Uggh. Hotel issues

[dirty ethel rackham]

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Richmond for a competition for my daughter.  It took forever to find hotel rooms because apparently it was graduation weekend and there was a huge lacrosse tournament as well as a soccer tournament.  We had a hotel room in downtown Richmond (about 30 minutes away from the gym) but it was only 2 double beds and I had my daughter and her friend traveling with me.  Someone in our group found a closer hotel that had 2 king beds for only a little more.  I checked for ratings at the various travel sites and the ratings were surprisingly good for this hotel.  It was a lesser quality hotel, but we figured the distance and bigger rooms would be better (some were dads traveling with daughters, etc.) 

 

A few days before we arrived, I cancelled the nicer, but farther hotel with only the double beds.  When we arrived at our hotel, the lobby was under some serious construction - like I was wondering if they would be passing out hard hats.  I went back to the car to see if we could get our other room back (and I would go to walmart and by an air bed or something.)  They didn't have any rooms.  So, the families we were traveling with decided to stick it out since we coudn't find anything else.  As we got off the (very dirty) elevator, we saw lots of evidence of construction on our floor.  The carpet was only half laid down (and a tripping hazard.)  The room numbers were post-it notes.  There was even a room that was totally gutted - wires hanging down - in the middle of drywalling, but they didn't have the room blocked off.  I went to look for the business center so I could print off the final itinerary for the competition.  No business center despite being advertised.  Went to look for the pool.  Nope - under construction.  The room where they served the continental breakfast was down a hallway under serious construction (wires hanging down from the ceiling, ladders, men in hard hats, etc.)  By the time I got to the room, I had a light coating of drywall dust all over me.  Seriously ... If this had been a home, there is no way anyone would have gotten an occupancy permit.   I have to say our room was fine, just getting to the room was very unpleasant. 

 

I complained at the desk, but the person working there wasn't able to do anything. I had to talk with a manager.  Well, the manager was never there when we were there.  So, they gave me a number to call.  I called a couple of times and left a message.  I did get a call back and they were only going to give me a 30% discount for our stay (since we didn't leave  ... "um ... there was no place else to go.")  They tried to offer me another night's stay in their hotel ... Um.  No.  I don't plan to be back in Richmond anytime soon.  I complained and she said that she would see if she could comp me one of the two nights.  I haven't heard back.  I have left messages.  I want my refund. 

 

So, am I justified in going over this manager's head and taking this to corporate?  I am really irritated.  I have to give some totals to the dad of the girl I took with me since they are splitting some of the travel expenses.

[SoCalLynn]

Tell them you are going to leave a very detailed description of your experience on YELP. Not angry, just describing what happened and how they haven't handled it to your satisfaction whatsoever. See how quickly you get a response then.

[OneStepAtATime]

Did you take any photographs?  I would definitely keep pressing for at least one comp night.

[OneStepAtATime]

And I'm glad you all made it out without injury.... :)

[praisefor3]

Yes you should most definitely go to the corporate level. If you have pics it will help. I am a frequent business traveler (at least 2 hotel nights almost every week) and only stay at a certain brand hotel because I can use all my points for family travel and I like this brand best. But...I would most certainly use Trip Advisor to post my experience whether or not I got compensated for any issues. If you do get compensated you should mention that in your review but your experience is still valid. The hotel may or may not post a response (many do) so also mention the amount of time you waited for a resolution in case they make it look like they eagerly took care of your concerns. I would leave out all the info about the other hotel as it would not be relevant to your experience there. I use Trip Advisor A LOT.

[chiguirre]

You're definitely justified in taking it up with the corporate offices. That's ridiculous!

[Annie G]

Escalate your complaint to corporate...you are surely justified. 

[Flowing Brook]

As long as the room was fine I would let it go.

[Moxie]

As long as the room was fine I would let it go.

Yes, unless my sleep was disturbed or there was dust in the food, etc., I'd let it go. I might complain about the lack of a pool or copy machine.

[dirty ethel rackham]

For $130 a night, I can't let it go.  This hotel should not have been open for business in this condition.  I have stayed places in better condition for under $50 a night.  They did promise me financial consideration and I just want them to make good on their promise. 

[Forget-Me-Not]

I'd give them another day or two to make it right and if they don't come through, take it up with your credit card company.

[Pegasus]

As long as the room was fine I would let it go.

 

Yep. I agree. The room was fine. You had a place to sleep. The hotel met its obligation. I think the offered 30% discount is generous.  Would you rather they have turned you away when you showed up?!? 

 

[TXBeth]

Yep. I agree. The room was fine. You had a place to sleep. The hotel met its obligation. I think the offered 30% discount is generous. Would you rather they have turned you away when you showed up?!?

 

Well ideally they would not have accepted reservations while doing extensive renovations. Or at least tell people in advance and give them the choice.

 

However, I agree that a 30% discount sounds reasonable since you did end up staying there.

[creekland]

For $130 a night, I can't let it go.  This hotel should not have been open for business in this condition.  I have stayed places in better condition for under $50 a night.  They did promise me financial consideration and I just want them to make good on their promise. 

 

For a major city hotel with a room with 2 king beds, $130 IS a great rate.  It sounds like they are already compensating for being under renovation to be honest.

 

If they were to offer another 30% off, we'd take it, but in general, we'd likely have only complained about the lack of a printer and the pool being closed.

 

I'd LOVE to hear where you find major city hotels in better condition for under $50/night.  Honestly, I'd love to see where you can find any hotel in better condition for under $50/night when there are things going on nearby (graduation, competition).  

 

Quite honestly, if you put your experience on trip advisor or other review sites, you'll encourage more people to stay there soon as the recent renovations will be a "plus."

[Caroline]

For reference, when we stayed in Richmond in January for a wedding, we paid $295/night for two queens. That was the discount rate for the wedding. We were right downtown near the VCU campus. It was a 5 star, high end, historic hotel.

[creekland]

Hmm, doing a quick Hotels.com search for next weekend, I see places I'd start looking at in the $80 - $130 range, but of course, the least expensive price coming up on the search won't be for two king beds.  However, there's "nothing special" going on next weekend.  With graduation and a competition both filling rooms - along with "normal" travel, prices tend to be much higher - a supply and demand sort of thing.

 

There are only two places listed < $50.  One is America's Best Value Inn and the other is Motel 6.  I doubt either would have two king beds and the former only gets a 2.6/5 for ratings. I wouldn't even consider it.  The latter gets a 3.5/5 and is near the airport, so could be ok for a cheap stay.  But again, who knows what the rates were with a "higher demand" weekend.

[dirty ethel rackham]

$130 was their "rack rate" without construction.  It was a similar price to other rooms at much higher quality hotels (not king beds but queens, but still.)   It's a Comfort Inn on the outskirts of town in a not very nice area, not downtown.  Really, this place should not be open in this condition.  Since when you have guests walk through hard-hat areas?  (I'm assuming they were hard-hat areas because you had to pass workmen wearing hard hats.)  A similar room in our area (major metropolitan area) would be about $15 cheaper a night without construction. 

 

And will it be nice when they are done?  They said my room was re-done.  You couldn't tell.  It looked old, smelled old.  Definitely older furnishings and old, stained bedspreads. 

 

ETA:  The $50 a night comment was a deal rate at a similar quality hotel with a 2 queen beds room with a couch.  I didn't mean that the room should have been equivalent, but still. 

[Alicia64]

Escalate your complaint to corporate...you are surely justified. 

 

I'd definitely talk to corporate. The other route that gets a ton of attention these days: "talk" to the company on Twitter.

 

If you do Twitter, put in this address: @company name. When you start a conversation on Twitter the company is very aware that the entire world can see the discussion. So for PR reasons they hop to it.

 

People are raving over what Twitter can do.

 

Alley

[Lavandula]

I wouldn't let it go. A hotel isn't just about a room. When they offer things like a pool I expect to get them along with a nice experience. 

[Butter]

They absolutely should have stated they were renovating and the pool, etc. was closed before taking any reservations.  I'd go to corporate and non-emotionally lay out everything.  It sounds like they were risking injury to their customers.  They could be dealing with a lot worse than just a few mad customers.

[Jennifer in MI]

I also wouldn't let it go.  We stayed in a hotel that was under construction a couple weeks ago.  I was upset because of the noise and dirt, but none of their services was interrupted.  We still had a pool, breakfast, and business center.  I would have appreciated warning of the construction, but everything else was fine.   So, we chose to let it go.

 

You had disrupted services.  It sounds like certain conditions were even dangerous.  I'd definitely take this higher.

[OneStepAtATime]

They absolutely should have stated they were renovating and the pool, etc. was closed before taking any reservations.  I'd go to corporate and non-emotionally lay out everything.  It sounds like they were risking injury to their customers.  They could be dealing with a lot worse than just a few mad customers.

 

Yes

[OneStepAtATime]

I also wouldn't let it go.  We stayed in a hotel that was under construction a couple weeks ago.  I was upset because of the noise and dirt, but none of their services was interrupted.  We still had a pool, breakfast, and business center.  I would have appreciated warning of the construction, but everything else was fine.   So, we chose to let it go.

 

You had disrupted services.  It sounds like certain conditions were even dangerous.  I'd definitely take this higher.

 

And yes

 

[J-rap]

It sounds like it should not have even been open.  Did you bring it up with them at at the time?  I mean, soon after you checked in and discovered all the disarray?  If you brought it up at the time, on the spot, explaining how you gave up the other place and now nothing else was open, and listed all the various things, then I think you have a case for requesting additional money off.  Afterall, they really did NOT meet its obligation.  They didn't advertise itself as a construction-zone hotel with wires dangling and sawdust falling on you.  It sounds like some of it could have been a safety hazard. 

 

I just read back over your email and saw that you brought it up with the desk person but the manager was never around.  Well, I think you can explain that too then.  That you did try and talk to management about it when you were there, but no on was ever around.  I would try and get one night covered. 

 

 

[Evergreen State Sue]

If you need the money now from the dad of the girl you took with you, tell him the situation, ask for his share of what you paid (or assured you will have paid after a refund), and tell him you will reimburse him if a further discount is given to you.  Two king beds in one room and closer to the event for your daughter would be worth it.  I like more space and less travel time to events when I'm rooming with people other than family.  What did the other person in your group do?  Did they also find it not acceptable?  Perhaps if you both complained you would get faster results. I'm sorry for all the problems you had and hope you find peace in your resolution. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

The one dad who got his room comped was at the hotel one of the few times the manager was in and was able to complain in person.  His daughter was not due at the gym for 4 hours after my girls were (that is, dd and her friend, the "I'd adopt you in a second" kid), which was why he was able to see the manager.   

 

[Alicia64]

A well written complaint to corporate should take care of it. Twitter is also really good.

 

Alley

[Annie G]

The one dad who got his room comped was at the hotel one of the few times the manager was in and was able to complain in person.  His daughter was not due at the gym for 4 hours after my girls were (that is, dd and her friend, the "I'd adopt you in a second" kid), which was why he was able to see the manager.   

 

 

So another guy who was there at the same time got his room comped but they're balking at your request? Nope. Not right. Escalate.  He walked through the same construction you did. It's not like you heard later that he got comped and THEN decided you were unhappy with the accommodations. 

[Anne in CA]

Agreeing about Yelp and Twitter. 

[readwithem]

Yep I would escalate - social media, Trip Advisor as others have suggested.  

 

The hotel conditions were NOT what you would expect under normal circumstances.  I've never packed a hardhat in my suitcase!

[dirty ethel rackham]

Oh, and FYI, the ratings you see online are cherry-picked.  I went and looked up ratings and most of the recent bad reviews from myself and other travelers who had to deal with this are buried.  You have to really look to find them.  They show up on TripAdvisor, but not on many of the hotel booking sites (even if they say they use TripAdvisor ratings.)  Now I know to do independent research and not rely on those ratings. 

[Wabi Sabi]

Oh, and FYI, the ratings you see online are cherry-picked.  I went and looked up ratings and most of the recent bad reviews from myself and other travelers who had to deal with this are buried.  You have to really look to find them.  They show up on TripAdvisor, but not on many of the hotel booking sites (even if they say they use TripAdvisor ratings.)  Now I know to do independent research and not rely on those ratings. 

Given the information you've provided I was able to find your review pretty quickly. It actually does pop up on the first page if you sort by date. The options are to sort by date, ratings or friends (and apparently a friend of a friend on Facebook has actually stayed in this hotel in the past, so that was the first review to pop up for me when I initially visited the site). 

 

One review made me laugh a little. The reviewer complained of "illegal contraband" being found in her room, and that "we are no longer comfortable staying somewhere that allows "illegal" substances to be brought inside their establishment." Reading between the lines here, but the someone lost their bag of weed and it's now the hotel's fault for allowing "illegal" substances into the establishment in the first place? That made me seriously giggle. 

 

 

[Alicia64]

Oh, and FYI, the ratings you see online are cherry-picked.  I went and looked up ratings and most of the recent bad reviews from myself and other travelers who had to deal with this are buried.  You have to really look to find them.  They show up on TripAdvisor, but not on many of the hotel booking sites (even if they say they use TripAdvisor ratings.)  Now I know to do independent research and not rely on those ratings. 

 

It's fine to post on Trip Advisor to alert other travelers -- nothing wrong with that. But the smart hotels will actually have someone in management follow the poor reviews and get back to those people (like yourself) and try to make the customer happy. I'm not saying the hotel you stayed at will do that, but that's what I would hope for. They don't like those bad reviews, believe me.

 

Alley

[Happy]

We got half off a hotel room last month when they ran out of towels. We checked in during the afternoon and found no towels in our room. The front desk assured us fresh towels would be delivered asap. We went out to the outdoor wedding...when we came back at midnight--dusty, sweaty, and tired from the country wedding there were no towels. Not pool towels, not any. I took a shower and dried off with a bed sheet. The guy at the front desk was less than pleasant about it, too.

 

Dh had a chat with the manager the next morning and got half off.

 

I think if I were in your shoes, OP, I'd go up the ladder. They should have told you about the construction when you made reservations.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Given the information you've provided I was able to find your review pretty quickly. It actually does pop up on the first page if you sort by date. The options are to sort by date, ratings or friends (and apparently a friend of a friend on Facebook has actually stayed in this hotel in the past, so that was the first review to pop up for me when I initially visited the site). 

 

One review made me laugh a little. The reviewer complained of "illegal contraband" being found in her room, and that "we are no longer comfortable staying somewhere that allows "illegal" substances to be brought inside their establishment." Reading between the lines here, but the someone lost their bag of weed and it's now the hotel's fault for allowing "illegal" substances into the establishment in the first place? That made me seriously giggle. 

 

 

Did you look on TripAdvisor or on a booking website?  I've gone to 3 different booking websites and, no matter how I sorted the replies, only the decent replies showed up. 

 

I think the "illegal contraband" was in a room that they checked into.  That would say quite a bit about the cleanliness of a room (and about the staff - perhaps they were the ones to hide their stash in a room, not expecting it to be occupied.)