Does This Hotel Owe Us A Free Night?
 

My wife and daughter are currently staying in a California hotel, paying $129 per night. There have been minor problems such as voice mail in room not working, operator connecting 10-12 calls to their room which were meant for other rooms, etc. <BR>On 4th night, key would not open door to the room. Luckily wife was inside and could open the door. Daughter goes to front desk...long story short the lock was broken and could not be fixed. Hotel advised that if they both left the room, even security could not get them back in. "We'll move you to a big suite upstairs for one night, no additional charge, then fix your lock tomorrow. However then you will have to move back to your regular room". Wife said no, if we must move, make it to a room where we can stay for 3 nights. <BR>Hotel moved them down the hall, but to a handicapped room. Wife told front desk she didn't want to take a handicapped room away from a possible handicapped guest and front desk person was rude, acted as if my wife were being "impossible" and told her that they had 2 other handicapped rooms so not to worry. <BR><BR>Next afternoon, walking by the front desk, low and behold if wife didn't overhear a very disappointed handicapped person needing a wheelchair room, saying they had a confirmed reservation, etc, and a flustered new desk person trying to figure out what happened. Wife approached and told desk that she was occupying a handicapped room and clerk said that if they'd please check out of it, she'd moved them to an upgraded room. Wife and daughter once again packed up everything (for a 7 day stay this was a pain in the butt - lots of clothes, etc) since they felt bad for the handicapped person. <BR><BR>Low and behold the hotel had actually moved them to a slightly DOWNGRADED room with smaller beds and no view. Wife and daughter were late for a meeting so just settled in with no further discussion with front desk. But this mess really put a damper on what should have been a hassle-free 7 day hotel stay. <BR><BR>So, minor problems, a forced room switch due to faulty keys, ANOTHER room switch due to incompetent desk personnel, don't you think that my wife should at the very least ask that one night be complimentary???<BR><BR>I am asking the advice of seasoned travelers who may have had problems at hotels in the past. Any comments are welcome, including "stop whining and pay the bill" type comments. Thanks

You should have spoken to the front desk manager, not just the staff. If you were not given a satisfactory room you should have checked out immediately. You could try sending a letter to the hotel management and if it's a chain send it to the corp. offices also. But don't be surprised if you get no response. In the future you must be a lot more forceful with your requests and don't be afraid to walk out. Seems like that hotel situation put a damper on your holiday ;) you put up with way too much aggrivation.

You should have spoken to a Manager while checking out and demanded a compensation, free night, or a discount. I have had less than pleasant experiences in a few hotels, and have always been given a discount, and in one case a free night.<BR>Perhaps it is not too late, write or call the headquarters.<BR>Good Luck!

I just want to know the name of the hotel so I don't make the mistake of staying there! Sounds like a nitemare.

I agree w/ the posting that you should send a letter to the corporate office and the manager.

Stop whining and pay the bill.<BR><BR>No matter HOW incompetent the staff were, or how unsatisfactory the rooms were, your wife and daughter accepted these rooms and used them. Unless the hotel is one of those (like Comfort Inns) that offer a 100-percent satisfaction guarantee, and they abided by the terms of the guarantee, they are not *entitled* to any compensation at all, including a free room. I think they should have accepted the original offer of an upgraded room for hte night when their lock was being repaired. Obviously, the hotel was near capacity (since they had no room available for 3 consecutiv nights except the handicap room)and IMHO this was a reasonable way to deal wtih the broken lock. You wife chose to take the handicapped room rather than move back to the original room after one night in the upgraded room.<BR><BR>Maybe this will teach them not to overpack next time.

Sure sounds like a nightmare to me. I think you're entitled to some type of compensation for all the inconvenience they went through. Definitely write a letter and see what happens. So sorry for them.<BR>Margie

I am almost certain that if you write this down in a letter to the hotel's corporate offices you'll get compensated with a free night or a big discount on a future stay. It's an incredibly competitive industry and repeat customers are essential to the chains' success. Comp nights are very cheap alternatives to bad publicity.

All you people who think that the OP is entitled to be outraged: What would you have done if you were the front-desk clerk and a room was unusable but fixable and then saw that no rooms were available for 3 nights except the handicapped room? <BR><BR>What was this person, or the manager, suposed to do to please these people? They offered an upgraded room while the original room was being fixed. Yes, the OP was inconvenienced while the room was being repaired, but I think they got a reasonable alternative under the circumstances and just don't understand how this was a "nightmare" except by his own lazy, overpacking wife's insistence.

If I had to move due to a problem, I would expect at least as good a room and probably better, and would not expect to have to move again. I would expect something in return for the inconvenience and I'd also most likely write a letter regarding the stay to someone in customer service with that hotel.

As a hotel general manager, I am constantly amazed at the number of "I hated my stay at your hotel" letters when we have no record of any guest complaints. Your best course of action is to notify a manager while at the hotel. Otherwise, I assume many people are just trying to get something for free and are embellishing the story to accomplish this. I'd probably give Hector a free night but not as much as he would have gotten had he notified me while he was a guest!

I did not post the name of the hotel pending response from management, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt at this point. Wife was told that the manager would not be available until Monday morning (this happened on Friday night). <BR><BR>I neglected to post that it took TWO HOURS from the original lock problem before the hotel personnel decided that it just couldn't be fixed, and that they would have to move. Wife and daughter were headed out for dinner at the time and were delayed from 6:45pm to 8:45pm for this mess. <BR>Also, I have emailed a letter to the general manager from my home, at the address given on the hotel website. The email bounced back as undeliverable. <BR><BR>The way that I found out about this incident was that I phoned my wife, and was told that she had checked out. I was insistent that she was still there, and the beligerent phone clerk just kept saying that his computer doesn't lie. After 3 minutes of persistence, he finally checked further and found that her name had been mis-spelled. "I'll connect you sir. It seems she checked out and then checked back in, probably to get a better room rate, and on second check-in to the new room, her name was misspelled. This sometimes happens when guests insist on doing this kind of thing to save a few dollars. I'll connect you now". Geesh! <BR><BR>Also, this is Carmel/Monterey on a weekend and finding another hotel would not have been easy.

Hector, <BR>I agree with those that think you deserve compensation, and an apology!<BR>If the hotel does not come through, you would be doing all of us a favor if you post their name on this board.<BR>Good luck!

Oh give me a break! if this isn't a troll, then I don't know what you'd call it!<BR>--A lock that couldn't be fixed? Hotels pop locks in and out of doors every day!<BR><BR>--They refuse the suite overnight, but take a handicapped room knowing they feel guilty, and then giving it up to said person when 2 other rooms are available? <BR><BR>--A hotel that isn't afraid of ADA and would just turn away a handicapped person with a confirmed reservation, who just happens to be there and speaking loudly enough for her to hear when she strolls through the lobby?<BR><BR>--And a hotel that has no weekend manager? Come on! Every hotel has about 3 managers on duty at any one time. Only if you push will you get them to admit that they aren't THE manager. <BR>--And why are you e-mailing when according to your post, your wife currently is still there. Why doesn't she take care of this in person?<BR>--And after all this, Hector doesn't want ot post the hotel in order to give management the benefit of the doubt?<BR>Admit you're game and quit heckling us, Hector .

Please quit responding to this. We are about to get divorced and Hector is just trying to create evidence that I am an idiot, so I won't be given much in Divorce court. Any fool knows that hotels in Carmel don't go for $129 a night. the bottom line is that i changed rooms so he wouldn't be able to keep calling. Damn the clerk who gave out my new room number. I'll have to ask for compensation for this!

Well, what can I say? there aint much to do in Minot in the summer..especially if you're not old enough to drink.

I did not post that last comment, someone else did with my name. <BR><BR>The room rate over 7 days averages out to 129 per night. <BR><BR>The girls did not know they had been "placed" into a handicapped room until after they entered it. They had refused the "suite" because they didn't want to move again after one night. <BR><BR>The two other handicapped rooms were taken. Whether there were handicapped tenants in these rooms I do not know. <BR><BR>This is not a troll. Once I post the name of the hotel you can call them and check for yourself. <BR><BR>I too find it odd that nobody could fix one of these key-card door locks, after two hours of trying.

If the story is true, and the post is titled "Does this hotel owe us a free night?" I think it begs the question "why would you want a free night" By asking for a free night you are saying well it really wasn't that bad and we wouldn't mind staying in your hotel again. So, why would they give you a free night? I would think you wouldn't ever want to stay there again, not go back for another night.<BR>

maybe he means they should credit him for a free night...i.e. "refund"

$129 a night in Carmel is chump change.<BR>Any major upscale hotel chain would certainly compensate Mr. Hector's wife.<BR>With lesser chains and independent hotels, anything goes. You never know what you'll get.<BR>I agree that this post does have a bit of a trollish odor to it.

An unfortunate, annoying set of circumstances? To be sure. <BR><BR>But...a nightmare?? Spoiled, ratty Fodorites - woefully out of touch with the real world: get a grip! Too bad there are too many out there who have forgotten, in just a few short months, the difference between minor inconvenience and a true nightmare.

"Bratty" Fodorites, that was supposed to be...

I thought "ratty" was fine!

Listen people, x is right. Sure it's been months, but I still break into cold sweats just thinking about &lt;&lt;spooky music&gt;&gt; "The Nightmare At Tavern On The Green"!

The manager will say "what would you like me to do to make this up to you?" and your wife will say "we would like the night that we had to move twice to be complimentary" and the manager will say "well I can't do THAT, but what I CAN do is give you a certificate for a free night on a future stay at our hotel."<BR><BR>This is not difficult to predict. All these people go to the same "customer service seminars" and have the same well-rehearsed answers to everything. There is no such thing as true customer service these days, service workers are just trained seals.

It's the fault of poor management that nobody was on duty who could fix a door lock. <BR><BR>It's the fault of poor employees that they put you into a handicapped room that they needed for someone else. <BR><BR>It's not their fault that the hotel was full and they had a difficult time finding you another room, but they wouldn't have had this problem if they weren't too cheap to have adequate, competent staff on hand to fix broken door locks. <BR><BR>If you were indeed moved to a "downgraded" room you deserve a break on the room rate at the very least. Since you stayed so many nights you should be considered a valued customer and a good manager would comp one night's room for you for the night that you had to move twice and delay your plans. A locksmith would have cost them a lot more.

I am not saying hector is a troll, necessarily. But some things to consider.... any hotel in Monterey or Carmel that charges only $129 the week of July 4 is not one of the major upscale chains nor a charming boutique hotel. It is probably of a Days Inn, Red Roof, Comfort Inn type. That doesn't mean they don't deserve good customer service - BUT THEY WERE OFFERED A SUITE for the night. Seems fair to me! <BR><BR>And why can't his wife handle this herself? <BR><BR>I once had a similar problem - I also didn't understand why the card lock couldn't be repaired. But it couldn't. The hotel upgraded me for one night and I willingly moved back to my room the next night. <BR><BR>When I checked out I discovered they had comped my breakfast. I appreciated it but certainly didn't expect or demand it.

Only if you can convince someone there to grant you one. But, why, oh why, would you even consider returning?

Hector:<BR><BR>1. Jen and everyone else who says you have no complaint are wrong wrong wrong. You were treated abysmally.<BR><BR>2. You or your wife should have spoken to the manager very soon after the broken-lock incident. No way should more than one move have been needed, but had you spoken to the manager right away, it's likely the rest of the story wouldn't have been so miserable. And, as someone noted, it is hard for a hotel to know what's happening if no one says anything until after checkout.<BR><BR>3. Write to the hotel because they need to know just how wrong things can go there, not because you can expect any compensation. Unless it's a chain, another free night may be all you'd get and why go back? And they aren't going to refund any money unless they are feeling really worried about the PR or are really contrite and fundamentally more of a class-act than they sound.<BR><BR>

First of all when Hector wrote, on Sunday, his wife was still at the hotel, so he wsan't talking about a free future night, he was talking about being comped on THAT bill.<BR><BR>As far as two moves being unnecessary, if the hotel was fully booked, how was this to be avoided? How would you like it if you were the person who had reserved the big suite, and arrived only to be told "Sorry, we had to give it away to another family when their lock broke, but we'll give you a discount on their little room, since the lock is now fixed."

You at least deserve acknowledgment that they made several mistakes. In my business, once something goes wrong with one account, things sometimes turn into a total train wreck and it sounds that way here. <BR><BR>At the very least, they have a SERIOUS problem with their switchboard/phone people. <BR><BR>And they should have kept your family in the upgrade-level room without having to move again. <BR><BR>And it's "lo and behold," not "low...", just for the record.<BR><BR>Please tell us the name of the hotel and whether you acted on this situation or not. <BR><BR>

Hector,<BR> I had same sort of experience, reserved rooms with guarantee that I would get certain rooms ( happened twice at different hotels in different places)last time the rooms we settled for had spiders, loud music from parking lot all night long, toilet ran, and no hot water if anyone else was showering, the walls were filthy etc. We were also in a high tourist area (Niagara Falls Ontario) I made a list of the complaints, and presented them to the desk as I checked out, and received one night free immedately, with much apology. Better luck next time.

Some hotel chains (comfort Inn, definintely, and some Embassy Suites) do have a 100-percent-satisfaction guarantee. But Comfort Inn's specifies that you have to notify the staff right away about your coplaint, to give them a chance to fix it, which seems only sporting. <BR><BR>I was comped a night at ES when I complained repeatedly about a band of noisy teens who ran around the halls into the wee hours -- it sorta soured me on those hotels that are set up with the big atriums.

Hector, bubbe, please, next time, tell your wife and your daughter to get on the pay phone, call another hotel (tell them the circumstances) and then threaten to check out. Also threaten to revoke charges on the credit card that you used to check in.<BR><BR>Oh, god, Hector, please tell me you didn't use cash.<BR><BR>Hector, you guys really screwed this up. You could have had them in the palm of your hand, but instead, THEY had YOU in the palms of their hand.

Was this the Carmel Mission Inn? <BR><BR>I'd be willing to bet money that it was. They have a special of $59 listed on their website, valid Sundays and Mondays through August. When I called to inquire, the reservationist told me that I must have been looking at someone else's website! When I asked for the manager, he said to call back in a while as he was tied up with a locksmith at the moment! Then I remembered this thread that I had read about a hotel in Carmel with a lock problem!

Hector,<BR><BR>You should have checked out and went to another hotel. Why didn't YOU take that option?<BR><BR>I know you like having your laundry list grow with all those unforgivable items....to act as leverage in getting something for nothing at a later time.<BR><BR>However, you created a lot of your own problems by not taking control of the situation. The fact that your wife couldn't be consoled with any peace offering handed to her is not the hotel staff's responsibility. She may agree with your something for nothing philosophy and was acting in support of your cause.<BR><BR>Nice try, but no cigar.

Sorry Mr Travels-a-lot but no customer of any hotel should have to accept a "peace offering". Whether the hotel is $150 or $59, you should get what you reserved and not have to jump through hoops because of mismanagement. The hotel personnel should be the ones jumping through hoops for the customers.

Yes indeed this was the Carmel Mission Inn, the room rate was $89 for weeknights and $169 on weekends. <BR>They really enjoyed the hotel, (room etc was clean and renovated and large) until they had to start dealing with one little annoyance after another. <BR><BR>Most maddening part of it for my wife was that there were several rooms available, the incompetent desk clerk had simply made an error by putting them into a handicapped room and then "couldn't be bothered" to make another change for them. He was too busy playing cards at the desk with another employee. <BR><BR>If you decide to stay at this hotel, try to deal only with Nikita at the front desk and she is apparently the only one who is not on automatic pilot. Also, the rates from bestwestern.com are often better than the rates quoted directly from the hotel desk. <BR><BR>The manager of this hotel never did get in touch with my wife while she was staying at the hotel (or afterwards), even though she left 3 messages at the front desk and I sent emails from home both before and after the visit. At checkout time, my wife meekly requested (as is her style) that an adjustment be made to the bill because of the annoyances, and she was told that nobody could make adjustments to the bill except for the manager, and that he would not be in until the next morning. <BR><BR>After reading this thread, my wife has told me not to bother to write a snail mail to the hotel, and to just drop it. She did however, talk 2 of her friends into staying elsewhere, and that is probably the best way to deal with hotels that do not treat you as you'd like to be treated.

Justice could not be better served than to broadcast their name to everyone. (Done finally) You are due some sort of retribution in my opinion although it is best to address it when it happens or when you check out. Contact the hotel & if you get unsatisfactory results Conde' Nast Traveler (magazine) is good @ applying heat as well.