April 2011, I was attending an alumni gathering in Washington DC for my college alma mater. I made my reservation at a Marriott hotel in Arlington, VA across the way from downtown Washington. It was a trip I knew I was going to enjoy. The event was being held at the National Press Club. One of my classmates was hosting the event. I was excited about seeing him for the first time after twelve long years. I made my reservation directly through the hotel’s reservation agent. I gave my credit card number, and I was given the reservation code. I wrote it down, and then waited for the confirmation via email. I was all set to go. Lastly, I made my train reservation. Washington was a “go”.
Before I knew it, my traveling day came. In the morning, I took a commuter train from my home town to Newark Penn Station. My train was right on time. The train trip down was marvelous. I arrived at Washington Union Station right on schedule. I got off the train, and headed for the Metro subway station. I went downstairs, bought my fare card, and boarded the subway. A short time later, I arrived at the Crystal City station. I was booked at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, directly upstairs. I went upstairs to the counter. There my worst nightmare began to unfold. I told the agent at the counter my name and that I had one-night reservation. I gave him my reservation number. He said he didn’t have anything under my name, or in any of the other Marriott hotels in the area. He then asked for my confirmation printout. Unfortunately, my confirmation email never came through. I had the confirmation number. That’s all I needed, right?? The man thought I was joking. He asked if I was sure that I was booked there. He added that he had nothing saying that I was staying there. The runaround started.
The front desk agent brought me to the concierge desk. He asked her if I could use her computer to look for the confirmation email. I checked, double-checked, and triple-checked my email. I even checked my junk mailbox. I found nothing. Next I was asked to go to the guest relations phone on the other side of the lobby to speak with a representative. I was absolutely livid. I told the guest relations representative the very same story. I was booked for one night for $139.00. She asked for every single bit of information...reservation number, Marriott rewards account number, anything to search under my name. Same as the agent at the counter, she came up with nothing. My afternoon was getting worse and worse even before it could get exciting.
I was past 3PM, and I was already furious. I could just smell the icing on the cake. I was once again transferred to a Marriott reservations agent. I gave her my story, the same story I told the front desk agent and to the guest relations representative. Just as before, same result, she came up with nothing. The agent started confusing me with the convention that was being held at the hotel. I can’t describe how upset I was at that moment. No way was I turning around and heading back to the train station. I paid $139.00 for one night, and there was nothing available?? I was charged $299.00 plus tax for a room at the Crystal City Marriott, just so they could give me someplace to stay. I argued my case with the agent on the phone. She said it was their “best rate.”. YEAH, RIGHT!!
Upset as ever, I left the Crystal Gateway Marriott lobby. I headed back through the underground tunnel to the Crystal City Marriott. When I approached the check-in counter, I was exceptionally upset. The agent was asking why I looked so troubled. I told her about the problem. She said that they were going to give me 500 Marriott points for the unsatisfactory experience. I wasn’t satisfied at all. I took my room card and headed upstairs. When I entered my room, I immediately called Marriott. I was experiencing the worst guest service meltdown in all human memory. All of my stays with Marriott were absolutely wonderful, until then. The agent on the phone told me that the $139.00 was being refunded back to my credit card, but the $299.00 won’t be charged to my card until I checked out. They said it would be refunded back to my credit card within ten days. While in such a horrible mood, I got changed and headed back downstairs to the subway. I attended my alumni gathering downtown, and had a good time. While I was there, my classmate asked why I looked so ruffled in the feathers. Like, I had to tell him?
The next morning, it was time to wash up, pack up, and have breakfast downstairs. After that, I went upstairs to grab my suitcase. At check-out, I said how greatly disgusted I was over the nonsense I was put through. There was absolutely no excuse for what happened. No one gave me any information on why my reservation was lost in the abyss. I headed back to the subway, on my way back to Union Station. I still had some investigating to do. While on the train, I called Marriott again to have another talk with them. This time, I was told something totally different. I was given a piece of information which the reservations agent at the Crystal Gateway Marriott never told me. The lady asked if I made a reservation for April 2nd. How in the world was that? When I made my reservation, I told the hotel agent I was staying there on April 7th. The agent told me that a reservation was made for April 2nd. She said that I was a no-show. Why didn’t the hotel call to find out why I had not arrived? They had my phone number attached to the reservation. Their inattentiveness was unacceptable.
The hotel made another mistake. I was told that calling the hotel directly was for “same week” reservations. The hotel agent with whom I booked my reservation never advised me of that. I was completely misinformed, and booked for a night I was not staying there. There was point-blank no common sense on the hotel’s part. Without that email message which they claim they had sent me, an email which never came through, how was I supposed to know that there was a an error on their end? Remember the part when I was told that within ten days the $299.00 charge was going to be refunded back to my credit card? I called the credit card company and asked the representative to check on it. I was told me that no such transaction had taken place. Once again, Marriott took me for a ride. I had never been taken advantage of at such a level. Unfortunately, I had to get my money back via dispute paperwork. Do you want to know how to deal with this situation in the future? Here’s how I will be dealing with it. I imperatively suggest that you do the same.
You have to protect yourself when booking a hotel room. Even if you’re staying for just one night, you must protect yourself. No one deserves to go through the craziness I dealt two years ago. On Marriott’s web site, I filled out the comment page. Two days later, the Crystal Gateway Marriott’s manager got in touch with me. I spoke with him about my situation. He gave me his email address and phone number. He directed me to make my next reservation through him. He said that he will personally supervise my reservation and assist me during my next stay.
Here is the big hint you’ve been waiting for. Even if the agent says that they’ll be emailing you the confirmation, ask them to send you the confirmation via regular mail also. Take Disney for example. Disney sends paper confirmation letters to its guests as a form of courtesy. It is best to have back-up. Email is great, but it doesn’t replace the vitality of having paper proof. When you receive that letter in the mail, double-check it to make sure everything is correct. The very second you notice a problem, immediately call hotel reservations to get the matter resolved. It sure beats being at the mercy of your email. I know we are in the 21st century, but 20th century communication still works best.
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