Bad Hotel Experience -- Complaint and Resolution
Jul 6, 2000, 9:35 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: See pitflyer
Posts: 1,620
Bad Hotel Experience -- Complaint and Resolution
I sent this letter through email about a particular Courtyard I stayed at recently. Since the hotel responded soon and nicely, I'm going to leave their name out for now, and use this post more of an example of why writing complaints does work and how I am still pleased with Marriott.
--- letter begins ----
Background: I am a Marriott Platinum, accumulating over 550,000 points in less than two years and probably about 200 nights at various Marriott hotels.
I arrive at the Courtyard XXXXX hotel, expecting a generic experience as I am used to at most Courtyards. It seems I am spoiled by the high quality of rooms and service I receive at Marriott's so my standards are high, but Marriott normally does not disappoint. Courtyard is understandably not quite as nice, but normally I am reasonably pleased.
My experience at the Courtyard XXXXXXX completely throws this record out of wack. I made reservations (through corporate central reservations) three weeks in advance, for two nights over the XXXXXX weekend (XXXXX). Two rates were available, $69 for best available rate, and $79 for 'breakfast lovers' rate, including breakfast. I verified that the $79 rate was available for both nights, including breakfast both nights, so I went ahead and reserved that. I considered staying at the XXXXXX Marriott, which was only a bit more expensive, but I decided against it primarily because of the parking situation. Now I am considering switching in mid-stay to the Marriott.
And this is why: when I checked in at 10:15pm on XXXXX, a terribly slow and disorganized agent, who's nametag says 'Dave' checked me in. From the first moment I could tell he knew nothing about customer service. I mentioned I had a reservation, and he just stood there blankly. After a few seconds passed I volunteered my name. He checked me in, and gave me 1 key. He didn't bother to ask if I needed more keys, as any and every other Marriott desk agent does. In this case, I did since my wife is traveling with me, but to no avail.
When he gave me my key, he gave me one voucher for breakfast in the morning. I knew that I should get at least two for both nights, so I told him. He said, no, the rate is ONLY valid Saturday night. I argued with him then why did the agent give me that rate for both nights, in effect charging me $20 extra ($10 each night) for breakfast only one morning, which is no discount over the regular breakfast cost of $10 a person. He kept insisting that I was incorrect, and that it was my fault. Whether or not there was a mistake somewhere down the line, I did not appreciate the agent assuming it was my fault.
At this point I mentioned that as a Marriott Platinum I know what reservations told me (and told me repeatedly, since I have a habit of re-confirming reservations and every detail). He then told me that this hotel is a franchise, not actually operated by Marriott. He said the 'breakfast lovers' rate is unique to his hotel only, and I said 'No it's not, I've seen it at other Courtyards'. He was quite dumbfounded by that.
I have had similar situations of mix-ups with reservations, both my fault and not. Every time at Marriott's, I can assure you the agent would know that keeping my business and keeping me happy would be worth the few bucks it costs for something like breakfast, but not this agent. So I asked the agent to book me at the 10 dollar cheaper rate of $69. He first said 'The rate is the same with or without breakfast'. I pressed the issue and he finally confessed that there is a best available rate of $69. In other words, the agent initially came just short of outright lying to me.
At this point I was suspicious there would be problems with my stay so I asked for his business card. He gave me a card, but later on I found out that it wasn't his card, but the card for the manager. He never said anything so if I wasn't paying attention to his nametag I would never have known the person who was treating me so poorly wasn't the manager listed on the card.
Fuming by now at being lied to and being called a liar I left and went to the room (of course, without any directions as any polite attendant would give). The room was a typical Courtyard, with one problem, the toilet would not flush. I called the front desk and spoke to the other agent working the desk who promised maintenance would be available in 20 minutes.
While this was going on, I also went online and looked up a rate for a stay at this hotel JUST for Sunday night. I have kept a screenshot. In any case, both the $69 Best Available Rate and $79 Breakfast Lover's Rate are still available. This is of course in direct contradiction to what Dave said -- his precise words -- The Breakfast Lover's Rate is NOT available Sunday night. I wanted to show Dave so he would know better in the future.
I left the room with my laptop to show him the screen. On my way down the main hallway I slipped on a water spill and fell. I almost broke my $2000 laptop. Luckily instead I just skinned my knees. As I tiptoed to the front desk around the corner, only the other agent (a woman) was there. I told her that I had just slipped on water in the main hall. She just stood there for a while. And then she asked me 'What do you want me to do?' What kind of people does this hotel employ? I told her, clean up the spill, put up a wet floor sign, something, it's dangerous. I don't know if she comprehended.
In any case, Dave appeared from the backroom and I asked him if I could show him something on my computer. I then pointed out that the $79 Breakfast Lover's Rate is available on Sunday night. He said it's a mistake. I said that's fine, you need to fix that with reservations, but don't blame me or any other hotel guest for their (or possibly your) mistake. He continued to press that it's not his fault. I said that as a Courtyard hotel you need to honor what central reservations puts out. He continued to push that he was a franchisee. I told him then if he is not going to honor Corporate-wide reservations then why even call the hotel a Courtyard, just call it 'Some Hotel Near the XXXXXX'.
Rather than admit a mistake on his point, he told me 'Fine, I'll just give you the breakfast.' I did not want that. I wanted him to know that it's not my mistake, it's someone at Courtyard (either hotel or corporate's) mistake. I told him, just ensure I only get charged the Best Available rate for both nights, he said he had already done so. He made some faces and gestures that I can only categorize as disgust, so I decided to just leave at that point, tiptoeing past the water spills to my room.
Of course, for the icing on the cake, 45 minutes passed since I asked for the toilet to be fixed. I called and obviously they had forgotten to tell anyone to come by, since I was told someone's coming right by, and guess who came by -- not a maintenance guy (as originally promised) but Dave again from the front desk. My bet is the maintenance guy goes off duty at 11pm -- so when I first called he was still available, and later on, he wasn't. That's just a guess, however.
I showed him the problem with the toilet. He told me there is only one room available and it was very dirty. Again, he stood there until I suggested a solution -- I'll just stay in the room and maintenance can fix it tomorrow while I am out. Of course, considering the marathon of problems and rude customer service, maybe some gesture, even an apology would have been nice. Nothing. (BTW, the toilet is iffy, it sometimes flushes... Hence why I decided to not press the issue. What would have happened if it was broken? Would Marriott pay for an exploded bladder?)
By the way, the maintenance guy never showed up and fixed the toilet, my room key stopped working, and for the first time ever at any Marriott hotel I found four bugs in various parts of the room. Nothing major but it's curious that I've never found any insect in any other Marriott hotel. While I decided to stay the two nights of my booked stay, you can be assured I will never stay at this hotel again. Please have a serious talk with your staff at this hotel and if this is typical operating procedure for this hotel, please consider your franchising of this property.
Thank you,
XXXXXXXXXXX
--- letter begins ----
Background: I am a Marriott Platinum, accumulating over 550,000 points in less than two years and probably about 200 nights at various Marriott hotels.
I arrive at the Courtyard XXXXX hotel, expecting a generic experience as I am used to at most Courtyards. It seems I am spoiled by the high quality of rooms and service I receive at Marriott's so my standards are high, but Marriott normally does not disappoint. Courtyard is understandably not quite as nice, but normally I am reasonably pleased.
My experience at the Courtyard XXXXXXX completely throws this record out of wack. I made reservations (through corporate central reservations) three weeks in advance, for two nights over the XXXXXX weekend (XXXXX). Two rates were available, $69 for best available rate, and $79 for 'breakfast lovers' rate, including breakfast. I verified that the $79 rate was available for both nights, including breakfast both nights, so I went ahead and reserved that. I considered staying at the XXXXXX Marriott, which was only a bit more expensive, but I decided against it primarily because of the parking situation. Now I am considering switching in mid-stay to the Marriott.
And this is why: when I checked in at 10:15pm on XXXXX, a terribly slow and disorganized agent, who's nametag says 'Dave' checked me in. From the first moment I could tell he knew nothing about customer service. I mentioned I had a reservation, and he just stood there blankly. After a few seconds passed I volunteered my name. He checked me in, and gave me 1 key. He didn't bother to ask if I needed more keys, as any and every other Marriott desk agent does. In this case, I did since my wife is traveling with me, but to no avail.
When he gave me my key, he gave me one voucher for breakfast in the morning. I knew that I should get at least two for both nights, so I told him. He said, no, the rate is ONLY valid Saturday night. I argued with him then why did the agent give me that rate for both nights, in effect charging me $20 extra ($10 each night) for breakfast only one morning, which is no discount over the regular breakfast cost of $10 a person. He kept insisting that I was incorrect, and that it was my fault. Whether or not there was a mistake somewhere down the line, I did not appreciate the agent assuming it was my fault.
At this point I mentioned that as a Marriott Platinum I know what reservations told me (and told me repeatedly, since I have a habit of re-confirming reservations and every detail). He then told me that this hotel is a franchise, not actually operated by Marriott. He said the 'breakfast lovers' rate is unique to his hotel only, and I said 'No it's not, I've seen it at other Courtyards'. He was quite dumbfounded by that.
I have had similar situations of mix-ups with reservations, both my fault and not. Every time at Marriott's, I can assure you the agent would know that keeping my business and keeping me happy would be worth the few bucks it costs for something like breakfast, but not this agent. So I asked the agent to book me at the 10 dollar cheaper rate of $69. He first said 'The rate is the same with or without breakfast'. I pressed the issue and he finally confessed that there is a best available rate of $69. In other words, the agent initially came just short of outright lying to me.
At this point I was suspicious there would be problems with my stay so I asked for his business card. He gave me a card, but later on I found out that it wasn't his card, but the card for the manager. He never said anything so if I wasn't paying attention to his nametag I would never have known the person who was treating me so poorly wasn't the manager listed on the card.
Fuming by now at being lied to and being called a liar I left and went to the room (of course, without any directions as any polite attendant would give). The room was a typical Courtyard, with one problem, the toilet would not flush. I called the front desk and spoke to the other agent working the desk who promised maintenance would be available in 20 minutes.
While this was going on, I also went online and looked up a rate for a stay at this hotel JUST for Sunday night. I have kept a screenshot. In any case, both the $69 Best Available Rate and $79 Breakfast Lover's Rate are still available. This is of course in direct contradiction to what Dave said -- his precise words -- The Breakfast Lover's Rate is NOT available Sunday night. I wanted to show Dave so he would know better in the future.
I left the room with my laptop to show him the screen. On my way down the main hallway I slipped on a water spill and fell. I almost broke my $2000 laptop. Luckily instead I just skinned my knees. As I tiptoed to the front desk around the corner, only the other agent (a woman) was there. I told her that I had just slipped on water in the main hall. She just stood there for a while. And then she asked me 'What do you want me to do?' What kind of people does this hotel employ? I told her, clean up the spill, put up a wet floor sign, something, it's dangerous. I don't know if she comprehended.
In any case, Dave appeared from the backroom and I asked him if I could show him something on my computer. I then pointed out that the $79 Breakfast Lover's Rate is available on Sunday night. He said it's a mistake. I said that's fine, you need to fix that with reservations, but don't blame me or any other hotel guest for their (or possibly your) mistake. He continued to press that it's not his fault. I said that as a Courtyard hotel you need to honor what central reservations puts out. He continued to push that he was a franchisee. I told him then if he is not going to honor Corporate-wide reservations then why even call the hotel a Courtyard, just call it 'Some Hotel Near the XXXXXX'.
Rather than admit a mistake on his point, he told me 'Fine, I'll just give you the breakfast.' I did not want that. I wanted him to know that it's not my mistake, it's someone at Courtyard (either hotel or corporate's) mistake. I told him, just ensure I only get charged the Best Available rate for both nights, he said he had already done so. He made some faces and gestures that I can only categorize as disgust, so I decided to just leave at that point, tiptoeing past the water spills to my room.
Of course, for the icing on the cake, 45 minutes passed since I asked for the toilet to be fixed. I called and obviously they had forgotten to tell anyone to come by, since I was told someone's coming right by, and guess who came by -- not a maintenance guy (as originally promised) but Dave again from the front desk. My bet is the maintenance guy goes off duty at 11pm -- so when I first called he was still available, and later on, he wasn't. That's just a guess, however.
I showed him the problem with the toilet. He told me there is only one room available and it was very dirty. Again, he stood there until I suggested a solution -- I'll just stay in the room and maintenance can fix it tomorrow while I am out. Of course, considering the marathon of problems and rude customer service, maybe some gesture, even an apology would have been nice. Nothing. (BTW, the toilet is iffy, it sometimes flushes... Hence why I decided to not press the issue. What would have happened if it was broken? Would Marriott pay for an exploded bladder?)
By the way, the maintenance guy never showed up and fixed the toilet, my room key stopped working, and for the first time ever at any Marriott hotel I found four bugs in various parts of the room. Nothing major but it's curious that I've never found any insect in any other Marriott hotel. While I decided to stay the two nights of my booked stay, you can be assured I will never stay at this hotel again. Please have a serious talk with your staff at this hotel and if this is typical operating procedure for this hotel, please consider your franchising of this property.
Thank you,
XXXXXXXXXXX
Jul 6, 2000, 9:41 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: See pitflyer
Posts: 1,620
I sent the letter on the website on Sunday, received a response via email on Wednesday morning, and got a call from the manager of the hotel Wednesday afternoon.
I was skeptical when he called so I did not say much. The first thing he told me is that he had received the letter several hours ago and could not believe it nor know how to apologize for the problems I experienced.
I pointed out to him that the worst part was the whole franchising crap -- that's not my problem. He agreed wholeheartedly that the franchising should never be brought up, EVER, unless I specifically ask if the hotel is owned by Marriott or not.
He also told me the hotel had been open for two years, and that this is the first major complaint they received, especially against 'Dave', he's been with the hotel since the beginning. He told me he had a talk with 'Dave' and agreed that everything went wrong with the stay (and that he finally had maintenance look at the broken toilet!)
Another interesting thing he said, and what I had expected all along, is that the hotel should AT least go along with what corporate reservations promises -- in other words, if I reserved breakfast for both nights, I should have gotten it, no matter what their local policy is. My point ALL ALONG!
Personally, I was not expecting anything nor really wanted anything. He asked if there is anything he could do to regain my business if I returned to the city. I didn't answer. So he offered the first night free next time I return to the hotel -- to just make the reservation through him and he'd take care of it.
Personally, I still am somewhat skeptical of the staff of the hotel and doubt I'll be back in the city anyway, so I doubt I'll use the benefit, but I'm happy that the manager called, apologized, and took responsibility for their mistakes. I'm also happy that sending email actually works and I was able to save $.33 on a stamp.
Of course, my knees still do hurt from falling down at the stay <grr>
[This message has been edited by dg1 (edited 07-06-2000).]
I was skeptical when he called so I did not say much. The first thing he told me is that he had received the letter several hours ago and could not believe it nor know how to apologize for the problems I experienced.
I pointed out to him that the worst part was the whole franchising crap -- that's not my problem. He agreed wholeheartedly that the franchising should never be brought up, EVER, unless I specifically ask if the hotel is owned by Marriott or not.
He also told me the hotel had been open for two years, and that this is the first major complaint they received, especially against 'Dave', he's been with the hotel since the beginning. He told me he had a talk with 'Dave' and agreed that everything went wrong with the stay (and that he finally had maintenance look at the broken toilet!)
Another interesting thing he said, and what I had expected all along, is that the hotel should AT least go along with what corporate reservations promises -- in other words, if I reserved breakfast for both nights, I should have gotten it, no matter what their local policy is. My point ALL ALONG!
Personally, I was not expecting anything nor really wanted anything. He asked if there is anything he could do to regain my business if I returned to the city. I didn't answer. So he offered the first night free next time I return to the hotel -- to just make the reservation through him and he'd take care of it.
Personally, I still am somewhat skeptical of the staff of the hotel and doubt I'll be back in the city anyway, so I doubt I'll use the benefit, but I'm happy that the manager called, apologized, and took responsibility for their mistakes. I'm also happy that sending email actually works and I was able to save $.33 on a stamp.
Of course, my knees still do hurt from falling down at the stay <grr>
[This message has been edited by dg1 (edited 07-06-2000).]
Jul 6, 2000, 2:12 pm
#4
In Memoriam
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Always on vacation
Programs: aa exp - spg gold - Hyatt Diamond - HH Gold
Posts: 6,007
I also wish to second the thanks of Rudi although my thanks may not mean as much as his. Your maintaining of a respectful gentlemanly process throughout - even down to your method of reporting to us in this forum - is very refreshing indeed.
Jul 11, 2000, 9:29 am
#7
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: St Petersburg, FL, USA
Posts: 2,253
I'd be interested in the location of the Property. I've been staying at the Akron Courtyard for a couple of months (unfortunately the best Marriott property in the city) and hit 6 of the things that should -not- happen:
- fitness center has been "out of order" for two months
- staff mistakenly checked me out in the middle of my reservation, and the manager herself resisted letting me back in my room because they were "sold-out" (!)
- purchased upgraded room, knocked back down to a standard
- won't honor the 48-hour Marriott reservations guarantee
- won't honor Marriott check-cashing privileges
- won't honor late-checkout privileges for elites
The things we'll do for double points and 15% rebates...
- fitness center has been "out of order" for two months
- staff mistakenly checked me out in the middle of my reservation, and the manager herself resisted letting me back in my room because they were "sold-out" (!)
- purchased upgraded room, knocked back down to a standard
- won't honor the 48-hour Marriott reservations guarantee
- won't honor Marriott check-cashing privileges
- won't honor late-checkout privileges for elites
The things we'll do for double points and 15% rebates...
Jul 11, 2000, 10:06 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: See pitflyer
Posts: 1,620
It's not the Akron Courtyard. My letter is about a Courtyard in Virginia. Cleveland is only an hour away, what, an hour commute is too much for you?
As per the problems noted, late checkout is very hit and miss. Marriott's never give me trouble, but Courtyard's have always given me trouble. Never tried check-cashing -- I put everything on my Dividend Miles Visa
As per the problems noted, late checkout is very hit and miss. Marriott's never give me trouble, but Courtyard's have always given me trouble. Never tried check-cashing -- I put everything on my Dividend Miles Visa