...but I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express.

[rolsby]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlCLuIwuVgQ&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlCLuIwuVgQ&rel=0</a>

Had a number of interesting hotel experiences and thought I would share a few.

1.) We arrived at the hotel at about 3pm on Saturday.  We learned there was an additional $10 refundable deposit for "incidental expenses".  Perhaps it was because we were using cash instead of a credit/debit card? This fee wasn't included when pricing the room -- are that many people using credit now? Then I wondered how often people forget to pick up their deposit on the way out.  I imagine an honest employee would send it to my home address, which brings me to my next point.

2.) My home address.  They have it.  Are there (more paranoid) people that worry about this and give a false address?

3.) Express checkout.  They slide a piece of paper, with my home address on it, under the door -- mostly.  What's to stop someone from grabbing that piece of paper?

Always enjoy the show!

[rolsby]

Stayed at a Motel 8 over Singles Awareness Weekend.  We knew the quality would be poor, but didn't fathom all of it.

First, the guy says the room number out loud as he hands me the key.  And wouldn't you know there's someone in the lobby on his cell phone.  We needed a room with two beds and had to go back, he did it again!

Second, we get to the back door and there's guys in the parking lot drinking.  As we walk in, one of them is coming through the knee deep with an empty beer bottle.  All four of us are licensed, so our collective posture is probably what deterred him.  Although we suspect his motive to keep the door propped open.  We had to go back out so we called the front desk, asked them to call police, and waited 15 minutes.  When a pair of us went out, the lot was empty.

Third, the back door is propped open.  But it doesn't matter because the lock doesn't engage!  No room key required.  Thankfully, the door has a bar lock and the window locks (first floor).

The next morning, I read the sign that says "This hotel is operated by X Company in agreement with Motel 8..." which makes me wonder -- what are the details of this agreement?

Any advice for followup?

[rolsby]

After further contemplation, I decided a few things.  My course of action thus far has been to review the hotel in Google as well as contact the chain.

Here's what I'll be doing in the future.  First, research the hotel.  The Google review of our hotel (in the second story) is 2 out 5 stars after 79 reviews.  Second, make reservations.  Reservations will get you the hotel you want instead of "Last Chance Motel".  Third, I'll probably be getting a post office box.

[Alex Haddox]

...been meaning to respond to this!

I travel quite a bit and of all the things that have concerned me, my home address was not one of them. My thought about the home address is for a future break-in, or a break-in while we are out of town. The thing is, the people that would acquire my address are already in another city, usually hundreds of miles (or states away) from my home. I can't think of anyone making a trip over that distance unless they thought I have loads of cash laying around or unattended drugs.

Your idea of reviewing the particular hotel is a good one. As I mentioned in the episode on Identity Theft, a company will often share information with "trusted partners" and then that "trusted partner" will loose your critical information due to poor security implementations or outright employee theft. This happened to me personally with AT&T and to my brother-in-law for the company that he was employed by.

The only protection against that is an Identity Theft protection company. I am currently subscribed to three (3) such companies. My personal favorite among them is LifeLock...which gives you a great discount for being a NRA member!

[rolsby]

I spoke too soon!

Here's what I received:

Dear (my first name),

Thank you for taking the time to bring your concern to our attention and
allowing us the opportunity to address your needs. We are sincerely
sorry to hear we did not provide you with an excellent Super 8 Worldwide
experience. You can count on our team to help resolve your concerns.

To assist you in reaching a resolution, I've informed the York, PA Super
8 Worldwide's general manager of the situation. The general manager will
contact you by 3/9/10. As a company, we're committed to delivering a
great experience every time you stay with us, and I sincerely apologize
this did not happen in this case.

If for some reason your concern is not resolved, please contact me
directly at [email protected] and I will personally help
address your needs.

(my first name), please know that we truly appreciate your feedback and the
opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Count on me,

(customer service rep)
Customer Care Representative
Wyndham Hotel Group
1910 8th Avenue NE
Aberdeen, SD  57401
Phone: 800-454-3509
Fax: 888-565-7707
(customer service rep email)

For every kind of traveler. For every kind of trip.
www.WyndhamWorldwide.com



-----Original Message-----
From: ([email protected])
Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 12:59 AM
To: Customer Service, Internet
Subject: Super 8 FEEDBACK

Topic Feedback on my motel stay
Brand ID SE
(First Name)
(Last Name)
(Address1)
Address2
(City)
State PA
(Zip)
Country US
(Phone)
(Email)
Date Of Stay 2010-02-14
(Hotel Name)
(Hotel Address)
Feedback First, as a security precaution, most motels simply write the
room number on the card key and hand it to you. However, this branch
does not observe that protocol. We needed an additional bed so had to
change rooms, but the staff did it again. I chose not to complain about
it at the time because it would have required a lengthy explanation.
Second, the back door lock was broken/not engaged.  When we arrived,
there were some people in the back parking lot drinking and we requested
the front desk contact police.  Staff was polite and said they would
contact them.  When we went back to our car, the people were gone.  The
room was about average.

[rolsby]

Never received a call back, so it's off to corporate!

[rolsby]

Corporate will refund my money.  Maybe now they'll be a little more aware of security.