Eujeanie

Long story short:

Last night wanted to book Westin Grand Central New York WAAAY in the future - Sept/Oct 2015 for 5 nights, using points, 12,000 per night for 4 nights and get 5th night free.

Website would not let me do it. Every night was available for points, and every night was available for a standard room...IF you booked them one night at a time, and not as a 4-nt stay... which meant you could not get the 5th night free.



Called SPG last night. Agent said he had never seen that before, he could not do it either. Called the hotel and revenue mgt. dept. was gone for the day.

I called back this morning and again started from square one with a new agent. She said she had never seen that before...if a standard room is available (and it was for EVERY night I wanted), you should be able to redeem your points. Not even that complicated...it showed that a 12,000 points room WAS available for every night I wanted.

Same category room - standard (traditional), 2 double beds. Available every night.

What she did was book each one individually for me so we'd at least have them, then SHE called the hotel. Revenue mgt. person not available, just voicemail (and yes I have names). Told to call me directly. No call yet.

What I'm asking here is can a hotel ignore spg's policy and tell me I cannot have the 4 nights, get one free on points? On what basis? And what recourse do I have?

I'm not saying it will be a negative result for me, but if it is I will be asking the Lurkers to help me find out why.

Anyone have this experience before?

Edit: And it's not as if the rates/points are not loaded...if you look at the availability calendar, many dates that far in advance are already completely sold out both for points redemption and LSR (random scattered dates) - my nights are available for both.

Flews

Sounds like an IT glitch to me. Somebody should be able to sort this out manually, I would think. If they don't I would escalate this.

Cheers,

BigBopper

I wouldn't even waste my time. Keep it booked as individual stays then get SPG to credit your account with the equivalent number of starpoints for a night. It's a wash and will save you wasting time for THEIR mistake.

Asha Tasha

I was totally wondering how this would work for a trip I have planned to San Diego. I hope everything works it self out with this promo. I will also update on how my stay goes with this next month; will book this weekend.

neo_781

5th night free is not a promotion. It has been a part of the program since Day 1. You shouldn't have any issues ... what the OP has encountered is a one off situation. I've booked multiple 5 night award stays throughout the years and have never had a problem.

Eujeanie

Well, the day has come to a close both on the West and East coasts. No communication from anyone at the Westin or at spg center.

I will be patient and see what happens tomorrow. If nothing by the close of business Friday, next week I will ask the Lurkers what to do next.

I am not comfortable being the one to demand that my 5th night be free, that should be a given under spg policy.

If it is a computer glitch/IT issue, then again it should not be incumbent on me to report it, since I don't even know how to do that, I will rely on the Lurkers to get that ball rolling.

Asha Tasha

Thanks! I saw it in a recent email and thought it was. This is really great to know for future trips.

RogerD408

In addition to loading available inventory into the system, properties get to specify any minimum/maximum nights required. It may be they have not loaded the proper numbers and that's why it's blocking the rez. You can prove this by trying to book various lengths of stays. I do this to check rates too. Sometimes I can get a lower stay total by checking different combinations of nights.

Still shouldn't happen, but if you can't find someone to figure out the issue, you have a chance to prove to them what's happening. Too often people will stop at the first plausible cause and say it can't be done. I once had a rep try to tell me that it's not possible or anyone to change software! ummmm

CPRich

Calm down. They can't. They won't. It's a glitch. Stuff happens.

sfozrhfco

If the reservation were for this weekend, I could see trying to get it resolved right away but it is 1 1/2 years away.

Eujeanie

Yes, I know. But I also know I like to grab my free nights in popular places when I can. And before you think I'm crazy (well, I may be, but not because of this ), go look to see what I'm talking about - many dates in Sept/Oct 2015 are already completely unavailable.

Still waiting to hear from someone at spg or NY. And I've checked my spg account and it has not been corrected - still 5 individual reservations.

RogerD408

Availability for Sept/Oct 2015 probably isn't from being sold out but rather from not being loaded into the system. Or, in your case, loaded into the system properly. Unless you need those points for the 5th night soon, let it sit to keep your name on the room and get it fixed once you are within a year of the stay. Converting your 5 rez's to one for the price of four should be a breeze once everything has been worked out.