COTTONWOOD, AZ (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Right before Christmas, Suzanne Hendricksen booked a family staycation in Phoenix through Homes & Villas by Marriott. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a great kitchen and a nice backyard,\u201d she recalled. <\/p>\n
Her in-laws got to the house first. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they got there, they were starting to put the key code in and it didn\u2019t work,\u201d Hendricksen said. \u201cThen they put the key code in again, and some man answered the door and was like, \u2018What are you doing trying to get into my house?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Turns out, the house had recently sold and the new homeowner had no idea his house had been used as a short-term rental.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents-in-law who are in their 70s and my single sister-in-law \u2014 they were scared,\u201d Hendricksen said.<\/p>\n
Hendricksen said she struggled to get help from customer service after the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey basically said the only option that we had was to book a hotel ourselves,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have enough points left to book anything so we had to book in cash. It\u2019s the week before Christmas. Everything is booked. All of the cheaper things are, of course, booked up.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she spent $1,500 on a hotel stay and then followed up with Homes & Villas by Marriott seeking reimbursement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey kept sending me emails saying this was a host cancellation,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I was like, this was not a cancellation by any stretch. This was a snafu in your system.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company offered her more points. She declined and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which she said did not result in any relief.<\/p>\n
After six months of trying to resolve the situation on her own, Hendricksen contacted On Your Side.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, I\u2019ve spent hours and hours on this,\u201d she said. \u201cI want my $1,500 back. I don\u2019t think I should have had to shell out that cash because of their mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
After On Your Side reached out to the company, Hendricksen said she received a call from a Homes & Villas by Marriott representative.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cut right to the chase and said she talked to her executive committee and they looped her in on this and they wanted to cut me a check for $1,500,\u201d Hendricksen said. \u201cYou guys probably pushed somewhere on your end, I imagine, and they finally got their attention to the right people.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Homes & Villas by Marriott told On Your Side, \u201cWe take customer feedback seriously,\u201d adding, \u201cwe have looked into our guest\u2019s experience and worked with them to resolve their concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n