Originally Posted by
xiphoid76
I emailed Hilton customer service and got a reply from them that they forwarded it on to the manager of the hotel...which I specifically asked them not to do as my problem was with the manager.
FYI: All complaints made via the chain (either online or by phone) automatically get routed back to the hotel for resolution. Every hotel group operates the same way. It's standard operating procedure for complaints.
Originally Posted by
xiphoid76
Looking back I am wondering though if I was wrong - does check in time mean something different? Maybe he was right and it only means that is when you can start asking if a room is ready?
No, you're not wrong. That's coming from someone that worked in hotels for over a decade.
Occasionally, it's not possible to check a guest in right at 3pm/4pm. When that happens, the hotel will ask the guest to return later. Most guests are understanding...exactly as you were, at first.
With the exception of suites, it shouldn't take longer than 1 hour to clean a room. As such, the longest a hotel should ask a guest to wait is an hour. And if a guest does have to wait, the hotel should proactively offer something to thank the guest for being patient.
Originally Posted by
xiphoid76
Now I also asked for a full refund of my points and quoted the 100% satisfaction guarantee.
This is be the end of the story. One of the chains in which I worked has a 100% guest satisfaction guarantee. When invoked, we were required to refund the stay.
I'm speculating, but once the staff at Central Reservations who received your complaint saw it was for a hotel stay, she or he simply forwarded it to the hotel without reading it.
If the hotel refuses to refund the stay, you should call Hilton. Tell whoever answers that you tried to invoke the Hampton Inn Guarantee but the hotel is refusing. That should be all that's necessary. Hilton Corporate should issue the refund and charge it back to the hotel.