Hotel Hassles: Marriott and Hilton

We hardly ever experience problems with hotels but we recently had two that had nothing to do with the stays themselves.

First, we were overcharged by more than $500 on our Chase Marriott credit card.when the bill arrived for our stay at the Marriott Plaza in Buenos Aires. Many phone calls and e-mails later Brian finally got it sorted out. Chase even removed the miscellaneous foreign exchange charges as a goodwill gesture, which was probably the equivalent of about $2 an hour for the time Brian spent trying to resolve it.

Hilton then didn't pick up two of our stays, one in Buenos Aires, and one in Los Angeles. This was important not only for stay credit and points, but for the fact we were completing a promotion that resulted in one free night anywhere in the world. Two phone calls and multiple e-mails (complete with attachments) later Kathy finally got that one sorted out.

As we set off for two back-to-back trips, we're hoping that such problems don't happen in threes. We were also reminded yet again why we always carry a folder of trip paperwork with us. Every so often it comes in handy.