1st Hotel Closed, 2nd had ants in the bed
Sep 21, 2017, 7:18 am
#16
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,252
The closed hotel is a massive fail by Hilton corporate as well as the management of that hotel. As for the ants, I would be willing to bet there are a lot of hotels that went through the Hurricane aftermath who have what I would classify as major service issues, many of which may not be apparent to hotel management until the guest is experiencing them so I will give them a lot more leeway. Quite frankly I would not want to stay in a hotel in those areas since there is a high probability it would be fraught with issues.
Oct 11, 2017, 5:52 am
#17
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Koblenz, Germany
Programs: Emirates, Turkish, OmanAir, Lufthansa, United
Posts: 11
Similar Situation
A similar story, although no bugs are involved:
A year ago I arrived in Milan, proceeded to my hotel booked via Expedia, to be told at check-in that the hotel was full and that they had no contract with Expedia. So why then was I able to book at that hotel with them?
The friendly manager called Expedia, who admitted that they no longer represented the hotel nor were entitled to. They could also not explain how this "regrettable incident" occurred, and offered to rebook me to a property of "similar or better" value.
I was rebooked to a hotel that cost me a $110 cab ride, and upon arrival informed that the breakfast included in my previous rate was also no longer included. Upon reaching Expedia again, I was "escalated" to a "manager" who made a new half-dozen excuses and apologies, then claimed she was posting a $300 voucher to be used with my next reservation through Expedia to my account.
To date, no such voucher has ever been received or made available, I have never received any refunds or other written communications, much less any valid explanation or apology. My reaction to the lies by Expedia has been to advise as many business colleagues as possible to no longer use them, to write them directly (sadly, to no avail) and to post negative reviews on various sites.
It seems that scams run even by major U.S. companies abound, as we can see by the original post. No one should have to be subjected to this kind of nonsense.
After 20 years as a manager of properties ranging from one-star (Motel 6) to 5-stars (Chicago Gold Coast) and everything in between, I can definitely tell you that ants in the bed is not a minor complaint. Also, immediately demanding to speak to the manager, as one other person here advised, should not be necessary in any well-run establishment, although after rough weather and due to unforeseen circumstances, it is not uncommon to have such "invasions."
What should have been done is that the telephone operator or desk clerk immediately consulted the manager his/herself, then found another room (perhaps one still being held for a pending arrival) and moved the poster to that room after ascertaining it didn't have the same problem, which did occur.
Following that and a profuse apology from the manager, the first room should have been thoroughly cleaned and sprayed in short order to restore it to readiness for the still-to-arrive guest. A refund of the first night's stay or a voucher for a restaurant or other acknowledgement would also have been appropriate, but to get anything like that, it is necessary to ask for it.
The incident also shows that some serious retraining at the desk/switchboard of the property in question is in order.
Since the poster is a Diamond client, s/he may want to contact them directly to report the incident and have the Diamond Desk deal with the property and obtain an apology or at least a partial refund.
Bad reviews are never petty, as one other reader advised. Any good manager takes every bad review seriously and learns from it.
A year ago I arrived in Milan, proceeded to my hotel booked via Expedia, to be told at check-in that the hotel was full and that they had no contract with Expedia. So why then was I able to book at that hotel with them?
The friendly manager called Expedia, who admitted that they no longer represented the hotel nor were entitled to. They could also not explain how this "regrettable incident" occurred, and offered to rebook me to a property of "similar or better" value.
I was rebooked to a hotel that cost me a $110 cab ride, and upon arrival informed that the breakfast included in my previous rate was also no longer included. Upon reaching Expedia again, I was "escalated" to a "manager" who made a new half-dozen excuses and apologies, then claimed she was posting a $300 voucher to be used with my next reservation through Expedia to my account.
To date, no such voucher has ever been received or made available, I have never received any refunds or other written communications, much less any valid explanation or apology. My reaction to the lies by Expedia has been to advise as many business colleagues as possible to no longer use them, to write them directly (sadly, to no avail) and to post negative reviews on various sites.
It seems that scams run even by major U.S. companies abound, as we can see by the original post. No one should have to be subjected to this kind of nonsense.
After 20 years as a manager of properties ranging from one-star (Motel 6) to 5-stars (Chicago Gold Coast) and everything in between, I can definitely tell you that ants in the bed is not a minor complaint. Also, immediately demanding to speak to the manager, as one other person here advised, should not be necessary in any well-run establishment, although after rough weather and due to unforeseen circumstances, it is not uncommon to have such "invasions."
What should have been done is that the telephone operator or desk clerk immediately consulted the manager his/herself, then found another room (perhaps one still being held for a pending arrival) and moved the poster to that room after ascertaining it didn't have the same problem, which did occur.
Following that and a profuse apology from the manager, the first room should have been thoroughly cleaned and sprayed in short order to restore it to readiness for the still-to-arrive guest. A refund of the first night's stay or a voucher for a restaurant or other acknowledgement would also have been appropriate, but to get anything like that, it is necessary to ask for it.
The incident also shows that some serious retraining at the desk/switchboard of the property in question is in order.
Since the poster is a Diamond client, s/he may want to contact them directly to report the incident and have the Diamond Desk deal with the property and obtain an apology or at least a partial refund.
Bad reviews are never petty, as one other reader advised. Any good manager takes every bad review seriously and learns from it.
Last edited by Gallivanter; Oct 11, 2017 at 5:57 am
Oct 11, 2017, 6:02 am
#18
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Koblenz, Germany
Programs: Emirates, Turkish, OmanAir, Lufthansa, United
Posts: 11
Basic steps in complaining effectively
Best way to deal with hotel problems:
Call the desk in the hotel immediately.
If no solution is forthcoming, visit the desk. If the employee there is unable or unwilling to help, politely ask to speak with the manager on duty.
Allow the manager on duty to make suggestions as to how s/he will ameliorate the situation. The response from the MOD should include a sincere apology, a corrective measure and, if you ask politely what else can be done, some extra bonus such as a free meal, or (in the case of a multi-night stay) no charge for the night the problem occurred.
Asking for a comp for the entire stay is unreasonable. If you don't speak up until check out, expect to receive nothing more than an apology. Those are the basics.
Call the desk in the hotel immediately.
If no solution is forthcoming, visit the desk. If the employee there is unable or unwilling to help, politely ask to speak with the manager on duty.
Allow the manager on duty to make suggestions as to how s/he will ameliorate the situation. The response from the MOD should include a sincere apology, a corrective measure and, if you ask politely what else can be done, some extra bonus such as a free meal, or (in the case of a multi-night stay) no charge for the night the problem occurred.
Asking for a comp for the entire stay is unreasonable. If you don't speak up until check out, expect to receive nothing more than an apology. Those are the basics.
Oct 11, 2017, 5:06 pm
#19
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Colorado
Programs: UA & IHG Plat, SWAlist, Frontier 100k, Marriott Titan, IHG-Hilton-Hyatt-Wynd Gold, Nat EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 445
I would say Disasters happen, move on with life.
Patrick
Patrick
HH Diamond Member - Made reservations @ the Hilton Singer Island on Sunday night for 4 nights starting today. Show up at the hotel today and sign in front of hotel stating "Hotel is Closed" - OK, no problem, I understand hurricane Irma is the root cause, but #1 - Why did they allow me to make reservations and #2 - When I called the hotel directly after reading the sign the best answer I received was "Well, I can give you some numbers to call to try and find a room..."
Called Diamond Desk as there very few hotels left available and the first answer I received was "nothing is available". They checked again and managed to get me into the Embassy Suites off PGA Boulevard. I checked in, got settled in, laid down and noticed an ant on my arm. Pulled back the covers and there were SEVERAL live ants seemingly having a party. Took a quick video, loaded my stuff up and went down to the front desk. Initially she proceeded to tell me they were fully booked but that she "could send engineering up" - Are you kidding me??? Currently sitting in another room (hopefully ant free), but plan to find another hotel tomorrow evening.
Besides writing a couple of reviews - How would you handle this?
Called Diamond Desk as there very few hotels left available and the first answer I received was "nothing is available". They checked again and managed to get me into the Embassy Suites off PGA Boulevard. I checked in, got settled in, laid down and noticed an ant on my arm. Pulled back the covers and there were SEVERAL live ants seemingly having a party. Took a quick video, loaded my stuff up and went down to the front desk. Initially she proceeded to tell me they were fully booked but that she "could send engineering up" - Are you kidding me??? Currently sitting in another room (hopefully ant free), but plan to find another hotel tomorrow evening.
Besides writing a couple of reviews - How would you handle this?
Oct 11, 2017, 10:26 pm
#20
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (SE), Virgin America Elevate, Hyatt Gold Passport (Platinum), VIA Preference
Posts: 3,134
As long as you're dealing with the chain alone, my view is that corporate should treat this as a "walk" (e.g. the hotel in question oversold their space...in this case because they were closed, but regardless of the cause, it's a walk): The hotel is on the hook for the replacement room as well as any contingent costs. Whether it was an IT glitch or a communications failure is beside the point (though that's something for Hilton corporate to sort out with the franchisee on their own time), especially since in most cases you'd be on the hook if you cancelled at the absolute last minute.
@Gallivanter: When third-party sellers get involved that gets more complicated since there's room for buck-passing; my instinct is that such a situation as was described there is probably fodder for some mixture of a credit card dispute and/or Small Claims Court, but that is highly jurisdiction-dependent. Under the circumstances I'd be disinclined to take a voucher from one of those companies as compensation (given their collective reputation), let alone waiting a year for it to post. FWIW if the hotel were to keep showing up on Expedia after some time, there's a fraud/negligence claim to be had by someone (either Expedia is committing fraud by advertising a rate at the hotel in question or has been negligent in removing the hotel from their system OR the hotel has been negligent in following up with them). It's possible you could make a drive at gross negligence if it's been a long time since they stopped representing the company in question...though in a case like this, choice of forum gets...er...interesting.
@Gallivanter: When third-party sellers get involved that gets more complicated since there's room for buck-passing; my instinct is that such a situation as was described there is probably fodder for some mixture of a credit card dispute and/or Small Claims Court, but that is highly jurisdiction-dependent. Under the circumstances I'd be disinclined to take a voucher from one of those companies as compensation (given their collective reputation), let alone waiting a year for it to post. FWIW if the hotel were to keep showing up on Expedia after some time, there's a fraud/negligence claim to be had by someone (either Expedia is committing fraud by advertising a rate at the hotel in question or has been negligent in removing the hotel from their system OR the hotel has been negligent in following up with them). It's possible you could make a drive at gross negligence if it's been a long time since they stopped representing the company in question...though in a case like this, choice of forum gets...er...interesting.
Oct 12, 2017, 1:47 pm
#21
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,570
(1) Bugs in my room (in this kind of volume) are unacceptable, period. I don't care how they got there. I would expect the hotel to immediately resolve, even if the resolution is a "walk". Not sleeping in a bed full of ants. Sorry.
(2) YES, I'd write a reivew, and NO writing about bugs is not a petty complaint. That's something the public needs to be aware of. I don't usually write reviews on Google, TripAdvisor, etc., but I probably would for this. I'd post here, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else I thought I might get views from people who otherwise might stay in that hotel.
(3) Never book through third parties unless you're absolutely forced to. And when you do, have a backup plan. Treat it like you would an Airbnb rental: know exactly what you're going to do if you show up and (a) the building isn't really there, (b) they have no knowledge of your reservation, (c) they're oversold and you're the bottom of the totem pole, (d) they see you and decide they don't like you, (e) other unexpected issues. Obviously only do so on the credit card you most trust to back you in a dispute. (For me this has been Amex.)
(2) YES, I'd write a reivew, and NO writing about bugs is not a petty complaint. That's something the public needs to be aware of. I don't usually write reviews on Google, TripAdvisor, etc., but I probably would for this. I'd post here, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else I thought I might get views from people who otherwise might stay in that hotel.
(3) Never book through third parties unless you're absolutely forced to. And when you do, have a backup plan. Treat it like you would an Airbnb rental: know exactly what you're going to do if you show up and (a) the building isn't really there, (b) they have no knowledge of your reservation, (c) they're oversold and you're the bottom of the totem pole, (d) they see you and decide they don't like you, (e) other unexpected issues. Obviously only do so on the credit card you most trust to back you in a dispute. (For me this has been Amex.)
Oct 12, 2017, 6:12 pm
#22
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: WN Nothing and spending the half million points from too many flights, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,043
As for the closed hotel: I would have been livid. I probably would not have been the person that you would want to be around. There are two many good ways to let me know to not do it.
Ants? What kind of ants were they? It makes a difference. Ground floor room? Anyway, I am a rural sort, so a few bugs are generally not a problem, but fire ants are a deal changer. I would have contacted the front desk with a proposal. I would go to Walmart or Lowes or Ace Hardware and get something to murder the ants. They would compensate me (with some points) for taking care of it. I would ask for a maid to strip the bed and start over. I would spray the perimeter of the room and around the bed. Or they could get me a different room.
I live in the country. We have ants in the house. We spray. They die. It is a rite of spring.
Ants? What kind of ants were they? It makes a difference. Ground floor room? Anyway, I am a rural sort, so a few bugs are generally not a problem, but fire ants are a deal changer. I would have contacted the front desk with a proposal. I would go to Walmart or Lowes or Ace Hardware and get something to murder the ants. They would compensate me (with some points) for taking care of it. I would ask for a maid to strip the bed and start over. I would spray the perimeter of the room and around the bed. Or they could get me a different room.
I live in the country. We have ants in the house. We spray. They die. It is a rite of spring.
Oct 13, 2017, 2:50 pm
#23
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,570
I've stayed in a lot of cabins and rural motels over the years. A few bugs in and around the room is completely normal in a lot of locations. Always helpful if the unit includes a guide to local spiders, since the scariest-looking ones often aren't venomous while the less-intimidating ones are. @:-)
But at a Hilton...a bed full of bugs...that's a no-go for me.
Apr 24, 2019, 6:33 am
#24
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Koblenz, Germany
Programs: Emirates, Turkish, OmanAir, Lufthansa, United
Posts: 11
Hi, thanks for the advice. I chose to vote with my feet and never ever use Expedia again. I also tell everyone I know of my adventure and know that many friends and family no longer use Expedia. Not the biggest boycott, but there are other, more honest and respectable organizations out there. I have received excellent service from both Agoda and Bookings and continue to stay with them.
Apr 24, 2019, 6:34 am
#25
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Koblenz, Germany
Programs: Emirates, Turkish, OmanAir, Lufthansa, United
Posts: 11
Hi, I was livid too. It was a nightmare that led to my leaving Italy and abandoning a (lousy) job there. Expedia and I are now divorced. They got the goldmine and I got the shaft.
Apr 24, 2019, 10:42 am
#26
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DTW
Programs: Alaska, Delta, Southwest
Posts: 1,663
Hi, thanks for the advice. I chose to vote with my feet and never ever use Expedia again. I also tell everyone I know of my adventure and know that many friends and family no longer use Expedia. Not the biggest boycott, but there are other, more honest and respectable organizations out there. I have received excellent service from both Agoda and Bookings and continue to stay with them.
I actually just made some bookings with Expedia before seeing this thread, but not by choice - it was using Chase points.
Apr 25, 2019, 1:14 pm
#28
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: LAX and LHR. UA lifetime Gold 1.9MM 1K , DL Gold Medallion, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis President's Club
Posts: 3,592
Best way to deal with hotel problems:
Call the desk in the hotel immediately.
If no solution is forthcoming, visit the desk. If the employee there is unable or unwilling to help, politely ask to speak with the manager on duty.
Allow the manager on duty to make suggestions as to how s/he will ameliorate the situation. The response from the MOD should include a sincere apology, a corrective measure and, if you ask politely what else can be done, some extra bonus such as a free meal, or (in the case of a multi-night stay) no charge for the night the problem occurred.
Asking for a comp for the entire stay is unreasonable. If you don't speak up until check out, expect to receive nothing more than an apology. Those are the basics.
Call the desk in the hotel immediately.
If no solution is forthcoming, visit the desk. If the employee there is unable or unwilling to help, politely ask to speak with the manager on duty.
Allow the manager on duty to make suggestions as to how s/he will ameliorate the situation. The response from the MOD should include a sincere apology, a corrective measure and, if you ask politely what else can be done, some extra bonus such as a free meal, or (in the case of a multi-night stay) no charge for the night the problem occurred.
Asking for a comp for the entire stay is unreasonable. If you don't speak up until check out, expect to receive nothing more than an apology. Those are the basics.
How many times have you had an issue, only to discover that there is no one on duty except the poor person at the desk? No manager available, or "I am the manager tonight" , or even "They left me here on my own" are all things I have heard, and I expect many others too.
And I, too, would like to know why this thread has suddenly been revived.....