Photo by Jilly Wendell
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On Your Side
Hotel Hell
By Ron Burley, July & August 2007
Can you get a refund for poor accommodations?
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Q: During the recent Air Force Memorial dedication in Washington, D.C., my family and I had a bad experience with staff at the Days Inn Arlington. We weren’t given handicap-accessible rooms, as the reservationist had promised, and the room my wife and I did get was clearly under construction: it smelled of urine, had a bad faucet, and the door wouldn’t latch properly. Complaining to the front desk did no good—no one ever even inspected the room. Our family’s total cost was $1,070.10. Do we have any chance of getting our money back? —Greg Williamson, Mount Sterling, Kentucky
A: To understand what we’re up against in solving this problem, here are a few hotel-industry facts:
1. At least 80 percent of midpriced hotels (including the Days Inn you stayed at) are franchise operations; corporate offices have little input on day-to-day operations.
2. Like airlines, hotels can overbook: they are not required to have space for you, even if your reservation was confirmed online, nor do they have to give you the specific type of room you requested.
Clearly there’s a big difference between what’s legal and what most of us would consider good business practice.
Contacting On Your Side was a good move. I started with a quick Internet search, which revealed that Days Inn is actually owned by the Wyndham Hotel Group. My call to the company’s headquarters netted Stacey Kennedy, senior manager of consumer relations. Kennedy acknowledged that the treatment you received was not up to company standards and generously offered a full refund for your stay—proving that often the best way to solve a problem is to climb the corporate ladder until you find a sympathetic listener who understands the long-term cost of a dissatisfied customer. Here are three additional tips to help you get what you paid for from an irksome innkeeper.
Tip 1 Take notes when making your reservations. Jot down the agent’s name, ID number, the date and time of the call, and any special accommodations you are requesting. Be sure to bring those notes when you check in.
Tip 2 Join the hotel’s member program. Most of them are free, and membership will signal to the staff that you are a frequent guest—even if you aren’t.
Tip 3 Leverage your consumer power. Let staff know you represent tons of potential customers and will share your experiences with them. (Don’t think you’re part of an important group? Hey, you’re an AARP member!)
Total money recovered by On Your Side: $1,070.10.
Ron Burley is a consumer reporter and author of Unscrewed: The Consumer’s Guide to Getting What You Paid For (Ten Speed Press, 2006).
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