Shame on the General Manager at The Hampton Inn

if you we're an employee at ahampton inn then you would understand as
i do (since i am an employee at a top rated hampton) that if a guest
is not 100% satisfied then they recieve the room for free. if a guest
decideds to call down to the front room and say they are unhappy
because of the smallest problem ( a hair in the floor, a hair stuck to
linen, a small hidden piece of trash housekeeping missed) then they
get a full discount. so im sure if a guest had to do without hot water
in our hotel they would recieve a full refund, maybe you should have
done your job better sir. i am deeply sorry that this gentleman had
to go through this.

I just happened to stumble upon this letter while searching for
Hampton Inn. Curiousity simply got the best of me and I had to read
it, along with all the responses. Most people who responded to this
letter are, how can I say this...INSANE. You guys are cruel. Some of
the comments that were made tells me most of you can not comprehend
what you are reading. Are you actually READING his letter? Some of you
posted comments that he has had to correct many,many times. For
example one responded about him staying more than one night. He has
said over and over again that he just stayed ONE night. Also, he has
also stated his nephew WORKED at Hampton when he booked the room. Pay
attention to what you read. Some of you need to get as grip. Did it
ever occur to anyone that he just may be telling the truth? I know we
live in a society were everyone is guilty until proven innocent but
give me a break. Most of you are acting just as that manager did and
that is sad. I do not know if he is being truthful. All I know is I
have been in situations that were pretty unbelievable myself. You guys
are convicting this guy without cause. Shame on you. Also, whether
intentional or not they should have just told him that he had to pay
the full rate when they found out his nephew no longer worked at
Hampton. Then when everyone else got the credit he should have to.
Case closed.

First off I work in the travel industry (for an Airline), and before
my family even are checked in or listed for a flight I give them a
copy of my status showing that I am an active employee, and that they
are on my eligibility card. You DID try to commit fraud, and the
police should have been called out to deal with you. Also, if you are
staying on family discounts, you are to graciously accept any
inconvience/issues without any complaints. You have no valid
complaint. You shold havce verified with your nephew 1st before trying
to commit fraud. I hope that next time you are taken to jail and
charges are pressed against you for fraud.

I worked for Hilton (parent company of Hampton Inns) and I have NEVER
had ANY person tell me that they booked an Employee Friends and Family
rate themselves. IT MUST be done on the website and ONLY by the
employee.

I dont see how the reservation person allowed you to make this type of
reservation with only your word that you were a "friends/family" and
then how the front desk personel did not follow proper check in
procedure by not asking for the Psssport. The passport is proof of
your discount. I was a manager for over 7 years for Hilton, Choice
Hotels and a Holiday Inn (franchsies owned by one company) in GA and
TX and never have I ever allowed anyone to check into my hotels with
out proper documentation, it does not teke 2 seconds to ask for the
employee cards, it can be done while waiting for the CC to auth. And
as a manager I have always had to present one when I checked in.

As far as being told the room would be free due to a water leak is a
seperate issuse. If everyone else on your floor/property were being
told the same thing (highly doubtful) then I agree you should get ONE
night at no charge. As I have stated I have worked for 3 very
different hotels using 3 different operating procedures and have
expericned all sorts of problems with guest rooms and have NEVER given
the entire hotel a free room. We might have discounted them in some
way but never all free (unless the place burned down). And if you did
not have another sort of disount you would be paying rack rate for the
room.

You say this was done in innocnce, I dont buy it. You knew about the
passport. You knew its a requirement. I dont think you deserve any
type of compensation.

I agree that you should of gotten your nights stay for free just as
everyone else. No doubt I would be upset if they charged me while
everyone else was staying free...

However, I still can't get past the manager coming right out saying
that she would charge you the 29 dollars or call the police on you. To
me it seems as if some words may have been exchanged before this
statement. I am not saying that she perhaps was just a poor manager,
but in most cases I have never seen a manager come right out and say "
Either you pay the 29 dollars or I will call the police and report it
as fraud." It seems that perhaps you were arguing with her about the
29 dollars before it got to this?

FYI when dealing with a manager, it is best to stay calm and polite,
you will be more likely to get what you are after. If she still
refused to credit the room, accept the charge,then file a dispute with
your credit card company or when you get home look up a phone number
to file a complaint with a higher up at Hampton Inn. I think you had
just as much to do with the arguement as the manager did.

Is from a legal perspective that recognizes punitive damages, which
are essentially monies to penalize companies or individuals for taking
certain actions in the hopes that they don't do it again.

Plus I subscribe to the notion that if you don't ask, you don't get.

When I first read this letter, I put myself in the OP's shoes and
thought, "How would **I** feel if the hotel manager accused me of
fraud and threatened to call the police in front of a bunch of people
over an innocent mistake?" Even if there were only 5 people, not 50
like the OP claims, the word "embarassed" wouldn't even cover it. And
you can bet I'd expect the Hampton to make up for it. I just wasn't
sure asking for comped rooms was the way to go about it.

But, looking at it from a "punitive damages" perspective, it makes
more sense. I think I've moved a bit off that fence I was on.

Sometimes people who write complaint letters point the finger at
themselves without even realizing it. It seems that Bob has done this.

Bob knew he was getting an employee discount for the room so at check
in he knew he had to sign a card giving him this discount.
If I were receiving a discount such as this I would ask if they had me
down as receiving it so there would be no issue with the bill at
checkout. But Bob chose to ignore it because he thought he could get
away with this.
But Hampton Inns validates the "relatives" employment with their
company so the guest can receive the discount. When it showed that
the nephew no longer worked there the GM confronted Bob regarding
this, even giving him the name of his nephew's new employer. Bob acted
like he did not know about this...and I find that a bit difficult to
believe that he did not again siting the fact that he did not ask to
sign the card giving him said discount.

The GM saw it differently also and although I do not agree that
arguing with Bob in front of the other guests (I doubt there were as
many as he stated) was right, I do agree with her issue regarding him
lying about the discount. And I also think that Bob had no intention
of letting this GM call the police because he knew was wrong.

There is no way that Bob should be rewarded for providing false
information. He should pay the $29 room rate he was given and be glad
that they were not charging him the full $89 rate and filing fraud
charges against him.

I am sure that there are quite a few people out there who state that
they have relatives working at places so they can get a
discount...Hampton Inns happens to check this out...something Bob
probably never figured they would do.

Sorry if we came off as harsh, Bob. Sometimes we're like jackals
going after the lone gazelle on the tundra.

Now that we've seen some more facts, I'm not sure it really changes
much. I absolutely believe that you brought up the stuff about your
nephew just as part of the conversation. I also believe that the
reservation rep probably thought you brought it up so you can get the
discount. I don't think you intentionally did anything wrong -- just
took advantage of what seemed to be a great offer.

At the end of the day, here's why I don't think you'll get any gas on
this one. In virtually every one I've seen, as soon as you step into
the "Friends and Family" or "Employee Discount" realm, the rules
change. You don't get all of the cool whiz-bang stuff that the
regular paying customers get. In this case, it was price concessions
due to no hot water.

Did the Manger overreact a bit? Probably. I know a lot of
customer-facing folks have a radar up thinking that everyone is out to
cheat the system, rather than reacting with trust and assuming that
there's an honest miscommunication until the facts show otherwise. I
know its a constant dialogue I have with my employees. I'm not really
sure that everyone heard the conversation (I've often found that what
I think people are listening to they really don't care about and
filter out). In any case, someone probably needs to help her lighten
up just a bit.

You'll probably end up just walking away from this one with a $29
charge (plus the taxes and fees which could be the topic of another
post). Next time someone offers you a rate that sounds rock-bottom,
you might want to ask what you're giving up for it.

WOW! I certainly can't speak on behalf of the people who write these
comments, but I can say I am truly sorry for your barrage! I read all
the posts regarding this instance and agree with you 100%. I too
would be pretty livid. I would tell them to charge me whatever they
wanted and then make sure I paid with my credit card...cause you know
my next step would be to dispute the charge. Planet Feedback
Commentors who disagree..... EVERYONE ELSE WAS GIVEN CREDIT FOR THE
NIGHT!!! Why would they not credit her? You all think that the
correct resolve would be to charge her and no one else?! I'd be
gettin a lwyer for this! Sometimes people are in a position of
authority but don't know how to wield it.
Your letter was fine. These commentore are like vultures! Since many
of them know it all about nothing....They will read into your words,
They will make your loss their own, they will have all the answers
for you, my gosh they will even spell check for you! Anything that
makes them feel superior to you and how wrong you were in that
situation. Just let them be! One day they will have stuff like that
happen to them. It's Karma. Hope you get resolve!

OK, fine, fine, fine.... shame on me for asking for a few future
nights on the house... When I was writing the letter, I was getting
more upset as I wrote it. My bad... forget the free rooms in the
future.

But yes, I do think my card should be credited the amount... and for
one reason only... EVERY OTHER PERSON THAT ASKED GOT THEIR ROOM FOR
FREE. THE EMPLOYEES WERE TELLING PEOPLE AT THE BREAKFAST AREA THAT
THEY JUST HAD TO ASK THE FRONT DESK AND THEY WOULD GET A COMPED ROOM.
That is why I feel that I should get it... why everyone but me?

And yes, I do feel that the GM should be reprimanded for her actions.
Fired? Of course not. Suspended? No not at all. But a little
meeting with her and her boss to basically say that its probably not
in the best interest of the Hampton Inn to threaten to call the police
on someone for something like this. I could see if I was drunk or
obnoxious... I was nothing of the sort.

So apparently you aren't very close with your nephew since you don't
know where he works, but you sure are quick to go for his discount....

And one more thing... we were only staying the one night, not more
than that. And again, everyone else at the hotel got their room for
free... not for 29 dollars, not for 89 dollars, not for one dollar,
but FOR FREE!!!!!! Every single person that went to the desk, were
given their room for absolutely FREE!!! And trust me when I say that
I would have much rather paid 89 dollars for a room with hot water so
I could take a shower, than to pay 29 dollars for a room with
absolutely no hot water at all.

My goodness people. Let me be a bit more specific as I obviously was
not in my letter. When I called 1-800- Hampton, I was given the rate
of 89.00 per night, for AAA. While talking with the person on the
phone, I mentioned that my nephew also worked at a Hampton Inn. SHE
IS THEN THE ONE THAT TOLD ME I QUALIFIED FOR THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY
DISCOUNT...NOT ME! I was delighted that she would offer me that just
like ANY OF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN IF YOU COULD GO FROM PAYING 89 DOLLARS
TO 29 DOLLARS. Did you read that... she offered it to me after me
telling her that my nephew was a sales manager at a Hampton Inn. I
didn't ask for it.

Next, as far as me taking my daughter down to the desk with me.. as
someone in their response called it a business meeting.... give me a
break. Going to the front desk, after just being told that your room
will be given free, in my opinion, I was going up to sign a credit for
my card or something of that nature. I had no clue that she was going
to start telling me that she would call the police or that I was
commiting fraud.

Next regarding the card that had to be signed. I never knew a card
had to be signed until, during our discussion of "police and fraud",
the GM asked me where was the card and that I was supposed to have one
at checkin and that nobody, nobody at all, gets that rate unless they
have a signed card at check in. What I was basically saying is that
had the clerk, at check in, denied me due to having no card signed,
they I would have had to pay the 89 dollars per night and this would
have never happened.

Now to address a few others who think I am so wrong... so I should
still pay the 29 dollars, even though everyone else got their rooms
for free?????? Tell me people, and answer truthfully... do each and
everyone of you know exactly where everyone of your nephews and nieces
work at all times? Do you all talk to them that much to know where
they work and when they change jobs???? And one more item... when
the reservation was made, one month before, MY NEPHEW WAS EMPLOYED BY
Hampton Inn... so yes, at the time of reservation, he was an employee
of Hampton Inn.

Now, am I in the wrong for asking for some free future nights? I
don't think so. You all put yourself in my shoes.... Tell me you
wouldn't be ticked off and write a letter. I think most of you would.
And as far as me walking away and saying whatever, what should I have
done??? Continue to sit there and argue with her in front of my
daughter? I think I did the responsible and correct thing by walking
away and put an end to the threats and poor communication.

Have you ever heard the phrase "Quit while you're ahead"?

You got a discount you were not entitled to. You got caught. They
could have told you that since your nephew was no longer an employee,
that you would have to pay full price for every night you were there.
But they didn't. They said you could continue staying there at the
discounted rate you weren't entitled to, the only stipulation was that
you wouldn't get credited for the night without hot water.

But that wasn't good enough for you. You wanted to squeeze every dime
out of them. If I were the manager, I would have turned around and
credited you for the night without hot water, but then charged you
full price for the other nights. The $89 that you should have been
paying in the first place.

Oh, and you were the one embarassing your daughter, standing up there,
arguing with the manager, "begging" them to call the police. Have you
no shame?

the line condemning them for not asking for the card. You KNEW you
had not provided them the required documentation needed to get the
discount and then blamed THEM for not asking for it? While it was
very well an oversight, it certainly looks off.

Secondly, you're asking for free nights for the embarrassment of the
altercation in front of your daughter THAT YOU WILLINGLY participated
in! You "begged" her to call the police, basically baiting her and
escalating the argument and then blame it all on her? Come on now!

Was the manager overzealous and crossed the line in accusing you and
calling you a fraud? Definitely, but I have a sneaking suspicion that
you knew you were far from blameless in all of this.

Yes, in theory you should have gotten the comped room too, but I can
at least see why they argued it. I just think you made a bad
situation worse by getting worked up over it.

Your rate really should have been $89 per night. That is exactly what
the manager should have charged you upon discovering the
"misunderstanding" (aka fraud) regarding your nephew's employment.

Instead the manager was nice enough to give you the room for $58 -
meaning you still are ahead $31.

And now you have the gall to think you are entitled to something more?
There is a great term for a person like you, but for me to use it
would mean I would be banned from this site.

I don't know if the OP intentionally misled the hotel or not. And of
course, I wasn't there to hear or see the "embarrassment" that
allegedly occurred. We're only hearing one side of this, and it's
quite possible that the OP was just as rude as he claims the manager
was to him. (The statement about walking away and saying "whatever",
after arguing for 5 minutes, doesn't exactly paint a perfect picture
of the OP)

All that being said, if everyone at that hotel got the night for
free, then he should too. It doesn't matter if the price was supposed
to be $29, or even if the OP intentionally misled the hotel and the
price should be $89, it should still be free, since probably everyone
else at the hotel was initially charged the non-discounted price.

As for future free nights - no way. Refund the night in question, and
both parties need to move on.

I believe companies should deliver on their promises. And if the OP
was promised a free night because of water problems, then he should
get that. However, any subsequent nights should be charged at the
non-discounted rates.

I don't know if the OP intentionally misled the Hampton or not. I
agree with Cor below that he must know how the family discount plan
works, particularly since he is calling out the Hampton for not
demanding to see his passport card. But it is just as likely that the
OP really didn't know his nephew was gone, particularly if said nephew
left the company relatively recently. I do, however, believe the
manager handled the situation poorly. Accusing the OP of fraud in
front of other guests was bad form.

I'm kind of on the fence about the free future nights. I really hate
the whole compensate-me-for-inconvenience/embarassment requests, but
if the OP was truly innocent, then I can see why he was embarassed to
be accused of fraud in front of 50 people.

"Second of all, shame on them for not making me give a signed passport
card that all employees are supposed to have at checkin, before being
given the employee or friends/family rate."

In other words, shame on the clerk for giving the OP the benefit of
the doubt and not dragging out the check-in process by asking for a
card that he was doubtlessly bursting at the seams ready to produce?
Is that it?

I can see the letter now...

Hampton Inn Clerk Calls Guest a Liar! The OP goes on and on about
obviously not having the Golden Ticket that gives him special rates
and the clerk refusing to just give them to him.

That being said...it would have probably been a good idea to confirm
that the nephew was still employed before dropping that information on
the phone. The OP obviously knows something of how the friends/family
rate system is supposed to work.

But assuming that he deliberately misled them is a bit of a stretch.
My guess is that it was a very tense night involving scores of guests
making grabs for freebies (and not being satisfied with apologies, I'm
certain). That doesn't excuse the behavior, of course, but likely
explains it.

Though I'm loathe to admit it now, if everyone else got a free night
because they didn't have hot water, the OP should get it, too, since
the he didn't have hot water, either. As for "free future nights", I
don't see that happening.

Although I'm intrigued at the price the OP puts on his dignity. Just
how many free nights would entice him to go back to a place that
threatened him with the police?

You don't say what you ended up paying, so I assume it is the $29 rate
that I can't tell why you were eligible for in the first place.

You didn't have to take your daughter to a business meeting. You
could tell by the manager's tone something was amiss.

I would say $29 for an $89 room isn't bad, cold water and all. I
can't figure for the life of me why you presented yourself as a
relative of an employee, when that employee no longer worked there.
That does sound like fraud, can't you see that?

Did the manager yell at the top of her lungs? If you were at the desk
as you say, how could 50-60 people hear?

Free nights? You can't be serious. This entire episode sounds like
you wanted something for close to nothing. That's what you got, so
just leave it at that.

Bob P.,

Being an Uncle of an aosociate in my opinion would not qualify you for
any family program. Not to mention that you did not, as you say, know
he was no longer in the capacity as you thought.

Programs like these are a privledge and not a right.

Unfortunately all we get is your side. Could this be a case of your
inability to deal with a female in a positon of responsibility?

"I told her whatever"..rarely results in a Win / Win.

Your final paragraph sums it all up....you are in for the gimme grab.


BillR.

"Second of all, shame on them for not making me give a signed passport
card that all employees are supposed to have at checkin, before being
given the employee or friends/family rate".

I don't get what you mean here? Did you have the card or not? It
sounds like they took your word for it, then found out you gave them
false info, knowingly or not.

I'm also not clear about what you paid for the room? It sounds like
you still got the discount rate of $29.00, even though you didn't
qualify for it? And you are upset because everyone else got a free
night?

I have a hard time deciding what I think is fair. I don't think that
you deserve any free future nights. I think you contributed to the
embarrasment by staying and arguing with the manager for 5 minutes.
You could have requested that you go somewhere private to discuss the
situation. Frankly, they didn't have to honor the $29.00 rate, nor
give you a free night, so I think I'd let it go or they might decide
to recind the discount you aren't entitled to.

You asked for a friends and family discount, and you agreed to pay a
third of what you would have paid without the discount. I don't think
it's unreasonable for them to expect you to provide accurate
information, and I don't think it's unreasonable to call it fraud when
the information that got you the great deal wasn't correct -- they
don't need to get into why you provided false information. It was
your responsibility to be sure of your facts. Obviously, given that
this is what I think, I don't think the GM should be reprimanded for
accusing you of fraud, although -- I'm assuming here that she was the
one who was using a loud voice while you were trying to be discreet --
it might be appropriate for someone to remind her that this kind of
conversation really shouldn't turn into a spectacle in front of other
guests.

It's just your bad luck that an even better deal came along
unexpectedly and you missed out on it because you had negotiated a
lower rate by telling them something that wasn't true. I don't think
the offer the GM made you was unreasonable, and since you eventually
said "Whatever" and walked away, I would consider the offer accepted.
I don't think they owe you a refund. I am sure it will come as no
surprise to you that I'm not a big fan of the "few free future nights"
plan either.

Instead of begging her to call the police, maybe you should have
called them and gotten it all straightened out right then. But you
didn't. I suspect that even if you had, the police wouldn't have told
her that she had to comp your rooms, but at least you'd have had a
copy of the police report for when you filed a small claims case.

You knew you were supposed to sign the passport card at check in...but
you conveniently forgot it along with the fact that your nephew no
longer worked for Hampton Inns.
You tried to defraud them...you got caught simple as that and now you
are ticked off because you were embarrassed in front of all those
people...again because you were caught!

I imagine you will also tell your 8yr old that Hampton was wrong and
you were right to try to get a cheaper price even if it means lying.

I find it really fascinating that the OP is close enough with his
nephew that he was able to grab a super-discount, but not close enough
to know that the nephew has gone on to another job.

Also sounds liek you knew the OP knew that he was supposed to have
some kind of passport card and knew that he didn't have it, which kind
of makes the story a little iffy.

I was with you until the last paragraph. Why is it so easy to slip
into greediness and entitlement? Is that a lesson you want to teach
your eight-year-old daughter?