So, this poor woman from Tennessee booked what she thought was her dream solo escape. A TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Murfreesboro, two months in advance.
It was supposed to be her first night alone in five years since having a baby. She imagined fluffy pillows, quiet peace, maybe a glass of wine. Instead?
Cement dust, plastic-wrapped furniture, and doors locked tighter than her patience. The hotel was still under construction.
Despite this, Marriott’s system had gone all out with the automated hospitality. She got her check-in emails, app notifications, and even a friendly “Your room is ready!” reminder.
The only thing not ready was, well, the actual hotel.
When she called customer care, they said she didn’t qualify for their “walk me” policy because, technically, the hotel wasn’t open, so she couldn’t be walked anywhere. That’s corporate logic at its finest. They offered to rebook her at a nearby Courtyard… for double the points.
It’s one thing to cancel a room at the last minute. It’s another to sell a vacation that doesn’t even exist yet.
The heck is this?
I mean…this is corporate negligence hiding behind automated emails and fine print.
The entire point of booking in advance is peace of mind. You pay early, trust the brand, plan your escape, and in return, you expect an actual building, not a pile of drywall and scaffolding.
Marriott letting that property list on its platform before it was even open isn’t just tone-deaf, it’s deceptive. But they still sent her the “Your room is ready!” email like a sick joke.
I think suing is the only way big corporations learn anything. Public embarrassment hits harder than refunds or online articles. The hotel’s mistake doesn’t end at forgetting to send a cancellation, these corporations are prioritizing launch optics over people’s trust.
They wanted to show up in search results before they were ready, and a paying guest became collateral damage in their greed for early revenue.
It’s not about one bad booking or just bad luck, it’s this stupid system that monetizes promises before it builds walls.
THE WHY: GREED
I’ll give this 3 stars because being ghosted by a building might be the most 21st-century scam ever.
“Look, most of us want a normal life without any drama, but life in this world is always strange, and uncertain.
I don’t need your email. I don’t want to bug you with a billion notifications. All I ask is this, if you felt something here, if this made you think, laugh, or even shake your head in disbelief, just bookmark ‘Averagebeing.com’ and come back tomorrow.
That’s it. No strings. Just you, me, and this stupid world.”
