I wish I could say this was the first time this has happened, but it isn’t.
I had a stay planned at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio, and was notified several days prior via email that I had been upgraded to a suite which was being blocked off for me.
I checked into the Hyatt Regency San Antonio several days later, was given my key and then headed to my assigned room. As I opened the door, the security chain engaged, and I was met with a large group of what looked to be college kids partying. One of them – a buff, young kid – ran to the door as if I had busted their party, and immediately started shouting and slammed the door shut on me, almost as when I had my hand between the door and the frame, not really realizing what was going on. I was in disbelief – someone was in my assigned room, that has supposedly been reserved several days ago.
I went to the front desk and they were just as confused, not knowing who was in there. They didn’t have another suite to put me in (no problem) and I was moved into another room, but I was still annoyed at the situation.
- How often is it at that hotel’s double assign rooms like that?
- If the other occupants had not been inside, I essentially would have had free reign of their belongings, which is scary.
- Not only is it annoying that the hotel double assigned rooms, but they supposedly blocked this suite off for me several days prior, so clearly there’s an internal issue somewhere.
What would you do in this scenario? Would you expect any compensation?
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
I had the same thing happen to me ,BUT…. I was not Luckey enough to have the chain on the door !
I walked in , the TV was on and the luggage unpacked !
The person was out of the room , thank god and the hotel clerk was with me and my wife BUT I COULD HAVE EASILY GOTTEN A PUNCH IN THE FACE HAD THE OCCUPANT BEEN IN THE ROOM !!!!!
Now whenever I go into a room I put the security chain on as soon as I walk in ( and see the room is empty ) so no one walks in on me !!
Pretty Scarry Stuff !!
Ohh
My friend actually had the situation but went in and was sitting down as it was a 3 person suite with common living room he was sharing with people he did not know , the people came back and were going to KICK HIS ASS AS A BURGLER !!
Jamie – what was the hotel’s response aside from finding another room for you?
From my conversation with them this morning, they’ve comped tonight’s room, and are providing enough World of Hyatt points for 2 free nights. I’d say that’s more than fair.
We had something similar happen a few years ago. When we got to the hotel we learned that they had accidentally booked 3 different reservations for the same room, and someone else had beat us to it. The desk clerk made a reservation for us at another hotel, although they didn’t offer to pay for it. Later, we were given a $50 credit in compensation for the inconvenience.