Is this standard with hotels?

[Joker]

We booked a room for this weekend for two nights but only ended up needing it for one. It was an advanced purchase, non refundable rate booked through the hotel's website (Marriott). I called to make sure it was no problem checking in today instead of last night and was told it was fine. This morning I was informed we were listed as no shows instead and they had already charged my card a no show fee of one night.  

 

Is this standard even with prepaid reservations? I had already paid for the two nights and now they have charged me for a third. I'm still battling with them over the fact that I actually called and wasn't a no show but they act like charging a  no show fee is normal even for prepaid rooms. I've never had that happen anywhere else and it's actually not listed on my reservation information. It just says I would forfeit the money as it's non refundable. 

 

I've sent an email through the main website but I'm ticked and wondering if this is just how they do things now. 

 

ETA: The hotel isn't booked either as they offered me a room for tonight and I told them no. 

 

 

[AK_Mom4]

It would not be normal in my experience fo them to charge you for the night AND charge a no show fee.

[slackermom]

It is not normal. Being charged for both nights is what I would expect. 

 

In additional to it not being standard practice, if they did not indicate this possible penalty on your reservation, I would fight it. Also, you called them to indicate when you would arrive, confirming when you were coming, so it is extra extra strange for them to charge this fee. 

 

If you don't get anywhere with customer service, you should contact your credit card company to contest the charge.

[EmseB]

I would assume it would be in the terms and conditions of when you prepaid. Did you book through the hotel directly or a travel site? If you booked through a travel site but then called the hotel to say you weren't coming wires may have gotten crossed. They (typically) discount those rates *because* people pay up front, but there's a lot of strings like not being able to cancel without another fee.

 

I would look in the terms and conditions, though.

 

NM, I'm an idiot and didn't read closely enough. They need to show you where their policies say they can charge a no show fee.

Edited April 15, 2017 by EmseB

[maize]

not normal and you need to get a higher up manager to fix the problem

[Joker]

Happy to see I'm not crazy. 

 

I've emailed through the main site and I also have now private messaged via Facebook. It's Easter weekend so who knows when I will hear back. If I don't hear back Monday, I will pursue it higher. 

 

I have checked all over their website and my reservation confirmations and I can only find no show fees for reservations that are not paid in advance. All it says for advance purchase is there is no refund for cancellations. 

[gardenmom5]

We booked a room for this weekend for two nights but only ended up needing it for one. It was an advanced purchase, non refundable rate booked through the hotel's website (Marriott). I called to make sure it was no problem checking in today instead of last night and was told it was fine. This morning I was informed we were listed as no shows instead and they had already charged my card a no show fee of one night.  

 

Is this standard even with prepaid reservations? I had already paid for the two nights and now they have charged me for a third. I'm still battling with them over the fact that I actually called and wasn't a no show but they act like charging a  no show fee is normal even for prepaid rooms. I've never had that happen anywhere else and it's actually not listed on my reservation information. It just says I would forfeit the money as it's non refundable. 

 

I've sent an email through the main website but I'm ticked and wondering if this is just how they do things now. 

 

ETA: The hotel isn't booked either as they offered me a room for tonight and I told them no. 

 

I'm trying to follow  your facts:

you prepaid for a non-refundable room for two nights

you called them that you wouldn't be arriving until the next day and they said fine

 

what is this no-show fee?  is that in addition to the nightly rate you already agreed was non-refundable?  - that I would complain about.  

 

eta: I'm wondering if whomever runs the charges thought you merely had a reservation as opposed to prepaid room.

Edited April 15, 2017 by gardenmom5

[bettyandbob]

I'd expect to pay for the two nights. I would not expect an additional "no show" fee. And you called ahead to say you were coming the next day and knew you were paying for two nights. The extra fee is ridiculous. 

[Word Nerd]

I would definitely contest that and talk to someone higher up.

[bettyandbob]

Did you get the name of the person you talked to when calling ahead. Did you call the day of your reservation. There was a lack of communication from the phone call to the rest of the staff obviously. 

 

I don't get how they justify a no show fee. You've already paid for the room. There is nothing they need to do. They've already collected the fee. If you don't show for two days, they could even get out of having to clean it. 

 

I had a trip a few years back where when I booked I said I'd arrive late, then part way there traffic was significantly bad so I called and said charge my credit card and expect me after midnight. I was adamant that I was still coming and needed that room. The person answering said yes, everything would be held for me and they would go ahead and charge my card. Then I arrived at 1:30 am to be told my reservation had been cancelled because I hadn't come. This was in a tourist destination on a holiday weekend, there were no rooms for at least 50 miles away and I had been driving 12 hours at that point. Somehow I had proof of the conversation plus I parked my dc one of whom has obvious permanent disabilities in the hotel reception and made it clear I was unable to drive anywhere at that point. The desk found a room for me and cleaned it himself--we didn't get it until 3;00 am. 

 

 

[kroe1]

If you cancelled the first night by giving a 48 hour notice, then a charge would not be the norm. Otherwise, it would be. I had a hotel screw up my booking once so that I had reservations at two different hotels on the same night. Yep, they charged me for both.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

If you prepaid the no show fee makes no sense. No show fees are to provide a means for the hotel to get revenue when someone breaks a reservation. As you prepaid, the hotel has no lost revenue whether you show or not. There contract cannot assess you additional fee for not checking in if they are not out any money.

 

The good news is that this is likely a systems glitch and I expect you will be refunded easily on Monday.

[Joules]

I would say not standard.  It sounds ridiculous.  Maybe they are using airline overbooking logic: We know you've already paid for the room, but if we knew you weren't going to show up we could have rented it to someone else, so therefore you need to pay us for that loss, too.

[Arcadia]

We have never been charged no show for Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt. I would definitely follow up and get a refund.

[Joker]

I've received a response via FB and from the email. Both said they sent the information to the hotel and I should be hearing from the manager within 48 hours. The manager I've already talked with and said so in both messages. I don't understand but I'll wait and see if they something different when I hear from them. 

 

We're reward members of both Hilton and Marriott and have never had trouble at Hilton so I may just go back to them exclusively. 

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I've received a response via FB and from the email. Both said they sent the information to the hotel and I should be hearing from the manager within 48 hours. The manager I've already talked with and said so in both messages. I don't understand but I'll wait and see if they something different when I hear from them.

 

We're reward members of both Hilton and Marriott and have never had trouble at Hilton so I may just go back to them exclusively.

They will work it out for you. We are Diamond with Hilton but never had any issues when we were with Marriott.

[Janeway]

It would not be ok to pay a no show fee when you also paid for the room. It is none of their business if you are in the room. You paid for it and no show fees are for people who didn't pay.

[Lanny]

You should, IMO, only need to pay for two (2) nights.  If they expect you to pay, twice, for the same night, I think your Credit Card company would probably find that strange too.  However, there might be a possibility , somewhere in the Fine Print, that they can do that. I would protest/fight that charge. On any reservation, if you GLA it  (Guarantee Late Arrival) and you do not show up, they are going to bill you for one night that you were not there, but I   don't see paying for the same thing twice...    I  would contact the bank that issued the Credit Card you used, if you do not get satisfaction with the Property.  They should not be paid for 3 nights IMO.  You stayed there one of the 2 nights you had prepaid.  You paid them for the first night, when you were not there, which is according to the non refundable reservations.  Why the penalty of one extra night? They were paid for 2 nights and you were there the 2nd of those 2 nights.  Their accounting, or their morals, seem a little off on this...

[Garga]

I have a feeling it will all get straightened out. 

 

I've received a response via FB and from the email. Both said they sent the information to the hotel and I should be hearing from the manager within 48 hours. The manager I've already talked with and said so in both messages. I don't understand but I'll wait and see if they something different when I hear from them. 

 

We're reward members of both Hilton and Marriott and have never had trouble at Hilton so I may just go back to them exclusively. 

 

Well, I had a feeling it would get straightened out until I read the above.  You spoke directly with a manager and s/he said you'd have to pay?  So you then emailed someone else hoping for a different (and reasonable) answer, but they said the manager (who is charging you the fee) will talk to you again?

 

Have you spoken to someone directly--face to face? Or just via written notifications or emails?  Has anyone actually listened to you, are are they all just passing the buck around?  

I think that once you find the person where the buck stops, your issue will be resolved.  You just have to find that person.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Garga

[TechWife]

That doesn't sound standard to me. Wait until Monday, call the hotel where you had reservations and talk to the day manager.

[Anne in CA]

That is Marriott. That is why I can't stand them. They are so money grubbing. They have no sense of hospitality. 

[73349]

Even though you already talked to the manager, *they* are communicating with the manager and it will be a different conversation when you talk again, I think.

 

When customer service calls are escalated, the message you get from the original level can change dramatically (as I found out when our HVAC company broke our unit doing "maintenance"--people went from "We'll see if we can help you Monday" to "We will spend Saturday fixing it and if we can't, replacing it" because I filled out a survey Friday afternoon right as corporate was going through them.)

[creekland]

I've received a response via FB and from the email. Both said they sent the information to the hotel and I should be hearing from the manager within 48 hours. The manager I've already talked with and said so in both messages. I don't understand but I'll wait and see if they something different when I hear from them. 

 

We're reward members of both Hilton and Marriott and have never had trouble at Hilton so I may just go back to them exclusively. 

 

I'd be keeping your credit card company in the loop.  The handful of times we've had issues with companies and felt like we were getting nowhere, we contested the charges on our credit card and let them do the fighting for us.  We always won.  We wouldn't contest anything we didn't feel we should win.  This one is really a no brainer IMO.

 

We're not fond of Marriott either FWIW (because they never seem run as well as other - even less expensive - places).

[QueenCat]

I'm surprised that this is Marriott. We've had two times where we had to cancel at the last minute. Not only did they not charge us the "no show" fee, they refunded the "non-refundable" nights that we didn't use. Granted, we stay at that particular hotel at least once a month, sometimes twice.

[Joker]

This still isn't fixed, y'all. I have never dealt with such incompetence with a hotel chain in my life. 

 

Today, customer care tried to insist I was never charged a no show fee. I sent them them the information and they again forwarded things to the hotel manager. The hotel manager finally called me and insisted this wasn't an advance purchase and that is why they took the no show fee. I forwarded him my confirmation email from his hotel and the payment information showing it came out of my account. He said he will have to call me back. 

 

I feel like I keep going in a circle and no one will connect me with someone higher. I called a different number and they sent me back to customer care.  :willy_nilly:

 

I will never stay in a Marriott again!

[zoobie]

Might be time to get social media and your credit card company involved! Grr.

[catz]

Yes, start spamming them on social media!   That's ridiculous.

[bettyandbob]

Have you gotten your credit card company involved?

[creekland]

If you haven't yet, definitely get your credit card involved and put the charge on hold.  You'll win.

[TravelingChris]

Go on tripadvisor and rate them accordingly and say what your problem was.  Managers often read these and then respond and make right.

[Joker]

Manager called back and was able to find it so has refunded my no show fee.

 

I honestly think they should have to refund the second night as well since the only reason I didn't stay was that they wanted me to pay for it. They swore I had already been refunded the original amount which, according to the manager, was not accurate. The manager said I would have to call customer care for that and when I did they said they had to call the hotel manager. I'm giving up (because I'm getting really angry) and will leave an honest review online. 

 

 

[TravelingChris]

No, the second night is one you prepaid and got a discount.  That was the contract and what they should have done.

[Joker]

No, the second night is one you prepaid and got a discount.  That was the contract and what they should have done.

 

But when I tried to check in for the second night, they asked me to pay again because they insisted they had refunded me the original purchase amount. That was untrue and the only reason we didn't stay that night. 

[zoobie]

But when I tried to check in for the second night, they asked me to pay again because they insisted they had refunded me the original purchase amount. That was untrue and the only reason we didn't stay that night.

That's insane. Don't give up!

[Katy]

Call the credit card company and file a fraud report.  That's what this is, fraud.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Call the credit card company and file a fraud report.  That's what this is, fraud.

 

I disagree.  It's a mix-up, but not intentional fraud.  To the manager, the record indicated that the original pre-pay had been refunded, so he charged a no-show fee (first night rent), and said she'd need to pay for the second night.  Apparently, that was an error in the computer or something, as she was able to show that it was still charged to her credit card.  He refunded the no-show fee.  He should refund the second night (pre-paid) fee as well, since she didn't actually stay the second night.

[QueenCat]

I disagree.  It's a mix-up, but not intentional fraud.  To the manager, the record indicated that the original pre-pay had been refunded, so he charged a no-show fee (first night rent), and said she'd need to pay for the second night.  Apparently, that was an error in the computer or something, as she was able to show that it was still charged to her credit card.  He refunded the no-show fee.  He should refund the second night (pre-paid) fee as well, since she didn't actually stay the second night.

 

:iagree: Normally, I'd say she isn't entitled to the refund of the second night because the advanced pre-paids are not refundable. That's why they're cheaper than reservations with a credit card hold but not actually pre-paid.  But because of the mix-up and their attempt to get her to pay again for the second night, they should refund it. I'm still surprised though, because even when I wasn't supposed to be refunded pre-pays, local managers for Marriott have refunded me anyway. They've said I'm such a frequent customer that it's a gesture of goodwill.

Edited April 19, 2017 by QueenCat

[Suzanne in ABQ]

:iagree: Normally, I'd say she isn't entitled to the refund of the second night because the advanced pre-paids are not refundable. That's why they're cheaper than reservations with a credit card hold but not actually pre-paid.  But because of the mix-up and their attempt to get her to pay again for the second night, they should refund it. I'm still surprised though, because even when I wasn't supposed to be refunded pre-pays, local managers for Marriott have refunded me anyway. They've said I'm such a frequent customer that it's a gesture of goodwill.

 

 

You're right.  I forgot that pre-pays are non-refundable (that's why I never pre-pay!)  But, I still agree that he should refund the second night, as a good faith measure to keep her as a satisfied Marriott customer.

 

Of course, he didn't ask me for my opinion.   :001_rolleyes:

[Joker]

So, after an honest Trip Advisor review and one final email through the main website I did finally hear from someone higher. They asked me to give them a few days to investigate and get back with me. Hopefully they will refund the second night. 

 

I once had to cancel at the very last minute with Hilton and expected to pay for the night but they never charged me. I have never encountered this issue before and was surprised. 

 

This was the first time I had prepaid in a very long time and I don't think I will do it again any time soon.