Imagine being checked into your hotel for, I don’t know, say a business trip. You’re all unpacked and are a meeting when you notice you have a voice mail message:
Transcription
“Hi this message is for Haley this is Kathy calling from the courtyard in Salt Lake City by the airport um I am so sorry to bug you we am just had a mess up with the rooms him and we need to get into your room that you had been checked into so we actually am moved your stuff down here to the desk um so when you get back just come down and get a key to a different room um I do apologize there was a little bit of a mixup in with the renovation they needed to get into the room that you had been checked into him if you have any questions or if you know anything just feel free to give us a call back the number is {redacted} once again I do apologize have a great day thanks bye…”
Bad transcription and too many “uhhhs” notwithstanding, wow, what a crappy voice mail to get!
But yeah, the person whose room got changed? Her name was Haley. The room she was in apparently was scheduled for a renovation and there was a mix-up; she never should have been assigned to that room in the first place. Work on the room needed to start, so while she was working, they packed up all of her stuff and put it into her suitcase. “Someone had to grab my sweaty workout clothes from this morning that were hanging on the side of the tub. So awkward!!”
Oh, and this could happen to anyone…Haley says she’s had Marriott Titanium status for work travel for 4 years.
Why didn’t they tell her ahead of time?
They (read: the manager) swore they “called her” before they did it but Haley says they definitely did not. There were no missed calls on her phone – only the one from after they had already moved all of her stuff out of the room
Haley has posted about this on the Travel Grumps 101 Facebook group. The vast majority of the replies focused on how awful the situation was (concerns about privacy and theft were mentioned a few times), and what sort of compensation she should have asked for. Suggestions about the latter ran the gamut from getting full refund for her stay, to being walked to the nearest 5-star hotel, to having loads of points credited to her account. A personal apology from the property manager. A write up to corporate. One response (from someone who apparently complains to hotels for a living 😜 – he says he’s gotten 3 free stays) had a whole multi-part checklist of what she should do.
What did she wind up getting in compensation?
Nothing.
No, really. Not a thing. And that, based on Haley’s response, is perfectly OK.
Remember our post about who’s allowed to enter your hotel room, even if you’re not there? Yeah, it goes under that. Moving her stuff was within their rights.
Haley said she did call corporate – they said if they needed to access the room, they had to move her stuff. Neither corporate nor the hotel offered her any compensation and Haley didn’t ask for any. She said she wouldn’t have felt comfortable about asking for anything that wasn’t offered.
It kind of reminded me of when Joe and I had an issue in our hotel room a few years back. Many people would have asked for compensation; we didn’t think a small issue like that was worth it.
I’m sure Haley felt the same way. A mistake was made and they apologized. They did all the leg work of packing and moving her stuff; all she had to do was remember a new room number and take a few minutes to unpack her suitcase. As far as we know, none of her stuff was stolen. And honestly, concerns of someone touching your sweaty workout clothes or even your underwear dissipate quickly.
Sure, making it up to her with a free drink or some points would have been nice, but being moved wasn’t the end of the world. Sometimes it’s OK to be OK with just an apology.
***Many thanks to Haley for allowing us to share her story!
Feature Photo: pixabay
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5 comments
That’s why our blog is called YMMV. Some people think they would be entitled to compensation, some not; it all depends on the person. It’s all good.
My worst experience was arriving late at night and getting a hotel room. I was pretty tired and was having issues getting into the room. I then realized the problem was that someone was IN the room and thankfully they had the room door latch on. Imagine if I was able to get into the room and a women or someone in there had a weapon and thought I was an intruder. When I went downstairs the employee acted like nothing was wrong and asked me who was in the room.
Geez.
This person should have gotten the room charge waived.
I’d say that Marriott gave her their standard compensation for bad service: a big middle finger. The reason Bonvoyed is a thing.
There are very strict federal and state contractual laws which apply after checking in to an hotel. No one is allowed into your room without your explicit permission. No one!
I understand the hotel’s explanation, but I would suggest filing a federal and state complaint.
At the very least,, the hotel’s corporate staff should have been on hand to facilitate the move and assume responsability for the decision.
Actually, hotel management and staff are allowed to enter your room if you’re not present. After all, it’s legally their property – you’re just renting the room. You can refuse housekeeping if you’d prefer, but if the hotel people need to get in because of a maintenance or safety issue, they will, even if you’re not in there. Hopefully, they’ll tell you ahead of time (i.e. “We’re going to replace that light bulb that’s out that you told us about” or “We think there’s a leak coming from your shower and we need to check it out”), and hopefully, if they tell you they need to go in and you ask them not to, they’ll comply (although for that shower example, maybe not so much). But they’re under no obligation to do so because, again, it’s their property.