Complaint Review: Best Western Holiday Inn Comfort Inn - Nationwide

I am indian and have been in the hotel industry for 12 years. From the 1996 till present I own a Comfort Inn franchise. I first of all would like to say how insulted I am by some of the above comments. The hotel industry has gotten so competitive in the last 15 years that franchise companies have made customer service a priority. These companies are very strict when they come to do your inspections. Inspections are judged individually in 3 seperate categories, which are Housekeeping, Maintenance and Administration. The maximum scor in each department is a thousand. Any score below 925 is a failure. If you fail an inspection you have 90 days to take corrective action, if the hotel does not comply within that time frame they are terminated and sewed for liquidated damages. Now, my response to the original letter. I find it hard to believe this gentleman in one trip had all these problems and only at foreign owned hotels (mainly Indian or Pakistani). First of all if you know any thing about the hotel chains that you mention, you would know that These perticular chains have probably the strictest policies in the industry. As you do not know then do some research on the net or contact the chains directly they will gladly help you. Your comments are nothing but racist. If you had called Choice Hotels to make a complain, trust me I know they would definatly investigate it. Have you always only had problems with indians or have had other problems with other races eg. white people in lets say a restaurant or retail store. Your story should be featured in the cartoon section as it is so funny. Did you know the hotel segment you critize to be flood by indians is the biggest and most popular segment. Business travellers choose this section more than those over chains and they travel through out the year. However I am going to offer you a sollution, you pay all of the taxes that we indians pay combined each and every year and we will give up the hotels. But, if we give up the hotels and you don't live up to yours .........well i'll let you figure that out.

The auditor had useful suggestions. I worked for years in FL, there is no such law about how many rooms at what rate etc. The sheet thing is a scam. I worked for Starwood in systems and I went to the W Hotel in NYC. They claim not to change your sheets due to environmental reasons. Scam. I was there at the regional meeting when they said it was to save money. Usually I just wipe the sheets with my coffe from the coffe maker. Therefore they are dirty and have to be replaced. Would you believe these Yahoos at the W Hotel in Time Sq actually made my be up with the dirty sheets. I was so mad. I have worked at motel 6 and Fours Seasons and no matter what type of hotel people want a clean room. That should NEVER be negotiable. And the Motel 6 in Arlington Heights IL is one of the few GOOD ONES. I worked my first job as a night auditor at Red Roof Inn (before Accor bought them they were nice) and I was 17 years old. How safe would you really feel knowing 135 rooms depend on ONE EMPLOYEE working all by himself 11pm-7am. Guests wanted me to come to their room. Not likely. That is why check your room out first thing. THE AUDITOR ABOVE WAS RIGHT.

In response to how all indians and aisan owners are dirty, shame on you all. i work for a hotel owned and operated by indians and they are the absolute best bosses i have ever had. they trully care about the customer and try to satisfy them at all cost, and that is coming from a full blooded southern american woman. i understand that some people do have bad experiences with another individual, but dont characterize that situation with a whole race. i believe it is unfair and insulting to write such nasty things about a particular race based on a bad experience with an individual. it really puts ideas in peoples heads and spreads this stereotype to others who may not want to contribute to asian run businesses, and who does that affect? hmmmm maybe me, a girl putting herself through college by being employeed by these indians who are so bad and dirty. shame on all of you who sterotype all these workers. they cannot help where they are from, but only what type of person they are.

In response to how all indians and aisan owners are dirty, shame on you all. i work for a hotel owned and operated by indians and they are the absolute best bosses i have ever had. they trully care about the customer and try to satisfy them at all cost, and that is coming from a full blooded southern american woman. i understand that some people do have bad experiences with another individual, but dont characterize that situation with a whole race. i believe it is unfair and insulting to write such nasty things about a particular race based on a bad experience with an individual. it really puts ideas in peoples heads and spreads this stereotype to others who may not want to contribute to asian run businesses, and who does that affect? hmmmm maybe me, a girl putting herself through college by being employeed by these indians who are so bad and dirty. shame on all of you who sterotype all these workers. they cannot help where they are from, but only what type of person they are.

In response to how all indians and aisan owners are dirty, shame on you all. i work for a hotel owned and operated by indians and they are the absolute best bosses i have ever had. they trully care about the customer and try to satisfy them at all cost, and that is coming from a full blooded southern american woman. i understand that some people do have bad experiences with another individual, but dont characterize that situation with a whole race. i believe it is unfair and insulting to write such nasty things about a particular race based on a bad experience with an individual. it really puts ideas in peoples heads and spreads this stereotype to others who may not want to contribute to asian run businesses, and who does that affect? hmmmm maybe me, a girl putting herself through college by being employeed by these indians who are so bad and dirty. shame on all of you who sterotype all these workers. they cannot help where they are from, but only what type of person they are.

I have been in the hotel business for over 20 years. It is sad and true that it can happen(sheets not being changed properly even the hotels that get inspected by the brand. A lot of companies believe in changing only the check out rooms and not the stayovers. And their companies not meeting the standards of the brand ie Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn and are still carying their flag. The operators are not maintaing the hotels and visitors who think wow are getting the raw deal of the brands ie Bass-so. az hotel .These owners are from all cultures just not paying attention to detail.

In response to the comments made by Mathis. No disrespect intended but, you have got to be kidding me with some of your comments. It looks as though you took comments out of some sort of procedural book & you sound very much like a night auditor. While rules regulations and laws vary, any hotel that puts a rate on a billboard needs to have the necessary disclaimers. In Florida, you have to identify the dates the rate is available and how many rooms are avilable at that rate. This way, the consumer is protected and any potential dispute can be substantiated by hotel records. Corections or Adjustments are a hassle ? Come on. Nearly every chain has some sort of property management system that allows for adjustments or corrections. Even old NCR machines have the capability. I doubt very seriously any guest would be upset to wait for a refund or adjustment. They may be upet at the mistake but I find it hard to believe they would walk away from a refund. ENEREGY SURCHARGES ? You are playing with fire on that one. Go to your states Attorney General website and take a look at the thousands of complaints that are filed. If I could collect $1 for every complaint for energy surcharges at hotels, I would retire by Friday. Wrong Keys ? Most hotels have some sort of electronic key system, and those problems just should not happen. Obviously mistakes by desk clerks can cause this but most electronic systems will also alert you that you are making a key for an already occupied room. Again, human error is the reason. It boils down to bad training, follow up, and management. If you work at a place that has a problem with this, it is simply a matter of time before you encounter a law suit.

I have been in the Hotel/Motel business since 1983. I am currently the Night Auditor (11 PM 7 AM desk clerk) at a limited hotel and Relief Auditor (work on the Night Auditor's two days off) at a full service hotel. I have a few suggestions for those traveling that might solve some of the problems mentioned above and some that aren't mentioned. 1: When possible, plan your trips so that you know where you are going to be spending the night and make an advance reservation. Most places have websites and you can check out the view of the hotel/motel and see what is located near it for eating etc. You will need a major credit card to guarantee the reservation because you probably won't be there before their cancellation policy. If you do not show up, then you will be billed for the room for one night room and tax. That's what a guarantee means, they guarantee they will have a room for you, and you will pay for it if you don't show up, because they're holding it for you all night. If you drive until you're exhausted, you're not coherent enough to know what you're getting into when you check in and you usually get the last few rooms at 2:00 in the morning, and if the hotel is busy, the selection is limited. If you're going to need a roll-a-way, or anything extra, ask for it when you make the reservation. Most motels and limited hotels have only one clerk on duty at night and they aren't allowed to leave the desk and it's difficult to get anything late. 2: Don't expect to get the rate that is posted on the billboard a mile or so from town. That is usually the one person - one bed rate, and usually only a limited number of those are available. Sometimes, there is something wrong with those rooms, that's why the cheap rate - You're getting the discount up front. Also, sometimes that is a seasonal rate, or if the hotel/motel is running full, they won't offer that rate. Notice that it usually says FROM $XX.00, or $XX.00 UP) You may ask at check in if there are any specials that you may qualify for, and the clerk will generally be happy to offer one to you. It is okay to mention that you saw the sign down the road, and to ask if it's available, but don't expect it. But always ask at check in - never wait until checkout because the computer systems we use make it difficult to make adjustments and these adjustments will slow down your checkout process - especially if there's a new clerk on duty. 3: (Which is probably most important.) Before you take anything out of the car, go to the room and inspect it. Flush the toilet to make sure it is working. Make sure the TV is working. The heater/air conditioner - everything. Pull back the bedding and make sure it's clean. If anything is wrong, go to the front desk and demand satisfaction right then - don't bother calling them. If they're the only person there, there is nothing they can do for you except move you and you'll have to go get the key anyway. If you wait until morning, you've already used the room and they're less likely to be sympathetic because you chose to suffer through the night. 4: You may not believe in Karma, and that's fine. But I find it interesting that most of the time when someone has a problem with a room; they have paid cash for it. It is a lot easier for you to get a refund if you have paid by credit card. Most hotels/motels don't charge the credit card until you check out, but they do authorize the credit card for a certain percentage over the amount of room and tax. Where I work it's 10%. You may pay cash at check out and your card will be de-authorized. Most places don't take personal checks anymore, so be prepared to pay either cash or credit card. The reason that it's easier to get a refund by credit card is because when the shift is over, the clerk drops the money you paid at check in, and only has what is maintained in the drawer at all times. They may not have enough, depending on the amount. Also, if the property manager doesn't meet your satisfaction, and neither does the corporate office, or franchise's customer service department, you can always call your credit card company and explain the situation to them. They will investigate it and can issue a charge back if they agree with you. 5: There have been a lot of credit card frauds lately. Therefore, most hotels now require that the name on the credit card matches your face and your name on your state issued ID or state issued drivers license. Don't try to walk in with your spouses' or boss' credit card because they won't take it, unless your spouse or boss is standing next to you with their ID, too. At one place I work, we had a lady come in with her husband's credit card. Four days later, she checked out and left. A month later we received a charge back because they were in the middle of a divorce. Requiring proof that the credit card is yours, not only protects you, but it also protects the hotel/motel. 6: Now this is what I call an oxymoron. When you make a reservation and give the credit card to guarantee it that does not mean that you have paid for the room. You still must present your proper form of payment and ID at check in and they must match as above. However, if you don't show up or cancel by the hotel's cancellation time, the hotel's guarantee policy will allow them to charge you for that reservation to that same credit card. When canceling a reservation, always get the name of the person you are speaking to, and the cancellation number. The date and time you called might come in handy, too. Write it down. 7: When you arrive, ask if there are any unadvertised charges. The hotel I relief at has a fifty cent per local call charge, and for a while was charging a $2.00 per night as an "Energy Surcharge". A five day stay added an additional $10.00 to the bill. And finally, a couple of security issues: 1: ALWAYS make sure you use the deadbolt on the door in the room. There are several times that a desk clerk will give out the wrong key. It happens frequently at the place I do relief audit, but I won't go into the reason for it here. However, if the deadbolt is in place, then only someone with a master key can get into the room, and maybe not then. 2: NEVER open the door without looking through the peephole to see who is there, if someone knocks on the door. At one place I worked, the entrances were outside and people would knock on the door asking for money. ALWAYS tell them, through the door without opening it, to go to the front desk, and then you call the front desk and report that someone is knocking on doors asking for money. The desk will handle it. I do hope that I have helped some of the travelers see what they might run into while on the road, and what to do about them if an instance mentioned here arises. Also, please remember that YOUR attitude in a bad situation really does make a difference in how some proprietors handle the situation. If you come to the desk ranting and raving, they will go on the defensive and you will probably not get any satisfaction. If you come in and calmly explain the situation and realize that the desk clerk is not responsible for the problem (unless he/she are the ones who caused it, or if he/she is the owner/manager), they will generally try to make amends to your satisfaction. Although, I too, have heard horror stories about desk clerks, but I won't go there, now, either.

This is a very interesting report. I would normally dismiss the oringinal report as racist and closed-minded. In thinking about it, however, I can see a rather valid point here. Unfortunately, discussion of this point, if not conducted carefully and conscientiously, comes off as racist. I don't see racism on the part of the consumer, or intentional apathy on the part of the proprietors as being the problem. Instead, the problem is the cultural differences between the middle (not the near) east and the U.S. We expect a level of cleanliness and sanitation that does not exist in the middle east. We also have tax system that makes it very profitable for middle eastern families to swap American based businesses between one another. The middle easterners are simply trying, with a great deal of success, to overcome economic difficulties back home. Unfortunately, they often fail to recognize that our health standards and our environmental expectations are much higher than theirs. I am the last person to stereotype, stereotypes are not based in fact; that middle easterners are not as concerned with cleanliness as we are is a fact. I'm not passing judgement, I'm not saying "we need to get the smelly Arabs out of our country," in fact I'm glad that they are here, some of the most interesting conversations I've ever had have been with the Sikh family that owns a chain of local gas stations. But, when I patronize their stores, I can't help but notice the distinctions between them and other locally owned shops. Perhaps the solution is closer scrutiny of foreign owned businesses that are covered by health codes. Laws are in place to ensure cleanliness in places like restaurants, stores and hotels. We should welcome these enterpreneurs into our country, but we should also recognize that they are not always familiar with our standards. A good and fair policy for public agencies and the parent hotel companies would be to require that business owners from nations with poor or lax sanitation policies be educated and heavily scrutinized to ensure compliance with our local laws.

There are numerous foreign owned and operated hotels in nearly every hotel chain out there. Some operators are better than others. The ethnic reference you have made to how certain foreign opertated hotels is perhaps a stereotype in the consumers mind and to some degree it is also one within the hotel community. The wide majority of hotels have to adhere to certain terms and conditions. The hotel chains regularly inspect hotels for quality and compliance. Some are tougher than others. Believe it or not Best Western has very strict guidelines and is making an effort to weed out the undesireable operators. The inspection process is only as good as those who are inspecting. If you were to go to a brand conference such as Holiday Inns, Best Western, or most of the Cendant Brands (8 different branded hotels) you would find a great deal of the participants are from the near east. Obviously some operators are better than others. I suggest that when you travel if you are simply looking for a clean room with good service, go to the chains that are well known for those attributes i.e. Marriott, Hilton. The name however does not guarantee anything BUT a number of hotel chains have a 100% satisfaction guarantee (Hampton Inn's) If they cant correct a problem you have to your satisfaction,(give the hotels a chance to correct your problem) then they do not expect you to pay. Several chains have this 100% guarantee and its all over their printed collateral. These chains are quality driven and could care less who owns the hotel, who operates the hotel, who manages the hotel or where anyone is from. The bottom line is that they want you as a return guest becuase it is 10 times as expensive to attract new guests as it is to retain the ones that they could have if they just provide the basics. Good luck.

This consumer is making a correct observation. I have been a front desk clerk in many hotels-I have worked for one that was foreigned owned. I am in the process now of getting something scanned by my middle easterner employer-Bush blew off my complaint when he was governor of Texas. However this is a different category. This about about the sanitaryiness of mid-eastern people. Gary Bahkta or the Comfort Inn in BeaumontTX-this is a mid-to semi upper class hotel (and even the lower class hotels should be cleaned)was the hotel manager. 1. To cut back on expenses, he had the maids water down the cleaning solutions. It was not long before the guest started complaining of an unclean smell in the rooms. Gary's solution was to put a bottle of lysol at the front desk so I could tell the guest to come get the lysol and spray the room. 2. Bugs-Beaumont TX is pretty high in humidity so there were bugs. Sometimes when I was checking the guest in, Gary (and sometimes his wife) would make loud slapping noises on the counter to kill the bugs with their hands. As a customer-I would have walked out of that hotel. 3. SHEETS-I had a customer who checked in the hotel and called me to say his sheets were dirty-and asked for someone to come change the sheets. That was a very patient customer-I would have demanded my money back immediately. He was one person, but had two beds in his room and Gary's told me to tell the customer to use the other bed. I DID NO SUCH THING. First of all, taht customer would have never believed a manager was giving those instructions to an employee. Hours later, Gary and his wife decided to go change the sheets and then when Gary came back to the front desk-he said there were only a couple of hairs on the bed. 4. He kept a plunger at the front desk and when the guest had backed up toilets-this was a common problem in this hotel for some reason-he wanted me to tell the guest to come get the plunger to unstop their own toilets. 5.Safety Concerns; If the guest did not pick up the paper work on check in/out-they would put the same paper backwards in the printer. If a customer asked for a receipt-he sometimes got a paper with another customers name, address, credit card information etc..on the back of his copy. When I was working there-I did call Rick at choice hotels myself-and the problems did clear up some. But I do not know how it got after I left. This person is not making a racist statement-he (or she) is making an accurate statement. Before you defend the middle easterners to much-I really do think that in my personal situation, Bushes attitude about my complaint (very much like the ones calling this person a racist) is what lead up to oppurtunities of America getting attacked. I should have the posting up later today (if I get my paper scanned)and it will probably be under the something like government issues. I will not discuss it here. I am not a racist against mid-easterners-and I think they should have the same rights-but not more than-Americans.

At least I am honest. I know how you uppity Bostonian are. I bet you live in one of those all-white sections and don't really even have a clue as to what I am talking about. You are probably one of those social climbers, ashamed of your own heritage until now. You made it to the all-white, upper middle-class neighborhoods that 20 years ago would not have even taken you. So, now you are part of the Marxist chic! You are a hypocrite. How many close friends do you have that are non-white? How many foreign languages do you speak? Yiddish doesn't count. (I only mention that because I want you to know how good one can get at generalizing. There are accuracies involved.)

You make so many gratuitous assertions that I will just as gratuitously dismiss them. It is so obvious that you didn't even read my comments. I will match my world experiences and foreign language capability and cross-cultural understanding against yours any day. How many countries have you visited? and for how long?

But, if you are such a proponent of the Near East infusion, go stay in one of their establishments and see if I am not telling the truth. Tell me you can't smell and see a difference right away. What experience do you have to the contrary. That is the only acceptable form for critical debate in this matter.

Im confused why you put your complaint in the Hotel section, seeing thats the secondary complaint. Obviously your first is with people from the "Near East"

Realistically it should be in the 'I am not a racist, really' section. Fortunately there is no section for that, so I guess the 'bigot' section would suffice.

Ideally there would be a section for 'small minded thoughts'. Maybe I could make that suggestion to the webmaster and recommend you for the spokesman. Better yet, 'small thoughts, from small towns', (Chesterfield, MA, pop. 1200).

I do realize Chesterfield must be limited on activities, but I hope the majority of the people have better things to do than to sit in front of their computer, and spew racist comments at people who actually make something out of their life (owning a part of a major hotel chain), unlike you have.

Melissa
Boston