Sheraton Bahrain Hotel
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

Must Switch Rooms During Hotel Stay Because Someone Else Wants the Room?

Imagine an agent from the front desk of the hotel or resort property at which you are staying contacting you and telling you that you are being moved to another room because someone else wants to stay in your room.

Must Switch Rooms During Hotel Stay Because Someone Else Wants the Room?

“It’s so frustrating since I have to pack my back and unpack it again”, FlyerTalk member troytos — who has earned Platinum 75 elite level status with Starwood Preferred Guest — posted during a stay at a hotel property in Omaha at which the scenario you just read occurred. “I just called SPG and let the SPG rep know. She said she will file a complaint for this matter and they will reach back to me in 5 days.”

Other than troytos being offered the same type of room instead of an upgraded room or suite, no further details pertaining to this experience have been imparted at the time this article was written.

Summary

The idea of forcing troytos to move to an identical room instead of assigning it to the new guests upon their arrival is not logical and seems rather ludicrous — unless that particular room is special to the new guests for some reason. Perhaps that room is where the new guests spent their wedding night. Maybe the new guests are physically challenged and need to be closer to everything on a lower floor…

…but regardless of the reason, in most cases, a guest should not be forced to be moved from a room in which he or she has already settled, as it is a potential inconvenience.

“There is absolutely no way I would’ve moved unless they gave me something”, FlyerTalk member TravelinSperry responded. “No shot. A suite upgrade and points. Although I may have been so pissed at the request I may not have moved just out of spite. I have to pack and unpack… why? I’m already in this room! No shot.”

The first question I would have asked the agent at the front desk is why the guests want the particular room in which I was staying…

…and the logical next question would be what is my incentive for moving from one room to another: free breakfast or dinner; bonus frequent guest loyalty program points deposited into my membership account; access to the executive lounge; or a discount on the room rate?

If the responses were “I cannot disclose the reason” and “Sorry, no incentive is being offered”, then my response would likely be similar to that of TravelinSperry

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

  1. And maybe the hotel would just kick you from the premises with no refund whatsoever. Sure, you can file a complaint via the chain, cancel payment via the card, even file a legal claim. But at any given point, they already screwed up your stay.

  2. It happened to me once. I had been upgraded to the Presidential Suite for a five-day stay. On day four I was told that I had to relocate. Turns out it was because a big televangelist needed the room. The hotel comped the last night and gave me some other make-goods.

    1. I think Presidential Suite is the exception to this, otherwise, I would be telling the hotel to shove it, I’m staying where I am.

  3. I’m not a lawyer but I don’t think legally they can force you to move that easy. It’s like an eviction most places. There must be more to the story. What comes to mind is what would happen if you had been gone all day. Say you check into a hotel for a multi-day stay. The day in question arises and you are out at meetings or sightseeing all day until say 10 pm. Are they going to contact you at that hour and want you to move? I doubt it. Seems really weird.

  4. In most places in the US, they can’t force you to change rooms or even make you leave. They would have to evict you, give notice etc.
    That is the case even if you are staying past your reservation date! If you need to stay longer and the hotel doesn’t have a room – tell them that you won’t be leaving and to serve you notice, see what happens…

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!