The worst disappointments in life often happen when you’re anticipating the best, and one couple’s anniversary was more or less ruined when the Marriott Hotel they had reserved months in advance had closed down. The boyfriend had booked a fancy place in Louisville, Kentucky, for a 3-night stay in a king suite with his girlfriend to celebrate their anniversary. However, upon arriving on the day of, without any notice or forewarning, the place had closed down, and the $1,000 he spent for the reservation was not refunded.
The Kentucky couple’s anniversary was in September, but after a month of calling Marriott’s customer service, no one could explain why the boyfriend couldn’t receive his $1,000 refund. During their anniversary, they were still offered a place to stay but were still forced to pay $900 “for a worse room in a worse location.” As for refund: “Nobody knows where my money is, and they’re waiting on guidance of how to give me back my $1000 dollars I spent to stay at a bankrupt hotel that is closed,” explains the boyfriend.
And here’s the shady bit: the boyfriend discovered just recently that the hotel he booked months in advance had filed for bankruptcy two years ago. Yet, Marriott still advertised that he stay at that specific hotel for his anniversary trip and was even able to make the purchase for the reservation directly on the official website. Now, it’s been a mad goose chase to get his money back from the company, which refused to even give a dime’s worth of discount when they sent him elsewhere on his anniversary.
The madness doesn’t end there. In an update to his post on r/mildlyinfuriating about the whole situation with the Kentucky Marriott Hotel denying a refund, the boyfriend reveals that the agents are anything but helpful. On the other hand, they lied to him about calling him back about the situation. They even pretended that other customer service representatives weren’t available when they were in the same room, then bizarrely hung up before calling him back to make it seem like progress was being made.
In the end, the company has made things worse for itself and its reputation for not only this Kentucky couple, but also anyone on Reddit who’s seen the boyfriend’s post. “I seriously don’t understand what the hold up is,” the man remarks in frustration. “I have the receipt and i booked directly through marriott.com. i gave them my money and got nothing in return, so where is my money?“
Hopefully, his bank is able to step in and get back the money by force if the authorities don’t get involved first. What Marriott Hotel did is false advertising and blatant scam, not to mention the hellish customer service experience to get the $1,000 refund sorted out.
