Marriott Fines Guest for Vaping

[Uma]

They are fining the woman on "hear-say"? Where's their "proof"?

Is the lady being honest or is she using the ecig as a front? There is no cig smell from an ecig. The maid would have smelled cookies baking or cappuchino brewing...

I think this is all bull. Where's Perry Mason when you need him. Or, better yet, the Mentalist.

 

[intriqken]

I still say we shouldn't call these electronic cigarettes and have been for a long time, they are not a cigarette they are a vaporizer two completely different items all together.

Careful what you ask for. The FDA has long been wanting to call this a drug delivery system.
Search google for Personal Vaporizer or search Amazon for Vaporizer.
Your search won't turn up many e-cigs.
Your searches will turn up 'personal vaporizers for tobacco or herbs'.
These aren't your grandmother's room vaporizor.
These are literally drug delivery systems and quite common in states where certain class 1 narcotics are legally <?> sold as medication.
And recently PV's of the sort that 'vapers' use (ie: eGos, Rivas, etc) are being sold with 'medicated' 510 cartos. ($15 to $50 per carto filled).
I am afraid that now PV's carry a very negative meaning to the ones hoping to make e-cigs illegal and banned

 

[waveryder]

I just added an update to the article. Unfortunately, not a response from the hotel chain yet. This is the letter the woman received from the general manager of the SouthPark Marriott after her initial complaint.

September 2, 2011
Dear Mrs XXXX,
Thank you for taking the time to contact Marriott's Customer Care again about the charge for smoking you incurred while you were a guest at the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark.
I understand you feel that this charge is unfair because you were smoking an electronic cigarette, as opposed to a tobacco cigarette.. You did smoke in your guest room which is not permitted and is the reason why the charge was accessed to your bill.
Mrs. XXXXX, I hope this better explains the reason for the charge.. The next time your travel plans return you to the Charlotte area, we would welcome opportunity to serve as your host.
Sincerely,
XXXXX

General Manager

This really reinforces the point I was making in my previous post.
Smoking is defined as "

1. Engaging in the smoking of tobacco: smoking passengers.
2. Designated or reserved for smokers: the smoking section of a restaurant.
3. Of or relating to the use of tobacco: corporate smoking policies.

Smoke is defined as:
1. cloud of tiny particles: a mass of tiny particles in the air that rises up from something burning

2. inhaling of burning tobacco fumes: an act of smoking a cigarette, cigar, or pipe

Read the definitions and explain to me how someone can logically say you were smoking?? They say you are using an e-cig, do you think they could write that if you tolld them you had used a vaporizer? e-cigs are logically linked to the real thing and boom.... you are smoking an electronic cigarette! Why use a term that would permit anyone to associate it with smoking?? I no longer smoke - period!!!
I consider the term e-cig to be an absolutely counterproductive term. You are handing a person the club to beat you with.
Why not call it what it is? I use a vaporizer that produces vapors. Many things create vapors - combustion engines = bad vapors, steam irons = neutral vapor, coffee = vapor that some like and some don't. If I am going to have a conversation with anyone I am not going to start it off with a complete misnomer by saying e-cig. The entire conversation should be framed around the fact that if an establishment chooses to ban vapor then tell me exactly what the specifications are for the vapor that cannot be produced. An example would be "coffee" vapor, if it is ok for the hotel to have coffee vapors then how is it that I can't? I hope the time comes that people forget the term e-cig!!



​

 

[MegaBee]

Careful what you ask for. The FDA has long been wanting to call this a drug delivery system.
Search google for Personal Vaporizer or search Amazon for Vaporizer.
Your search won't turn up many e-cigs.
Your searches will turn up 'personal vaporizers for tobacco or herbs'.
These aren't your grandmother's room vaporizor.
These are literally drug delivery systems and quite common in states where certain class 1 narcotics are legally <?> sold as medication.
And recently PV's of the sort that 'vapers' use (ie: eGos, Rivas, etc) are being sold with 'medicated' 510 cartos. ($15 to $50 per carto filled).
I am afraid that now PV's carry a very negative meaning to the ones hoping to make e-cigs illegal and banned

wow thanks for that info! I really should read more, i was quite ignorant about the PV being a drug administering system. I have just started calling mine an inhalor, in Australia it is a struggle to get acceptance since they are quite firm on calling Nicotine a dangerous drug and only letting us import enough for personal use.. Makes me feel like I am buying from the "black market" some insidious drug just because I chose not to smoke the legal tobacco that is slowly killing people I love around me. When will we lose this ignorance and embrace acceptance for different strokes for different folks, and as long as we vapours are not killing innocent bystanders with our second hand steam.. why cant we be left alone to make our own adult choices without feeling like sneaky crims. (end rant)

 

[Placebo Effect]

On behalf of CASAA, I sent an e-mail to Marriott Corporate's communications team when this story first 'broke' a week or so ago.

I was promised a response by the person I spoke to on the phone (Jay Hamilton), but one never came.

Those receiving the e-mail were jay.hamilton@marriott.com, Jeff.flaherty@marriott.com, stephanie.hampton@marriott.com

 

[mooreted]

Ah, that's what I was looking for. Thanks Placebo; you are a font of information.

 

[mooreted]

Email sent.

Probably a waste of time, but better than doing nothing.

 

[mooreted]

And that brought me to some phone numbers:

Flaherty, Jeff
8:30 PM (0 minutes ago)

I will be out of the office Friday afternoon, Nov. 11. During this time I will have limited access to e-mail. I will be happy to respond to your e-mail as soon as I am able. If you need immediate assistance, please contact Sara Alvarez at 301-380-6848 or a member of the Global Communications team at 301-380-7770.

 

[StotheK]

The guest that was charged in this whole thing has added a comment on the original article with a little bit more info and why she can't dispute the charges.

More to the Story: Marriott e-Cigarette Fine

 

[Baldr]

Why have I not disupted the charge with my credit card company? The answer to that is the Hotel has told me, and you can see from the hard copy letter that the $250 is for doing something I admitted to doing, using an electronic cigarette, so there would be nothing to dispute other than the term "smoking" and that is something I have to solve with Marriott.

So she's not disputing the $250 because the hotel told her not to.

Some people, you just can't help. She's a willing accomplice.

 

[swedishfish]

So she's not disputing the $250 because the hotel told her not to.

Some people, you just can't help. She's a willing accomplice.

Willing accomplace? Not exactly.

She admitted to vaping in the room, something I wouldn't have done, but she did. She's disputing the fact that vaping is smoking. Mariott either doesn't want to or doesn't care to see the distinction. They did get an extra $250 bucks.

This is what she said-

"I did not intend to post here, my story has been very well documented with sincere thanks to the owner of this website, however I want to address a couple of points. Why have I not disupted the charge with my credit card company? The answer to that is the Hotel has told me, and you can see from the hard copy letter that the $250 is for doing something I admitted to doing, using an electronic cigarette, so there would be nothing to dispute other than the term "smoking" and that is something I have to solve with Marriott. I have explained over and over and OVER again to Customer Care the make-up of an electronic cigarette and it has fallen on deaf ears... (continued)"

 

[swedishfish]

I don't for a second think the maid with the super nose smelled anything in the hallway. I think she saw the pv in the room and reported her.

 

[rustybikes]

I don't for a second think the maid with the super nose smelled anything in the hallway. I think she saw the pv in the room and reported her.

I think this is probably the truth of how this started. What puzzles me is how willfully ignorant Marriott (management, Customer "Care", etc.) has been about all this, even to the point of fraud. $250 to "clean up" a room where no-one was smoking is beyond excessive. I'm still tempted to drive down and have a chat with management, even though the email transcripts I've seen don't fill me with a lot of hope that they'd be at all intelligent about it.

 

[StotheK]

I don't for a second think the maid with the super nose smelled anything in the hallway. I think she saw the pv in the room and reported her.

The question in my mind is, let's say the maid did smell something in the hallway. Wouldn't it logically seem like the smell would be especially strong in the actual room? No amount of Febreeze in the world is going to mask smoke in a small space like a hotel room. Yet there was no mention of the actual room smelling.

 

[swedishfish]

The question in my mind is, let's say the maid did smell something in the hallway. Wouldn't it logically seem like the smell would be especially strong in the actual room? No amount of Febreeze in the world is going to mask smoke in a small space like a hotel room. Yet there was no mention of the actual room smelling.

The whole thing stinks and it's not from the vaping. Anyone else wondering about what kind of juice she was vaping?

I wonder who gets the $250?

 

[LadyWeeps]

Apparently their policy is to accuse, no proof necessary. Sound familiar?

 

[Green Mtn Vpr]

In the hopes the Guest may be following this I ask this regarding your decision to not dispute the ludicrous charge: Yes, you admitted use of a pv but show me where you AGREED to not use one and/or where it is expressly stated in their policy that they used as a basis to charge you??!!

Come on already...I am all for honesty and respect your attempt to stand on the facts, but the real fact is they had no proof, no grounds, and no legal standing to their 'fine'. If you do not stand up to this you are actually empowering dishonest behavior! This is exactly the arbitrary consumer abuse that credit card disputes exist for!

Please, for your own sake and that of every other customer, use the tools and rights that Visa provide and take a stand!!!

So she's not disputing the $250 because the hotel told her not to.

Some people, you just can't help. She's a willing accomplice.

 

[throatkick]

So, we have all watched these huge, faceless corporations take control. I just wonder if this happened because of ignorance or apathy.

Instead of quoting Marriott's policies, we should write our own and that means never, ever spending a dime with any hotels they own.

 

[DC2]

Everyone reading this thread should be calling Marriott Customer Care and asking for their official policy.

When I did that, I was told how the policy works, and that using an electronic cigarette in my room should not be an issue.
If you get a different answer, then it should be posted here, and you should tell them you won't be staying at a Marriott ever again.

 

[Amutt]

Willing accomplace? Not exactly.

She admitted to vaping in the room, something I wouldn't have done, but she did. She's disputing the fact that vaping is smoking. Mariott either doesn't want to or doesn't care to see the distinction. They did get an extra $250 bucks.

That's the thing, though. She admitted to vaping, which is not smoking regardless what the hotel thinks. They don't have a policy in place regarding vaping. Disputing the charge with your credit card company isn't entirely about what the hotel thinks or no one would ever be able to successfully dispute a charge without taking things to court. It doesn't hurt to take it up with the credit card company. There isn't a penalty for trying and it's not all that much work involved.