stacylee

I know there was a situation with the rose bowl in pasadena so maybe i shouldnt be surprised about this but here it is.

Almost a month ago i booked a 2 night stay at the westin phoenix on a cash and points stay for jan 31- Feb 2 2015. I am on the west coast and booked this as a treat for my husband since Phoenix is so close by. Now today the manager calls me and says sorry there was a system error and they cant honor my reservation. I am beyond mad. She said that reservations were booked over 5 days when the system should have been closed due to a contract with the NFL. I asked her what she suggested for me and she said I should make other arrangements. I pointed out that other major chains such as Marriott don't open their booking windows until 12 months out so i would be dead now for 6 months. She said zero hotels in starwood in the area will take reservations over the time frame, unless I want to use a full point stay and stay at the airport or at a Sheraton 15 minutes away. No thanks.

I told her at this point she is to do nothing until I talk to my husband tonight. She insisted that no one is to blame, that it was just the system. I pointed out it was Starwoods system so there is someone to blame.

Am i wrong to be so upset?????


I need some serious guidance here......

cruiser9999

There is something not right here - What you were told is absolutely ludicrous and I would not put up with it. It is the hotel's fault and the system did not make an error - SOMEONE programmed the system wrong. Call Customer Service asap.

BenSenise

and yet another fine example of hotel management incompetence.
this is not a system error. it is human error; nobody closed off the rooms for those dates on their reservations system, plain and simple and now you are being made to pay for it.
frankly i am getting fed up with reading about this issue time after time. the hotels need to be held responsible for their stupidity, not the customer. if i make a reservation fairly and honestly (i.e. it is not a mistake 99˘ rate or something) then I expect it to be honoured or to be compensated fully, not just a refund.
Don't let this go. Keep on fighting for what is right. It's also time that starwood management stepped up to the plate on this issue.

andymo99

Here is the Pasadena thread

Flews

Here we go again.

Cheers,

idainc

Reminds me of the time I made a paid reservation at the Sheraton Hong Kong, flew there with my printed confirmation, and was told they had no record of me.

Often1

There are a ton of threads about this issue, all surrounding major events in various locations.

The answer is that OP is perfectly right to be upset, but that nothing is going to fix this. Of course it's some human's fault. But, the property has called and cancelled the reservation. So, it's cancelled. You can call SPG, but they can't and won't force the property.

It's a bitter pill, but there will be many more threads such as this.

Doc Savage

More lying from a *wood property when they decide they would rather get more expensive reservations. Contact the Phoenix DA, BBB, etc.

bocastephen

Not so fast - the OP should research Arizona Innkeeper laws to determine whether or not a bitter pill can be shoved down this property's throat in small claims court.

dw

Starwood should take a look at how Hyatt handled the two missed opening dates for the Andaz in Maui this summer as an example of good customer service. (Hyatt found alternate accommodations for impacted guests, at their (Hyatt's) expense; guests were also offered the option to cancel their reservations in exchange for compensation equal to 22,000 points (which is how many points a free night at that property costs for an award stay) for each night they had reserved).

iflyjetz

I'm surprised that the OP was able to book more than 12 months in advance. I didn't think that anything opened up more than 365 days prior.

controller1

One of the very positive differentiators between Starwood and the other chains is that you can book 18 months out with Starwood.

FD1971

There are two different paths from here depending on what you really want.

I checked your previous posts and it seems to me that you are trying to make the most out of points&miles. ^

In this case, do not make it a public case. You saw from the Pasadena example that you will only get the standard procedure, some points awarded by SPG Corporate and the Ping Pong game regarding responsibility. You got the Ping already from the Westin.

The smarter approach; registered letter to the property, reasonable demand (nice treatment during an upcoming stay, 20,30k points , whatever you consider suitable and doable for the hotel) and I am sure they will take care of you. Takes a couple of weeks, very little effort on both sides and the case is closed.

Hotels do sell their inventory in huge chunks for such events and quite frankly could not care less about some individual, who got into the property.

If you really want to make it into the hotel, you can take the public route, but it will involve a lot of effort and the result is unclear. Maybe, they even give you a broom closet for the weekend, but ask yourself the question, if it is really worth the effort?

Of course, you can also start complaining about SPG, their inhumane treatment of customers, their shaky grip on their properties (Kick them all out, if they do not comply!) and so on and on, but again, does it really benefit anyone?

Often1

Maybe OP can use the points for when she heads to Maricopa County Small Claims court to litigate her claim against the property !

stacylee

Of course I try to make the most of points and miles, I wouldn't be on flyertalk so often if I didn't. When i made this reservation i was staying for cash at a SPG luxury property for 5 days so I understand about the right time to use cash versus points. I haven't complained about their "inhumane" treatment, or named names or anything like that. I was simply trying to see what the community thought about this and what steps to take.

Lurker has contacted me and is looking into this and I am hopeful for a swift resolution.