SO CLOSE to ruining Christmas! (sorry long)

[Catwoman2965]

Yeah they may get their money back but they're going to have to go to corporate to do it, and with a prepaid reservation that's going to be a lot of time and aggravation just because they wanted to storm off in a huff about the hotel not providing their perfect Christmas decorations. I think corporate is pretty strict about prepaid nonrefundable reservations from anyone below Diamond status. Diamond members pretty much get whatever they want, but the call center reps Joe Blow will have to deal with are pretty darn strict about "this is the policy, by booking with us you agreed to abide by it." At least I can imagine India's finest giving them a good run-around.

Travel Tip: NEVER book a prepaid reservation. Spend the extra $10 a night and get a standard reservation that you can cancel or change. Life has a way of throwing the unexpected at you. Had this been a normal reservation we'd have just cancelled it with no charges to get rid of their butts and they wouldn't have paid a dime.

I always do this; yes, you might save some $$ by prepaying, but, if something happens, you are SOL. I prefer to have the flexibility to cancel if need be, even if it means paying a bit more.

[HotelMinion]

The male half of the couple also threw in a few "I'm a Silver Member I deserve more respect!" First, it takes 4 stays to get to Silver, and second, his folio showed he was Blue (bottom tier). I have a Gold level membership. I SO wanted to say "I'm gold and I don't snip at hotel staff like this." Best part about this, though? They stormed off in a huff to go to another hotel. Their reservation was prepaid and non-refundable. . They are going to have trouble getting their money back.

S Members act more like D Members than the G Members. I can't remember the last time a G member was a trouble maker. I remember one guy who ordered all these freebies at 2 in morning (shampoos, conditioners, mouthwashes, toothpastes, towels, blankets, etc just for HIM as HE was the only one staying there for ONE night) and he was a S Member. He even said "I'm an S Member, this hotel has so much money, it can afford to give me all of these!!!!) His attitude almost made me barf all over him. I think he just had a bad day and was willing to take it out on someone.

Travel Tip: NEVER book a prepaid reservation. Spend the extra $10 a night and get a standard reservation that you can cancel or change. Life has a way of throwing the unexpected at you. Had this been a normal reservation we'd have just cancelled it with no charges to get rid of their butts and they wouldn't have paid a dime

Yes so this. I never pre pay unless I'm 100000% sure I want to stay there. If I don't like it, I just don't go back, instead bitching and whining to the poor clerks, "I was never told of this! The terms of service??? WHO read thaaaaaat?" BLEARGH MY FOOD ALMOST CAME UP

[XCashier]

I've spent Xmas in a hotel before, to have a mini-break and to have catering provide the food. I don't remember if the common areas had any decorations but I know my room wasn't decorated at all, and I really can't remember caring about it!

I don't imagine decorating each room would be very practical for the hotel. The ornaments would get stolen, or broken, or someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas would get offended about it. Not to mention all the personnel hours it would take to decorate every room. There's usually just a tree and some other simple decorations in the lobby.