Portofino Bay Hotel not for this man

[lookingforward]

I am so sorry this happened to you. It certainly would have totally ruined my first few days if this happened to me. You deserve a major apology and compensation from Lowes. Did you get everyone's names etc? I lived in Memphis and am quite familiar with the Peabody Hotels there and in Orlando. While they are first rate properties it is not the same thing as staying on site at Universal, especially the Portofino! Did you go to the parks your first day, did you miss out on FOTL access? Sometimes is is just impossible to grin and bear it, let us know how things turn out with your complaints. We are with you!

 

[jtopicz1]

The way I see it (being that I've worked in hotel reservations before), it really WAS NOT Portofinos fault if customers refused to leave when their stay was up. Legally Portofino CANNOT make them leave. JON360's idea of simply programming the key to stop working is good, but LEGALLY they can't do that (unfortunatly). Basically certain states make hotels follow similar rules to apartments when the want to "evict" someone. Florida is one of them. So basically, you could cheat the system by checking in on an open day and staying right through sold out nights, refusing to leave. Of course this is not ethically right, and considerate people wouldn't do it. Obviously though, from this experience some people will do as they please.

I DO NOT however, agree with the way Portofino handeled the problem. They should have (at minimum):
A) Offered front of the line access passes to everyone in the group.
B) Offered free meals
C) Offered to make the stay at the Peabody free,
and
D) Picked up your taxi bill for any transpotation to and from the parks.

Jim

 

[Une Amie]

Hmmm...
jtopicz1! I understand your view there. However, I have a hard time believing that all those people refused to leave that day.

Realistically speaking, I think those people wanted to extend their stay and Portofino just did it...simple as that! They then proceeded to eliminate customers based on their length of stay...his being only (1) day, perhaps others only (2). etc.

I tend to doubt that any of those customers "demanded" an extended stay. I think they were a part of a "convention" and their affiliation with it is what spoke the loudest. As always..in business, money wins out.

 

[Beckles]

That's right ... evicting someone is not easy, and if they locked you out, you'd have grounds to sue the hotel (think Pacific Heights when Keaton's character sued the landlords and won because they shut off his utilities even though he was the bad guy ...).

The one thing I don't know is the rate you pay. I think the hotel has the right to charge you maximum rate in this case (what's printed on the door?) ... I'm not sure if they would do that ... but they could I imagine ...

Of course if you *ask* they're not going to tell you about this ... but you can do it ...

 

[Beckles]

Oh ... one more thing ... Loews First Gold and Platinum members can get a reservation 48 and 24 hours in advance regardless of whether the hotel is sold out or not ... some other hotels have similar policies for their elite frequent guest members too ... sometimes someone is bound to get walked because of this, though not always ...

 

[Jon360]

jtopicz1,
If that is the law, it is a dumb one. What if all a bunch of Universal executives bought out the hotel for one night and I refused to leave my room. Do you think they would evict me then? I guarantee you my key would not be working past 3pm if this were the case.


Une Amie,
I agree that Portofino probably just extended the stays without question. If the hotel is sold out they should say they are sold out to guests requesting an extra night. They should explicitly inform the guest that if they were to stay an extra night they would be bumping another family who reserved their room out of the hotel. After hearing that argument, most people would not opt to stay the extra night.


Beckles,
The hotel has the right to evict you because your stay is over. The room belongs to a new guest at the 3pm checkin time. If your things are in the room, a bellman will gladly open it for you so that you may get your stuff out. Nobody is being denied access to their stuff, it simply must be

Also, Loews First Gold and Platinum members would not apply since the reason given was the fact that too many guests extended their stays. They did not say the fact that the hotel was overbooked as the reason for the room not being available.

 

[Smooth Silky Goofy]

Good luck guys I hope there is no convention there. It ruined my whole 1st day . would you guys be in the mood to party after this happened. By trhe way I am a loews member joined do to these great boards that give us a place to chat and learn information. They couldn't do anything for me.. The real reason we were bumped but the general manager would not say so was the fact there was a convention there. They probablly added on rooms for them when they got their total and they bumped the little guys with first one day stay( enen though I had another six days with HRH) two day stays. and folks believe me it would not have been that bad if their staff used alittle respect and kindness instead of the way they did it. even if the PBH was the best hotel in the world which it is not, they should show the customer alittle more respect and kindness.

 

[The Hunt]

First, let me say that you should never get a "bum's rush" in this situation, and you should be treated with courtesy. However, my understanding from your story is that the manager offered to refund your money and give you a free night at the Peabody. (And you accepted it, right? ) Since this was only a single night of your vacation, I'd say that's a pretty good deal. I don't know what your rate was, but that's several hundred bucks in your pocket. I'll bet they would have given you FOTL access too.

 

[jlima]

Every hotel, everywhere, oversells by 4 - 5%. Sometimes the oversell is more, depending on the nature of a convention, or its previous history in your hotel.

According to the info. on the DIS, the PBH has 750 rooms, which means the hotel will be oversold by 35 - 40 rooms before the revenue manager will close a particular day off. This is a standard business practice in the hotel industry.

Since the average convention group has a 10% no-show, a group with 400 arrivals will have, on average, 40 people not show up. A group with 500 arrivals will have, on average, 50 rooms not show up. Hotel management must allow for this or risk having unsold rooms.

A hotel such as the PBH has rooms coming in from tour operators, wholesalers, a corporate reservations center (Lowes), travel agents (through Sabre, Worldspan, etc), internet sites such as Travelocity, conventions, and, last but not least, individual travellers through the hotel's own reservation staff. Filling a hotel to 100% is like building a giant puzzle, every day. Unfortunately, when the numbers don't go down enough, a business decison has to be made, and guests get relocated to other properties.

 

[Beckles]

Originally posted by Jon360
Beckles,
The hotel has the right to evict you because your stay is over. The room belongs to a new guest at the 3pm checkin time. If your things are in the room, a bellman will gladly open it for you so that you may get your stuff out. Nobody is being denied access to their stuff, it simply must be

No, they don't have the right to evict you, that's pretty much what we're saying in this thread. It may not seem fair, but that's the law. Eviction laws in general are very favorable for the tenants (hotel guests) and not the landlord (hotel). If they did make you leave against your will you would have a right to sue the hotel, and you would probably win ...

 

[Smooth Silky Goofy]

jlima it sounds like you work for the PBH(sounds like a shill) trying to right or soft soap a wrong. the fact that they do it is not right . who gets the uses of my money from the time I pay until they refund it.. Play with the money over and over and over and over thats what they do !

 

[jtopicz1]

I think, to pretty much some up this thread, Portofinos customer service, in your case, was horrible. Beckles and I pointed out that it is simply illegal for a hotel to evict a guest (even though I agree this is a terrible law). Portofino should have made every attempt to make you, the bumped guest, happy - which they obviously did not in this case.

Jim

 

[Smooth Silky Goofy]

right on it is all about caring ,customer service and good workers all of which they did not have

 

[jcl110]

Hi Everyone,
I read this post and I dont understand a few things I read so enlighten me if you will.
I called th Hard Rock Hotel today , and inquired about the practice of bumping guests even if you are a confirmed arrival. the answer I got was that it is a rare occurance and when it does happen ,The hotel will overcompensate the person that is bumped. I asked about my reservation and was told that if I have a confirmation number, I will not get bumped.
I havent seen many complaints about this practice on this board so Im hoping they are telling the truth.
I can only imagine how Silky felt when treated that way.
I dont really undesrstand how a person can tell the hotel they wont leave unless its emergency related, and when I stayed at Disneys Yacht Club a few years ago I wanted to stay and they said no, they couldnt let me stay...does that mean I could have said too bad, im staying anyway? This whole scenario, plus the answers I got from the hotel, is enough to confuse anyone, to say the least,
and all I can say is if they try to bump me out , they will
have to over, overcompensate me....FOTL The Works! Sorry you had a rough time Silky...

 

[jlima]

SSG- no I don't work for the PBH but I do work in the hospitality industry; IMHO the staff at the PBH could use some people skills and I certainly would have moved on to the next guest on the relocation list. I would write a long letter about your treatment to the hotel president and also forward a copy to Lowes corporate office.

 

[Robinrs]

This topic can be debated FOREVER but to sum it up SSG has been made an unhappy consumer and it's obvious that he should be made happy by someone at Loews.

It goes to show that a happy customer will tell 10 people but an unhappy customer will tell 1,000.

SSG, please let us know if you hear from the powers that be and if they offer you something that can rectify this. Just like you I left Orlando on FIRE about the way I was treated at a Disney Resort but they have since made amends.

Thanks.

 

[Beckles]

jcl110 ~ First, a confirmation number does not mean you won't get bumped. As for the overcompensation, at minimum for getting walked any hotel will usually offer a full refund and pay for new accomodations equivalent to or better than the hotel you were booked in. Some will offer even more, and you should be able to negotiate further if you're so inclined.

As for your experience at the Yacht Club ... of course if you ask they're going to say you can't say, but if you don't check out, they can't make you leave ... hotels don't like to tell people this if they're sold out obviously, since it could create a bad situation, but it's the law. Also, not all hotel employees may even be aware of this ...

Since SSG is unhappy, the hotel obviously did not treat him as well as he should have been treated. If it were me, I would have taken the refund and smiled all the way over to my free room at the Peabody.

 

[DisOrBust]

Let me tell you my family was VERY EXCITED to stay at PFB. It was the whole reason for us addng USF?IOA to our trip. Our check in took an hour with our rooms not being ready, fine we hit the parks. Came back at 4:30 waited another half hour to check in and our room still wasn't ready. We were tired and hot and they could have gave a damm! Half an hour later we FINALLY got to check in. We spoke to the manager and he could have cared less. Sorry, but if they are trying to compete with WDW and the Grand Floridian this is not how you do business. My father has travelled ALL over the world and thought the PFB looked like a resort going down the tubes. There was NO customer service. If you asked someone a question the standard answer was "I don't know ask someone else." The hallways were banged up badly, holes were patched roughly with spackle and left like that. I think all the bell hops were taking out the corners, it made it look very shabby. In every elevator lobby there were empty vases with the "moss" in them and no flowers, it looked like they were skimping. I know every place has its off days but what we saw were consistant problems not just an off day.

How this person was treated is horrific! I would have lost my mind!! You plan all year for a vacation and have that happen right out of the gate? BESIDES!!! We tried to extend our stay and was told NO there was no room available!! If they want to "chance" overbooking then the consequence if they get caught is a "free ride" to the person they bump!! Sorry but I can't risk my families precious vacation time on a chance of having an experience like this. No more PFB for us.

 

[Melanie1001]

Since I've read so much bad about PBH here, I feel I have to post a good experience about it, lest everyone get scared away from staying there. I've stayed onsite at Disney and Universal, and all in all the staff at PBH was the best I've ever come across. I stayed there 4 months after the hotel originally opened. Everyone was bend-over-backwards nice to me and my family. Since the place had just opened, there were a few kinks in the works. None of which were very bad though--still some painting being done, a few closed off walkways, etc. They also had a terrible time with the automated wake up call system--it would call you but never play the greeting, and then keep calling for another 3 or 4 times till it gave up. Not long after this had happened, the concierge called us, and asked about the problem with the wake up call (we hadn't complained and really didn't care since it had called us on time and we woke up). When we came home from the park that day, there was a cute Betty Boop coffee mug filled with flowers and a hand written apology regarding the wake up call! Keep in mind, we hadn't complained at all! Check in and check out were fast and the staff was so courteous about everything. At check in there was a computer glitch that made it take about 5 minutes longer than it should have, but that didn't phase us in the least.

So in short, staff was wonderful, room was great, everyone was courteous and nice. Perhaps I had an exceptional experience, but I wanted to throw my own $.02 worth into the pot.

 

[Melanie1001]

They've always had moss covered rocks in the planters in the halls...I thought it a bit weird myself but somehow it just added to the unique European touch of the whole hotel....