nicolas75, thank you for providing translation of the articles as this story unfolds that paint a full picture of the issues. My French isn't good enough to capture subtleties in the dscriptions.

‘Future Tire’ conference in Brussels postponed
 

Crain Communications Ltd., the organizer of “Future Tire 2014” in Brussels, has been forced to postpone the event because the conference hotel’s leaseholder has filed for bankruptcy, forcing the hotel to shut.

Future Tire 2014 was scheduled for June 17-18 at Le Méridien Brussels Hotel, which announced this week it is being forced to close due to the bankruptcy of Starman Bruxelles Hotel SPRL, the hotel’s lease holder.

The bankruptcy follows a legal dispute between Starman Bruxelles and the owner of the building, Swiss Hotels Leasing.

“Due to the proximity to the event dates,” Crain said, “we have had no option but to postpone Future Tire 2014.” Crain said it is hoping to be able to reschedule the event for later this year.

http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/...sels-postponed

I got an email from Starwood today saying they cancelled my LM reservation and moved me to the Sheraton. But I declined as I had already moved myself to the Sheraton at a much lower price than what they had offered. However I am going to split my stay with between the Sheraton and the Novotel Grand Palace which is right next to the LM. It's a pretty nice hotel too and in the same great location.

I have also booked myself at the Sheraton, but still show my LM reservation intact. Care to share when your booking is? Mine is in August and I have not heard anything from SPG.

Received an e-mail yesterday that spg eanted to call me. Replied that I had made a new reservation for Sheraton. Any chance we will get some points for the trouble?

Mine was for next week. I guess they are going through all the bookings one by one.

There is a precedent.We had a booking at the Westin Auckland a month after it closed in very similar circumstances.We were given points as compensation.The only difference though is that no other SPG properties in New Zealand.

My own experience
 

Here's my experience! My wife and I did a two week tour of Europe ending in Belgium, and had a one-night stay booked at the Le Meridien on June 9th. On the morning of the 8th, I emailed the hotel asking for restaurant recommendations but received no reply. I went onto the website later that night to find contact info, only to see in small print that "Le Meridien Brussels is now closed". I called and was on hold for half an hour while starwood CS bounced me around and told me all they could do was have me email the hotel.

I was never contacted by the hotel as of that night - we just cancelled online and rebooked with another nearby property.

The fact that "Starman Bruxulles" had a contract dispute is kind of sketchy - it's a holding company that appears to have common ownership with the Starwood brands.

Here's what was on the door:
http://imgur.com/Shr07Ga

Update: The staff at Starwood Executive Customer Service reached out to me and (in addition to refunding my original 16K points) gave me 16K points as compensation.

They were very professional and apologetic, a really great way to end the experience in spite of what caused it.

Glad this worked out ok (or more than ok) for you.

Any suggestions for who I should contact to register my displeasure, and ask for some refund for the rate difference that I was forced to pay? The difference was not huge, but enough to go above my employer's ceiling, so that I am forced to pay it out of pocket. I am still amazed that they called me as I was on the way to the airport in NY. In that situation I was not in a position to make other arrangements at a different property, so just had to take what they gave me. The change caused other problems, including briefing materials that were being delivered to me never reaching me, among other things. It was already going to be a stressful week here, this episode has made a wreck of it.

Le Meridien Brussels Closed During My Trip -- What Are My Options?
 

I am just checking here to see what options/rights I might have as a result of this situation. About 6 months ago, we booked the Le Meridien Brussels Hotel (Category 5) for our trip in July, using points. I just got a voicemail message this morning that the hotel has unexpectedly closed its doors and will be unavailable during my trip. It was the only Category 5 Starwood Hotel in Brussels.

Before I call back, what can I expect with regard to assistance? Given that there are no other comparable Starwood Hotels in Brussels during my trip, is it reasonable to ask for extra accommodation in a substitute Starwood Hotel (which will be category 4 or less)? What would be reasonable?

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good hotel in Brussels at a reasonable price, Starwood or not?

I would ask to be accommodated at another SPG hotel in the area with at least a refund of the difference in points. It would also be nice if they threw some goodwill points your way (for your inconvenience) but at a minimum they should get you a room at another property.

I've merged your question in with the main thread on this topic : where other posters similarly affected by the closure have already posted some datapoimnts. Hope that helps. /mod

Hmm. the Meridien was in the perfect location, and the Sheraton, aside from being a less desirable hotel, is far away from that location. I'm wondering if I should just cancel and get the points back.

On an aside, I have travel insurance that covers trip "delay" or "interruption" or "cancellation" that arises from the insolvency of one of my hotels. I wonder if this is an appropriate basis for a claim, and if so, how much of the extra $800 or so that I would be spending due to obtaining a different hotel would be reimburseable.

It would be interesting to see if a travel insurance policy covers award stays and costs associated.

As for me, I got no goodwill Starpoints. But I really didn't expect any.