Surprise! Marriott (www.marriott.com) demands an extra €200 when Hari Doraisamy and his family check into the Brussels Marriott. The reason? He's traveling with two kids. Does he have to pay?
Q: I need your help to resolve a situation that I encountered recently when my family and I stayed at the Brussels Marriott.
I generally book directly on the hotel's website. So in this case, I went to Marriott.com and entered the number of guests -- my wife, two young children, and me.
My reservation was for three nights. When we tried to check in, the clerk said that the room had a king bed and could not accommodate us. I mentioned that my kids are quite young and can easily share the bed, as we do this often when staying at Marriott properties in the United States.
I was told that the only option I had was to upgrade to a larger suite, pay for an additional room, or walk away. I asked for the manager, who told me the same thing.
I pointed out that there was no way I could stay in two separate rooms, as I would be separated from my family. I also pointed out that I have a child who is autistic, who cannot be separated from us, but they firmly held their ground. They said that the only thing they could do was to upgrade me to a suite for an additional cost of €300.
Eventually, the hotel agreed to lower its surcharge to €200 for a three-night stay.
We had a miserable time in Brussels and had to cut short our sightseeing activities to somehow compensate for this extra expense. In short, they ruined my vacation. Can you please help us? -- Hari Doraisamy, Newtown Square, Pa.
A: The hotel shouldn't have forced you to upgrade. I reviewed your correspondence, and it appears that you did almost everything you could to alert Marriott that you were traveling with your family. Something may have gotten lost in the translation.
Many hotels -- and this is particularly true in Europe -- only allow two people per room. Maximum occupancy is often set by fire codes, not the property. It's unlikely the Brussels Marriott was trying to pull a fast one. Rather, it wanted to ensure you and your family were in a room that met government requirements.
What got lost in the translation? I blame the Marriott.com website. When you made the initial reservation, you tried to choose four guests but the system would only accept two. You inquired about the problem, and were left with the impression that it was a glitch in the system. So you chose two guests, believing that the site was asking for the number of adults -- not the total number of people in the room.
In the States, when a room is listed as "double occupancy" it often means you're getting two beds. And hotels don't mind having a few extra kids in the room or wheeling a crib in for a baby. But when you're traveling overseas, hotels sometimes see things differently. Either they want to monetize every guest or local fire codes prohibit them from allowing more than two people from occupying the room. Someone should have alerted you to that.
You followed all the right steps to get this resolved, appealing your case in writing to Marriott. I do think you may have overlooked one thing, and that was trying to get this fixed when you checked in. You asked a manager to review your request, but you might have also made a quick call to Marriott. I notice that you're an elite-level frequent guest with Marriott, and it seems to me someone should have been able to help you.
Once you agreed to pay the €200 upgrade, your options for getting this fixed were limited … but not without hope. I contacted Marriott on your behalf, and it agreed to a full refund of the upgrade charge, plus 10,000 points by way of an apology.
Christopher Elliott is the author of the upcoming book "Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals" (Wiley). He's also the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for travelers. You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org. E-mail him at chris@elliott.org.
