded nights will preserve the discounts and availability. The cited stray cases of rate recalculation may be an attempt to address this practice.

In the case of adding a night, there should be no expectation or entitlement to the existing reserved rate. The rates then currently available are fairly what should be offered.

Adding a night could change a rate...dropping shouldnt unless you no longer meet the rules/restrictions for that rate (ie length of stay or must stay over XX night etc)

You said it better than I did

I ALWAYS do this with the front desk of the hotel I'm staying at as soon as I know it's changing. They have a vested interest in making me happy, and I've never been charged any different rates, unless I shortened my stay below one of their "length of stay" thresholds, in which case, I expect to pay the higher rates.

Some hotels to some extent perform the same kind of yeild management that airlines do, so that longer stays booked in advance are at a lower rate than last minute reservations for a short stay. The original poster did not mention the city where the room was booked. There is not much of a weekend discount in vacation areas and sometimes there is a preium, in such places as Las Vegas, Florida and Hawaii.

I have found the opposite, at least with marriott.com, when booking longer stays. If the stay extended into a period (e.g. weekend) where a promotional rate was available, I was still booked at the higher rate for all days.

My solution to the above, and this may apply to the OP as well, is to book multiple contiguous-day reservations. If you think you may be arriving later than originally planned then cancel the first day's reservation without penalty and just show up for the remaining one(s). When you actually check in you can explain at the front desk that you have multiple reservations so they can combine them so you won't have to check out and back in.

I shortened a stay at the SF Ren one time via 800#, & they were going to apply a higher rate because of the change (think the lower rate had sold out? don't know. it was a weekday rate but a really good one; I had booked it way in advance). They got a supervisor to ok the original rate. Of course when I got to the hotel they wanted to charge me the high rate, but I had the original printout showing the lower rate, the date/time I talked to 800#, & the name of the supervisor, so they honored it.

I know a lot of hotel chains are saying if you shorten the trip on the back-end you can face a higher rate or even a 1-night charge. Have seen that a few times. I've also had Hilton want to up the rate if I shorten a trip, both on the front & the back end.

Unlike Bruce, I've usually had good luck w/ Marriott when calling to shorten stay due to plane cancellation/weather where there's no way I can get in. I usually call & say hey I've got the reservation, believe me I'd much rather be w/ you than stuck on this plane or in this airport but they can't get me in until tomorrow, so would you please cancel tonight but keep the remainder of my reservation & I'll see you as soon as possible after the plane lands. They do, & I don't get a higher rate. In those instances btw, I call the front desk of the hotel & not the 800#.

Cheers.