kopflyer

Just got a phone call from someone at SPG (guest relations?) - he apologized for the delay and the mixup and said the hotel will be refunding the full billed amount within 7-10 days. Wanted to say thanks to everyone here offered who advice and especially the Lurker and those who pointed me to him. I have to admit that I'm a little impressed they're working cases like this on a Sunday afternoon.

Travelosopher

kopflyer

On May 20th I was advised to expect a full deposit refund within 7-10 days. Twelve days later, on June 1, I replied to SPG Champion's most recent email requesting a status update. It's now been 20 days since I was told to expect final resolution, nearly a full month since the stay concluded and three months since the deposit was initially paid. I have yet to hear anything and my accounts do not reflect the expected statement credit. I have been patient enough; tomorrow I will file a dispute with my credit card company.

For what it's worth, the property is Le Meridien Philadelphia, which I can no longer recommend. Getting management to right their wrong should not require this much effort.

kopflyer

Some updates:

On June 12 I filed a billing dispute with my credit card company. They said this type of dispute is classified as "paid by other means" and mailed out a request for documentation.

In the interim I also tried to contact the hotel's management multiple times at the hotel's main public phone number via my cell phone (which is tied to my SPG account). Every time I called, the connection was dropped before I could speak to someone. It's possible their phone system is malfunctioning, so I don't want to cast aspersions, but that was very unexpected. I also emailed the Assistant General Manager (whom I had received an email from thanking me for my stay the evening we checked out). I did not receive a reply to that inquiry. I also followed up with our Lurker to see if he could determine why there was no follow-through on the May 20th commitment to a refund. The Lurker forwarded my query to something called the CIE team, whose reply seemed surprised to have been forwarded my case.

After receiving the dispute paperwork from my bank this week Tuesday, I wrote a letter detailing the facts and attached copies of all evidence. My response was postmarked (via certified mail) on Wednesday. I assume the hotel received similar paperwork.

I received an updated folio about an hour ago indicating the charges are being reversed per SPG. The actual credit has yet to post to my account.

The lesson I have learned from all this is simple: when anyone asks you to post a deposit to secure a benefit which is already guaranteed by the terms of their loyalty program, don't do it. Months can go by and reasonable, honest people can forget the terms of an agreement which was made in good faith. For me, the time & effort it took to get resolution over this is too much to look past. I am unable to reward management there with my future business. That said, it really is a lovely property and I wish them well.

Out of my Element

Thanks for the followup. What a tale. I'm glad it worked out ultimately but it shouldn't have taken that much effort nor half that much effort.

margarita girl