Photo:https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g50226-d101643-Reviews-Four_Points_by_Sheraton_Columbus_Polaris-Columbus_Ohio.html
There’s an interesting set of allegations from a man named Mike Puno on Twitter. Here’s the Proviso – his profile doesn’t give any information about him and he only joined Twitter this month (update: I’ve since learned that Mr. Puno does have an active profile on Facebook, and was encouraged to join and post on Twitter by a frequent flyer group on Facebook after discussing this incident – this lends support to his credibility).
He says that he checked into the Four Points by Sheraton Columbus-Polaris, and dropped his bags in the room only to come back a short time later and find that the hotel had moved his items out and moved another guest in. Then the hotel was fully booked and he eventually moved to another hotel.
The hotel’s actions seem quite egregious, wouldn’t you agree? What are the ramifications?
Here are his tweets:
What do you think?
Update:
Here are Mr. Puno’s tweets from this morning.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
I think you ought to stop writing about crap like this.
What exactly are you disagreeing with?
This is a travel related event, some people have had this also happen.
The hotel should have addressed this ASAP (and being walked 2 hotels is not getting issue addressed).
If you don’t like it, don’t read it but it is topical.
Me too. Who cares
Happened to me at the Hyatt Regency Dallas earlier this year.
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2018/02/18/hyatt-regency-dallas-lost-underwear-toothbrush/
a few years ago at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, I had used a suite upgrade and was given an adjoining room. I had a late checkout, but housekeeping went in and checked me out of the second room.
The difference is you had late checkout and they moved you out. I had barely checked in and then had my stuff removed.
Mike, I agree that what happened to you is more serious than my scenario.
These stories (about the hotel removing belongings from a room and selling the room to a new guest) come up every once in a while. At one point, I was friendly with the staff at a Hilton Garden Inn in Utah and asked the front desk about these stories. The response I got was:
We would never remove a guest’s belongings. We would call the phone number the guest gave us. If we could not contact the guest, we would bill the guest for another night. If we were sold out, we still would not disturb the guest’s belongings, even if that meant we had to walk a new guest to another hotel.
Look, I’m the guy this happened to. And your comment is why I’m so friggin bewildered about the breakdown in process. they said the system showed it was vacant because a trainee didn’t click a final button. I dont believe the front desk person because how can they issue a key and the room isn’t fully checked in? I’ve never heard in my life of a hotel moving belongings out of a room.
This is an unlawful eviction: A hotel (in most US locations, don’t know about Columbus, OH) can’t make you leave your room after you have checked in, even if you stay past your confirmed booking dates, without giving you 30 days notice, similar to a rented apartment.
This is a lot worse than “walking” a guest who hasn’t checked in yet. Mike Puno should double check the local laws, then let the hotel and Marriott know that he considers this a wrongful eviction – the compensation should be significant, a lot more than for walking…
Are you an attorney or just speculating? Not sure the laws in Ohio.
I Never believe the front desk person.