Today is an exciting day of travel for my family and me. Yesterday…. was not so much, and I’m still having a hard time swallowing shady and unwelcoming experience I had with an upcoming hotel reservation.
For those who have been reading the blog for a while, it’s no secret that I love the IHG credit card, specifically because you earn a free anniversary night each year that can be used at any IHG property worldwide after paying the $49 annual fee.
Back in July, I booked a stay at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, using the Chase anniversary night for one night, and 60,000 IHG points for the next.
Photo credit: IHG.com
Since you can only book Chase anniversary free nights by calling IHG, the agent booked a room for my mom, me, and two young children (ages 2 and 3), noting them at the time of booking, and we were set to go.
Then… yesterday, 48 hours before check-in, I receive an email from the hotel “welcoming me” to my upcoming stay, and asking me to confirm how many people would be in the room. I enthusiastically responded that it was a special trip and first time in Paris for my mom and kids, and asked if it was possible for a rollaway bed.
Within an hour, I received an email stating that because I booked with a free night certificate and points, I was booked into a Classic Room (which is true), and the maximum occupancy was 2 (also true), that I would have to get a separate room for my kids.
I responded back right away reminding them of the ages of my kids- 2 and 3- and said there was no way they would be able room alone, and that I did not want to split from my kids, or book a separate room, since we are traveling as a family and I was already confirmed into a single room with my kids noted in the reservation at the time of booking.
I understand that some hotels (especially in Europe) may be very strict with maximum occupancy rules, but the reservation was made by a phone rep back in July, and now two days before my check-in date, when I’m past my cancellation window, this is now an issue? I was beginning to feel like there was some underlying shady business at this point.
Were they trying to squeeze some extra cash of me? Or did they view points and free night bookings as “second class citizens” in their hotel? All of this was ridiculous, unnecessary, and super stressful to deal with on my last day home before a big trip.
I get a second email back saying that I could stay in the same room with my kids for a 30 Euro up-charge into a Superior Room… but the my mom would have to get her own room! It was very clear to me that this hotel did not want to budge, so I reached out to IHG first on Twitter, then by calling.
The IHG Twitter team was responsive, and did confirm that the kids were included on the reservation at the time of booking, but they also told me that since IHG properties were independently-operated, the final outcome was entirely up to management, and that it would be in the hotel’s best interest to help. This is also a really frustrating response, because I clearly needed to rely on IHG to back me up and help.
I sent another email to the hotel asking to be connected to a manager and was ignored. At that point, I really didn’t want to stay at the hotel anymore after this exchange anyway, but it is so last minute, and I was hoping for at least some resolution.
I called IHG and got connected to an amazing supervisor who truly cared about making this right. He realized that the agent did in fact book the room for 2 adults, and it included my 2 children. After calling the hotel himself and confirming that they did not want to work with him in getting all 4 of us in the same room, he proposed a really sincere and generous solution- IHG would cover the 2nd room that the hotel is requiring of me.
He put me on hold and came back with some extremely shocking news: “Ms. Aucello, I tried to reserve the second room that the hotel is demanding you to get, but they told me they are in fact oversold. I can’t reserve anything”.
With that information, I became furious. How shameful can the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand be? Management hides behind a phony welcome email, ridiculously telling me that my toddlers need to get their own room, then tells an IHG agent that was trying to do the right thing here that there were no rooms available after all? Shame, shame, shame.
The awesome IHG agent did try to find me space at another IHG property, but I ended up booking a room at the nearby Westin Vendome for 20,000 Starpoints instead (they have a family-friendly policy that allows children under 12 to stay in the same room with paying adults, as long as they share a bed, which is what we don’t mind doing anyway).
Bottom Line
What I make of it is this: the hotel was oversold and wanted me to simply “refuse” a demand to get a second room; the hotel expected me to just gracefully cancel and move on, so that they can give the room to a paying customer. The IHG rep was very helpful and even he was shocked, reassuring me that he had reported the property for this incident. Truly shameful behavior.
I know for a fact that I will never ever consider a stay the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, with or without points or a free night certificate, or if I’m ever traveling to Paris again with or without my kids. Their unwelcoming, and unfamily-friendly behavior speaks volumes. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. It’s probably not the first time they’ve pulled this fast one on points bookings before.
Thankfully I was able to get my points and free night certificate back, but since my anniversary was set to expire in a few days, I used it to book an upcoming stay at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, so that it didn’t go to waste. So the good news is there was really no “loss” that came out this, except time (lots of it), and the situation putting a slight damper on the trip. I am thankful to have a pretty diverse points portfolio, so I was able to make a last-minute redemption to save the day.
Has anyone had a similar experience at this property or at any hotel in general?
I can’t help with the kids/occupancy issue, although I think where they dropped the ball was telling you one thing when you made the reservation and then telling you something different later. I have no problem with hotels enforcing policies…as long as they are consistent.
But side note, you can definitely book annual free nights online; I’ve never called. When you login, look at the menu options on the left hand side and go to “Free Night Status”. That should show you how many certificates you have and also an option to “Book Free Night”.
Becky is right except a few of the higher end IHG properties like the in Las Vegas and apparently Paris won’t let you make the reservations online. In fact many times they will show that all the dates are unavailable. I think they do this to make it difficult so people won’t book with them on points or free night certs.
As far as this Paris situation. It’s not uncommon for hotels in Europe to insist on a maximum of 2 people in a room. It’s a game (like resort fees) to get more money. This is old school and nothing new. I’ve stayed at a ton of IHG properties in Europe and most are fairly accommodating but some are like this. The HIX properties in Europe can also have a weird attitude and some try really hard to be subpar with the reasoning that it’s a low end property which is much different that most HIX in the USA for example.
I booked the Venetian online last summer ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Lucky! I couldn’t book mine online.
Yes Dan you are 100% correct. I had to call to reserve the intercontinental paris le grand and the palazzo. I am well aware of the 2 person max rule, but I have found 100% of the hotels I’ve stayed at in Europe with my kids prior to this one to be very accommodating. It is what it is at this point. Just a disappointing experience this time around. Happy travels and thanks for your comments!
It sounds like the first agent who did the booking dropped the ball on not knowing the hotel’s
Policies. Europe hotel rooms with more than 2 people can be quite a pain to book (as you mentioned).
And yes, as Becky mentioned, you can definitely book your anniversary nights online.
2 points. I stayed at this hotel in a standard room and it was REALLY REALLY small. I also travel a lot throughout Europe with 3 small kids and NEVER tell them I am more than a party of 1. 100% success rate with the occasional room upgrade
Actually a smiliar situation happened to me in this August. We are a family of 4 (one 3 year-old boy and a 7 year-old girl). I know that they have strict occupancy policy in Europe, so I booked two rooms in IC London park lane with my free night and 60000 Ihg points. I emailed them to have two interconnecting rooms, but they said I booked classic room type so I have to pay £55 per room per night in order to have interconnecting rooms. That’s absolutely ridiculous so I refused. Then I only got two rooms next to each other but actually it’s a bit far due to the design layout. A disappointing IC property. :(
We stayed at the I/C Le Grand in May and was upgraded due to my I/C Ambassador status. We were just a party of 2. We had no issue at all and this hotel was the highlight of string of lodgings.
To sneak or not to sneak in extra people is the question. Our family of 4 adults (20-something kids) are heading to Manhattan next Memorial Day to see Hamilton on Broadway. We currently only have 2 adults declared on our reservation. Still have not decided what to do.
Based on these comments I feel like you know the answer!
We had an issue with the IHG Intercontinental in Vienna. Since I had status (can’t remember the high category), I expected the club floor. The check in clerk switched from German to English (my husband was born there so he is fluent) and said the club level would be an extra $17 Euros a night since they are not a US property. We agreed that was a fair charge.
After three nights we were shocked to get a bill for $210 Euros! The clerk had meant to say $70 euros a night! We came to some resolution with the manager that cost us money, but a lesson to get things in writing in Europe!
Yikes! That’s an expensive price discrepancy! Luckily you were able to get it resolved at the end of your stay!
So you travel a lot with kids…and don’t know about this restriction? Was it mentioned on the website (probably — and even tho you booked via phone…you never looked at the property online to check it’s policy? )
Maybe you were totally ignorant and relying on the phone agent…but you come off like just another whiny parent/blogger trying to get more than they’re entitled to.
@ James h note,this reservation was made in July ..why didn’t hotel notify customer then ?Seems to me the hotel was trying to maximize their revenue at the expense of the client. Wouldn’t this situation be similar to getting “bumped” off a flight due to over booking? Shouldn’t the hotel have made an attempt to find similar accommodation? Or offer compensation?
Oh come on. Give your head a long, hard shake. This whining post is cringe worthy. No hotel looks closely at details months in advance because so many change/cancel bookings. Essentially you’re relying on a phone agent not realizing how shitty most “free” award night rules are? And are pretending you didn’t know a “free” night in the cheapest room in one of the most expensive places in the world, in the busiest time, might not be suitable for 4? And then want to point fingers? Smh. Simply unbelievable.
You should be thankful the hotel contacted you and explained the problem and were able to find alternative lodgings at short notice. You come off as an ultimate whiner, blaming everyone else, rather than someone who rolls with the punches. You’re a supposed frigging “travel expert” and yet you are unaware of basic, common rules and the realties of the cheapest Paris hotel rooms?
Boo effin hoo. Grow up.
The big issue here was that the hotel was asking for a second room to be booked when there was actually no room for a second room to be reserved. They oversold and needed to boot someone and resorted to doing so this way. The hotel did not contact me to explain the problem. They contacted me with the agenda to have me cancel. I’ve traveled extensively at 5 star European hotels with my kids as babies and toddlers and I always make sure it is ok to book a room with them ahead of time because I believe honesty is the best policy rather than trying to sneak around in a case like this. This is the first time I ever encountered something like this. The agent reassured me that it would be no problem at the time of booking so I proceeded with the reservation. I apologize if you think I’m whining. I was a bit frustrated, yes.
“You come off as an ultimate whiner, blaming everyone else, rather than someone who rolls with the punches.”
Um, no, she doesn’t.
But you come across as an elitist pr***.
What exactly do “maximum occupancy rules” really mean though? After their demands, why not just forget about a rollaway and have one kid sleep with each of you? Check in by yourself, then go get your mom and kids.
I’ve taken my kids to dozens of luxury hotels across Europe. Many that often state max occupancy of 2 and unfortunately this is the first time I’ve had an issue like this. If I would have known at the time of booking that this would absolutely not work, I would have looked elsewhere. The bigger issue was that the hotel was offering a room to me that they knew could not be fulfilled. That was what really upset me. But in life (and travel) you win some and you lose some. Happy travels.
Theu wouldn’t have gotten away this with me….
This is consumer fraud and by reaching out to you, a US resident, and trying to sell you a product/service the hotel knew it could not deliver the hotel (even a franchise) may have subjected itself to US jurisdiction. I would look into the laws of your state of residence because you may be able to sue and get attorneys’ fees, costs, multiple times your actual damages — but typically a person only has a cause of action if he or she suffered actual out-of-pocket loss. Of course, this is the route of going thermonuclear on the hotel, but it would teach them a lesson and could have a chilling effect on European hotels pulling this crap.
French, say no more. Except to say, I’ll boycott these French mongrels too.
The good news… I used my free night at the Palazzo. It’s a 700 sq foot room (65 sq meters). You’ll enjoy all that space. It’s got to be one of the best redemptions for a free room if you include the room size. I somehow (cough) managed to get a continental breakfast thrown in.
Sorry to read about the issue in Paris. Ah the French.
Thanks for the feedback about the Palazzo! Now I’m even more reassured and I’m looking forward :)
I stayed here for 5 weeks for work year ago, and the others are right – many of the rooms are tiny. You simply couldn’t fit 4 people in if you wanted to. That said, the staff in general were smug and unwelcoming.. basically they fit the Paris stereotype.
I agree with the others – if traveling with kids in Europe you’ll have a better success rate not telling them of additional guests. But then you don’t get a roll-away.
I agree with the earlier comment about simply not declaring the kids in you number of guests… on arrival, request extra towels and share the beds…
I usually thought honesty would be the best policy here but I guess I learned my lesson lol.
It’s is often better to ask for forgiveness (if you get caught) instead of permission.
100%
Two points, both of which have more or less been made:
1. I’ve stayed there and there is NO WAY you’d fit 4 people in the room I was in. I couldn’t figure out how a couple could even move in the room. Tiny, even by European standards.
2. I didn’t like the hotel at all and would never stay there again. It was tiny, stuffy, staff were all aloof, and I didn’t really care for the location. FWIW, I was staying on C&P.
4 in a room for 2.
Wtaf
I love Paris and IC but read many negative reviews of the IC Paris Le Grand and have always avoided it. I stayed instead at the Indigo a block away and absolutely loved it.
If you didn’t already know this: If you want to be able to get the rules “bent” for you or special favors, you need to contact the hotel manager directly, not some powerless phone clerk. That was naive of you to do that.
I always email the hotel manager personally BEFORE booking a night when asking for a favor (that is when you have the most leverage). Or I have my travel agent ( when I once in a blue moon use one) to contact the hotel manager and get a confirmation directly from the hotel that my request was granted. NEVER a problem when the hotel manager personally confirms it.
If I get a really great hotel rate through a OTA, I will also call the hotel directly to confirm my reservation, my rate, and the room I got to ensure there is no issue when I show up.
I usually reach out ahead of time and I did ask the hotel concierge staff to please connect me to a manager but the request was ignored so I resorted to contacting ihg to see if they could get ahold of a manger for me but they still refused to offer any solution, even when ihg offered to cover the second room. Your strategies are very smart. Unfortunately in my case I believe the hotel already had an agenda to force me to cancel since there were indeed no more additional rooms available to book.
Can’t remember where (Flyertalk?), but I do remember reading that this particular hotel was strict on occupancy and that it might even be fire code related.
I took my chances bringing 2 toddlers to the Amstel on free/points nights. Requested a crib in the reservation notes to give them a chance to shut me down in advance. When I showed up with both they gave me two cribs. Staff was also very friendly to all four of us.
That’s a happy ending! In the past most European high end hotels have been accommodating to me traveling with my young kids by offering cribs and welcoming them and such without a problem. I guess this time the hotel wasn’t able to accommodate. I just wish they would have told me at booking that the hotel was very strict and it would be unlikely that my children would be able to stay in the room. I would have not booked in the first place.
Didn’t read beyond “Since you can only book Chase anniversary free nights by calling IHG …” but it’s not true.
Just used my chase free night certificate in Seattle last week. Everything was done via the app, no single phone called required.
I tried to book my anniversary night online but was given a message that I had to call to make my reservation.
I stayed at this hotel in July and I must say, I’m surprised you had such a negative experience! I had a fantastic one. Granted, we were staying on a sunday night, when occupancy seems to have been low, and I also emailed ahead of time to say it was a special occasion, so they upgraded us to a room with a view (and, presumably, more space, as our room was spacious by European standards). Having lived in Paris, though, I must say that part of the issue may very well be language, in that French people tend to be much more accommodating to people who speak French than to American tourists (alas). I spoke French at check-in, and our clerk was fantastic and gave us an upgrade and was incredibly friendly. I agree, though, reaching out to you asking you to buy an extra room, only to inform you that there are no rooms available (which I have a hard time believing, really, I mean, that hotel is huge! And it’s September, which isn’t the same as July in terms of high dates for tourism).
You will love the Westin–it’s actually one of the best Westin hotels in the entire brand. They have amuch better service standard than the IC, and the aea around it is far superior (just down the street for the famous Ritz and Park Hyatt hotels, across the street from the famous Le Meurice hotel, and just a block or so away from the Louvre. So you win.
Not really on topic but I have stayed at the LeGrand for a total of about 25 nights . The first time stay was way back in 1996. It is a fantastic hotel and only once did I have an issue which they quickly corrected. I am sorry they didn’t accommodate you properly. It is a really good stay.
Sad to say but as a frequent traveller (300 days on the road last year) and a “racker upper” of lots of hotel points, and user of same, believe your experience is not unusual… Many times I’ve been promised one thing and something much less is delivered. Had an employee actually tell me that they “preferred paying customers.” And I am a “top tier” elite, lifetime member of this hotels program… and similar to your story, when I booked online once and forgot to put “2” guests on the reservation-was piged when I showed up with my wife!
I have had numerous problems with IHG hotels, even though I had achieved Spire Elite status. The IHG response is always the same – the hotels are independently owned, and it is up to the hotel management. The experience that I am pasting below (from my review posted on the IHG website) describes the worst hotel experience I have ever encountered. When all was said and done on the night of my stay, I had accumulated 120 minutes of cell phone time trying to get IHG to do ANYTHING about the problems I encountered. This experience, and IHGs lack of help with this and two subsequent hotel problems forced me to cancel my IHG credit card, and switch to Marriott. Enjoy my review of the Crowne Plaza Hampton-Marina pasted below.
My review and one star rating were based on my experience, which is documented below. After hours and hours of speaking with IHG customer service, I was finally contacted by a member of the management staff who appreciated the severity of the problems, and she offered half price on all five rooms, and bonus IHG points. The problem is that previous staff and management allowed these problems to escalate to the worst experience I have ever had. I received a phone call from the general manager the next day, and he apologized and said that he will work to resolve the problems I had. Below is a summary of the problems I encountered.
I reserved five rooms 11 months prior to this stay. When I tried to check in at 1:30 PM, the front desk stated that we could not check in until 4:00 PM. They did not even attempt to look for rooms before then. At 4:00 PM, there were 30 people in line trying to check in. At 4:20 PM, the same people were still at the desk, no one had received a room, and the line had grown. at about 5:30 PM, we got two rooms, with the promise of another room that housekeeping needed a “few more minutes” to get ready. They took my cell phone to call me when it was ready. At 6:15 PM, I never received a call, and still did not get the third of five rooms. At 6:20 PM, I got the case number from IHG. At about 6:50 PM, we were given keys to our final two rooms. When we went to these rooms, we realized they were rooms already assigned to us. At 7:00 PM, we got our final two rooms. I reserved five rooms with two double beds each, but got five single queen bed rooms for 14 people plus an infant. A month before arrival, the couple with the infant called to reserve a crib for their room. They never received a crib. One pullout sofa did not even have a mattress. Since we got rooms so late, the mother of the infant did not get to go to dinner with us. We had three handicapped people, and only one of three elevators functioned, resulting in waits of up to 30 minutes for an elevator. Management of the hotel refused to address the issues, and ran and hid when confronted. There were no towels at the pool at 1:30 PM, and none until about 5:00 PM. No towels in any of the five rooms. No sheets for any of the five pullout beds, including the one that had no mattress. IHG customer service told me that a manager would call me within ten minutes – he never called. We saw a cockroach in one hallway. One door would not open unless you repeatedly swiped your card and jiggled the handle and door repeatedly. Three rooms never got towels or sheets.
I am not familiar with your blog but saw it for the first time today as it was linked to a newsletter
through the IF email
Think it’s great that IHG tried to assist you with getting the hotel to honor the reservation as originally made and intended.
When that failed offering to comp the additional room in good faith was a great move on IHGs part
They are typically lame in my years of experience and don’t care or not empowered
even for Royal Ambassadors so really well done IMHO.
As others have stated occupancy rules is to some degree a guest’s responsibility as it is the reservation agents that books your reservation. Europe is typically notorious for one or two period in a room International properties in general are more likely to charge for any additional occupants past two or forbid more than 2 completely
If one is a writer, reviewer, blogger it’s important to demonstrate the wealth of knowledge on topic
But today even my housekeeper has a blog so it’s getting pretty crowded with all the experts :)
Based on the facts of your situation I would vote that is was a written agreement/contract to some degree and IHG did the right thing to the best of their ability. As others shared they probably did you a favor in the end as Westin is a more hospitable hospitality when traveling International by far in my thousands of nights with a wide variety of brands
IHG is far better in the US when it comes to the IC brand .Overseas really spotty and cruel in some instances even to top elites on reward nights
40 years on the road and top tier in many programs for years (I started at the bottom)
I find those that email and calling general managers wont do very much at all for unknown guests
with no previous guest history
For some reason psychologically it makes many uninformed guests feel like they are accomplishing something
Certainly sometimes it can work when there is truly a guest friendly GM on property
Unfortunately in my experience Hotels/GMs want revenue and do not to grant favors
for one time guests cashing in on free night vouchers or points where they make next to nothing in reimbursement from IHG
The problem is far worse with IHG where the rules allow discrimination on award nights in their terms and conditions
The cruel reality GMs especially International simply do nothing or pass on the request to someone who may or may not wish to consider the request in house in another department and say what they will to appease the guest
The most important folks to contact is typically the front office manager or rooms exec or revenue manager that has the true power to make the final decisions with upgrades and room assignments
Amateur travelers continue to contact the GM which is actually great for the seasoned traveler who know exactly how to negotiate the situation and let the misdirected communication get left in the dust and frequently go nowhere
Selfishly while I could write the book on how to get the upgrade to suite true best available room(eyes of the beholder) 95% of the time I choose not to
Or it would be abused to no end. Personally I save my ammunition and leverage when it’s the most important time/occasion to do so
I don’t need a blog or know or contact the GM or have top tier status to do so but certainly/especially helps having a long standing relationship with the hotel/brand
Cheers
Five years ago I booked a room at the Conrad Hilton in Brussels using my Hilton points (30,000 for a standard room) at the end of a river cruise. When we arrived at the hotel we were advised that the hotel was overbooked, but had upgraded us at no additional charge. The “upgraded” room(s) included an 8’x8′ entry, dining room with a table for 12 and a serving kitchen, a 25′ x 25′ living room, a 25′ x 25′ study, a 25′ x 30′ bedroom and a bathroom that was larger than our cabin on the cruise ship!!!! The room was the “Royal Suite” and the going rate was $6,700/night. That’s what I call customer service and why Hilton is my hotel system of choice. The sad part was we were there less than 24 hours and didn’t know a soul in Brussels!
Easy answer around this – book Air-bnb. Not only do you save money, but you know how big the rooms are and how many people they recommend. I travel to Europe about once a month and stay exclusively with Air-bnb with no issues.
Haven’t been to Europe with kids, but did not have this experience in Asia with young children. Although there was a small upcharge at a number of hotels and many resorts stated that children over 12 do not stay free, it seems insane to require a family of four, including two young children under five, to be split up. I wish the world were more family friend, but alas…
Wow, what an eye-opening story! It’s frustrating to hear about hotels trying to take advantage of guests, especially when using points. Thank you for sharing your experience; it’s a reminder for all travelers to stay vigilant. I hope your next stay is much smoother!