I've spent 4 nights in hotels in the DC area as a result of a crapped out AC in the last 2 weeks. 2 x stays at Le Meridien Arlington (both cheap and great stays), 1 x at Westin Arlington (cheap and decent) and 1 x at W DC (awful).
W has a whole page touting how dog friendly they are, so we made a reservation (within 24 hours) and took off with Fido and made our way to the W. After being told valet charge is $50 (the valet himself even laughed about how ridiculous that is when we asked him to repeat the charge) we go in to check in and are told that despite being dog "friendly" there's a $25 cleaning fee (OK, I buy that) and a $100 "non-refundable pet deposit." I ask "isn't that just a fee?" and eventually the desk lady says OK I guess if you want to look at it like that it's a fee. So I ask if the $25 is for cleaning, then what is the $100 for... She has no idea and refers me to the GM's email.
The stay itself is also embarrassing given the $300+ rate per night (before any fees). Among other issues, the carpet in the hallway is disgusting and there was some slimy substance on the shower head when I grabbed it to adjust it--completely grossed out. I felt like a sucker and like we were subsidizing the swanky lobby and rooftop bars (which, as an Arlington resident, I have enjoyed from time to time).
I write the GM and hear nothing. I call and leave a message twice--no response. I call SPG and say A) WTH are these fees and B) the stay sucked, and they tell me they'll file a report and the hotel is obligated to respond within 5 days.
On the 4th day, I get an updated folio via email with the $100 charge removed and no note whatsoever. I call and email the GM again and still get no response. On the 6th day I called SPG and told them I still haven't heard back from the hotel other than the updated folio. They said their customer care dept will get in touch within 72 hours since the hotel hasn't...
Will they refund any of the room charge? Throw Starpoints at me? Ask me what I want them to do? Honestly I'm not sure what I want them to do. I definitely won't be recommending this hotel to friends who come visit, and I just feel ripped off... All depends I suppose if they want me to not feel ripped off (which would mean refunding ~$200 of the ~$300 in room charges) or whether they want to "wow" me (ask me where I'm travelling in the upcoming months and offer to comp a night or two, or give me a bunch of starpoints).
I wouldn't expect anything. They already took off the $100 charge, and $50 for parking is within the normal range for a major city, and you said yourself $25 is reasonable for a pet charge. I don't have any pets but I assume having a pet would cause you to look up fees before hand (I always check parking fees before I drive to a hotel); if the $100 wasn't listed there then you have an argument.
I personally wouldn't expect a room refund at this point because the carpets and shower head were dirty. Did you call the front desk to say that your room wasn't acceptable when you found out about the dirty shower head?
Beyond doing what you can to point out your displeasure the only other things you can do are just posting reviews and spreading the word about your bad stay. I wouldn't be surprised if you had some points thrown your way for your troubles but I wouldn't be surprised if you just get an "I'm sorry" response; you did have the $100 removed (again, assuming this was a disclosed fee/"non-refundable deposit").
I read bad reviews all the time here, on TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc. I've had hotels contact me directly regarding bad stays and others who act like they're doing me a favor by moving me to a worse room when the one they put me in reeks of cigarette smoke, then removing incorrect parking charges (yes, $50 for a car I didn't have) after days of calling/emailing (hello, Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers).
I wouldn't expect anything. They already took off the $100 charge, and $50 for parking is within the normal range for a major city, and you said yourself $25 is reasonable for a pet charge. I don't have any pets but I assume having a pet would cause you to look up fees before hand (I always check parking fees before I drive to a hotel); if the $100 wasn't listed there then you have an argument.
I personally wouldn't expect a room refund at this point because the carpets and shower head were dirty. Did you call the front desk to say that your room wasn't acceptable when you found out about the dirty shower head?
I don't understand why they should give you money back for the room you stayed in, or why you deserve points for that matter.
I think they were right to refund the $100. Although I'm not sure that $25 is enough to clean the room after a pet has been in.
The hotel does clearly have a communication problem. This is serious, and should be addressed internally, but I don't feel it's something that deserves compensation.
Please be advised that the room rate with a pet is $25 above the daily room charge plus a non-refundable $100 cleaning fee.
I always check prices when a hotel is pet friendly, it can cost anywhere from free to $$$ depending on your length of stay. I would be happy they took off the $100 fee, that is already above and beyond.
I doubt the $25.00 will be enough to get rid of the dog urine and fleas, and other things the dog will put on the floor, seems the dog urine even corrodes metal hinges on the bathroom cabinets.
Bet the spots on the carpet is from bleaching out dogie spots.
Re carpet the room and send the dogie guy the bill.
This hotel has gone to the dogs
Next time send the guy to the local dog kennel, it's cheaper..
1. The parking fee is a tad steep, but not out of the ordinary for downtown DC. Two Metro stops within a couple of blocks and a ton of garages with 24-hour parking at less than half that. You apparently agreed to pay the fee. Is it reasonable? Who knows, but what you get is the convenience of valet on a steaming hot day.
2. The dog fees are also posted & disclosed and you agreed to pay them. No refund was due. But, as a gesture of CS, the hotel knocked $100 off your bill. What more did OP expect? I consider that highly responsive.
3. It costs real money to clean a room after a furry animal has stayed there. The hotel's charges are entirely reasonable. But, even if you don't like them, they are well known in advance.
I don't understand why they should give you money back for the room you stayed in, or why you deserve points for that matter.
I think they were right to refund the $100. Although I'm not sure that $25 is enough to clean the room after a pet has been in.
The hotel does clearly have a communication problem. This is serious, and should be addressed internally, but I don't feel it's something that deserves compensation.
+100. Keep sending letters to SPG asking for compensation way above what you deserve. You will get a fast response but you may not like what it says. Something along the line of "We tried to make you happy with the $100 credit but it seems we can't live up to your expectations. Please take your business elsewhere!! Starwood has been sending these letters out to Platinums and even members with Ambassador service lately. I doubt they would think twice about sending one to a a gold member that they tried to do the right thing for but can't be satisfied
I think the pet fees were remedied and the parking fee can be found on the website so these are resolved.
I don't think it's fair to ask for a complete refund if you are going to argue the fees that are clearly listed for the hotel. If you want to argue that the cleanliness of your room affected your stay, that's another issue. I would try to explain what you did to try to resolve the issue and how it wasn't handled - for example did you call the front desk?
I recently had an issue at an SPG hotel with cleanliness and was refunded my form of payment for the room, which was points. My stay though, started at 11:30PM after driving for hours and included a few more room issues.
I contacted SPG the morning I checked out, and my issue was resolved within 24 hours with a hotel manager contacting me. I was very impressed and appreciated the service SPG provided. I am disappointed to hear you had that experience and hope SPG can rectify it for you, even if it's just an apology.
+100. Keep sending letters to SPG asking for compensation way above what you deserve. You will get a fast response but you may not like what it says. Something along the line of "We tried to make you happy with the $100 credit but it seems we can't live up to your expectations. Please take your business elsewhere!! Starwood has been sending these letters out to Platinums and even members with Ambassador service lately. I doubt they would think twice about sending one to a a gold member that they tried to do the right thing for but can't be satisfied
+++ - Exactly. More chains and even some carriers have been known to "fire" customers. In business school, they call it a tipping point. In real life, it's called a PITA point. The point at which the customer ain't worth the trouble and the vendor/hotel is better off without that business.
+++ - Exactly. More chains and even some carriers have been known to "fire" customers. In business school, they call it a tipping point. In real life, it's called a PITA point. The point at which the customer ain't worth the trouble and the vendor/hotel is better off without that business.
I never learned that in business school. And I don't know about firing customers. All of my customers are valued... just some valued more than others. We measure our level of standards based on the minimum we provide. When we raise the minimum, we can genuinely claim to provide great service.
What I did learn is that when you make a claim for an incident, be sure to ask specifically for some compensation that is proportionate to your losses. Ask for only an apology, don't be surprised if that's all you get. Ask for too much, and be prepared to receive not much of anything. Make it polite, concise, and with compensation specifically relevant to the losses, don't be surprised if your request is granted.
Even the hotel desk person could not identify what the $100 pet fee was for--she had no idea and neither did the person next to her. The hotel says there's a $25 cleaning fee--does it really take 2 $12/hr maids an hour of EXTRA time to clean up after a small, clean dog?
I would even understand it if the $100 was a deposit in case the pet pees or poops, but this is a fee. But the hotel specifically identifies a $25 cleaning fee. That said, the overall cleanliness of the hotel (other than the lobby) makes any cleaning fee hilarious.
As for compensation, I paid what I feel is entirely too much for the product I received. I think most reasonable people would agree that $300+ per night for a dirty, closet-sized room (well below standard for DC) and sub standard service and follow up is a rip off. Further, the fact is they guaranteed the hotel would contact me within 5 days and they did not. That compounds an already poor experience with the hotel and leads me to believe it is a pervasive problem of mismanagement. I suppose it's up to them as to whether or not they agree. But my goal was not to look for things to complain about to scam $20 worth of star points... I'm just idly wondering what they may do...
Even the hotel desk person could not identify what the $100 pet fee was for--she had no idea and neither did the person next to her. The hotel says there's a $25 cleaning fee--does it really take 2 $12/hr maids an hour of EXTRA time to clean up after a small, clean dog?
I would even understand it if the $100 was a deposit in case the pet pees or poops, but this is a fee. But the hotel specifically identifies a $25 cleaning fee. That said, the overall cleanliness of the hotel (other than the lobby) makes any cleaning fee hilarious.
As for compensation, I paid what I feel is entirely too much for the product I received. I think most reasonable people would agree that $300+ per night for a dirty, closet-sized room (well below standard for DC) and sub standard service and follow up is a rip off. Further, the fact is they guaranteed the hotel would contact me within 5 days and they did not. That compounds an already poor experience with the hotel and leads me to believe it is a pervasive problem of mismanagement. I suppose it's up to them as to whether or not they agree. But my goal was not to look for things to complain about to scam $20 worth of star points... I'm just idly wondering what they may do...
I'm with others - sounds like the hotel has already gone above and beyond. Also, why did you stay in the room if it was so dirty and closet-sized? You could have gone downstairs and asked for another room or booked another room in a different hotel.
