Where I will not be staying during future Universal Orlando visits

[BarryHom]

There's two Extended Stay America properties on Major Blvd., which is almost across the street from Universal Orlando. However, I probably won't be setting foot in them anymore.

A while back, two Extended Stay Americas in Orlando charged me for a one night stay when I had cancelled them well within the cancellation policy. After many correspondences and finally a letter to the company president, I finally got a refund and a certificate for a free weekend stay.

I had reviewed my credit card statements this weekend and a property in Orlando and New Jersey had charged me for a one night's stay. I have the e-mail confirmation that I cancelled these well within the cancellation policy. In fact, I had cancelled these reservations about 2-3 weeks in advance. Yet, I got charged!

I gave them a chance previously to correct the problem and all they did was to ignore me. This time, it's no more Mr. Nice Guy. I am going straight to my credit card company to disallow the charges. I'm also going to report this to the Better Business Bureau for further action. I shouldn't give the company the courtesy of a complaint letter, but I will write one regardless.

I will be using the free weekend stay certificate during a future stay. I even chose one of the most expensive properties in the area. However, I am tempted to just rip it up because I am disgusted by how Extended Stay America has treated me.

 

[All Aboard]

Barry, that really stinks. And, I'm sorry to hear it both for you and for the fact that the Studio Plus is where we stay when we do Universal-only trips. Come to think of it, I always book last minute and have never cancelled. Thanks for the heads up, it will definitely factor into my future plans.

 

[CPM]

But Barry, are you mad??????????????????? LOL
Thanks for the heads up, I often book rooms then cancel them due to the nature of my job.

 

[robvia]

That's why I stay at the cheap www.hojo.com on Kirkman Road behind Wet N' Wild. All reservations are done on their web site and I've never had problems.

 

[BarryHom]

I received this e-mail today:

Dear Mr. Hom:

Thank you again for contacting us regarding the difficulties you continue
to experience with your Website reservation cancellations. Regrettably, we
once again find ourselves in the position of apologizing to you for the
inconvenience and aggravation caused to you by our errors. I do so now,
with embarrassment as I agree that the service you have received from us in
this matter is unacceptable.

I will try to explain the process briefly. Because our Call Center and
Website Reservations System are not directly linked with our individual
hotels' on-site property management system, reservations and cancellations
received thru these sources are sent by computer file download to each
respective hotel's fax machine each day. The reservations and
cancellations are then re-entered into each hotel's local system. As a
back-up, all reservations are re-sent to each hotel on the morning of your
expected arrival day. Unfortunately, it appears there has been a
communication breakdown in this process in regards to your cancellations.
I will be forwarding a copy of this email and reviewing the matter with
both our internal departments involved with the process here at our
Corporate Headquarters and with our Regional Offices. Again, every effort
will be made to correct the problem.

Credit for both charges have been requested and issued to your Visa and
MasterCard's respectively. These credits should appear on your accounts
within 3-10 business days. I have also attached file copies of these
credits below for your reference.

Mr. Hom, please be assured of our continued commitment to deliver the
quality service you expect and deserve. You are a valued guest and we
appreciate your patronage. Again, I extend my apologies and hope that you
will once again allow us an opportunity to regain your confidence by
sending you another complimentary weekend coupon valid at any of our 450
locations nationwide. I will send this by mail to the address we have on
file for you.


As a side note, I see a high potential for errors in their reservation system. But if they keep this up, I will have so many free weekend stay coupons that the rest of my Orlando stays will be paid for!

 

[RobinLyn]

Free rooms, not bad Barry!! LOL But you should get at least that for your arggravation. I'm glad they are doing this for you, many places won't. I guess you have to give them a little credit, just a little, for sending you the free stays and trying to win you back.

RobinLyn

 

[CPM]

Great response Barry! Hey forget orlando you can get $25.00 rooms there, go for Boston or somewhere really expensive! LOL