bigjim

I have unsuccessfully searched for the SPG walk policy on Flyertalk. Will someone post a link to where William previously posted this information or even better, William will you post it again (please)?

Starwood Lurker

In addition to the property following the normal turnaway procedures, the property is responsible for ensuring that a Gold or Platinum member will be awarded Starpoints based on the daily room rate confirmed for the number of nights the guest was displaced. Elite members will also receive Starpoints equivalent to one free night at the property where the member was displaced.

If it was a multiple night stay and the guest who was turned away decides not to return to the property for the rest of his/her stay, the property does not credit points on any of the nights the guest chooses not to stay when the property can accommodate the guest.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

bigjim

Thanks for the quick response William.

I'm assuming that the normal turnaway procedures are accomodating the guest at another comparable hotel in the area and transporting the guest to the other hotel. Do I have anything wrong here or am I missing something?

Starwood Lurker

That would depend upon what the brand cites as being normal turnaway procedures, provided that local innskeeper laws are not compromised, so it is very difficult to know in any given location or hotel. The hotel should be able to tell you what their normal turnaway procedures are. Corporate Customer Service may also be helpful in determining what they are for a given property; however, it would not be an SPG-related issue unless they did not also fulfill the SPG Walk Policy for Gold and Platinum members.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

bigjim

Makes sense. Thanks for the information.

Also search did finally start working for me today and the word "turnaway" helped.

BigBopper

So if you want to earn points after first night, you have to pack up, pay for transportation back to the SPG property and spend time switching hotels? Isn't that petty considering the original problem was caused by the *wood hotel?

Secondly, I never understood the Plt room guarantee. If I book a room more than 72 hours in advance, how can I be walked? Don't the two policies conflict?

Starwood Lurker

It is what it is. Is there a better one out there that you have heard of?

If you can't be bothered to pack and make the trip, why should we give you credit for a nights you don't actually stay? As for the transportation costs, it would be up to the hotel to offer that, not up to SPG to enforce.

It would seem so, but I still know that it has happened nonetheless.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

troyintn

I could see itvery late at night IE midnight or so. THe hotel would assume you missed a flight and will not make. Unless of course you call to confirm late in the day.

craz

Or in different words. The Hotel figured that the Plat was gonna be a no-show even with the Force-in, so "Lets be greedy and sell the room to someone else and at the same time hit the no-show for their full payment, so we will get paid twice for the same room".

Of cause the Plat gets the benefits if walked, and if there are savy will see if they were charged as a No-show if they never made it and have SPG see if their room was sold, if it was I believe they cant charge the No-show also.

As long as a Hotel will go ahead and charge me if Im a no-show then they better have that room for me waiting even if I didnt call in or tell them Ill be late.

sbrower

In the interest of sharing information, I believe the Marriott policy is better. [I stay at Starwood, rather than Marriott, for other reasons - so I am not baiting, just responding to a good faith inquiry.]

Working from memory, as an Elite, if walked at a Marriott, you are entitled to your room and transportation, PLUS 2 FREE nights, PLUS $200. Now, it should be noted that I had this happen to me only once in 15 years [I stayed with Marriott first, before Starwood]. But that is the point. They just about *never* walked a Platinum, because the penalty was too high. Which was great, in my opinion, since I had already spent the day traveling, and didn't need more surprises.

Steenj

Very close, Policy is:

If, for some reason, we are unable to honor your reservation, we will pay for your accommodations that night at a nearby hotel and send you a check to compensate you for the inconvenience. To be eligible, your Marriott Rewards membership number must be part of your reservation. Compensation may be up to $200 USD

sbrower

I don't know where the prior poster got the information (it might even be that Marriott has a "marketing" description which doesn't match their actual T&C). However, for elite members (which is what I was referencing) at full-service properties (which is what I meant to be discussing) the actual Terms & Conditions are consistent with what I posted originally, as follows [I added the bold]:

VA1379

The two room certificates can be used at any Marriott property in the world (Ritz-Carlton excluded) as long as there is a room for sale. These certificates are extremely expensive for hotels to hand out, so they have a strong incentive not to bump elite members.

AdrianVanzulli

That sounds like a better policy to me. Most of our honeymoon stays in Europe will be late check-ins due to drive-time from location to location, although I have stated that in the notes of each resv. If I get bumped, on my honeymoon nonetheless, that would be um...bad.

Cheers,

Adrian

Starwood Lurker

Yep...as long as the problem occurs at a full-service Marriott. Our walk policy covers all SPG-participating properties.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]