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-   Starwood | Starwood Preferred Guest (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-starwood-preferred-guest-429/)
-   -   suite usage 2 -> 3 people (Additional charge appropriate?) (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-starwood-preferred-guest/1749676-suite-usage-2-3-people-additional-charge-appropriate.html)

Out of my Element Mar 1, 2016 2:01 pm

Impossible?

Have you tried calling them?

Often1 Mar 1, 2016 2:35 pm

After the fact justifications don't matter. If the property wants to charge more for an extra person, that is the property's prerogative. If OP doesn't want to pay the upcharge, it is his prerogative to stay somewhere else.

If OP initiates a chargeback, this will be an easy denial and if OP persists in this form of petty fraud, he will soon find that his CC issuer will revoke his card because dealing with the petty fraud is a costly overhead item which makes him a not worthwhile customer.

The only reason not to have asked at check-in was for fear of the answer. If you fear the answer, don't bother.

Dr. HFH Mar 2, 2016 2:15 am


Originally Posted by NYTA (Post 26265706)
What if I invited a friend over who wasn't planning on it but fell asleep in my room?

That's different. OP's plan from the beginning in this case was for the additional person to sleep there.



Originally Posted by Often1 (Post 26268476)
After the fact justifications don't matter. If the property wants to charge more for an extra person, that is the property's prerogative. If OP doesn't want to pay the upcharge, it is his prerogative to stay somewhere else.

Exactly.

NYTA Mar 2, 2016 5:57 am


Originally Posted by Dr. HFH (Post 26270838)
That's different. OP's plan from the beginning in this case was for the additional person to sleep there.

So intent to have someone else sleep in the room is what counts? If I made a reservation for 2 and then my friend left before going to sleep, do you think the hotel would give me money back? Of course they wouldn't. Again - if there's no breakfast included or a per person tax issue there shouldn't be any reason to keep count and charge more unless it's a fire code occupancy issue.

Dr. HFH Mar 2, 2016 6:37 am


Originally Posted by NYTA (Post 26271334)
So intent to have someone else sleep in the room is what counts? If I made a reservation for 2 and then my friend left before going to sleep, do you think the hotel would give me money back? Of course they wouldn't. Again - if there's no breakfast included or a per person tax issue there shouldn't be any reason to keep count and charge more unless it's a fire code occupancy issue.

If you make a rezzie for two people when you intend to have three, that's a problem. Why not just tell the truth? You don't like the hotel's rules about more than two people? Don't stay there.

NYTA Mar 2, 2016 8:10 am


Originally Posted by Dr. HFH (Post 26271470)
If you make a rezzie for two people when you intend to have three, that's a problem. Why not just tell the truth? You don't like the hotel's rules about more than two people? Don't stay there.

In this case the OP made a reservation for two with the intention of having two. Then when he/she saw there was another bed, another guest was invited. (Who am I to judge the situation? Menage a trois? Stopping a drunk friend from driving home? Who cares) By your standards, the hotel shouldn't have charged for the third person since the original intent was to have two people and that's what was reserved. I have taken two rooms at the Sheraton in Rome with my wife and kids since the "rules" there only allow three people per room (fire codes according to them, revenue "enhancement" if you ask me) while at the Sheraton in NYC, all four of us have stayed in the same room (which was much smaller in NY, by the way) because the rules didn't prohibit it. I think the OPs situation is not the same.

BOSTransplant Mar 2, 2016 9:13 am


Originally Posted by NYTA (Post 26271873)
In this case the OP made a reservation for two with the intention of having two. Then when he/she saw there was another bed, another guest was invited. (Who am I to judge the situation? Menage a trois? Stopping a drunk friend from driving home? Who cares) By your standards, the hotel shouldn't have charged for the third person since the original intent was to have two people and that's what was reserved.

You're playing fast and loose with the concept of "original intent." When the poster to whom you're replying said "original intent," he or she was referring to the fact that the OP invited the third guest over with the intention of having that person sleep in the suite. That's the intent that's relevant. This is not someone who accidentally fell asleep after a few too many drinks, it's someone who was invited over to sleep in the suite, which is a violation of the rate rules.

NYTA Mar 2, 2016 12:17 pm


Originally Posted by BOSTransplant (Post 26272200)
You're playing fast and loose with the concept of "original intent." When the poster to whom you're replying said "original intent," he or she was referring to the fact that the OP invited the third guest over with the intention of having that person sleep in the suite. That's the intent that's relevant. This is not someone who accidentally fell asleep after a few too many drinks, it's someone who was invited over to sleep in the suite, which is a violation of the rate rules.

No, when the OP made the reservation, it was for 2 people then after check-in decided to invite a 3rd. Just like if someone makes a reservation for one and then picks someone up in a bar who sleeps over. I can just imagine the hotel front desk clerk asking someone with a single person reservation coming back from the club late at night with someone else asking "do you intend to have him/her sleep over?" as they walk through the lobby. I think any hotel that did that should lose a lot of business for that kind of behavior. They certainly wouldn't get mine again.

CIT85 Mar 2, 2016 12:17 pm


Originally Posted by azepine00 (Post 26267035)
i feel strongly about hotels not making a distinction anywhere between baby/toddler/child and grown ups. making a reservation for 2 adults and two small kids is impossible on most sites therefore i have no way to find out what the rules (or real constraints) actually are.

You may want to check T&C for the different hotel chains. SPG award only allows 2 people, so anything else requires a call to CS to book. I was able a Hyatt property using points recently for 3 people and had no problem doing online. Hyatt Diamond benefits cover free breakfast for up to 4 people in the same room, so that means you should be able to book rooms with 4 people, but of course there may be extra person charges.

I always understood that traveling with older kids would be an issue if I wanted 3 people in a hotel room, especially in Europe with small rooms and more strict rules about occupancy.

BOSTransplant Mar 2, 2016 1:54 pm


Originally Posted by NYTA (Post 26273222)
No, when the OP made the reservation, it was for 2 people then after check-in decided to invite a 3rd. Just like if someone makes a reservation for one and then picks someone up in a bar who sleeps over. I can just imagine the hotel front desk clerk asking someone with a single person reservation coming back from the club late at night with someone else asking "do you intend to have him/her sleep over?" as they walk through the lobby. I think any hotel that did that should lose a lot of business for that kind of behavior. They certainly wouldn't get mine again.

I understand what you're saying, and you're certainly entitled to not give them your business. As for the intention thing though, that was going back to your original comment. You said: "What if I invited a friend over who wasn't planning on it but fell asleep in my room? Should I pay extra?" That hypothetical clearly doesn't apply in this case, because the OP invited the third person over with the intention of having that third person sleep in the suite.

No idea about the picking up a girl at the bar scenario, but I imagine it's fairly rare to pick up someone at the bar to go from two to three in a room (one to two would be much more likely, but I don't know of any SPG hotels that charge extra for double occupancy). I don't know though -- maybe other SPG elites have had better luck than me using their Global Ambassador credentials to impress strangers enough to have a threesome.

Dr. HFH Mar 2, 2016 6:34 pm


Originally Posted by NYTA (Post 26271873)
By your standards, the hotel shouldn't have charged for the third person since the original intent was to have two people and that's what was reserved.

Yes, but his intent changed before the third guest arrived. OP invited the third person when OP saw the size of the new room.



Originally Posted by BOSTransplant (Post 26272200)
You're playing fast and loose with the concept of "original intent." When the poster to whom you're replying said "original intent," he or she was referring to the fact that the OP invited the third guest over with the intention of having that person sleep in the suite. That's the intent that's relevant. This is not someone who accidentally fell asleep after a few too many drinks, it's someone who was invited over to sleep in the suite, which is a violation of the rate rules.

Yes, this.



Originally Posted by NYTA (Post 26273222)
No, when the OP made the reservation, it was for 2 people then after check-in decided to invite a 3rd. [...]

... whom OP intended to have sleep over. Very different from picking someone up in a bar. When OP saw the new room, s/he called friend and invited him/her to stay for the night because the room was so big. OP's intent changed when s/he saw the room. Very different.

RogerD408 Mar 2, 2016 7:09 pm

Just to bring the discussion back to what actually happened...

Originally Posted by destg (Post 26256569)
I booked a room for 2 people, got upgraded to a suite with 2 bedrooms.
So i invited someone to sleep in the second room. At checkin i told this change from 2-3 people. At checkout i had to pay 30 EUR extra for this. Is this ok?
In the same hotel i once changed from 2-3 people by calling the hotel before and there was no extra fee, so i wonder whats up.

The OP did right telling them the number of guests had changed. The rate charged is what is in question. We all can have our own idea of what numbers should be used to determine room rates. I suspect many properties figure two guests per room and prices the rooms accordingly. If a room is assigned that can accommodate more, they eat any additional cost to maintain it (if two are in the room). If they wish to charge a fee for additional guests, presuming additional cleaning costs and the such, that is their prerogative. In this case, it should have been disclosed at check-in. Maybe challenging the charge at check-out would have gotten it reversed.

Id suggest doing a dummy booking for three and see what shows up online. If there is no uplift, then complain to the property and ask the difference be refunded. If it's greater than 30Euro, enjoy your discount!

NYTA Mar 3, 2016 1:55 am

A quick search of the SPG site in for next week in London shows the following:

3 adults per room:
Sheraton Skyline - 155GBP
Sheraton Heathrow 139GBP

2 adults per room:
Sheraton Skyline - 155GBP
Sheraton Heathrow 114GBP

1 adult per room:
Sheraton Skyline - 155GBP
Sheraton Heathrow 114GBP

Given that two hotels of the same brand just down the road from each other have such differing rates for 3 vs. 2 people (and that there's no difference for 1-3 people at the Skyline) I'd say the OP has a right to be miffed.

BOSTransplant Mar 3, 2016 7:19 am


Originally Posted by NYTA (Post 26276436)
Given that two hotels of the same brand just down the road from each other have such differing rates for 3 vs. 2 people (and that there's no difference for 1-3 people at the Skyline) I'd say the OP has a right to be miffed.

Why would another hotel's different policy mean the OP has a right to be miffed? There are obviously standard policies that apply across all Sheratons, but I don't think there's an official SPG policy on charging for a third occupant. If there isn't, then it's up to the hotel to set its own policy. If someone doesn't like that policy, then he's welcome to go just down the road and stay at the hotel whose policies he likes more.

PayItForward Mar 3, 2016 7:22 am


Originally Posted by BOSTransplant (Post 26277410)
Why would another hotel's different policy mean the OP has a right to be miffed? There are obviously standard policies that apply across all Sheratons, but I don't think there's an official SPG policy on charging for a third occupant. If there isn't, then it's up to the hotel to set its own policy. If someone doesn't like that policy, then he's welcome to go just down the road and stay at the hotel whose policies he likes more.

Agreed. And even more ironically, the sample provided shows that despite the tier pricing based on occupants, it provides more value than the property down the road.


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