What would you ask for? Final-ish update in comments

[ksun]

We went to NOLA this past weekend to see Taylor Swift. I booked our hotel a year ago thru the Wyndham Rewards site since I have status. If you know anything about Taylor coming to town, you know she drives up prices and availability of rooms which is why I stalked the site daily until rooms opened up and tried to get the best deal I could. 

Last Wednesday I got the confirmation/reminder e-mail for our Friday-Sunday stay. 

Friday night we pull up to the hotel and it is CLOSED as in boarded up with a chain link fence around the property. I called Wyndham and they transferred me to an automated line where I left my info and issues and they said I'd hear back within a week. That didn't help us at 7pm in a town with full hotels priced 4x as high as normal if you could get a room. 

We did get a room for literally 4.5x what we had reserved a rate for at the other hotel. I contacted Wyndham again via Twitter/X and also by phone and they both told me to expect to hear from them within a week. 

Ideally I'd like to ask for the difference in cost of the hotel prices and a shit ton of points, but what is reasonable? Thankfully we still managed to have an incredible weekend (DH, DD and myself) but that additional money put us in a bind. We found out the hotel had been closed since Hurricane Ida in 2021 yet it still was available to book thru the Wyndham Rewards site, and Google and Yelp don't have it listed as closed. We did find the actual hotel website later that showed it was closed, but as I booked thru the Rewards site, I never saw that (AND I was able to book AND got a confirmation e-mail 2 days before our stay reminding us of it).

[deadwing]

I would want them to pay in full for the cost of the new hotel room (in real money, not credit towards a future stay) and whatever points you "spent" for the nonexistant room refunded. I would also want to see them take measures to prevent this from happening to other people. Surely you aren't the first/only person to run into the problem if the hotel has been closed for three years...

[jinkies]

That is crazy! I agree that the absolute minimum should be reimbursing you for the new hotel and refunding the points.

Honestly think they should be giving more than that for your trouble though.

How on earth is it still available to book 3 years later??

[ellipses84]

I agree with [mention]deadwing [/mention]. That is crazy! It may be tough to get them to give you cash for that amount though. You might have to go to social media again to share your story and get the swifties to back you up!

[ksun]

Oct 28, 2024 13:29:41 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I agree with [mention]deadwing [/mention]. That is crazy! It may be tough to get them to give you cash for that amount though. You might have to go to social media again to share your story and get the swifties to back you up!

I was actually thinking of making a TikTok about it. I just haven't had the time yet. 

[shauni27]

omg I am FURIOUS on your behalf! I cannot imagine just showing up to your hotel, for which you just received a confirmation email for, and your hotel is boarded up!?! The panic of which I would be going through is indescribable.

I am glad you found a hotel and hopefully you will get a full refund AND all your points back! Anything less than that and I would take to social media for sure.

[fluffycookie]

I would want them to pay for the new hotel and refund all of the points. That is ridiculous that the site allowed you to book a hotel that has been closed since 2021. If it had just closed the day before due to a fire or something I would be more understanding, but 2021 nope. I would be shocked if you are the only one that has run into this issue.

[lilypad1126]

Ooh, I saw someone else post about this in one of the many Taylor swift Nola facebook groups I’m in (they posted a week or so ago). I’m so sorry you got caught up in it as well. At a minimum they should cover the increase in price you ended up having to pay, plus refund the points (and then some!) that you spent.

And yes, make a TikTok! Call them out publicly. From what I’ve seen recently, that seems to be one of the best ways to get a real response.

I’m glad you found another room and still had a great time!

[Covergirl82]

Agree with others that they should refund you in full, in cash/credit to your credit card, and refund your points. And until they respond, put them on blast on SM. You could also check with the local BBB and the LA state AG as this is obviously consumer fraud (intentional or not) if the hotel has been closed for 3 years and it was still available to book just a year ago (and you received an email reminder about your reservation).

[heygrey]

FWIW, I had an issue several years ago with a Wyndham property and had good luck getting a resolution via Facebook messenger. As social media has changed that might be outdated advice, but I was able to leave a review there and a real person contacted me within a few hours and the issue was resolved within 24 hours.
I had booked the property through Expedia and was refunded in a cheque from Wyndham.

[jlt19]

What Id want and what you’ll probably get is not the same. I had a similar situation with a Marriott that changed to a non-Marriott and never notified me. Luckily the hotel was still open when we got there and had rooms at a similar cost. But I was still furious that Marriott didn’t even send an email when the reservation vanished once the property wasn’t in their portfolio. I got one return email that they’d escalate it and never heard from them again.

I can’t imagine being in your situation but so glad you at least found a place. I’d ask for a LOT, but expect very little.

[redhead610]

That really sucks. My dh works in an adjacent field. Definitely continue to contact Wyndham directly. I'm guessing you're unlikely to get a cash reimbursement, but any points need to be reinstated and hopefully more to cover their mistake. Wild that that still sent a confirmation, too!

[shauni27]

ksun, I am going to need a full update, or many individual updates until this is resolved to your satisfaction.

[fernweh]

I can’t believe this hasn’t been brought to their attention in 3 years. I would assume a lot of people in town had this happen - like was this closed hotel fully booked? That’s probably why they are saying it will take a week, they probably have a lot of angry swifties contacting them which surprises me that there hasn’t been any news articles about this.

I’m sorry you got caught up with this and I hope you get a satisfactory solution.

[jg183]

wow I'd be livid. I'd want a full refund for sure and I think they should face some legal ramifications in this situation which obviously is out of your control

[heyyounotyouyou]

I’d be so pissed I’d want their first born child. In addition to what is said above, be asking for everything including the highest level status they have for at least a year or two (for me, never using them again might not be feasible because of work travel so I’d want to ensure every stay I have after that is exceptional, you can phrase it as getting your confidence back in the hotel).

[rhian]

Oh wow, that is ridiculous! I'm glad you were able to find a place to stay, but how stressful! I can't believe the hotel has been closed for 3 YEARS and is still available to book!

I agree with others, at a minimum, reimbursement for the full cost of the hotel, and all your points back. I'd also want something else for the inconvenience, I'm guessing they could fairly easily give you some extra points.

[mofongo]

Um, everything!

[basilosaurus]

I agree with full price of what you paid, refunded points, and upgraded status.

Related, I was in Singapore just before Swift's 2 weekends of concerts, her only stop in all SE Asia. I did not know this.

I usually only book a few nights in one area, then switch to another area and find whatever last minute deal there is. It's never been a problem. Then entire fucking city-state was sold out. I saw bare bunk beds going for over $100/nt. The airport hotel had a few in 3 hour blocks. I ended up taking a bus days earlier than I'd planned to leave. It was pure chaos. Even the city just on the other side of the border was fully sold out.

So, yeah, finding out when you arrive the hotel hasn't been open in years would have induced panic and a desire to burn shit down especially since you had family and concert tickets. Lots of people in singapore couldn't get tickets and were just there for the atmosphere of the entire place being turned into switfie land (I've seen less security on military bases and around the white house!)

[mysteriouswife]

Oct 28, 2024 17:28:42 GMT -5 lilypad1126 said:

Ooh, I saw someone else post about this in one of the many Taylor swift Nola facebook groups I’m in (they posted a week or so ago). I’m so sorry you got caught up in it as well. At a minimum they should cover the increase in price you ended up having to pay, plus refund the points (and then some!) that you spent.

And yes, make a TikTok! Call them out publicly. From what I’ve seen recently, that seems to be one of the best ways to get a real response.

I’m glad you found another room and still had a great time!

[tacokick]

I would push for reimbursement for the other hotel. I got Marriott to pay for a fan when their air conditioning broke and then a stay in another hotel when it wasn’t fixed during my stay as promised. We were in town for a big wedding in the mountains during tourist season and it was a mess.

This is 1000x worse and 100% their fault.

I would be very blunt about what you want. They will probably offer the minimum and I wouldn’t accept that.

[meanie]

I think you will be able to get a refund for your stay and enough points for an additional comparable free stay - I would be very surprised if they refunded the difference.

In my experience (Marriott but I assume these chains are all similar) if you talk to the right person they will dish out thousands of points for customer service issues but won't spend an actual cent unless it is for a refund.

I would just figure out the point value of the money difference and ask for that plus a refund on the hotel stay you booked with them.

[penguingrrl]

I would absolutely be looking up consumer laws. That sounds like fraud to me, and you should be made whole. It’s not like the hotel closed last week, it’s been closed for years and there should be no way for reservations to be made there.

[ksun]

Oct 29, 2024 6:35:16 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

ksun , I am going to need a full update, or many individual updates until this is resolved to your satisfaction.

I've messaged them on all SM platforms and get the same e-mail back from each. The latest asked me to send them my bank statement with the charges from Wyndham on there. I've checked all my credit cards (I booked this room a year ago) and haven't seen any charges, but I did send them the charge for the replacement hotel. I've yet to hear back from them. They have not yet made any apology or given any sort of explanation. 

I made a tiktok, if anyone wants to repost it to help get some traction

www.tiktok.com/t/ZP88Wucs8/

[shauni27]

Oct 29, 2024 13:45:06 GMT -5 ksun said:

Oct 29, 2024 6:35:16 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

ksun , I am going to need a full update, or many individual updates until this is resolved to your satisfaction.

I've messaged them on all SM platforms and get the same e-mail back from each. The latest asked me to send them my bank statement with the charges from Wyndham on there. I've checked all my credit cards (I booked this room a year ago) and haven't seen any charges, but I did send them the charge for the replacement hotel. I've yet to hear back from them. They have not yet made any apology or given any sort of explanation. 

I made a tiktok, if anyone wants to repost it to help get some traction

www.tiktok.com/t/ZP88Wucs8/

m
Link to TT is not working for me. Can you Pm me your username/account and I can go find you?

[shauni27]

Nevermind, I got it. Also your pinned video has so many views!

[janegold]

We have Marriott status, and I'm a member of a FB group where people chat all the time about resolving issues. Is there a similar Wyndham rewards group on FB? Members there might have some feedback or ideas for escalating.

[UMaineTeach]

I’m so sorry that happened. I would have cried for sure. And felt that guilt you get when you’re scammed. It’s not your (general your) fault, but you are embarrassed to tell people.

I think you have the contact the company covered, but I would like to add to the consensus that you should contact legal authorities in LA. It’s clearly a fraud that they have been running for years. Probably thousands or tens of thousands of people have had this happen.

If you booked with a random website it would be different. But you booked with the actual company site.

Ask for the moon. All the cash, all the points, bonus points, status.

Wyndham is always sketchy. H has lots of points due to it being the only option in a place he travels for work, but I’ve never walked into a Wyndham feeling good about it.

[livinitup]

Oct 29, 2024 14:12:42 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Nevermind, I got it. Also your pinned video has so many views!

shauni27 I am not getting to the TT page. What an I doing wrong?

[livinitup]

Oct 29, 2024 21:41:54 GMT -5 livinitup said:

Oct 29, 2024 14:12:42 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Nevermind, I got it. Also your pinned video has so many views!

shauni27 I am not getting to the TT page. What an I doing wrong?

Found you. GREAT TikTok