Sheraton Station Square Hotel

RE: ID [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] We received your letter dated May 5, in yesterday's mailMay I please ask that you change the address of the hotel to [redacted] *** and list me as the Principal Correspondent for this business?Regarding the complaint that you received from [redacted] ***, our version of the story is significantly different than hisWith your leave I will highlight a few of the facts as we understand them.• According to our records Mr [redacted] and his wife checked into the hotel on November using a reservation booked through [redacted] .comThe original reservation was for one weekThey wound up staying until March, 2017.• Mr [redacted] requested access to our Club Lounge which is not offered at the rate level that he had bookedInitially, we explained this to him but he pushed for access based on his status in the Caesar's Entertainment Total Rewards programThere was a promotion between Starwood Preferred Guest program (SPG) and Total Rewards that offered members of either program matched status level but not at the price level that he was payingAs a courtesy, we extended Club Lounge access to Mr***.• I met Mr [redacted] for the first time in January, because our team had attempted to advise him that his Club Lounge benefits would be taken away since the promotion described above ended on December 31, After a lengthy discussion during which Mr [redacted] was aggressive and threatened to write bad reviews about the hotel, I relented and told him that his Club Lounge access privileges would be extended until he and wife checked out of the hotel.• I met with him again in February and then ultimately in MarchDuring the March meeting, I advised him that it was my opinion that he should check out of the hotel and advised him that I would like for him to do so by March 31, I also advised him that should he ever return to the hotel, in order to receive Club Lounge access that he would need to be paying a qualifiedrateIn his complaint, he states that I told him he could check out for a few days and then return as a "welcomed guest"This is not a true statementDuring the ***'s stay here there were a number of interactions between Mr [redacted] and hotel employees that were negative to the point that several members of our team were no longer willing to deal with Mr***While I have details, I would prefer not to provide them in this response because I do not believe that our specific concerns are appropriate fodder for a response to the Revdex.com that may ultimately provided to other consumersSuffice it to say that we believe that our actions were justified.• As Mr [redacted] states, he filed a complaint with the office of the President and CEO of Marriott International which was turned over to the executive group of Consumer AffairsAfter dialog between the consumer affairs liaison, our team and Mr [redacted] it was determined that we would offer him 20,Starwood Preferred Guest points as compensation for his inconvenienceWe did so as a gesture of respect but without admitting any blame or liabilityMarriott International Consumer Affairs issued those points to Mr [redacted] in early MayAt the time, the hotel and Marriott International considered the matter closed.Ms [redacted] , we believe that we have extended appropriate consideration to Mr [redacted] regarding his concerns with the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station SquareI have included the contact information for the Consumer Affairs representative at Marriott International as well as my ownPlease don't hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions.Sincerely,John *G***Vice President and Managing Director Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square

Good morning. This email is regarding ID complaint *** for consumer *** ***. Consumer has been waiting for a refund from a 3rd party hotel website, ***.com, not the hotel. Hotel has endeavored and taken every step necessary in our power to begin the
process of initiating a refund. Hotel itself cannot refund guest as ***.com is the company that actually charged the guest. When hotel received the Revdex.com report, our accounting department immediately reached out to *** for the second time to approve and request a refund for consumer. Below you will see a copy of that email. To the hotel’s knowledge *** has finally refunding the guest

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business (John G[redacted]) in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that, pursuant to my conversation/agreement with Jessica (Marriott Consumer Affairs Dept.), I will not take further legal action against the business.  As for the written response, it does address my complaint, but is disingenuous - replete with contradictions, does not address why our reservation was not honored (other than stating that he told me to book at a higher rate), and fails to acknowledge that a reputable business should not conduct business in such a way.Thank you for your attention to this matterSincerely,[redacted] this written response, and did not offer an apology, which would have been the appropriate thing to do.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 
Regards,
[redacted]

RE: ID [redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted]We received your letter dated May 5, 2017 in yesterday's mail. May I please ask that you change the address of the hotel to [redacted] and list me as the Principal Correspondent for this business?Regarding the complaint that you received...

from [redacted], our version of the story is significantly different than his. With your leave I will highlight a few of the facts as we understand them.• According to our records Mr. [redacted] and his wife checked into the hotel on November 10 using a reservation booked through [redacted].com. The original reservation was for one week. They wound up staying until March, 2017.• Mr. [redacted] requested access to our Club Lounge which is not offered at the rate level that he had booked. Initially, we explained this to him but he pushed for access based on his status in the Caesar's Entertainment Total Rewards program. There was a promotion between Starwood Preferred Guest program (SPG) and Total Rewards that offered members of either program matched status level but not at the price level that he was paying. As a courtesy, we extended Club Lounge access to Mr. [redacted].• I met Mr. [redacted] for the first time in January, because our team had attempted to advise him that his Club Lounge benefits would be taken away since the promotion described above ended on December 31, 2016. After a lengthy discussion during which Mr. [redacted] was aggressive and threatened to write bad reviews about the hotel, I relented and told him that his Club Lounge access privileges would be extended until he and wife checked out of the hotel.• I met with him again in February and then ultimately in March. During the March meeting, I advised him that it was my opinion that he should check out of the hotel and advised him that I would like for him to do so by March 31, 2017. I also advised him that should he ever return to the hotel, in order to receive Club Lounge access that he would need to be paying a qualifiedrate. In his complaint, he states that I told him he could check out for a few days and then return as a "welcomed guest". This is not a true statement. During the [redacted]'s stay here there were a number of interactions between Mr. [redacted] and hotel employees that were negative to the point that several members of our team were no longer willing to deal with Mr. [redacted]. While I have details, I would prefer not to provide them in this response because I do not believe that our specific concerns are appropriate fodder for a response to the Revdex.com that may ultimately provided to other consumers. Suffice it to say that we believe that our actions were justified.• As Mr. [redacted] states, he filed a complaint with the office of the President and CEO of Marriott International which was turned over to the executive group of Consumer Affairs. After dialog between the consumer affairs liaison, our team and Mr. [redacted] it was determined that we would offer him 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points as compensation for his inconvenience. We did so as a gesture of respect but without admitting any blame or liability. Marriott International Consumer Affairs issued those points to Mr. [redacted] in early May. At the time, the hotel and Marriott International considered the matter closed.Ms. [redacted], we believe that we have extended appropriate consideration to Mr. [redacted] regarding his concerns with the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. I have included the contact information for the Consumer Affairs representative at Marriott International as well as my own. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions.Sincerely,John *. G[redacted]Vice President and Managing Director Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square

Review: To whom it may concern:

Please accept this letter as a formal complaint Sheraton and [redacted] regarding a recent stay at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square, in Pennsylvania. I reserved a room for my family through [redacted] (itinerary for 2 nights, from April 22nd to April 24th). From the very beginning of our stay, the customer service was very poor. I have listed several of our negative experiences below:

• Hotel room keys were not coded for the room, so we had to go back down stairs to get them reset.

• I returned from moving my car, only to find my wife and 5 year old soon sitting in the hallway outside the

room as their key still would not work. I had go back downstairs and have the keys reset a 2nd time

• We requested a roll out bed for my son during check in. That evening my wife called again to request the roll

out bed. It took them more than 2 hours to bring one to the room.

• The next morning, I called the front desk for a courtesy tooth brush. After waiting over an hour, my family and

I had to leave for an event. I had to buy an $8 toothbrush from the gift shop and brush my teeth in the hotel

lobby bathroom so that we wouldn’t be late for our appointment.

• During our stay, I came down to the front desk 3 separate times during the day to find no one at the front

desk. The hotel was completely sold out with a large wedding that weekend, so it seems like someone should

have been available at all times.

• On the day of check out, we called the front desk for a baggage carrier to assist us with our luggage. After

waiting over an hour, we called the front desk, who gave me a separate number to call baggage handlers. The

baggage guy hung up on my wife as she was giving him the room number. She called a second time after

waiting an additional 20 minutes only to find out the baggage handler went to room 614 instead of 314 (our

room). When we spoke to the front desk about it, their explanation was that the baggage handler in question

always hangs up on customers and the front desk staff as well. That is completely unacceptable.

I’ve had several stays at Sheraton hotels over the years, both professional and personal stays. I have never experienced the comedy of errors that my family and I had to endure during this stay. The lack of professionalism and general customer courtesy was really disappointing, especially for such a well-known and established hotel chain.

Upon leaving, we voiced are complaints with the hotel staff, who ultimately directed us to the hotel manager (Chelsea F[redacted]). Under the circumstances, Chelsea was very apologetic and sympathetic to our concerns. She offered to reimburse us for our parking along with refunding me for 1 night’s stay.

After a couple of days, we reached out to Chelsea F[redacted] to check the status of the refund. She was nice enough to forward me the email she sent to her accounting team on April 25th (Joe A[redacted] Tammy B[redacted], as well as [redacted], initiating the refund for 1 night’s stay. She advised that she had done everything she needed to do on her part, to initiate the refund process with [redacted]. She explained that we would need to reach out to [redacted] customer support, and reference the email that she forwarded to me.

I called [redacted] customer service several times, initially speaking to people with really heavy accents, and seemed to barely understand English. Each time I was told that they couldn’t find my itinerary information that I was reading directly from my [redacted] confirmation email.

I ended up finding another customer support number. My call history with customer support was as follows:

• 5/9 – First time I called, I was disconnected from the customer service rep

• 5/9 – 2nd time I called, spoke with Mary. After explaining my situation, she advised me to forward the email

from the Chelsea F[redacted] to [redacted].com. She advised me to follow up with them in a week.

• 5/17 – After being on hold for 1 hour and 30 minutes, I spoke to another customer service person. He

explained that he did see notes from Mary on my account. “He advised that refunds normally take 7-10 days,”

and to call back on 5/23.

• 5/23 – Spoke to another customer service person named Mary. She asked me to resend the email from the

hotel manager again for the research department to review. She explained that she could see previous notes

on the account, and “advised that the refund process normally takes 7-10 days.” She advised that she would

submit a “customer follow-up.” She confirmed that the amount to be refunded will be $84.75.

• 6/8 – Spoke to [redacted], who advised that she only handles car rental. She transferred me to a “hotel

specialist.” After being on hold for 10 minutes, the line rings, then stops as if someone answers. However, all I

hear is dead air. I hung up, and called right back. The same thing happened again.

At this point, the 7-10 day processing time for my refund is now headed into day 45. Then I get an email on Thursday June 9th from some random [redacted] Customer Care person named Marchie T. She advises that she contacted the hotel and verified with them that no refund was ever being offered by the property. Clearly this person is completely unfamiliar with the all of the accounts included this letter. She goes on to say in the email that [redacted] reservations can not be changed, transferred, or refunded. However, as convenient as that sounds on [redacted]’s behalf, their customer service people are pretty well trained on advising that refund processing takes 7-10 days, which confirms there is precedence for processing refunds. I have been very patient with both Sheraton and [redacted]. However, I refuse continue to be taken advantage of. And I will take this matter to as many entities as warrantied until a fair resolution is reached. Ultimately, that resolution should be reimbursing me for 1 nights stay at $84.75.Desired Settlement: The resolution should be reimbursing me for 1 nights stay at $84.75 as promised by the hotel manager.

Business

Response:

Good morning. This email is regarding ID complaint [redacted] for consumer [redacted]. Consumer has been waiting for a refund from a 3rd party hotel website, [redacted].com, not the hotel. Hotel has endeavored and taken every step necessary in our power to begin the process of initiating a refund. Hotel itself cannot refund guest as [redacted].com is the company that actually charged the guest. When hotel received the Revdex.com report, our accounting department immediately reached out to [redacted] for the second time to approve and request a refund for consumer. Below you will see a copy of that email. To the hotel’s knowledge [redacted] has finally refunding the guest