Dear Alex,
Last March I attended a trade show in Hanover and booked and prepaid e310 for a room at the Marriott Courtyard. On the evening of my arrival I called for directions, only to be told the hotel was overbooked and that my reservation had been switched to the Maritim.
I drove to the Maritim but on arrival found this property was not up to the same standard. When I called the Courtyard to point this out, staff in guest relations apologised but said there was nothing they could do.
This experience stunned me as I have never been “bumped” by a hotel before. I belong to Marriott’s Rewards scheme and, although not an elite member, make several stays a year with this chain.
After I wrote to Marriott Rewards about this experience, I received 5,000 points and another apology. So my questions are – is there any recourse with a hotel in a situation such as this? And is there anything else I should have done at the time?
Russ Shaw, London
Alex replies:
EU airline passengers are compensated generously when flights are overbooked, but the same legal protection does not apply to EU hotel guests. The hotel industry has no defined compensation scheme when its properties become overbooked. That is probably because it is a rare occurrence, unlike in the aviation industry, where all airlines routinely overbook flights.
So when a hotel is overbooked, a reputable property would transfer (at its expense) a “bumped” guest to another hotel of an equivalent standard for the night. The guest would then be brought back the following day and “looked after” for the rest of the stay. That procedure is what would generally happen at any good hotel or chain worldwide.
Maritim is considered a four-star chain, whereas Courtyard (in Europe) is considered to be a whisker behind core Marriott properties, which are true four-stars. There are two Maritim hotels in Hanover so it could be that the one you stayed in was an older property. Or it could be that you were not allocated one of its better rooms.
I sympathise with your plight. You paid a hefty “event” rate of e310 (by contrast, the Courtyard’s regular midweek rates range between e129 and e159), which would generally come with restrictions, and yet the hotel could not honour its side of the bargain.
Trade fairs are manic times for the hotel business in Germany and properties are legally permitted to raise their rates substantially. It is at times such as these that all rooms are like gold dust and standards of service may not be as high as they would be normally.
To avoid future problems I would recommend checking in before 6pm. Marriott suggests: “It is good practice for any guest to contact the hotel a day or two in advance of their arrival to confirm their reservation.”
Since Russ Shaw wrote to us, Marriott has looked into what happened and resolved the matter to his satisfaction.
