Is this enough compensation? They’re filming an action movie in my hotel, and it’s loud

My wife had an unusual experience this morning,” writes reader Kent Schaum. “Kathy was awoken at 6 a.m. to a film crew filming an upcoming shoot-it-up thriller next door.”

Who needs an alarm clock when you can be woken by the sounds of explosions and gunfire?

Problem is, the Westin Philadelphia, where she was staying, promises guests they’ll be treated to “comfort and style” when they stay at the hotel. Its 294 guest rooms and 19 suites are, “all beautifully appointed with welcoming décor and revitalizing amenities. Our signature Heavenly Bed ensures a relaxing night’s sleep, and the Heavenly Bath is the perfect place to refresh.”

The rest wasn’t exactly heavenly, according to her husband.

With guns blazing and hard knocks on the door to ‘take 505′ as they yelled out. (She is in 507) this needlessly scared the crap out of her, not to mention interrupting what little sleep she could manage before important meetings all day.

Does the Westin owe her anything for the inconvenience?

Before we get to the resolution (such as it is) let’s spend a moment on the movie that was being shot at the Westin. It’s called Safe and it’s directed by Boaz Yakin and stars Jason Statham. A synopsis online describes it as a thriller in which Statham spirits a girl from mobsters.

I’ve seen enough Statham movies to know that if this one probably contains gratuitous explosions and a high body count.

So when Schaum’s wife says the shoot was loud, you should believe her.

After contacting the front desk repeatedly, it offered to send her room-service breakfast to make up for the problem. But that wasn’t enough.

As his wife explains it,

I was terrified when I saw all these guys literally outside my door, blocking it with their carts full of equipment, talking about guns and then banging on my door. Outrageous!

The hotel manager is “investigating” with the sales manager to see what the film’s contract said and will get back to me.

Seriously? What about THEIR contract with ME?

Good point.

I suggested the Schaums contact Starwood, which owns Westin, to see if they could do better than an offer of free breakfast. A brief, polite email later, they did.

Westin offered them a credit for a free night, which the guest accepted and said she was happy with.

Is that enough?

Should the property have refunded her room, given that it didn’t give her the room, as advertised? Or is a credit sufficient?

What do you think? A survey of more than 1,000 readers this morning said: It’s not enough.

(Photo: gy nti 46/Flickr Creative Commons)

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  • MichelleLV

    They owe her a complete refund. I keep reading that it
    wouldn’t have been a big deal if it had happened at 9..10..11 am. I
    sleep until 9-11am everyday and I don’t change my habit when I’m on
    vacation. It doesn’t matter what time it happened it was still bad
    planning on the hotel’s part and they are responsible. They
    promised comfort, and gunfire is not comforting.

  • Charles

    I just don’t buy it. Yes, I may have overlooked that part
    about “literally outside my door,” but in my defense, it’s just not
    possible. There is no way they would be filming outside her door or
    in a room next door to her in a Westin. Film crews secure
    everything. They would not risk that she would walk out of her room
    during filming and ruin a take. Frankly, I’ve gotten used to the
    idea that most people don’t know what the word “literally” means.
    Listen to CNN sometimes if you want some examples of that. So often
    “literally” is miss used to mean “figuratively” and I’m sure that’s
    what happened here. And, “Take 505″ makes not sense at all. I’m
    sure that’s another embellishment in the story. Take 15, maybe, but
    Take followed by a room number? Maybe “Wake up, 505″. When they
    film movies, they use blanks. In particular, they often use blanks
    that have excessive powder so they get lots of muzzle flash. Those
    will be loud. Yes, the replace the sound in the final mix, but they
    use the sound and the flash as a cue for the fx.

  • Adele

    I would think that normally a refund of the night’s lodging
    when she was inconvenienced plus an apology from the management
    would be sufficient compensation. However, I would think some
    assurance that corporate policy would change should be in order.
    Guests should be informed of any scheduled construction, filming,
    etc., when they check in. After all, how does she know this won’t
    happen to her again if she stays in another Westin? I live in an
    area where they shoot a number of movies. There are always notices
    in the news, etc., when an neighborhood or street is closed due to
    filming. There is adequate signage, as well, such as “film crew
    ahead”, or a notice that an exhibit is closed due to filming. If an
    entire city can do it, surely a hotel can inform its guests of a
    scheduled filming- or at least they could have offered her a room
    on a quiet floor.

  • Jennifer

    Given the vocabulary of the post, I think it’s virtually a
    given that Michelle works for Westin. Perhaps Chris could check the
    IP address if he’s so inclined. Nevertheless, the level of detail
    in the letter account to Chris is such that I have to believe the
    OP. There is absolutely a huge amount of noise in a movie shoot.
    Anyone who has ever been near one in NYC, LA, is familiar with it.
    An action movie with Statham? Please. I would challenge anyone to
    try to sleep through it. Yeah, sure, all of it is added
    post-production. It doesn’t matter if she was supposed to get up
    shortly. The hotel had no way of knowing that. It’s irrelevant. If
    she wasn’t warned and offered the opportunity to move to a
    different room BEFORE the shoot, she is owed more than a credit
    toward a future stay. She is owed a personal apology and a refund
    of her stay and whatever else they can throw at her.

  • Kevin M

    OK, here’s “the thing”, as I see it. Whatever the
    compensation offered is, it ought to be in cash. Period. Anything
    else is automatically worth less than its face value because you
    can’t know what it’s going to be worth. A voucher for a free night?
    Great, until you call a hotel, make a reservation, and tell them
    you’ve got a voucher. Ooops, they say; that voucher’s only valid
    for certain promotional rate rooms, and we don’t have any of that
    rate available; all the rooms are “event rate” because it’s within
    five days of… something. Or it’s only good for a weekend night
    because your original stay was a weekend night rate. Or it expires
    in six months, regardless of whether you plan to travel again to a
    place with that brand in the near future. And of course it’s
    non-transferable, so you can’t barter it off to a friend, much less
    sell it at a discount. Or you finally manage to find a place you
    can redeem it, but there’s a charge for booking the voucher rate
    over the phone. Businesses love vouchers because they can easily
    rig the system so that a big chunk of them never get used (not that
    they always DO, but they CAN). I’d rather get a partial refund in
    cash than a voucher for the full amount – at least I’m free to
    decide how I want to spend it.

  • y_p_w

    Here’s several more amateur videos of location shoots from
    the same movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jalVTHZkbo

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rZTGTzA_s I don’t know where
    anyone is really contending that the guns shot in a scene aren’t
    going to be that noisy. Again – muzzle flashed and pretty loud
    noises. I do understand that the sound from the set is rarely used
    (especially with all the film crew and onlookers making noise) but
    the sound of guns firing blanks is still going to be loud. Also -
    it looks like Philadelphia is a stand-in for New York
    City.

  • Rowl

    Some of these responses are ridiculous. The value this
    woman placed on a good night’s sleep was the value she paid for the
    hotel room. She did not receive the item for which she paid, so she
    was reimbursed for that item. Legally, that’s what the hotel owes
    her. That being said, the hotel obviously screwed up, and in the
    court of public opinion it could cause them to lose customers,
    particularly the one who was wronged. The hotel sales staff should
    have required the film crew to rent out the floor in which the
    filming was being done, and depending on the pyrotechnics and noise
    involved, potentially the floor above and below. When I worked for
    another hotel chain (4 diamond/4 star hotel) this was the policy
    for such significant requirements. Subsequent to the hotel comp’ing
    her night’s stay, she should review the guest register which she
    signed upon check-in which usually addresses the liability and
    claims of the hotel. Additionally, she should consider a claim for
    false advertising based on their ads and breech of contract based
    on that guest register. Unfortunately, the legal recompense for
    ‘damages’ incurred by the breech of contract is simply a refund of
    her night’s stay. The fraud claim for false advertising might yield
    more, but such a claim is difficult to prove liability from the
    hotel as opposed to the other guest (the film crew).

  • Brooklyn

    @Nancy – Complaining to the production company is a really
    good idea! First, they should think about these things when they
    film, and second, they owe her something and it might be something
    fun or saleable (ticket to the premiere, signed photos of the
    actors).

  • Alan

    The hotel should have informed guests about the shoot ahead
    of time so each could have made their own decision. Although a lot
    of people would prefer avoid the noise and action, like this
    complainer, but I’m betting that another substantial cohort would
    be attracted by the idea of being part of an action movie. The
    Westin would still have been full that week, but not with unwilling
    complainers.

  • Carver

    @Rowl There is no legal claim for false advertising, fraud,
    etc.. This is a simple breach of contract. Anything else is
    overreaching

  • B

    @Charles I don’t think “Take 505″ is in the context of
    “Take 6″ or “Take 2.” I’m thinking it’s lines from the movie, where
    the actors are to “take” the room. I could be wrong but that’s how
    I read/understood it.

  • Cindy H

    Being woken up by gunfire is terrifying – whatever time it
    occurs. She couldn’t know at that point it wasn’t real. Not until
    she figured out it was a movie. The hotel owes her two free nights
    in my view – one night for terrifying her and one night for
    disturbing her sleep. It would be good if they threw in meals too.
    This was more than an inconvenience. Because of their negligence
    they caused terror.

  • Kevin M

    Rowl: you wrote “She did not receive the item for which she paid, so she was reimbursed for that item.”

    But that’s the problem. She wasn’t. She was offered a credit for a free night, which I interpret to mean, IF she wants to stay in a Westin again, then one night will be free. What if she doesn’t trust Westin any more? What if it’s three years before she travels to a city with a Westin? (They aren’t everywhere, like a Holiday Inn Express).

    A refund is called for, at a minimum. Not a voucher, not a credit, not a discount – a refund.

  • http://www.santafecheapskate.wordpress.com ChelseaGirl

    I agree that the hotel should at least have alerted guests that this would be happening so they wouldn’t be freaked out by the gunfire. I am not sure she deserves a refund, though. Presumably everyone else in the place heard the noise too. If they had to refund everyone who heard it, they’d be in trouble. On the other hand, vouchers, as I’ve said in other posts, aren’t much use unless you plan to stay at a Westin again. Which is of course why they are offered.

    The list of reasons for which travelers request refunds is probably about the length of the Nile. At what point do you say no? I confess I don’t have an answer.

  • Meredith Putvin

    Bad advice on calling Starwood, unless you get to the White Plains HQ. No one in the call centers is authorized to do the refund. If that was what they wanted, They need to contact the Hotel Directly.

    Protocol in the Call centers, especially the regional offices is to either escalate to the corporate services department or e-mail the hotel.

  • Carol

    It’s sad all our society thinks of is what they can get for free. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.
    How about realizing a mistake might have been made. She was given an apology. Enough is enough already. Get off your high horses and get a life. There is way too much suffering going on in this world for you to waste your time crying over spilt milk. Be grateful that this is your biggest worries. Be grateful you’re alive, or walking, or have a job and get over your baby attitude and grow up.

    Try walking in someone whose less fortunate shoes – I can’t imagine how you’ll be crying then. Instead of complaining try helping someone else and learn some humility.

  • barbie45

    I would have asked if I could have been an extra. Seriously though this was a breach of contract and her money should have been refunded.

  • http://www.clarkecomputer.com Charles Clarke

    @Rowl “The value this woman placed on a good night’s sleep was the value she paid for the hotel room.”

    In true capitalism, how much value she placed on a good night’s sleep is, AT LEAST, the price she paid for the hotel room. And the value the hotel puts on the room being full that night, AT MOST, the price of the room. Otherwise no transaction would have taken place. Knowing there was an action movie being shot at the hotel may have caused her to choose a different hotel. Not being notified of that deprived her of that choice. A refund is the MINIMUM she should receive.

    Even though I’m an early riser, I would be really upset at the hotel over this. While others may have been thrilled at being at a movie location, I wouldn’t want one at my hotel. I’m quite surprised there was no notice – at booking, at check-in, etc. And it really surprises me that they wouldn’t have a buffer zone. Being right next door would probably make me think I’m in a dangerour situation.

  • Jesse

    Having stayed last year over 150 nights at a hotel sometimes you should understand and allow some noise and chatter, more-so if you are staying by the pool….that’s where all activity happens but it usually stops at 1030PM

    An unwanted wake up call at 600AM is not something I would appreciate and the front desk, management, chain would hear from me about it!

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