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  • Self sighting (maybe?) on my vacation.

    This is a little bit of a self sighting as well as a thought process before I call the hotel to complain... *grumbles*

    A year ago I book a hotel room for me and three friends. Its at a fancy hotel connected to the convention center we want to visit. The price is pretty steep and we four are broke college students but figure as long as we are there and not cramming 50 people in a room, alls well.

    I'm the only one with a job and credit/debit card. The other three come up with the exact room fee they owed plus parking. I had MAYBE $20 extra in my hand.

    We get to the hotel and I go check in with one friend when the others go park. I say to the woman at the desk "We plan on paying with cash, do I need to pay in full now or do you just need to put a hold on my debit card?" She replies that we do not need to pay in full now.

    "Ok, There is only $150ish on that card, is that alright? Its for bills coming out at the end of the month." She replies yes. Mmkay, sweet.

    Guys park, bring our stuff to the room, two of them decide they wanna go visit family in the area, I tell them have fun and pay for the parking pass at the front desk. As five minutes pass, they knock on the door and my cell phone is busy exploding from my bank. The hotel runs the full price on my debit card and they are threatening to kick us from the room if we don't pay RIGHT NOW.

    I go down to the desk with the room money in cash and get a little annoyed. I have a new woman at the desk and I explain that I was told I could of paid at check out and that I was told my card was fine. She apologizes pretty... crappily... and I ask her the total so I can pay.

    Hotel Clerk: $1,105
    Me: ....wait, that is not right. *I pull out my phone, my email inbox, and the email stating my price at the hotel is $986*
    Me: Ok, now, Where is this extra $120 coming from?
    HC: No, your total is $1105. That price is wrong.
    Me: *shows phone* This is the email I revived when I booked this room. I was NEVER notified of a price change and this is all the money I have.
    HC: Well, taxes just went up in this area about a month ago, that should account for the difference in price.
    Me: Thats fine and good and I understand that but NOBODY TOLD ME. I do not have this extra money!
    HC:Well there is nothing I can do then. You owe *price*.

    I lost it here... I wasn't screaming but I got loud. I felt so bad saying "Well gee, I guess nobody knows how to run a freaking business huh?" My friends pulled me away from the desk.

    Friend: I'm sorry about her...
    Me: Don't be sorry for me! I'm not sorry!

    *hangs head in shame* I was a SC ; ;

    They continue talking to HC who explains if we don't pay now the keys will deactivate and we will be escorted out by police. I call my mom who gets my ranting raving bitching version of the story and offers to plop $200 in my paypal account so I can use what was left in my bank account to pay for the room and then I can move the $200 into my checking for my bills... I relay this to the woman behind the desk.

    I also ask to speak to a manager. HC says the manager on duty is busy. I write my cell number down and hand it to her and tell her to have the manager call me asap.

    I still haven't heard from any manager after requesting to speak to one every day (I plan on calling them now). The hotel service was pretty awful too, it took over an hour at noon to get some toilet paper for our room. During check out, I decided to brave the stairs to get some stuff out of my room since the elevators were packed and we were only on the 5th floor. All the exits were locked. I tried using the "for emergencies only" door (labeled as such) and it too was locked. When I managed to find a hotel employee to ask why the stairs were locked he responded "We won't be responsible if someone falls and hurts themselves."

    I can understand taxes go up. Its fine, really. I'm more miffed at the fact that I was never informed! The hotel sent me an email WITH MY TOTAL ON IT, a week prior to me staying there. If they knew the taxes went up "a month ago" why was I never informed? I don't wanna be a SC any more but...
    You seem to harbor barbaric tendencies. I suggest you visit a physician at your earliest convenience.

  • #2
    Sorry, but I don't see the suck here. You had written confirmation of your reservation and the price quoted. You discussed payment with the clerk at check in.

    Someone else changed the rules on you, and had a crappy attitude about it to boot. They should have gotten the manager involved when you started getting upset.

    I had a similar experience with a debit card years ago, at Gen Con. Similar situation; had 3 friends sharing a room reserved in my name. I told the clerk I was paying with a debit card. They told me they would debit my card each day of my stay. I was OK with this.

    What they actually did was put a hold on my checking account for the total of each day owed each day of my stay.

    In other words, say the price was $90/day. Day one they put a hold on for 90 bucks; day 2, 180 bucks, etc. By the third day, the culmination of holds exceeded both the total cost of the room for my four day stay, but also my checking account. I was quickly racking up overdraft charges, as I was spending quite freely in the dealer's room at the Con.

    It was a major headache to fix, and the hotel refused to release the hold on my bank account until I actually paid for the room . . . which I couldn't do because the account was now overdrawn. I had to break down and call my parents, who were understanding and put the charges on their credit card. I went through corporate later, and got the excess charges reversed, and got paid back for the overdraft charges. But the next year I went, I paid in cash, upfront.
    They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

    Comment


    • #3
      hold up, what do you mean the stairs and emergency exit was locked? Isn't that a major no no in the fire code? I'm sure a customer getting hurt and suing because of falling down the stairs is far less severe than the penalties for blocking fire exits.

      Comment


      • #4
        Quoth Project_Mars View Post
        hold up, what do you mean the stairs and emergency exit was locked? Isn't that a major no no in the fire code? I'm sure a customer getting hurt and suing because of falling down the stairs is far less severe than the penalties for blocking fire exits.
        All public buildings over x amount (not sure the amount) of square footage have to have at least 2 stair towers for emergency exits, and they must be firerated (fire can't breach for 2 hours) and must always be open and accessible unless the floor has no exit.

        For example the door to the roof can be locked off, but every floor that houses people has to be open.

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        • #5
          Not giving you an update on the price change is sucky. Getting ticked off that they didn't do this, charged your card when they said they wouldn't, and having an aptitude with you Isn't sucky.

          As for locked stairwells:
          They probably would open ONLY in the direction emergency traffic should be flowing, aka:
          They open in from all floors that don't have an exit from the building and out onto all floors that do have an exit from the building (so you could enter the stairs on the 10th floor, and only exit on the first, unless you are in the Escher Hotel).


          Addendum:
          I have to admit I love not being a broke college/HS student any more. It means that when I go to cons (not often enough) I buy my own room, I don't have to deal with 20 people in a room, I don't have to deal with people not paying me back, etc etc etc.

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          • #6
            I came home to another batch of random charges on my debit card from the hotel. I'm so freaking mad...
            You seem to harbor barbaric tendencies. I suggest you visit a physician at your earliest convenience.

            Comment


            • #7
              Not sucky. They gave you a price, dropped the ball to let you know there might be a price change, and then expected you to be okay with it after the fact. It's like being told that you have to pay the difference for the gas you pumped as the attendant was changing the price. Not cool at all.
              Random conversation:
              Me: Okay..so I think I get why Zoro wears a bandana
              DDD: Cuz it's cool

              So, by using the Doctor's reasoning, bow ties, fezzes and bandanas are cool.

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              • #8
                I must say, I'm not impressed with them not telling you about the tax change either. We just had one here, and affected services all had double price lists. I'm fairly sure that most online reservation services would have correctly added the tax on. Not that difficult a concept. (I know you weren't here, because if you booked a year ago you wouldn't have paid the tax anyhow ).

                I might give you some SC credit for yelling at the clerk, but even if there is nothing she can do, she can have some compassion about it!

                Comment


                • #9
                  IDK I'm not in the hotel biz but it seems to me that if you have a confirmation from the place you booked at with the price on it that is only a week old, they should have honored it. And if you are being a justifiable SC then it's really more of their fault for dropping the ball.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Yelling was sucky and things were getting out of control. You know you handled it poorly, but you had a right to be pissed. It's possible the yelling may be why the desk clerk mentioned calling the police, but I have to wonder, if you were truly that frightening, why were you given the option of paying the higher price at all? Calming down would've helped your cause and possibly netted a different result, though I doubt it considering the total lack of empathy the hotel displayed.

                    If this is indeed a higher-end hotel with convention center, then a manager was somewhere. Busy or not, I would've demanded (as you did) to speak with them and then insisted I wait for them to become available. Unfortunately, the clerk already made it clear that you had to pay the higher rate or else.

                    Is this a franchise? Do they have a corporate number? For something like this, I'd call from my cell phone right there in the lobby. Even if this lone clerk didn't care, most hotels don't like having themselves look bad in the lobby for all to see. Corporate should've been able to help you. Also, how was the reservation placed? Would you have been able to call reservations and get them to clarify things at the hotel level?

                    I can't even begin to guess at the random hotel charges you just mentioned. I'm getting angry just thinking about it.

                    By the way, you should consider putting your complaint in writing (email) and send it up the food chain, not just hotel level. Keep it polite and on point. You want a refund of the $120.00 overcharge and any of the additional random charges. You could also do a chargeback for the overcharge through your credit card. Unfortunately, they may very well side with the hotel since I assume you signed the registration card with the higher rate. In a situation like that, it may help to sign the card, but note on it that you do so reluctantly and why.

                    It just sucks that not only were you screwed over, they took advantage of the fact that you were a captive audience with limited options. I'd like to blame only the desk clerk for the terrible experience and for a manager not getting a message the first time, but every time?

                    And I'm not even going to mention my thoughts on blocking the stair and fire exits.
                    A lion however, will only devour your corpse, whereas an SC is not sated until they have destroyed your soul. (Quote per infinitemonkies)

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The fire exit being locked is a MASSIVE safety risk. People DIE in tower fires.

                      Leave the building, and call the fire brigade. Non-emergency line if possible, but call them and notify them. Don't be in a building you can't get out of quickly without using an elevator, if you can possibly help it.

                      To be honest, I'm focussing more on them putting you in danger of your life than in danger of money problems. Money problems can ultimately be sorted out.


                      Send a letter to corporate about the money problems.

                      Send a letter to the fire brigade in their town about the fire stairs.
                      Seshat's self-help guide:
                      1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                      2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                      3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                      4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                      "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I wanted to cool off and enjoy my weekend so I opted out of the "call corporate in the lobby" route. It was Otakon weekend, had I lost this hotel room I was pretty much SOL from there. I've written a very detailed email and if I don't hear from them soon, I'm going to call.

                        I did call the hotel in a very... angry way when I saw that they overdrew me and after leaving my name and number for someone to return my call, all of a sudden the charges were instantly reversed... I'm debating transferring all the rest of the money out of my checking account just so they cant run anything anymore x.x;
                        You seem to harbor barbaric tendencies. I suggest you visit a physician at your earliest convenience.

                        Comment

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