OK, so I'm Marriott Gold. Wife and I stayed the weekend at her family's in Jersey. The usual CY.

Checked in Saturday, staying until Monday. Not a problem. Sunday night we decide to stay an extra day until Tuesday and hit the car show Monday night. Problem is, we booked a weekend at $70/night AAA rate, the weekday rate on a new res is $149.

So I ask front desk on Sunday night if we can extend our stay at the same rate - they say check back in the AM. So Monday morning we're packed up to go, I stop by the front desk. Very nice lady there says "sure, we can do that" and re-swipes my key.

We show up Monday night, my key doesn't work. I go down to the front desk and tell them, they re-code it for me, no questions asked. Next thing I know, wife and I are back up to the room, enter, and scare the bejesus out of some guy who's apparently been given the room. We, also quite startles, aplogize profusely to the dude and head back down.

Different guy at the counter now. He re-assigns us a different room.

We go up there. An hour later (it's around 1 am now) it's clear the heat doesn't work. Back to guy who gives us room #3.

To add insult to injury, this morning the bill shows up under our door...the rate? $149.

I go down this morning and speak to the asst. manager. I tell her exactly what happens, state that I have no intention of paying for this third night given what transpired. I also ask her to comp us a breakfast...and she refuses.

Am I wrong to expect that after an experience like this, that the room should be free and a couple of breakfasts are in order? Should I escalate this or leave it alone?

Frankly, I think you are asking a little much. The rate snafu could have been an honest mistake - one employee not informing another one properly.

The heat issue and booked-room issue plus the wrong rate are 3 separate issues. I think you are lucky that they even considered changing the rate since you are changing the rules of the game mid-stream.

I would have offered to pay $79 for the room, and requested the hotel do something to make up for the other two issues, which might have included extra points AND free meals at most - not a free night + extras.

A few weeks ago I walked into a pre-assigned room and the hotel (a CY) gave me 5,000 bonus points automatically for the trouble.

The room should be 70 bucks since that's what they told you.

The room should not be free becuase you walked into the wrong room or you were charged the wrong rate, mistakes happen. As for the heater, maybe 500 MR points or something along those lines, I got a bunch of points after i inquired, i didn't ask for anything, about not having hot water one morning at a full service Marriott.

Welcome to FT. I think that giving you the room at $70 and comping you a breakfast would have been more than sufficient. You had some aggravation, but nothing that would qualify for "free night" level.

I think the guy in the occupied room, however, has the right to ask for a free night, given that someone walked in on him at midnight.

Mike

Just another compelling reason to set that security hasp...

Agree with quoted rate and comp meal. I wouldn't complain if they left the points for the higher rate

Pat

Thanks all for your thoughts...

I hope the dude we walked in on got taken care of - I did feel quite bad for him.

OP definitely deserves the free night. Free night + breakfast is pushing it too far tho. Hotel gave him someone else's room, then they gave him a room with busted heat, then when they finally got him an unoccupied and temperate room, they billed him the wrong amount. Is there anything this hotel can do right? Anything less than a free night at this point would be too cheap and would fail to recognize the potential awkwardness of the situation caused by giving out the wrong room.

A free night for the intrudee, too, as a gesture of good will. Hotel is lucky the OP's kids did not have to see the intrudee and intrudee's friend in a compromising position.