Help Needed - ruined wedding night

unsure

I think some people are being a bit harsh here. I think that given that you had actually left your bags with a porter, the hotel had every reason to believe you would be using your room and shouldn't have given it away. If you made it clear to them that it was your wedding night then they had even more reason to expect you to turn up...but probably late. And I think that would certainly be fair grounds for complaint. The fact that it was your wedding night, a unique and important personal occasion does make a difference I think ( as long as they knew that).

It looks like they took a bit of a commercial gamble and sold the room twice (I doubt they would have refunded you if you had turned up the next day to pick up your cases without staying!).

I think you certainly have cause for complaint and I can see why a free night at the hotel down the road where you didn't get to spend your wedding night might not be an appealing notion (salt in the wound!). Perhaps a stay at a different hotel might be a better option. I think any talk of " a week anywhere in the world" is very unrealistic.

I don't know about your chances in court (they did find you accom and didn't charge so have technically fulfilled their obligations -- but they have also ruined your wedding night). There's always the power of the press, it sounds like a good local story and it is amazing how some people change their minds and become more reasonable when the local paper calls up and asks for their comments on the story.

paddyrg

BristolDavid wrote: »

And maybe that won't be the last time you post something so condescending.

Cheers, was trying to show a bit of support and give you a route out of your incandescent fury. Keep your fury if you like, it is your life it is affecting and you it is stressing out and your choice whether or not you let it do so. By all means keep the hump, won't change my life.

Oh well, it is up to you how you read things. I am not and have not been against you, you're the guy who thinks £400 worth of freebies isn't enough to see his Mrs crying and posted about it on the internet maybe hoping for everyone to agree with you that you deserve more. £400 worth of stuff is not a small figure, you can either get very frustrated and work yourself up thinking life is against you or step back, see the bigger picture, and have a quieter life where you can get on with things, or let this become a bigger deal and more frustrating than it already is. I still don't think anyone will give you a free holiday, hotels get vociferous complainants every day hoping for freebies, so if you want to carry on on that front you risk wearing yourself out and/or just making people dig their heels.

All the above is of course just the opinion of a stranger on the internet where you posted your problem. If you want a hard-nosed answer visit a lawyer or use small claims court and sue the hotel. Good luck with that. Unless you can quantify what you are claiming for (tears do not count however freshly married) you'll be wasting your court fees. Your losses are negative - the hotel has offered effectively £400 of remedy. Prove you have £500 cash losses and the court will award.

ThumbRemote

The fact is, the hotel aren't going to offer any more than they have. You can try pursuing them to the small claims court for financial compensation, but you may not win. Remember that from a purely financial point of view they have already compensated you to the cost of a hotel room in the Holiday Inn.

Of course, if you can afford the small claims court costs, it may also be quite cathartic for you to make a claim!

Pollycat

BristolDavid wrote: »

This is the first time I have told this story and not been met with similar outrage to mine!

Is this because so far you've only told this story to friends, family and work colleagues - who, to be fair, are hardly likely not to sympathise with you?

BristolDavid wrote: »

To be fair, I had little idea how much to ask for - what's the general consensus for £500 in such circumstances. Work colleagues have said that I should be asking for a lot more or one weeks free stay, anywhere in the world, effectively lessening the cost of a holiday.

I think they have set your expectations too high.

I do sympathise with you but I can't see you getting your £500 compensation, let alone a free week in the Bali Hyatt.

somethingcorporate

BristolDavid wrote: »

Hi all

I am hoping for some help with a complaint made to a hotel that ruined our wedding night. FYI, I am yet to seek legal advice.

On 28th April I got married to my fiance in Bristol. We were to stay at the Bristol Royal Marriott hotel which is situated just yards from the place of our ceremony. I arrived at the hotel with the intention of checking-in and dropping off our overnight bag with 30 minutes to spare before I needed to be across the road at our wedding.

My best men and I were keen to have a swift drink to extingush some nerves and the queue to check-in was around 20 minutes long. I was guided by a member of staff to a porter, who said that I could drop my bag off and return later to check-in. After an incredible day, we returned at 12.30am to check-in and go to our room. We were then told that, due to a 'technical issue' the hotel had been overbooked. They had tried to get in contact twice to check we were still intending to stay but I had not answered my phone (I did not have it on me). They had then taken the decision to release our booking and allow somebody else to have the room.

With my new wife in tears, I remonstrated for around 15 minutes before, very reluctantly, accepting their offer of paying for us to stay in a Holiday Inn 20 minutes drive away. They also paid for the taxi to the hotel and back the next morning (I had to pick up my car). Anyone that has stayed in a Holiday Inn will know that they are, generally, run-down and hardly a place to spend your first night as husband and wife.

I wrote a letter of complaint asking for a written apology, reasons for the overbooking and £500 in compensation for the stress and upset they had caused. They had tainted what is supposed to be the most important day of a couple's life. I explained that I could not accept free nights stay at their chain due to personal difficulties with our toddler. This was the first night we had spent apart from him in 18 months.

They have replied to my letter with an apology and an offer for one nights stay in the same hotel. We live 2 miles from this hotel, have no reason to stay there, and have already stated we cannot accept such an offer. The hotel manager said that he could not offer monetary compensation.

Finally, just to point out that I sent my complaint letter to the CEO of Marriott UK, cc-ing CEO Marriott Int. and the hotel in questions General Manager. It was the General Manager that replied.

Thanks for reading such a long post. I would love some advice on what to do next. The letter has antagonised me even more.

Your angrily

Bristol David

Just in case this post goes walkies.

I agree with the rest I am afraid, your response has not been proportionate.

I'd take their offer for a free room or just accept you will get nothing. A court would not offer you anything like what you have asked for without anything to back up your figures.

Saying the above, there is absolutely nothing to stop you going to a free 30 minutes at a local solicitor to see whether they think you have a case or if there is any way you can get an enhanced settlement.

It really is the funny things on your wedding day that stick with you. Our florist added green foliage onto the floral table settings and my wife still harbors annoyance about it 3 years on!

purple.sarah

paddyrg wrote: »

Cheers, was trying to show a bit of support and give you a route out of your incandescent fury. Keep your fury if you like, it is your life it is affecting and you it is stressing out and your choice whether or not you let it do so. By all means keep the hump, won't change my life.

Oh well, it is up to you how you read things. I am not and have not been against you, you're the guy who thinks £400 worth of freebies isn't enough to see his Mrs crying and posted about it on the internet maybe hoping for everyone to agree with you that you deserve more. £400 worth of stuff is not a small figure, you can either get very frustrated and work yourself up thinking life is against you or step back, see the bigger picture, and have a quieter life where you can get on with things, or let this become a bigger deal and more frustrating than it already is. I still don't think anyone will give you a free holiday, hotels get vociferous complainants every day hoping for freebies, so if you want to carry on on that front you risk wearing yourself out and/or just making people dig their heels.

All the above is of course just the opinion of a stranger on the internet where you posted your problem. If you want a hard-nosed answer visit a lawyer or use small claims court and sue the hotel. Good luck with that. Unless you can quantify what you are claiming for (tears do not count however freshly married) you'll be wasting your court fees. Your losses are negative - the hotel has offered effectively £400 of remedy. Prove you have £500 cash losses and the court will award.

You really come across as patronising not supportive, perhaps you didn't realise that? While I agree the OP doesn't have £500 cash losses here this incident was obviously upsetting and stressful for him and his wife. As you've said the wedding day is already stressful, which is exactly why they didn't need this additional stress.

Your previous post basically implied women are such fragile emotional creatures that his wife was going to end up crying on the wedding day anyway, downplaying the fact that it was because of the hotel's mistake. You talked about women having high expectations of their wedding day but expecting to stay in the hotel room they booked hardly makes her bridezilla!

paddyrg

Right, I give up, forget everything I posted, apologies to everyone I have insulted.

saintjammyswine

Agree it must have been frustrating to say the least but I do think their response has been quite good. See if your free night can be transferred to the Marriott in Cardiff City Centre, I have stayed there a few times and it has always been fantastic, not too far from you either but far enough to be a break.

meer53

Their website says check in up to 4pm, maybe they thought you would have been back before then ?

I don't think you'll get any compensation at all, they provided accomodation for you and paid for it in addition to transport to get you there.

mummyroysof3

i too think it unlikely you mwill get any compensation. you didnt pay for room and they paid for a room somewhere else.

cant you have the free night for your first anniversary..surely a years notice will be enough notice for someone to look after your son?

the hotel room we stayed in on our wedding night was awful..we didnt even complain next morning as it wasnt worth stressing about