My Hotel Experience in Tempe, AZ

I recently had an interesting stay in a hotel in Arizona...

The hotel stay wasn't perfect and generated this letter of complaint... I figured that you might all get a kick out of it.

I have changed the names of the hotel and people to protect the innocent.


March 18, 2005

HOTEL ADDRESS

To MANAGERS,

I regret that I have to draft this letter. On Sunday, March 13, 2005, my wife and I checked out of your hotel after a 3-night stay. I was part of a wedding group but I would have chosen your hotel regardless because of the HOTEL name. However, my recent stay has reduced my overall impression of HOTEL properties.

On July 1, 2004, I made a reservation with your hotel for a two-night stay. I was going to use my HOTEL Reward points for the trip. A few months later, I extended the stay to a three-night stay with the understanding that I would be paying for the third night at the wedding rate. For both of these arrangements, I received a confirmation email. A copy of the original email and a reconfirmation email from March 6, 2005 are attached.

When I arrived on Thursday, March 10, 2005, I was eventually supplied with a room. Upon entering the room, it was obvious that the person residing in the room had not checked out yet. This was not the most auspicious of beginnings. I returned to the desk and was given another room.

During check in, I asked the front clerk named SUZIE to add my wife to the room as she was coming in on another flight and I needed her to have access to the room upon her arrival.

On Saturday morning, we received an express check out form under our door (attached). The form indicated that my wife would be checking out even though it was my name that was on the account. I went to the front desk to alert them of the error and to make sure that we still had another night. The young lady at the front desk assured me that all was fine with my reservation. She indicated that she would correct the problem of the erroneous check out date.

At 5:00 p.m. that evening, we received a phone call from the front desk asking us why we hadn’t yet checked out of the room.

I went to the front desk and spoke with CHUCKIE. He understood the problem and listened to my concerns about how all the small things added up to a much larger problem. CHUCKIE offered to credit my last night in the hotel and I accepted.

On Sunday morning, I woke up to another Express Check Out form under my door. This time, the form indicated that I would be receiving the previous night’s stay for no charge, but it charged me for the first two nights! Not only was I charged in error for the stay that my Marriott points had been used to cover, but the charge was a standard rate despite my having initially secured the group-wedding rate. I immediately went to the front desk to rectify the situation and spoke to Jason. Jason was as helpful as he could be but he still passed on the responsibility to CHUCKIE's arrival later that morning.

It took 3 more phone calls from the airport to finally receive confirmation that all was finally resolved with my bill. I have recently returned and received another Guest Folio that indicates a zero balance with your hotel.

When people stay at a HOTEL , they expect comfort and ease. The anxiety created each day made my stay at your hotel a difficult one. I stay at HOTELs whenever possible and as evidence of that, I was using HOTEL Reward points for my stay.

I wanted to draw your attention to this matter because this particular stay did not meet our expectations. Although we were compensated for our aggravation, I wanted to write in the hope that future stays for me and other guests will be marked by HOTEL's usual excellent standards.

Thank you for your attention; I remain open to you at any time by telephone or by email.

Sincerely,

The SMELMOOO

Cc: VP of Customer Relations or Customer Service – VIA EMAIL