ED HAYES

My checkin was not a usual one this time I checked into the Marriott Residence Inn in Stockton. At the beginning of the checkin nothing was out of the norm. But when they said “we have a problem” I was ready for anything they could throw at me. Being a Marriott Rewards Gold member gives me a few perks like guaranteed hotel rooms. The problem was just what I thought, they overbooked the hotel.

They said that they overbooked 14 rooms. I thought I could just say I was a Gold Member, but that didn’t cut it. It turns out all of the rooms were booked and full. They said there was a confidential conference. I was able to talk the manager in to giving me a “free hotel stay” worth of reward points, and they said it would be 10,000 points, as long as I agreed to stay at a different hotel that night. I gave in because I felt bad for the manager. Marriotts are usually franchised and somehow the corporate sales department oversold the rooms to “60 people”. They said that the local system was not synchronized with the corporate system.

Once I got to the other hotel, I found out what the “confidential conference was. It turns out “President” Bush was in town helping a fellow GOP member raise funds. (I don’t think the American tax payers should be footing the bill for the “President” to travel somewhere to help raise funds, but that is another story) So I guess there was a whole bunch of press at the Marriott Residence Inn or something. At that point I knew it was not an accident the hotel was overbooked. I am sure someone got a pretty penny to book all the press people.

When I got to my room I checked what 10,000 points would get me. It would only get me a free night at a category 2 hotel like a Fairfield Inn. That is not what I agreed to. The hotel that overbooked me is a category 3 hotel, the least i should get is 15,000 points for that. I would rather have 25,000 for a category 5 hotel because they made a very frequent stayer leave the hotel for one night.

I think next week I am going to get some more points out of those people, and probably call the corporate customer service about this. It is not right to do this, no-matter what idiot wants to book a room 😛