spmosley

Just FYI, when I do make mistakes, I do cough up cash. Labor weekend I missed my flight to Vegas. It was $1,158 + change fee to take a later flight. I paid. My fault.

mattolo

I was on the opposite end of this during a one night stay at a cheap Aloft. I got the keys to my room, went upstairs, and when I opened the door I saw someone's suitcase and their laptop on the desk. Luckily they weren't in the room as the situation was already uncomfortable enough. I ran back downstairs and the front desk person apologized, went back to the manager, and came back and told me they were giving me 1000 SPG points. I don't know if the other person ever found out about someone else going in his/her room...

It seems like this happens too frequently, I wonder why??

Cubazuelen

My worst experience at a *wood was with this issue. The hotel checked another guest into the room while we were out and they took everything we had in the room and threw it into the hallway, which is where we found it upon our return. My girlfriends purse was literally wide open in the hall with credit cards/cash visible and our suitcase was essentially dumped. I was furious even going so far as to call the police, thankfully nothing was stolen. The manager was very apologetic and I got my points for the night back and an additional 45K points. I still find it incomprehensible that someone would check into a room and upon seeing that someone else was obviously checked in would do this. Its scary to hear that this seems to happen more than I think.

tripaddict

Someone walked in to my room at a Westin in the LA area while I was working. I asked that management change me to another room and they gave me 5k points.

LovetoTravel83

Happened to me at the Horrible Sheraton Jumerah Beach in Dubai when housekeeping got into my room while me and my wife were sleeping, even though DND is on. Should've been there for 3 nights but this happened after the 1st night, checked out early was given a 20% discount on that night, no points no nothing. Went to the Lovely Grosvenor House which Shockingly was cheaper and much MUCH better.

andymell

If they pay out enough compensation for this type of error, eventually hotels will invest in software changes to make this sort of thing much less likely. (I am quite sure there are safeguards in the bank's software to keep them from issuing an ATM card to a different person than it should be issued to.) That's why I'd complain and demand compensation for this.

A mistake like having a housekeeper walk in is going to be harder for the hotel to correct just by spending money. So, I don't see much point in demanding compensation for this.

Dr. HFH

While it may have been an unintentional error on the part of an inexperienced team member, it was a serious one. I think that you're entitled to a total refund; but were I the GM, I'd also offer you a nice suite for a weekend of your choice. Your not being assaulted by the other guest saved that hotel and GM from a huge and very costly problem.

Jimgotkp

+1 ^

I agree. People mentioned that you should've used your safety lock but a hotel is supposed to keep their guests safe while providing accommodations. I agree that the hotel is very lucky that you weren't assaulted. If I were the GM as well, I would either offer a nice suite for a weekend or a good chunk of SPG points.

controller1

Wanna bet on that? It happens more often than you would think.

CNWO4LIFE

This is not having any towels or the ac was noisy, this was a invasion of privacy and a potentially dangerous situation. Not sure what the compensation should be, but this is something that should NEVER happen.

camsean

Plus 1 for the OP getting both the cash and the points back.

jmastron

The problem is that the key system isn't as fancy as people think -- I always assumed it was tied in with the reservation system, communicating with the door lock to ensure only the verified guest's key opens the door and is automatically cancelled at checkout.

But from what I can see, the key system is completely separate -- the agent punches in the room number, and possibly a number of days, and a rolling code that works with that door is encoded on the card. The door, which is standalone, is just looking for valid code ranges at any given time. Very easy to put in the wrong number and/or write it on the holder.

While probably better than the old metal key days, it's still potentially very dangerous, both for the occupant, and the new person. Imagine walking in on a battered spouse who's expecting trouble and prepared to defend his/her self? Yes, I would expect them to have used the secondary locks, but that's not the point.

I don't mind if the reaction and compensation is high enough to force hotels to better train their clerks and improve the security of their system as necessary. Most clerks do a much better job these days of not saying room numbers out loud, but if they do, or flash the floor/room info such that others in line can see, it's still a good idea to insist on another room, especially if a woman travelling alone.

Dr. HFH

I must be missing something here. The key system should be part of the overall hotel system. It is at SGS where I stay often. How does the rezzy system allow a room to be assigned to someone new when it's already assigned to a guest?

Keyser

had this happen to me at a starwood property in dubai a few years ago....my wife has this really bad habit of not locking the door but after this incident she has gotten better....

my wife & i were fast asleep in the middle of the night in our suite when this couple enters our room....the husband goes into the bathroom while the wife searches around for a light near the bed....my wife wakes up with a figure hovering over her & screams, the other wife screams as well, the husband from the bathroom starts shouting as well....this went on for about a minute & i almost went deaf with all the screaming & shouting....we eventually figured out what was going on & went down to the lobby....they got another room & i got a free 2 night stay at the property the next time i was in dubai....

WineAGcom

We all know this happens because to err is human. This doesn't mean we should accept it with a "things happen" attitude or "nothing bad happened so let it go". When something like this happens the hotel should step up and go above and beyond to make amends... to show a real concern for their error.

The hotel should give back any money/points and offer something like a free 2N stay (suite a nice gesture) with breakfast, etc. Something to show they really do care.

True, a guest should ALWAYS secure their room by locking the door and using the latch, but it doesn't make the hotel any less liable... Always latch the security lock because there are many other ways someone can gain access... pass keys, a guest asking for a copy of a key and getting it w/o the proper ID, a crook trying to force entry, maids ignoring the DND signs, etc.

Waking up and having a stranger standing over you is something someone should never have to experience...