Francesca sent a message to Arne M. Sorenson – President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International, Inc. – Email Address that said:
Dear Mr. Sorenson:
I am writing to you with regard to The Residence Inn located in Egg Harbor Township NJ. Briefly my son his finance' contacted the sales manager of that property to find out if they could book a block of rooms for the evening of their wedding which is to take place on June 24, 2017. On June 29, 2016 at 4:30 pm they received a "written" proposal via e-mail of the prices for the first 15 rooms they were offering for that evening from one Allison Herbert Sales Manager. That evening at 6:23 PM Lauren, my son's finance' e-mailed Ms. Herbert back advising that they wished to go ahead with the reservation. On July 7, 2016 Lauren followed up with Ms. Herbert for she had yet to receive a contract. On July 8th Lauren received an e-mail from Elaine Carter Regional Director advising "not so nicely" that Ms. Herbert was no longer with the company and stating that they would not honor the proposal because the "book" for next year was not open they do not offer wedding blocks for less that 2 nights. I contacted Ms. Carter told her that we had a written proposal. She advised that proposals are only good for 24 hours; which is not mentioned in any of the e-mails, however Lauren replied to Ms. Herbert in less that 2 hours. All Ms. Carter offered was that they had fired the Sales Manager they would not honor the proposal. I then contacted William Ashenfelder, the General Manager. He asked that I send to him the e-mail exchange between Ms. Herbert Lauren . Upon his review he could only provide me with Marriott's policies, same as Ms. Carter. He could offer no explanation as to why he was reneging on the written proposal nor did he offer to make good on his Sales managers mistake. I find it hard to believe that Marriott International, would consider this good business practice. I would think that a sales manager, who is a representative of your company would have been trained in the proper policies and procedures and should have known all of this info prior to offering a written proposal. I really cannot believe the GM would not have owned up to the mistake and honored the proposal. I know that this is a small property in an even smaller town in New Jersey and you have bigger fish to fry, but this is not right to take advantage of 2 kids planning a wedding. What ever happened to the customer is always right? Not only did The Residence Inn lose out on booking at least 20 rooms for the evening of June 24, 2017, Marriott has lost the business of all involved for life. Sorry to say I will also be writing to the Better Business Bureau the local paper. I just wanted you aware of how business (or lack thereof) is being run in one of your properties in Egg Harbor Township NJ.
Thank you for your time consideration.
Sincerely,
Francesca
