In March 2006, several colleagues and I made reservations at Residence Inn Houston Intercontinental Airport at Greenspoint (Houston, TX), with a credit card guarantee. When we arrived at the hotel late on the afternoon of March 21, we were told by the hotel manager that the hotel could not honor our reservations because other guests had decided to extend their stay. They offered to send us to another hotel (not belonging to the Marriott chain). Not knowing what other course to take, we went to the other hotel which turned out to be right next to a freeway overpass, noisy, and with rooms of much lower quality. Over the past month, I've exchanged many emails about this customer service failure with Marriott and the Greenspoint Residence Inn. In all our correspondence, Residence Inn has maintained that it was "beyond our control." I find this hard to believe. Over the past twenty years, I've had to lengthen my stay at various cities because of extra business meetings and visits. Every one of those times, if the hotel I was staying at was booked full with incoming guests, they turned down my request to extend my stay. If it's not within Residence Inn's control, then whose control is it in? My suspicion is that when an overbooking occurs, Residence Inn turns away all but the highest-paying customer. Indeed, if it is Residence Inn and Marriott policy to allow current guests to stay beyond their reservations even if the hotel is overbooked, then all travelers should be warned: there's no guarantee that a room will be waiting for you at Residence Inn even if
you guarantee the reservation with a credit card.