A rate reversal at the Residence Inn

Question: I hope you can help me persuade Marriott to live up to its commitment. My wife and I are being relocated to the Washington area for her work. I found a room at the Residence Inn at Dulles Airport with a two-bedroom unit for $149 per night.

Because we would be staying for about three months, I called Marriott’s reservations line to see if I could negotiate a better rate. I was told to call the hotel directly, and a representative there offered a rate of $116 per night, which I accepted.

I didn’t hear anything from the hotel for almost two weeks, so I called Residence Inn to confirm my reservation. That’s when a representative told me the person to whom I spoke wasn’t authorized to offer a lower rate. I was told they were not going to honor their commitment to me and the best rate they could offer was $149 a night — take it or leave it.

Now, with less than two weeks until we leave our current home, I’m stuck in the position of having to find housing again. I am terribly disappointed in Marriott, which owns Residence Inn. Do you have any suggestions on how to get them to live up to their commitments? — Michael Tushan, Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Answer: The Residence Inn should have honored the rate it offered by phone. It should have sent you a confirmation immediately instead of making you wait almost two weeks. And the words “take it or leave it” shouldn’t be part of anyone’s vocabulary in the hospitality business.

When someone offers you a rate by phone, ask for it in writing. If the Residence Inn didn’t follow up with an immediate confirmation — either by email or snail mail — you should have called back as soon as possible. No news is usually bad news.

I don’t understand Residence Inn’s rationale for letting someone answer the phone that wasn’t allowed to offer a lower rate. But if they are going to negotiate with you, they should honor their rate, whether they’re “authorized” or not.

I think a brief, polite letter to Marriott might have yielded a better response than the ultimatum you got. You could have started at its Web site. Here’s the address.

If that didn’t work, I would have appealed your case to an executive. Tim Sheldon, the executive vice president for brand management at Marriott’s extended stay properties, would have been my first choice. Email addresses at Marriott are firstname.lastname@marriott.com.

But with just two weeks before your move, I understand you couldn’t wait around for a response. Contacting me under these circumstances was the right thing. I got in touch with Marriott, which called you and offered to split the difference between the published rate and the one you were erroneously offered.

  • http://www.twc.ca/mp3 Stephen Pickford

    At the same time that hotels are crying that occupancies are down, they are turning down 3 MONTHS of business??? No splitting the difference…it should have been the rate quoted, or I walk…even if to another Residence Inn, but one operated by a different franchisee. It is not as if the Dulles Airport is bereft of accommodation options. Should have played “Hardball” with Kathleen Matthews at Marriott corporate.

  • Carver

    This is intolerable. The hotel offered a rate then it needs to honor the rate. This is not a fat fingered fare. Just on general principle I would try to find another hotel. And I would make sure that the GM and owner of the hotel understood exactly why they lost over 10k worth of business.

    Chris gave you te right advice though, ALWAYS get it in writing. If its not in writing it doesn’t exist.

  • david

    You may wish to consider an alternative to a hotel suite. For instance, a vacation home rental can offer a better value then a hotel room especially for a long term stay.

    It’s stories like this that make you understand why businesses need bailed out!!

  • Carrie Charney

    Extended Stay America offers studios with kitchens for $70 to $80 per day. My husband and I found them quite adequate and very clean when we had a month’s stay in Vancouver, WA. There are locations near Dulles as well.

  • Bill

    I thought it was a good compromise.
    You do need to get these things in writing.
    Use a fax.

  • Michael

    If you’re interested in collecting points for free nights, consider opting for a non-RI property with a conceriege lounge. You can probably negotiate access on a 3 month stay, normally you’d need 50 nights/year to get Gold to access the lounge.

    Reason – of course – is that an RI gives only 5 points per dollar, while the rest of the Marriott chain gives 10.

    Oh and do ask about taxes, I stayed at an RI in California for a couple of months, after 30 days I got a refund on most of the “punish the tourist, not the voter” taxes.

  • Carver

    The more I think about the story the worse it gets. I would have been fine if the hotel had immediately contacted the OP and stated that it wouldn’t honor the rate. But by not calling, the OP was put in a particularly bad position as there may not be other comparable hotels available for a continuous 3 months at a competitive rate.

    I’ve been in situations where a hotel wishes to change the terms of my stay at check-in. On general principle I stand my ground. I only stay at hotels where my information is on the profile. I can easily be reached by phone, e-mail or snail mail.I booked my hotel in advance so that I have the security of knowing that its all taken care of.

    The OPs only fault was in not getting a confirmation immediately. If I don’t get a confirmation within 24 hours, I know the reservation isn’t in the system and I need to take care of it.

    Don’t try to change the rate or any other terms at the last minute. That’s just wrong and leaves a terrible taste in my mouth.

  • Dave

    For 3 months, you may want to try Marriott’s Execustay brand or Oakwood Worldwide. These are 2 companies that specialize in corporate housing. I used to provide relocation support to my transferees and they are nice organizations if you need longer stays plus they have full kitchens and sometimes washer/dryer inside the unit for easier laundry. Good luck.

  • Charles

    Stephen was right, there are quite a few places one could have a long-term stay in the areas near the Dulles airport. I stayed around there myself for several months on a long-term job assignment some years ago. Marriott’s competitor Hilton has both an Embassy Suites and a Homewood Suites out that way, not to mention there are several apartment complexes that offer short-term leases over there too (some through Marriott Execustay, some just on their own). Then there’s the low-end, under $100/night Extended Stay America, probably the cheapest of long-term stay properties. You can’t beat their prices but on the downside, they have no frequent stay program. Teach that Residence Inn a lesson! Apparently they don’t seem to need your business anyway from the way they acted.

  • Kevin

    What I don’t get if that if you are definately going to be there for 3 months, why not try a short term lease on an Appartment or a Sub-Lease? You can generally find pretty decent accomidations up there without going the expensive Hotel route. I mean seriously, this guy is willing to dough out $3,500/Month for a Hotel Room but did even consider trying to find an appartment or Townhouse? Either one of those, in that area, would run you half of what the Hotel Cost.
    AND you don’t have to deal with other stupid people in the Hotel…
    Not to mention, anyone who is familiar with Dulles or Northern Va, Traffic SUCKS. The Dulles Toll road is by and far one of the worst roads for traffic I’ve ever been on. I lived outside Alexandria for 20 years and you could not pay me enough to move back up there and deal with that headache…

  • carver

    Some of you guys don’t understand why someone would specifically want the Residence Inn over some of the other options. Some potential reasons

    With regards to other LT hotels:

    Few chains have 2 bedroom suites at nearly every property
    Few chains are part of the Major Loyalty programs
    Many don’t have full kitchens
    In some locations, RI are more like apartment complexes than hotels
    Cheaper brands don’t come with breakfast
    Most brands don’t come with daily housekeeping

    With regards to apartments. the lack of

    Housekeeping services
    complimentary breakfast
    flexibility in leaving early

    I can easily see why the OP would want a Residence Inn for his trip in lieu of some of the other options presented

  • Chris in NC

    Carver, I agree. The negotiated rate is effectively a 20% discount, which is reasonable given the duration of the stay. I can’t believe the Marriott is splitting the difference. I sure hope that Mr Tushan takes his business elsewhere, but it doesn’t sound like that is the case.

  • Jamie

    I think Residence Inn was legally obligated to honor the rate given by its representative over the phone. The agent had at least the reasonable apparent authority to make the deal and I think his words obligated the company. Period. I would never stay at a Marriott again.

  • Carver

    @Jamie

    Dinging all 3500 Marriott Brand hotels for one miscreant seems a bit much. Particularly when you consider that Marriott Corporate’s involvement was minimal at best.

    Remember Marriott owns the names, but most hotels are actually franchises.