hotel scare, what do you think?

[Ronda93]

This is gonna be long, but I want some perspective.

I tried Priceline for the first time for three nights surrounding a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. The first night was the Fairfield Inn near the Manchester airport. Great price, $39. Great stay.

The next was the Townsend Suites in Scarborough, Maine, just south of Portland. Again great price, $39.

The hotel was fine however I had a horrible experience with the desk staff. Around 11:00 p.m. someone opened our door. The saftey hasp was closed so they could not enter, but the card went in, unlocked and the door opened. Light spilled in from the hallway.

I heard confused voices in the hallway then quiet. I saw nothing when I looked through the peephole.

I tried to call the desk for help, but line was dead. I used my cell phone to call the office. The desk clerk apologized and said it was "them". I wasn't in their system and had I failed to check out that day?

Suspecting that I might not be able to re-enter my room if I left it and not believing what I was told, I concluded that the safest place for me was the room.

Then next morning my card worries were confirmed. The card given to me the afternoon before no longer opened my door. The phone still did not work. I called the desk again said that my card wasn't working. A new desk staffer came up and tried my card. We went down to the office together and I asked why someone was opening my door the night before. The attendant I spoke to the night before was present and explained that another person was checked in to the same room.

I was furious. I suggested that it was frightening to have someone capable of entering your room. They found humor in my plight. It is inexcusable that I disappeared from their files and my room was relet to someone else.

I don't I accept their explanation. The most benign possibility is an off-the-books cash rental gone awry.

1. What do you think was going on? Surely the software used by hotels is better at preventing this very problem.
2. What would you have done? One of them did ask what they could do, I said "comp my room". Since I didn't pay them that didn't fly.

Still mad, too.

 

[mum4jenn]

This type of thing happens at ALL hotels. The fact that it was a priceline room has nothing to do with it. We had the same thing happen at Disney Pop Century.

 

[Shutterbug]

How scary for you. Good thing you had the door clasped.
Well it might be good software. But some software is only as good as the person running it. My guess the person who checked you in didnt check you in correctly.

That they found humor in your plight is unexcusable.
I would be talking to the manager of the hotel, then fire one off to corporate if the hotel manager's explanation doesnt satisfy.

 

[momsgonwild]

This happened to us at the Schlitterbagn Waterpark Resort last June. We made reservations for four nights, and the clerk only checked us in for three. When we came back from the waterpark our keycard would not work in the door. Office said it was a good thing they had not tried to rent our room out. I guess these things just happen sometimes. I would freak out too if someone tried to open our door in the middle of the night. I don't think it was a Priceline problem, just a miscomunication at the front desk.

 

[Robinrs]

This happened to me twice. Computers and people make errors, it just happens.

I don't find what happened to be "scary" just extremely uncomfortable. The attitude of the customer service was surely lacking but you have to know that there is always a master key to enter your room. The lapse in knowing if you were still there was either a computer or input error.

You can write to the manager of the hotel to tell them your problem and they should know.

 

[aprilgail2]

This happened to us in Canada!! Except we were the people going into someone elses room!! I opened the door and started to step in when I saw the bedspread on the floor and let me tell you the couple that was in "bed" were as shocked as I was!! I was so upset aboutthe whole thing, I was down at the desk yelling at them after that!!

 

[TnTsParty]

I had this happen as well. I can't remember the name of the hotel but it was in Daytona Beach. We were the ones checking into a a room and when I put the card in the door opened but someone else was already in the room!!! So we immediately went back to the front desk and got a new room with no one else in it. I couldn't imagine it happening at 11PM - I don't think it was a Priceline thing though.

 

[mulanrouge]

Just curious, did they say why the phone was not working as well? Does it not work when they show no one checked into that room? That in itself sounds odd!!

 

[missyc]

This happened to us at Westgate Lakes. It happened SEVERAL times. And I DID think it was scary seeing that we had 5 kids with us in other bedrooms. I did not like that feeling one bit. Of course the management acted like it was a huge deal and never happens any other time. Yea right!

 

[mudnuri]

I've been on the other end

DH and I checked into our hotel- went up to the room, opened the door and they were in the shower!....

Went back down to the front desk.....got a new room.

Once in Freeport, Bahamas- we went to a room- with a "key" Key, someone was there...went back down to the front desk- changed rooms- KEPT THE SAME KEY.....it dawned on me when we got to our new room...I called the front desk- said NO WAY was this gonna be happening...some guy came up changed our locks, and gave us a new key. We did try the key in a diff room just to make sure LOL

i wudnt really sweat it ...it's bound to happen

Brandy

 

[Phrebert]

I work in a hotel and human error does happen. From lack of communication from different shifts, to not setting the key swipe machine to the proper amount of days. We have a sign on each door that reads "Please keep door locked and latched while in room."
I am guilty of having sent people to occupied rooms but DO ask to talk to the manager after each incident.

 

[totalia]

Originally posted by Ronda93
This is gonna be long, but I want some perspective.

I tried Priceline for the first time for three nights surrounding a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. The first night was the Fairfield Inn near the Manchester airport. Great price, $39. Great stay.

The next was the Townsend Suites in Scarborough, Maine, just south of Portland. Again great price, $39.

The hotel was fine however I had a horrible experience with the desk staff. Around 11:00 p.m. someone opened our door. The saftey hasp was closed so they could not enter, but the card went in, unlocked and the door opened. Light spilled in from the hallway.

I heard confused voices in the hallway then quiet. I saw nothing when I looked through the peephole.

I tried to call the desk for help, but line was dead. I used my cell phone to call the office. The desk clerk apologized and said it was "them". I wasn't in their system and had I failed to check out that day?

Suspecting that I might not be able to re-enter my room if I left it and not believing what I was told, I concluded that the safest place for me was the room.

Then next morning my card worries were confirmed. The card given to me the afternoon before no longer opened my door. The phone still did not work. I called the desk again said that my card wasn't working. A new desk staffer came up and tried my card. We went down to the office together and I asked why someone was opening my door the night before. The attendant I spoke to the night before was present and explained that another person was checked in to the same room.

I was furious. I suggested that it was frightening to have someone capable of entering your room. They found humor in my plight. It is inexcusable that I disappeared from their files and my room was relet to someone else.

I don't I accept their explanation. The most benign possibility is an off-the-books cash rental gone awry.

1. What do you think was going on? Surely the software used by hotels is better at preventing this very problem.
2. What would you have done? One of them did ask what they could do, I said "comp my room". Since I didn't pay them that didn't fly.

Still mad, too.

I work in a hotel.

I'm very sorry but this is very common. People are human and human beings make mistakes. Someone forgot to check you into your room and checked someone new in.

That's why the doors have those locks on them. It's to keep people out.

We don't do this on purpose or because we are incompetant. But no one is perfect.

Just talk to the front desk clerk and they will rectify the error.

But please don't be rude about it. We aren't trying to make your stay horrible. It's accidental.

You have the right to be angry, true. And the clerk will understand that. They will also be very embarassed and try to make sure it won't happen again (however, it likely will because as I said, no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes).

 

[Planogirl]

This has nothing to do with this being a Priceline reservation. Priceline gets the nights for you but the room is the responsibility of the hotel. And it sounds like the hotel made a mistake.

We once opened a door at an inn to a well-used room. Luckily, no one was there but what a surprise. I guess that it happens from time to time.

 

[safetymom]

This happens quite often. That is why you should use the deadbolt and the safety hasp when you are in the room.

Is it right that it happens? No. Should you have received a free room because it did? No.

 

[ducklite]

I'm seeing things a little different from everyone else here. I think the OP could deal with the fact that someone messed up. I think the thing that really riled the OP was the way the hotel dealt with it.

It seems to me that if the front desk had been more understanding and sincerely apologetic, the OP would likely have never posted here. I know that when I have a problem with a business, if they offer a sincere apology and act as if they are concerned that things went south during my expereience with them it makes all the difference in the world.

Should it have happened? Of course not. Does the OP have the right to be upset? Yes, however I think perhaps is overreactig a tad bit. Did the hotel handle the situation properly? Not in the least. Does the hotel owe the OP anything? A sincere letter of apology sounds about right to me.

Anne

 

[bsnyder]

Priceline is irrelevant in this situation. As other posters have pointed out, this does happen occasionally, and it's one of the reasons you should always use the internal lock provided on the hotel room door.

IMO, the hotel owes you a sincere apology and nothing more.

 

[disneysnowflake]

But what happens if someone enters your room when you are not there?
Does this happen at Disney?
If someone accidentally gets into your resort room will their key also work for the in room safe? Just wondering.


We had this happen last year. The staff gave us our room key twice and both rooms were already occupied. This was in the daytime. Both rooms were empty, but all the belonging of the occupants were in the room. This bothered me because they could have given those room keys to another shady person who could have looked through the belongings in that room and taken something.

 

[Ronda93]

No, I didn't expect my stay to be free, but when he laughed and said what do you want me to do about it, it did come to mind.

If they had checked someone else into my room the phone should have been working.

I also doubt it had anything to do with Priceline. I didn't mean to connect the two. I got great prices and will use it again.

 

[CarolA]

I once got a key at a Hyatt and found that the last guest was still there. I think your theory that they were "working" off the books is probably a little extreme. It is a very hard to do in today's computerized environment.

The worst was the time the Hilton in Little Rock gave my room number to a drunk in the bar!


Did you give the front desk a credit card? If not, that could be why the phone wasn't on. I have often had to call them and remind hotels to turn the phones on. (They turn off the outside dialing so their help can't make long distance calls!)

At Disney the safe keys are not given to you with your key, but are in the safe so take it with you. At other hotels they use codes so it would be hard for someone to break into your safe.

Rule one of travel! DO NOT TAKE VALUABLES YOU COULD NOT BEAR TO LOSE! No hotel room is that safe

Rule two have your cameras etc. covered on your homeowners.

 

[Lachesis00]

ooops messed up