Hotel issues abroad

guernica · 15-10-2011 6:01pm #1

Hi there,

I'm wondering if anyone could advise me if there is an 'official' channel to whom I can report a complaint about my stay at a hotel in Rome recently.

I complained at the hotel itself and didn't get anywhere, and I now intend to write to the manager/owner with details but am wondering if I can take it elsewhere if I have no luck with the hotel itself? Eg a Consumer Affairs group or similar in Italy.

I'm not even sure who I could complain to if this had taken place in Ireland - would it be the NCA or similar?

Many thanks for any help.

java · 15-10-2011 9:01pm

I don't know about a Consumer Agency but you could add a review in Trip Advisor. Its where a lot of people go first before booking a hotel.

Del2005 · 15-10-2011 10:03pm

You can try the ECC otherwise Tripadisor or contact Lonely Planet about the bad service.

guernica · 15-10-2011 11:21pm

Thanks for your replies. I have sent an email to the ECC.

If the issue is not resolved with the hotel, I intend to write a review on Trip Advisor highlighting the issues (basically the lock broke on the door of our hotel room when we came in at about 2.30am and we couldn't get in until the following morning - the hotel gave us blankets and told us to sleep in the bar - now they won't refund money even though we didn't actually get to use the hotel room for most of the night). However I am not sure that this is likely to get me any results from the hotel although may be useful to other visitors. Lonely Planet is a good idea too.

Thanks again.

coylemj · 15-10-2011 11:50pm

In the first place could you tell us why you selected that hotel?

Before you booked the hotel, did you check it in Tripadvisor? Did you read Lonely Planet? Did you ask the ECC?

Did you consult any reputable sources before you travelled?

No, I bet you picked that hotel because it was cheap.

Please don't go lodging complaints to any source like Lonely Planet or Tripadvisor unless you can tell us that you consulted that same source before you travelled, otherwise you will come across as a vindictive cheapskate.

guernica · 15-10-2011 11:55pm

Hotel was recommended by a number of friends who'd previously stayed there. I checked reviews on Trip Advisor and while they were mixed, there were a large number of positive reviews.

The hotel was certainly not cheap, at least not in my book. I had no other issues with the hotel, however I think that being locked out of my room (with all my stuff inside it) and having to sleep in the bar is valid cause for complaint.

guernica · 16-10-2011 12:02am

coylemj wrote: »

In the first place could you tell us why you selected that hotel?

Before you booked the hotel, did you check it in Tripadvisor? Did you read Lonely Planet? Did you ask the ECC?

Did you consult any reputable sources before you travelled?

No, I bet you picked that hotel because it was cheap.

Also, I'm new here, but why are you asking me questions and then answering them on my behalf? No I did not pick the hotel because it was cheap.

maxer68 · 16-10-2011 12:05am

The lock broke at 2.30am? - Was it some-one's fault. Did the key break in the lock due to the way it was put in?

You can't really expect a locksmith at 2.30am and the hotel did their best in the situation, gave you blankets and a place to put your head. +1 to the hotel for doing the decent thing.

OK, so maybe they should have given you a free night, but only if you can prove that they were responsible for the lock being broken.

And IMO, it really is such a minor incident in the bigger scheme of things, that you really should just forget about it and move on.

rebel10 · 16-10-2011 12:07am

coylemj wrote: »

In the first place could you tell us why you selected that hotel?

Before you booked the hotel, did you check it in Tripadvisor? Did you read Lonely Planet? Did you ask the ECC?

Did you consult any reputable sources before you travelled?

No, I bet you picked that hotel because it was cheap.

Please don't go lodging complaints to any source like Lonely Planet or Tripadvisor unless you can tell us that you consulted that same source before you travelled, otherwise you will come across as a vindictive cheapskate.

Jeebus, she/he only asked for advice! Doesn't matter if it was cheap or not, if you pay for a hotel room, you should be given a hotel room!
Op, I have some people I know working in Rome as guides, spend most of their time checking in and out of hotels in the city, will ask them tomorrow what they have done when issues like this arise.

guernica · 16-10-2011 12:14am

Well we certainly didn't break the lock. The hotel said it "just broke". I wasn't expecting a locksmith at 2.30am, but I would expect at least at partial refund given that we didn't get to sleep in the room that we paid (imo) a lot of money for.

Not sure what you mean by the hotel "doing the decent thing" by giving us somewhere to put our heads - what else were they going to do, throw us out on the street?

guernica · 16-10-2011 12:18am

Thanks rebel10, I agree! And thanks in advance for any further advice you can give.

coylemj · 16-10-2011 12:32am

maxer68 wrote: »

The lock broke at 2.30am? - Was it some-one's fault. Did the key break in the lock due to the way it was put in?

You can't really expect a locksmith at 2.30am and the hotel did their best in the situation, gave you blankets and a place to put your head. +1 to the hotel for doing the decent thing.

OK, so maybe they should have given you a free night, but only if you can prove that they were responsible for the lock being broken.

And IMO, it really is such a minor incident in the bigger scheme of things, that you really should just forget about it and move on.

I agree, and I also don't apologise for my attitude above. Frankly I'm tired of people who register on boards and on their first post present themselves as consumer champions when all they really want to do is bitch about some bad experience they had somewhere and are determined to tell the whole world about it.

If all you have to offer is a story that appears to have been down to bad luck then my advice is to put it down to experience.

guernica · 16-10-2011 12:39am

I did not intend to represent myself as a consumer champion. I was looking for advice about ways to seek the redress that I think is appropriate in this situation. I only added the detail on what actually happened in order to contextualise the issue and outline why I wished to raise a complaint with the hotel rather than simply post a bad review on Trip Advisor as suggested by the earlier responses.

guernica · 16-10-2011 12:44am

And whatever your views regarding people registering just to complain etc, you jumped to your own conclusions about how I picked the hotel based on the fact that it was cheap/didn't check Trip Advisor with no evidence or indication of this from what I originally posted.

coylemj · 16-10-2011 12:52am

guernica wrote: »

And whatever your views regarding people registering just to complain etc, you jumped to your own conclusions about how I picked the hotel based on the fact that it was cheap/didn't check Trip Advisor with no evidence or indication of this from what I originally posted.

I'll concede on that point. Happy to acknowledge that you picked that hotel based on word of mouth recommendation.

guernica · 16-10-2011 12:57am

coylemj wrote: »

I'll concede on that point. Happy to acknowledge that you picked that hotel based on word of mouth recommendation.

Yep and Trip Advisor reviews too

. And I concede that it was just bad luck and hotel was not at fault for the lock breaking.

discus · 16-10-2011 10:25am

guernica wrote: »

Yep and Trip Advisor reviews too . And I concede that it was just bad luck and hotel was not at fault for the lock breaking.

Are you serious mate? Hotels are in the business of letting people into rooms. I'm disgusted that they didn't call a locksmith!

guernica · 16-10-2011 10:29am

discus wrote: »

Are you serious mate? Hotels are in the business of letting people into rooms. I'm disgusted that they didn't call a locksmith!

Well they did call a locksmith but it was a few hours before he got there as was middle of night!

Just meant I understand that was just an accident that it broke in first place.

dudara · 16-10-2011 10:33am

At the very least, I would have expected the hotel to provide you with another room for the night.

Letting you sleep in a public area is unacceptable. What if you were a woman travelling on your own? or with children?

In this case, I would definitely be expecting or looking for a refund. Keep us informed on how works out.

guernica · 16-10-2011 10:37am

dudara wrote: »

At the very least, I would have expected the hotel to provide you with another room for the night.

Letting you sleep in a public area is unacceptable. What if you were a woman travelling on your own? or with children?

In this case, I would definitely be expecting or looking for a refund. Keep us informed on how works out.

Thanks dudara, the hotel was full so they had no other rooms to give us. Luckily I was not alone or with children.

I was expecting at least a partial refund but they refused. Offered a free drink in the bar. They did say that we could stay another night but obviously we had booked flights to come home.

rebel10 · 16-10-2011 10:42am

Guernica, was just onto my friend in Rome. She said that usually you would have to get in contact with the company that you made your booking through initially.
When complaining, include:
your invoice and confirmation number.
the date of your stay.
how much you paid.
what the problems were and the effect they had on your stay.
any brochure or advertisement descriptions you believe were misleading.
anything you were told that turned out not to be the case.
what you would like them to do - a refund or compensation for example.
a time limit for a reply.
copies of any documents or any photographs that you took of the problems.

Try this link also http://www.euconsumer.com/resources.php.

My friend did say, if this happened to an Italian customer, they would have kicked up a big fuss on the spot. They are well aware of their rights and have no problems complaining.
Best of luck and sorry if this doesn't quite give you the information you were looking for.

vinn · 16-10-2011 10:45am

when you book a room in a hotel you are paying to use the room
the hotel were at fault because they failed to give you a room you could access
if you wanted to sleep in their bar im sure they would have refused your request but they thought it good enough to put you in it
you are fully entitled to a refund and i would post negative feedback on tripadvisor
they failed you

guernica · 16-10-2011 10:50am

rebel10 wrote: »

Guernica, was just onto my friend in Rome. She said that usually you would have to get in contact with the company that you made your booking through initially.

Thanks rebel10, I booked directly with the hotel but will include all info suggested by your friend.

rebel10 wrote: »

My friend did say, if this happened to an Italian customer, they would have kicked up a big fuss on the spot. They are well aware of their rights and have no problems complaining.

Unfortunately I left it until we were checking out to request the refund and so couldn't stay around arguing with them there and then as had to leave for the airport. But agree I probably should have tried harder to sort it out there and then.

Thanks again for your help.

guernica · 16-10-2011 10:54am

Thank you vinn, I agree. I would not post a negative review on Trip Advisor if they were to offer a refund but had no luck in person, hoping that the manager/owner might be more receptive.

16-10-2011 11:00am

maxer68 wrote: »

The lock broke at 2.30am? - Was it some-one's fault. Did the key break in the lock due to the way it was put in?

You can't really expect a locksmith at 2.30am and the hotel did their best in the situation, gave you blankets and a place to put your head. +1 to the hotel for doing the decent thing.

OK, so maybe they should have given you a free night, but only if you can prove that they were responsible for the lock being broken.

And IMO, it really is such a minor incident in the bigger scheme of things, that you really should just forget about it and move on.

Are you serious? I can't believe what some people put up with and feel grateful for. They paid for a room. The lock broke. The hotel did NOT do the decent thing by 'letting' them sleep in the bar (where anyone could have gone in and robbed them or worse). They should have tried to sort out the lock or get them a room in another hotel. If this was impossible, they should have at least removed the charge for the room they didn't get to sleep in that night. It's appalling service and I'd put up a negative review on TripAdvisor at the very least. If you think this is nothing, I wonder what would have to happen before you made a complaint!

Sofiztikated · 16-10-2011 11:03am

My advice.

Write to the GM, informing him/her of what happened. Don't demand a refund. See what their response is first.

It sounds to me like there was an issue with the lock, they called a locksmith, because it was late it took a while to get him, and they asked you to wait in the bar.

In the interest of good customer service, a refund (at least partial) should be offered.

Don't just run to Tripadviser without giving them a chance to rectify the situation.

guernica · 16-10-2011 11:10am

Thanks for your advice Sofiztikated, this is more or less what I intend to do. They did just tell us to wait in the bar but the point is we were waiting til 8am so did not really get a chance to use the room overnight. A partial refund would be enough for me. There is a further issue in that the man I was dealing with was very unresponsive and did not seem to take the issue seriously.

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Don't just run to Tripadviser without giving them a chance to rectify the situation.

As I stated in my earlier post, I would not post a negative review on trip advisor before trying to resolve the matter first.

guernica · 16-10-2011 11:11am

Jerry Nervous Metro wrote: »

They paid for a room. The lock broke. The hotel did NOT do the decent thing by 'letting' them sleep in the bar (where anyone could have gone in and robbed them or worse). They should have tried to sort out the lock or get them a room in another hotel. If this was impossible, they should have at least removed the charge for the room they didn't get to sleep in that night.

Thanks Jerry Nervous Metro, this is what I think also. Although will not post negative review on Trip Advisor ahead of trying to resolve complaint with hotel first.

maxer68 · 16-10-2011 12:16pm

Jerry Nervous Metro wrote: »

Are you serious? I can't believe what some people put up with and feel grateful for. They paid for a room. The lock broke. The hotel did NOT do the decent thing by 'letting' them sleep in the bar (where anyone could have gone in and robbed them or worse). They should have tried to sort out the lock or get them a room in another hotel. If this was impossible, they should have at least removed the charge for the room they didn't get to sleep in that night. It's appalling service and I'd put up a negative review on TripAdvisor at the very least. If you think this is nothing, I wonder what would have to happen before you made a complaint!

Try reading the entire post and not just the first 2 lines.

AND it has transpired that the OP says the hotel was NOT at fault for the broken lock and that the DID call a locksmith. - So with the exception of a refund for the night in question WHAT ELSE does the hotle have to do?????

I think the OP is leaving a little out -

question - was it a key lock and did you break the key in the lock?

guernica · 16-10-2011 12:27pm

maxer68 wrote: »

So with the exception of a refund for the night in question WHAT ELSE does the hotle have to do?????

But I do just want a refund for the night (even partial) and nothing else! They refused.

maxer68 wrote: »

I think the OP is leaving a little out -

question - was it a key lock and did you break the key in the lock?

I'm not sure what you're implying here about me leaving something out. It was an old fashioned key lock, with a normal key. We put the key in the lock and it wouldn't turn. We went to reception for help, the guy on reception came up and he couldn't open it either, I think he tried another key too, possibly the spare key. He then said there was nothing he could do by himself and to go and sleep in the bar.

He came back in the morning and said the lock had been changed and that it was just an unexplained reason why the lock broke.

When I said that it was not the hotel's fault that the lock broke I meant it was nobody's fault as it was just an unexplained thing that happened ie bad luck. However it certainly was not our fault and it is up to the hotel to rectify an issue with their locks/provide a room to customers who have paid for it. And if they can't provide that service to refund us our money.

16-10-2011 2:22pm

maxer68 wrote: »

Try reading the entire post and not just the first 2 lines.

AND it has transpired that the OP says the hotel was NOT at fault for the broken lock and that the DID call a locksmith. - So with the exception of a refund for the night in question WHAT ELSE does the hotle have to do?????

I think the OP is leaving a little out -

question - was it a key lock and did you break the key in the lock?

Where did the OP say the hotel was not at fault? They said it certainly wasn't their own fault. If it 'just happened', then the lock was faulty. Hotel locks break all the time. Perhaps you need to learn how to read before making wild assumptions and accusations.

As for what they should have done, they should have refunded the money for a room OP couldn't use, at the very least. I worked in a hotel where the lock of a guest's room broke at 11pm and we organised a room in another hotel for them. Expecting a guest to sleep in the bar area is pretty poor and charging them for it adds insult to injury.

Hotel issues abroad

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