Compensation for a bad nights sleep

[vievems]

Hi all, I am a newbie so please be kind.

I recently stayed at an Accor property and had a very disruptive nigths sleep. Some kind of alarm went off in the block I was staying in at approx 10pm - it lasted a couple of minutes and at this time I contacted guest services to let them know. They advised that others had also reported it. When I spoke to them they did say that I should advise them if it occurred again and they would move me to another room.

Fast forward a few hours later and I awake to another alarm sound, although this one was a single beep. As it didn't continue I didn't report it and went back to sleep. This continued throughout the night and into the next morning. Just a single beep every few hours - loud enough to wake me but not enough to think I should pack up my belongings in the middle of the night to move to another room (always hopeful that this beep would be the last). Needless to say, it was not the relaxing stay I had planned.

When I advised the front desk on checkout they hardly reacted except to say I should have reported it and they would have moved me.

My question is, should I have requested some kind of compensation for such a disruptive nights sleep. I paid $225 for the accommodation and it did not meet my expectations. What would you have done? If it helps I am an Accor Plus Silver member.

 

[Quickstatus]

What would you have done?

Easy for me to say I would have let them know overnight. It would be a total PITA to pack all belongings and move to a different room. However that's all moot now.

I would write a letter stating the facts as you recall and the remedies you are after. I don't think you can claim for a full refund though but others might disagree

 

[vievems]

Easy for me to say I would have let them know overnight. It would be a total PITA to pack all belongings and move to a different room. However that's all moot now.

I would write a letter stating the facts as you recall and the remedies you are after. I don't think you can claim for a full refund though but others might disagree

Thank you! In retrospect I should have packed the bags and moved and I'll keep that in mind for next time. To be perfectly honest I am not necessarily after compensation but it would have been nice to be offered something - I would have even been happy with an acknowledgement and apology from Accor but I don't feel this was given.

 

[Mattg]

That's a good question.

I can recall a few stays in different hotels where my sleep was disrupted - sometimes due to issues where the hotel was (somewhat) at fault, and other times due to factors totally beyond the control of the hotel.

E.g. I recall once that the radio alarm beside the bed went off at 3am. I had not programmed this - seems the previous guest may have.

At another hotel the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night after a guest opened a fire exit door by mistake.

Then there's hotels where the guests in the neighbouring room were loud and the walls were too thin to block out the noise.

I haven't asked for compensation for any of the above, but I did once at a motel in regional Australia where two things happened during the night: (1) I found a mouse in the room, and (2) the TV turned itself on for no reason during the middle of the night - not only this, but at 100% volume and on a channel that I hadn't been watching. (I suspect this had happened before because the TV was fully unplugged from the powerpoint when I arrived.)

I told the reception and they moved me to a different room the next day, but other than that didn't provide any sort of compensation. If this was a chain hotel in a city location I suspect the response may have been different.

 

[justinbrett]

If it’s something within the control of the hotel, especially if it’s the hotel staff that directly caused the problem, and email to the manager usually works. I never ask for compensation, if it’s serious enough it will probably be offered.

Clock alarm going off in your room is on you, once you’ve experienced this a few times you’ll check it every time you arrive to a new hotel.

 

[jb747]

Having spent thousands of nights in hotels, I can safely say that a good nights sleep is a very rare event. 99% of the time it's other guests.

 

[kookaburra75]

E.g. I recall once that the radio alarm beside the bed went off at 3am. I had not programmed this - seems the previous guest may have.

I have fallen foul to that problem over the years - there are some sick puppies out there. I always check the alarm clocks now (if they still have them), or at least unplug them from the wall.

I haven't asked for compensation for any of the above, but I did once at a motel in regional Australia where two things happened during the night: (1) I found a mouse in the room, and (2) the TV turned itself on for no reason during the middle of the night - not only this, but at 100% volume and on a channel that I hadn't been watching. (I suspect this had happened before because the TV was fully unplugged from the powerpoint when I arrived.)

Port Hedland, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs or Mt Isa? While staying in those places, a mouse was standard, although sometimes you would get geckos as well.

 

[vievems]

Thanks all for your responses - I am not going to pursue this further but was interested in how other people might handle it.

I've also learnt that the first thing I should do when checking into a room is to check the clock raido alarm!

 

[dajop]

Having spent thousands of nights in hotels, I can safely say that a good nights sleep is a very rare event. 99% of the time it's other guests.

My biggest sleep disrupter is not noise but room temperature and the thickness of the bedding. A lot of hotels, particularly if on higher floors during winter tend to heat up excessively over the course of a night. Now I just strip out the quilt and hope the temperature doesn’t cool down too much (which most of the time it doesn’t, goes in the opposite direction).

 

[flyer89]

I have heard some things in hotel rooms. I was once in a room next to some enthusiastic honeymooners. I don’t know what it is they were doing but it was probably illegal in some countries. I was just trying to watch Batman Begins.

 

[downgraded]

My biggest sleep disrupter is not noise but room temperature and the thickness of the bedding. A lot of hotels, particularly if on higher floors during winter tend to heat up excessively over the course of a night. Now I just strip out the quilt and hope the temperature doesn’t cool down too much (which most of the time it doesn’t, goes in the opposite direction).

I can't remember the chain now (Accor maybe?) but I had this issue in Auckland a number of times. After a "why didn't you tell us" moment at checkout one time, I subsequently had the stupidly thick Doona replaced with a thinner blanket automatically whenever I've stayed there subsequently.

 

[Mattg]

Port Hedland, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs or Mt Isa? While staying in those places, a mouse was standard, although sometimes you would get geckos as well.

Haha - it was in Parkes.

 

[funnymummy]

Thanks all for your responses - I am not going to pursue this further but was interested in how other people might handle it.

I've also learnt that the first thing I should do when checking into a room is to check the clock raido alarm!

It was the clock radio for me at Brisbane Sofitel recently.

 

[jokes128]

Late last month I stayed in an Australian Accor property(5 star property starts with S). All was good(even issued us 3 Welcome Drinks vouchers and wrote 2 adults 1 child on it on check in) except for 1. the lack of room upgrade despite lots of availability, but this does not bother me much, and 2. my credit card was actually "charged" with credit card surcharge on check in(not just "authorised" as per all other hotels during check in).

However, just past midnight the evening before we were due to check out, we found that all the electricals from the power points were not working(ie. no kettle/hairdryer/alarm clock and worst of all couldn't charge our phones and laptops) but the lights and air cond are still on. So off I went to reception(the room's phone was off as a result of electricity cut off I think) and only a shift manager and a junior staff were on duty at that time of the day. Upon hearing my description the shift manager took the keys and went upstairs with me to the level where we stayed. He found that the main switchboard(located outside in the corridor) for our room was flicked to "off" as safety measure I presume. So the shift manager flicked that back to "on" and then we checked and we could charge our electronics again so all good.

About 15 minutes later same thing happened(couldn't charge electronics again). So I went down to reception again. The junior staff told me that the shift manager had gone to "carry out room service" so I had to wait until he was back as the junior staff didn't have the keys/authority to fix that switch. After a while the manager was back and went upstairs again to fix that same problem, however this time he asked me to unplug the hairdryer if I was not using it. Then we could charge our electronics again and all good. This time he gave me his direct phone number and asked me to call him from my mobile.

Another 15 minutes after he left, same problem again and electronics were not charging. So I called the number he gave me and it couldn't connect(probably in a lift or in a poor coverage area). I went to the reception again and the junior staff informed me that he was again at room service(I wonder if there are so many people ordering food at 1am). Anyway, the junior staff called the shift manager and she was told to offer us a change of room. I accepted even though it was 1:30am at the time and we were checking out later that day(we needed our phones and laptops fully charged before we checked out). So we reluctantly packed our bags and moved to another room.

The junior staff later came(she said she had to wait for the shift manager to return to front desk before she could come to help us change room as the reception must be staffed at all time) to help us move to another "upgraded" room on the same level as our initial room. She apologised and said this shouldn't happen in a hotel. I just asked if it is possible to extend the late checkout(initially got midday) for us given that we had to change our room at 2am and we were going to wake up late as a result. She only extended it to 1pm even I asked for 2pm and said I knew there were still rooms available the next day etc.

Other than the late checkout we didn't request for any compensation. And the hotel later even sent me a feedback form.

 

[BJReplay]

TL;DR - complain politely, and you'll get a good result - not necessarily on that stay, but if you are a regular guest, it can work wonders.

I once complained after I received a post check-out survey: I had requested a quiet room, away from the lifts, if possible, at a hotel that I used to stay at regularly, and instead was sandwiched between the goods lift and underneath the executive lounge. Between the goods lift going all hours for room service, and the noise from the executive lounge from pack down late at night to set up the next morning, it was the least quiet room in the hotel.

I had pointed out in my survey response that if the staff didn't know what rooms were noisy and which were not, they shouldn't put you in a room and tell you "I've put you in a quiet room" which they had done, they should say "I've got this room, or this room, is there one you would prefer?" and let you decide".

I got a direct reply to my survey response from the GM of the hotel apologising for the broken night's sleep and agreeing that the room was probably the noisiest room in the hotel.

I, in turn, replied, and thanked the GM for responding - expressing surprise that the survey was read in person by someone at the hotel.

The next time I checked it, as it turned out, the GM was on the desk, checking me in, and I recognised her name from her name badge, and she recognised my name from our feedback survey interaction.

She put me in a room that was quiet and gave me a choice of further away from the lifts, but with a dodgy view, or with a better view, but closer to the lifts (and thus the noise they generate). I took the room with the dodgy view. It was blissfully quiet. I had the chance to say that I'm there for work, and I'm really just after a good night's sleep.

Fast forward and a couple of trips later I arrive at peak hour, she is on the desk again, there is a queue to check in, and she signals that I should go straight to the bar for a drink rather than queue up to check in. The drink is on the house, a few minutes later my swipe cards arrive, and I'm checked in to my favourite quiet room with no view.

Other times I arrive with work colleagues, and they see this same magic trick. Other times I arrive to an upgrade to the presidential suite.

A polite, but firm complaint is worthwhile. It's not your fault, it's not the fault of the person you're complaining to, but it is the hotel's fault, and you expect them to do something about it. If they can't (e.g. the hotel is full), you look forward to them offering you appropriate compensation.

 

[zig]

Had an issue which occurred at an Accor property in Australia. The toilet kept running (intermittently and loudly) throughout the night leading to a disturbed sleep. Was offered a suite upgrade for my next stay at the property.

One of the first things I check in a hotel room is the clock radio, water temperature in the shower and that the toilet flushes okay.

 

[FlyingFiona]

E.g. I recall once that the radio alarm beside the bed went off at 3am. I had not programmed this - seems the previous guest may have.

I have fallen foul to that problem over the years - there are some sick puppies out there. I always check the alarm clocks now (if they still have them), or at least unplug them from the wall.

Why don't housekeeping check this? Given its apparent frequency I really think they ought to.

I swear, if it ever happens to me (although I do tend to unplug because I can't stand the light in the dark of the room) I'm going to leave my room like this in revenge...

 

[JohnK]

Interesting comments.

My daughter wakes me by moving around multiple times/night. Assess and fall asleep. My wife on the other hand has issues going back to sleep again.

If anything it has been other guests that may have woken us in middle of the night. Not much you can do if you don't know who is causing the disruption. It's all part of the experience.

 

[drron]

In Tennant Creek some years ago we were woken to find several mice running around. We had prepaid the night before so we could have an early start on the road to Alice Springs. Though we didn’t envisage it at 0230. When the sun rose we stopped and got a thermos out of a small bag. Out jumped another mouse. All bags were then inspected and fortunately only the one mouse had decided to join us.

 

[Rich]

Nearly 20 years ago my now wife and I were in southern Argentina in a small hotel on the ground floor (of 2 levels). We were awoken by a terrible racket. It turns out it was the national lottery draw. I don't if it was a replay because it was pretty early. It involved children singing out the results on stage, one winner at a time. "Cinco! Dos! Quarto! Uno! Uno! Tres!" The hotel had it on full volume and all the Argentineans were gathered around. It seemed to go on for hours. What can you do?