Patty

I'm also a bit confused. You said "they only had queen smoking rooms or king rooms available". Were the king rooms nonsmoking? Was the originally booked room a 2 queen or 1 queen bed room. If it was 1 queen bed and the king room was nonsmoking, then I don't see how there is an issue. If you had to make a choice between 2 beds or nonsmoking, then maybe.

Some hotels will guarantee a nonsmoking room, but bed type preference may be on request. Unless you're an elite member of their frequent guest program, then you may be eligible for compensation if your room preference isn't available at check-in.

lenleigh

Pat,

I've worked for 3 hotels (one of which was a 4 star Hyatt). Almost every hotel you stay at will tell you that your preference of a non-smoking room is ONLY a request that cannot be guarenteed. Furthermore, I hate to say it but busy hotels often play roulette by overbooking their rooms and in turn they have to shuttle "guarenteed" guests to other hotels. This is a horrible practice but one they take a chance on.

There are a few things you can do in the future to get the room type you requested. Try not to check in late, if a hotel is full you will get whatever rooms are left. If you get there at 10pm and the hotel is booked solid, you shouldn't be shocked that your room type is not available any longer.If you can't check in until late or you are really concerned about getting the room you requested, call the hotel late in the morning on your arrival day and tell them it is very important that you have a queen non-smoking (say you have severe allergies). Some hotels will even pre-check you into a room before you arrive.

In your case this is what I would have done. Ask to see a few rooms to determine which one is the least smoky. You can also ask if they have an ionizer. Before you go to bed that first night, make sure you ask the front desk if you can be moved the next day. If you don't hear back from them, call by 11am the following day.

I wouldn't write a letter. Although it was an inconvience (I hate smoky rooms too)I definitly don't feel that you deserve a refund or even a discount. If it really put a damper on your stay, you should have demanded (if needed)to be moved to a new room the following day. Next time, contact the hotel to find out what is covered by the term "guarenteed" if you are unsure.

Patrick

I just looked through my entire book of reservations I have made via the web for upcoming trips. Most confirmations list my room choice as "room preferences", some hotels clearly state that "room preferences subject to availability". I do not have a single reservation that guarantees I will get the type of room I am requesting. What hotel was this may I ask that offered such a guarantee on your confirmation?

nikkib

That happened to me once on business travel and during the day, they managed to put some kind of "ionizer" in to at least clear out the stench and make it bearable ... I also got a free stay coupon for a weekend ... hope you fare the same.

SamH

The OP stated that the reservation was guaranteed with a credit card; not that the room type was guaranteed.
We now know that smoking preference is rarely guaranteed, and that precations can be taken to help assure our preference. If the smoking room was such a problem, I am quite certain that you could have been moved after that first night if you had asked.
Apparently you did get an apololgy, cursory as it was. If you're looking for a freebie you'll have to complain louder and longer.
sam

HowardR

In fairness to hotels, there is another side to the practice of overbooking. Hotels do it for a very simple reason: There are always cancellations (and sometimes by people who've made more than one reservation and make a final decision at the last minute). Hotels almost always accept more than they handle, knowing that there will be cancellations. Sometimes, the number of cancellations fall below the average. It's the same practice that airlines follow.

cynic

I'm still curious about whether the king room was smoking or not. It's unclear in the original post.

Pat_in_Mich

Hi all,
Thanks for all of your responses. To answer some of your questions:
-My reservation letter didn't state one way or another whether room type was guaranteed.
-We were offered a smoking 2 queen bed room or a non-smoking king bed room. There were 4 of us, but all rooms there had a sofa bed as well, so the king could have worked. But, one of the reasons we chose the place was to have 3 beds, so the kids could take turns on the sofa bed and not have to share. So a king room would have been an inconvenience rather than an upgrade.
-We were asked if anyone was allergic and I honestly responded no. I wonder whether the room type we had requested would have magically materialized if I'd said yes.

For me it all comes down to an issue of customer service and I will just not return to that chain. I've decided not to bother escalating my complaint to the national office, but I will respond to the hotel's "generous" offer of a "discount" for a future stay with a polite no thank you and also a liitle explanation of what represents good customer service in my opinion.

Dick

"-My reservation letter didn't state one way or another whether room type was guaranteed."

From the hotel's point of view you did not have a guaranteed non-smoking room.

I only confirm reservations that are guaranteed non-smoking..and have never had a problem.

When a hotel determines that their anticipated inventory of non-smoking rooms hits a certain level...they stop guaranteeing non-smoking and merely take it as request(like requesting early check-in)

Obviously, this only applies to larger chain type properties.

DeborahB

I think your being unreasonable. It was never guaranteed and then when they offered you a non-smoking room you didn't take it. Thats the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

tom42

I agree with Leona. You should have attempted to resolve it immediately by speaking to a manager. If it wasn't important enough for you to follow up during your stay, it couldn't have been that great of a problem.

GoTravel

I'm not understanding what the problem was. If you were not guarenteed a non-smoking room, even though they don't guarentee non smoking, what is the issue? I'm not trying to be flip.

If you were that unhappy with the room, write the hotel and give them a chance to make you happy.

The last thing the hotel wants is unhappy guests telling others of there miserable stay.

Good luck!

Leona

Sorry, Go Travel,

They offered the guest a non-smoking king vs. a double/double smoking room. She had every opportunity to "be a happy guest" during her stay and rejected it. Why encourage her to make noise now?

GoTravel

leona, while I agree with you, the hotel in question is the one losing out.

I wonder how many people Pat has told she had a bad stay at XYZ hotel? Through no fault of their own, the hotel is getting screwed.

If they make her happy, then she will not bad mouth them.

Leona

Don't want to belabor this but why was it a bad stay? They chose the room they wanted based upon bed type rather than smoking preference. They never asked for a room change during their stay. If they are perfectly honest with potential future guests and the corporate office of the hotel company, it would seem that the hotel did nothing wrong.

Cassandra

I'd encourage Michigan Pat to write the letter, even though I think the issue of whether she was treated unfairly is a bit murky. Here's why: first, the issue of smoking vs. non-smoking is not just a matter of aesthetic preference, it's a health issue - and a serious one in cases like Tess's. Hotels need to start taking the distinction seriously -- and using an ionizer doesn't do it (also it's not particularly healthy to breathe air full of ozone, either) for people with respiratory or allergy problems. I'm 100% with CDT about giving my business to hotel chains that WILL guarantee non-smoking.

Next, I've often witnessed a very very careless attitude on the part of desk clerks such that they check people in during the day without paying a huge amount of attention to what kind of rooms they're handing out unless the guest makes a point of it. It does seem to me that if they start the day knowing they have 42 (guaranteed) check-ins scheduled for that day, of which 29 are for non-smoking, they should make a point of reserving 29 non-smoking roooms. If Holiday Inn et al can do it, anyone can.

Finally, I'd suggest that Pat and others do what we've done on occasion, when we know we'll be arriving later than about 3-4 pm. EVEN IF the reservation specifies late arrival, we call around 3 or 4 or even earlier on the day of arrival and say we'll be coming in at about 10 pm (or whenever) and that we really do need that non-smoking room with two beds. If the desk says, "ok, no problem, we'll have it for you," great. If the desk says, "sorry, no guarantees until you get here," that's the last time we use that motel or that chain. AND if it's before 6 pm you still have time to check other hotels in the area to see if you can get what you need and then cancel your original reservation without losing money.

Leona

OK, am I the only person on this forum who read that Pat rejected a non-smoking room?

The hotel satisfied their responsibility.

Patty

From the original post:

"Since it was late and we were exhausted, we accepted the room."

Patty

I was going to add that from the first post, it sounded like they took the nonsmoking king. But now that I read today's post, it sounds like they took the smoking room instead. OK I'm totally confused.

rkkwan

Let's recap.

They have 4 people in the party. Two adults and two kids.

They arrive pretty late. All the non-smoking rooms with two queen beds & a sofa were gone. They were offered non-smoking room with a king bed & sofa, or smoking room with two queen beds & sofa.

They took the smoking room with two queens, because they have 2 kids with them.

They couldn't talk to the manager because they were "out" during all daytime when they're staying at the hotel.

I don't remember reading that they consult with the hotel about changing rooms after the first night. As lenleigh says in her reply, that could have been done, relatively easily, if a non-smoking room with 2 queens are available.

In my opinion, and my experience, even if they had to go out all day for their stay, the hotel could still easily change rooms for them while they're out, as long as they pack their stuff back into suitcases. I've have that done in the US and elsewhere. Never had a problem.