Would you ever dispute a hotel stay with your CC?

[3DisneyBuggs]

We stayed one night in a hotel. There was a blackout in the hotel for a couple of hours. We stayed in the hot and dim lobby until the lights came back on. There was a storm going on at the time. Then I found a bug that I think was a bedbug in our bed. DH thinks it was a tick. My 2yo DS had some bites on his back as well. We told the mgr about the bug and he was supposed to send someone to look at it but never did. I really feel like disputing the night's charge because bugs really creep me out, my DS was bit.
Any thoughts?

 

[disney6family]

Is this a chain hotel - if so, did you already dispute the charge with the chain? Did you already dispute the stay with the hotel owner, if not? Then I would say you could dispute the CC - it can't hurt and that was an awful stay - we've had the power outages happen and realize they can't control the weather, and sat in the lobby for hours waiting for a fire alarm to be cleared - again, not under hotel control, but to see bugs in the room is not part of a good, clean hotel room.

 

[jessica52877]

No, I have never disputed a hotel charge. I have left one in the late evening due to dirtiness and unfriendliness and unhelpfulness.

 

[msmayor]

If you stayed the entire night, then its a tough one to dispute. You'd have been better off leaving and insisting that they tear up your bill (I've done this before).

The problem is the hotel management can argue that if it was so bad, why did you stay.

I've had other difficulties with room accommodations in a situation where it was impossible to move. I carried my complaints as high up with on-site management, writing names and times down. I contacted my CC company in -the-moment, getting advice from them on what my options were.

When I returned home, I mailed a concise yet detailed letter to corporate of the hotel and cc'd the credit card company. Thanks to that detail and the fact that my CC company was backing my story (they had record of the complaints the day they were made via my phone calls) I had a full credit for my night's stay within a month, and a personal phone call from their customer service.

 

[kabbie]

We stayed one night in a hotel. There was a blackout in the hotel for a couple of hours. We stayed in the hot and dim lobby until the lights came back on. There was a storm going on at the time. Then I found a bug that I think was a bedbug in our bed. DH thinks it was a tick. My 2yo DS had some bites on his back as well. We told the mgr about the bug and he was supposed to send someone to look at it but never did. I really feel like disputing the night's charge because bugs really creep me out, my DS was bit.
Any thoughts?

I have worked at hotels for years so I would suggest calling the GM to complain. Good luck!

 

[jennifer293]

If it were me I would have made the dispute while I was there. If you felt the room was dirty you should have asked for another room, or asked to be placed at another hotel (we have done this before). Since you did not and chose to keep the room then I would think you need to pay the bill.

 

[disneysteve]

If it were me I would have made the dispute while I was there. If you felt the room was dirty you should have asked for another room, or asked to be placed at another hotel (we have done this before). Since you did not and chose to keep the room then I would think you need to pay the bill.

I agree that you should have done your best to resolve the situation during your stay. I disagree that you need to pay just because you spent the night. More than once, we have had problems during a hotel stay that didn't get resolved to my satisfaction before we left. I then proceeded to contact the corporate office/customer service department of the chain and have always had the room charges credited to my account. I've never had to go the route of contesting the charge with the CC company.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I never said the room was dirty. We found the suspected bedbug the morning we were checking out and it had bitten my son overnight,I assume. We had activities planned that day and didn't have time to send speaking with diferent people at the hotel. It is not a chain and we did speak to the manager, who didn't do much of anything. If I called the hotel when I got home, I probably would have spoken to the same guy. We only stayed one night and when the blackout happened it was thunderstorming outside so we weren't about to leave the hotel with 3 kids in a fierce storm an find new lodging. My issue with the CC would be a quality issue- the bedbug. I can't stop seeing that bug on the bed, you know. I don't normally go around disputing charges and such.

 

[maggiew]

I haven't ever disputed a stay with my CC, but I did call the corporate office once. We were not given the type of room that I reserved, thus forcing us to get another room to hold everyone. There were 3 ladies and 3 guys on a business trip. I had reserved one suite with 2 beds and a sofabed. The second room was 2 beds and a rollaway (for the guys - one guy added at last minute and I couldn't get a suite.) Anyway, when we got there, they gave us a room that had one bed and a sofa bed. They tried to tell me that when it said 2 queen beds and sofabed, that the sofabed counted as one of the queen beds? Anyway, there was no other suite available - we arrived late at night. So we got a 3rd room. The manager wasn't there since it was late at nightl. When I got home I called the corporate office and talked to them and they agreed with me about the room situation. A few days later I got a letter from the manager of the hotel that they credited my card for one of the hotel rooms!

So, I say call corporate.

Maggie

 

[msmayor]

My issue with the CC would be a quality issue- the bedbug. I can't stop seeing that bug on the bed, you know. I don't normally go around disputing charges and such.

And there's where the dispute may not go your way. Quality is subjective, and without any real concrete evidence you may not be able to prove your situation regarding the bug.

The CC will most likely look at the situation and say "Did you get what you reserved and paid for?", and the answer is yes.

In my situation I referred to above, I did get a room but it was NOT what I reserved and had guaranteed by my card. I had the written confirmation guaranteeing me two double beds (there were four of us staying in the room), and evidence that I'd called the day before our arrival to confirm the guarantee.

When we checked in, the only room available for us had one king bed. Unacceptable for four people. They wouldn't even provide a rollaway. One member of my party had to sleep in a chair/ottoman, and three in the king. My CC company indicated that night that in a guarantee situation, they HAD to give me what I reserved and if they could not, they had to either move me at their expense to a comparable hotel and pay for my stay there, or give me my night at their hotel for free. They did neither. That's why my dispute succeeded, as I did not get what I paid for.

I understand your desire not to disturb your family and move during a storm. Its a shame you couldn't, as that would have been a solid indication to your CC company that your room really was sub-par.

I wish you luck in your attempt to resolve your situation.

 

[twinklebug]

I have worked at hotels for years so I would suggest calling the GM to complain. Good luck!

I agree. You didn't mention the hotel's name & they don't want you to in a negative light. My bet is they'll offer you a free night - say no. Then they'll offer you two or three free nights & perhaps meals if you're lucky.

You will be able to get your money back if you're persistent.

 

[Green Tea]

I have written a letter to the president of the brand before just noting that the property was not up to standards of the particular name before. In one case they sent me a certificate for a free night at the same property(as if I'd back! ) and another sent a refund on one of the 2 nights we stayed there. I never asked for anything either time, I just listed the things that were problems.

 

[MKCP5]

typically cc's will not get involved in this if you stayed the night. I understand it was inconvenient to leave--we've had that happen with exhausted kids too, but you did stay the night. you do have to pay for the room you occupied for the night. The best way is the corporate customer service team. If the hotel would like to keep your business, and as a gesture of good will for the poor experience you had, they may credit your account or offer you another night on another date I do not believe the cc company will get involved since you did stay for the night

 

[Homer Simpson]

I agree with others who suggested that you probably should have complained before checking out and asked for a refund then.

Of all the nights we've spent in hotels, we've been lucky and only had one really bad stay. It was at the Radisson in Orlando.

We were only staying one night and when we checked in we noticed that the lobby was packed with teenagers.

Around 8:30 that evening we started to hear a commotion outside and I went to the balcony and saw dozens of kids setting up musical instruments in the parking lot. By the time they were done there was close to a 100 piece marching band plus flag and baton twirlers. They then proceeded to practice at full volume for the next hour and a half.

It was like half time at the Super Bowl.

I still remember the reply I got from the man at the front desk when I called down to complain about the noise, which was overpowering even with the windows closed. I asked them to put a stop to it and the guy's reply to me was "But Sir, they have a competition tomorrow". If not for the fact that the noise woke up my 8 month old, I would have been amused by his candid reply. But I was amazed that the hotel was refusing to put an end to the practice and I couldn't speak to the hotel manager because she was gone for the day. I even asked the guy at the desk if he would put up with the noise if he was on vacation and he told me that you just have to put up with a certain amount of noise when you stay in a hotel.

I hunted around the room and found a number for the corporate office on a brochure and made a complaint that night. I even held the phone out the window so that the lady could hear the band. She got a good laugh out of that

In the morning I got to speak to the manager and she was very apologetic. I didn't even have to ask about comping the room... she just offered it after I told her about some of the answers I got from her hotel staff.

 

[DreaGirl]

I had a bad experience at a hotel in CO when I was there for a wedding. I complained the day we checked out then I called the main office of the hotel. Nothing was done about it. So I called my credit card company and told them what I had already done and asked if they could do anything. They refunded half of my money back.

 

[mom2my3kids]

I would of complained to them before you left. I think you should call the corporate office and not file a cc complaint.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

The only time I disputed the price of a hotel stay was @ the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird (Orlando). We were assigned the worst room imaginable and absolutely could not sleep due to traffic noise outside and the health club located on the other side of the wall. I would just dose off and then this really loud thump, thump, thump noise would occur -- it finally dawned on me that it was the treadmill!

We were given a 50% credit but I think it's because I handled it while were there during the checkout process. There were quite a few people behind me in line that could hear everything going on and I think the clerk was willing to do just about anything to keep the line moving.

I probably could have gotten the night free but felt 50% was fair as we didn't call and ask to be moved to another room...so we weren't as proactive about it as we should have been.

 

[rockyroad]

I would call the corporate offices of the hotel chain and talk to them first.

If you don't get satisfaction, then talk to the credit card company.

And yes I did dispute a hotel bill.

We were billed for a hotel room...and we didn't stay there.

Later, it seemed that we may have stayed in that hotel a year previous.

I don't know if they had never charged us the previous year or were just trying to see if they could sneak some charges through.

But if I had not know exactly where DH was that night, he could have been in big trouble.

(If you have an actual problem with a hotel, don't hesitate to discuss the problem with them and to request a comp or ask what they can do to help you feel better about your negative experience.)

 

[coolbeans]

We stayed at a hotel once that was awful and I wrote a letter to the manager and they actually refunded my debit card the full amount of the nights stay, I didn't ask for the refund, it just appeared one day!
We requested a room with a sleeper chair, well the first room didn't have one, I called down to the front desk to let them know and the man told me exactly where to find it in the room, he was convinced that I was "overlooking" it. I made him come up and show me where it was, needless to say it wasn't there, so they moved us. The room they moved us to had one, but the pieces that held the back on were broken and sticking straight up so I wouldn't let DD sleep on it. In the middle of the night the fire alarm went off 3 times about an hour apart (due to kids on a lower floor) and the fire department came all three times. DH was working at a race nearby and I was furious and a little afraid being alone with DD going thru this mess.