Locked out of hotel room, 24-hour desk closed. Slept in car. Do I deserve a refund?
I stayed at Ramada Limited in Spokane, WA for 3 nights in May 2010.
(it was a graduation weekend, many hotels sold out. This place gouged their prices the least.)
Background:
On the second night/third morning at 2:30am (5/8). I came back to the hotel after the celebrations, only to find my key card was giving me the red light. I walked over to their 24-hour front desk to find out that the door is locked, and no one is home (lights were off). In the end, I slept in my rental SUV.
History:
I called Hotwire on 05/09 and informed them of the issue. They offered me a $25 hotcash while they investigate.
a week later: they told me that the hotel denied that the front desk was closed.
+3 days: I spoke to their general manager, who confirmed that the night auditor locked the door to use the bathroom
+1 day: Hotwire says it's hotels responsibility to refund me.
+1 day: General Manager says I should've came back few minutes after, but offers discount coupons. I assure him that I'll NEVER be back in Spokane.
+1 day: Call Ramada Corp, who calls the General Manager. GM emails me and says the coupons or on the way. I assure him that I don't need them, and I already told Ramada Corp that there's no point calling the location.
Question:
Do I deserve a refund for one night? I tried to do a chargeback on my credit card. And they said since my stuff was in the room, they can't do it.
I'd say no refund - you need to take some responsibility here for not going back, banging on that door, posting a note and hey, as a last resort even calling the police to investigate why there is no one staffing the desk. A sorry of some sort is appropriate, definitely, but you made the ultimate decision to give up and sleep in your car.
Let's assume for the moment that the GM's account is true: The front-desk clerk momentarily locked the door to use the bathroom. If so, s/he should have placed a "back in 5 minutes sign on the door".
If, as you say, the lights were off this would seem to cast some doubt on the GM's account (why turn the lights off for a 5 minute bathroom break?). That said, it's entirely plausible that someone working a night shift needs to use the bathroom occasionally, and it's also plausible and rational that s/he locks the door for security reasons. It's also plausible that they turned off the lights out of habit or for some unknown policy reasons. Should a location like this double-staff the front desk on the graveyard shift to prevent this from happening? Are we all willing to pay extra for this?
So the real question is: How long did you stick around? Why not try again ten minutes later? That would seem like a logical thing to do. I have a hard time believing you would just give up that easily if the only alternative was to sleep in your vehicle.
Absent any additional details, I'd side with the hotel on this one. It sounds like they are making a good-faith effort to address your concerns. It's not particularly their fault that you don't plan to be back in Spokane. If the coupons are transferable, you can always try trading them on Coupon Connection.
So the real question is: How long did you stick around? Why not try again ten minutes later? That would seem like a logical thing to do. I have a hard time believing you would just give up that easily if the only alternative was to sleep in your vehicle.
Agreed. If it's a few minutes the hotel isn't responsible. If it lasted for an extended period of time then they owe a night's rental.
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There were two problems, both the hotel's fault: The key card failed and the front desk was unstaffed with no indication that it was anything but closed until the morning. How long should a tired, already disserviced guest be expected to stand around in the cold outside a locked, unlit, unsigned office?
If this had been a special offer in advance--"We'll lock you out of your room one unspecified night of your stay, and then you'll have to wait for an undetermined time outside our locked office to get back in, but for this we'll give you a small discount on a future stay"--would the OP have accepted it? Why then should he be expected to accept it after the fact?
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In the case that the front office was indeed unoccupied for much longer than a standard bathroom break, wouldn't it be reasonable to expect the employee responsible for being there to lie through his teeth about the whole thing? It's remarkably hard to get resolution to a dispute when one party is sticking to a boldfaced lie.
I once had an issue with a hotel where it was my word against that of the receptionist, and OF COURSE she lied through her teeth to keep her job... so I wouldn't exclude the possibility that someone was absent from their job for longer than they should have been, and lied about it to the GM.
However, having said that... the OP was, presumably, inside the building at this stage (because front desks are normally inside the building and not outside!). Don't hotel lobbies normally have armchairs?
If that had been me I would have grabbed two armchairs, dragged them as close to the front desk as I could get them, and made myself comfortable there. If the front desk clerk had returned all well and good... if not then the presence of a sleeping guest by an unmanned front desk would probably have created some embarrassment in the morning.
You slept in the car. That's a horrible experience, period. The night auditor could have left a note. You should get your money back. The manager is hoping that you'll go away. Be persistent. Start posting on every travel site that you can. Write letters to managers at Ramada. Document your conversations. Record them if you can. Call back and complain daily. Get your money back.
Ok, you only went to the front desk once? I would have camped out there till someone showed up and also tried to call the hotel as the number should be easy to find at the front desk. If you only went one time and did not stay very long then no I don not think you are due any refund.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SJC1K
There were two problems, both the hotel's fault: The key card failed and the front desk was unstaffed with no indication that it was anything but closed until the morning. How long should a tired, already disserviced guest be expected to stand around in the cold outside a locked, unlit, unsigned office?
I agree. I'm not sure why people think the OP should not be refunded. A 24-hour desk should be staffed 24 hours per day. If it isn't, the hotel is not delivering on what it's advertising. The hotel should refund the night, if only as compensation for 24-hour desk not being open when it was needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joedaddy
I tried to do a chargeback on my credit card. And they said since my stuff was in the room, they can't do it.
So a hotel can lock a guest out of a room, and the guest can't do a chargeback because his things were still inside? At the very least, you will always have the right to initiate a claim (and not pay the disputed amount) while the credit card company investigates.
Ok, you only went to the front desk once? I would have camped out there till someone showed up and also tried to call the hotel as the number should be easy to find at the front desk. If you only went one time and did not stay very long then no I don not think you are due any refund.
Don't most hotels that lock the doors at night have the phone that rings to the front desk? I would have kept picking that thing up until someone answered.
A hotel like this typically has a front desk person 24 hours a day. It would be weird that the front desk person would turn out all of the lights if he/she were going for a bathroom break not to mention putting up a sign. Still, I personally would have gone back in 10 minutes. The lights being out but the front desk clerk is just on a bathroom break sounds a little fishey but again a second trip back would have given the OP a much better argument.
I also don't understand why you didn't work it out when you got somebody to open the room so you could get your stuff the next morning or whenever. It seems weird to not work it out with the hotel then and there.
You are due a refund. If a property advertises that the front desk is staffed and open 24/7, then it is the property's responsibility to figure out how to keep it open and staffed when an employee takes a potty break. Obvously, the choices are to put two people at the desk or stop advertising 24/7 coverage. A rational compromise would be to staff overnight with one employee and require the use of a "Back in 5 minutes sign" when that person needs to leave the desk.
When confronted with an office that seems to meet all the requirements for being closed -- dark, empty, locked -- a customer is under no obligation to wait around until, or if, something happens.
I'm really tired of people trying to sell us stuff who knowingly screw up and then expect us to be sympathetic.
Locked out of hotel room, 24-hour desk closed. Slept in car. Do I deserve a refund?
At the very least, you will always have the right to initiate a claim (and not pay the disputed amount) while the credit card company investigates.
