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Howard Johnson

Howard Johnson's •Poor service, filthy rooms •Rate disputes •Cancellation policy •False advertising •

Not too long ago, there seemed to be a Howard Johnson at every Interstate off-ramp. But the chain has sunk pretty low in the intervening years and the remaining outlets don't win many five-star ratings from our readers.

Now that it's part of the giant Cendant group, which owns everything from Avis to CheapTickets.com to Coldwell Banker, Howard Johnson doesn't exactly seem to be blazing new trails in the customer satisfaction department.

misael of aguascalientes, CA October 30, 2009

I decided to go to Arlington to see the Dallas Cowboys, so I traveled 1500 kilometers driving, it took me 17 hrs to get there. Days before I made the reservation in the Hojos hotel. I made my reservation in the internets page that the Hojos has for it. When I made the reservation, I put the dates, and then the page asked for my credit card number, so I put it, but at the moment of the confirmation of my reservation, the page didn't displays any information, something happended with the internet page, cause it changed to an other page that said...The page has expired, check your internet connection.

So I did it again, and the same thing happened again. After that I sent them a mail again and they said the same words. I did the whole procedure again, and finally my reservation number appeared. The next day I received 4 confirmation e-mails, with different confirmation numbers, it looked like I needed 4 rooms.

So I sent them a mail explained my situation and my wish to keep one of the reservation, not 4. They sent me a mail telling me that the reservation request was made positively, and regarding the others reservations, will checked, informing me about it, in a term of 7 days. The days passed and they didn't contacted me. So I called them to talked about my problem. They said there was any problem.

As I mencioned, I traveled to Arlington to see the Dallas Cowboys, so i was in the Hojos hotel one hour before the game. And when I asked for my room, they said that I have to pay for 4 rooms. I explained to them for may situation, the manager was screaming, and was very angry, I told him that it was not my mistake so I showed him the mails they sent me, and he said that they will pay me for the three rooms, but he says...It is necessary to sign the bill of your credit card for the amount of 640 dollars. And he said...If they don't pay you I'll do it. So I trusted in him. What could I do at that moment? The game was starting. So I decided to sign.

The next day after several calls, some supervisor of the Hojos said they will not give a refound. I think this is an abuse, they cannot treat the clients like this. I paid 640 dollas for something that I didn't use. I spent the whole day waiting for a call. I didn't enjoy the game, thinking about it.

JIMMY of NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR August 25, 2009

We checked into the Howard Johnson in Branson, Mo on 8/9/09 and checked out on 8/11/09. After staying there the first night, the following morning my son had the sheet on his bed get caught on his suitcase and when he pulled it, the sheet came off the bed revealing a huge urine stain on the mattress. This meant that the mattress pad and possibly sheets had not been changed from the previous guests before we checked in. I contacted the fron desk immediately around 9:45am and was assured that somebody would either remove the stain or the mattress would be replaced.

We left the hotel and returned around 4:30pm that afternoon and the room and mattress had not been cleaned. I contacted the front desk again and they seemed bothered that I had called twice and was assured that housekeeping was still working and they guaranteed that the room would be cleaned.

We went out and saw a couple of shows and got back to the room just a few minutes before 11:00pm and found that the room nor mattress had been cleaned. I contacted the front desk for the third time and explained that the room had not been cleaned and the mattress was still stained. She told me that on the check list for housekeeping, it was checked that the room had been cleaned, at which point I asked her to come see it for herself which she denied. She proceeded to tell me that there was nothing that could be done since housekeeping had already left for the day, only after I got extemely persistent did she agree to bring me clean sheets and towels for the room. She got to our room around 45 minutes later and dropped the sheets and towels off but had to get back to the front desk. We had to flip the mattress ourself and make the bed and pile all of the used towels and dirty sheets and blankets ourself.

The next morning when I asked the Asst. Manager M. Wingard for a card for J. Wilson whom I was told is the owner of this Howard Johnson due to a complaint of bad service we had received, she gave me his card and said J. would be the one to talk to and she then proceeded to walk away without even attempting to hear what I had to say.

I did contact J. Wilson at the number on the card and M. Johnson answered the phone. I asked her to have J. call me back and explained to her why and even after explaining the problems we had, she did not offer any empathy whatsoever. I have not heard back from J. Wilson, even though I explained to Manya that I would be filing a BBB complaint.

markieta of Jersey city, NJ August 7, 2009

This is the 2 nd time I've stayed at a Howard Johnsons and they are invested withy bed bugs different locations 1st incident ..I have video and pics to prove it this time ..The 1st time i thought it was just one incident I didn't make a make a big deal of it but did send a complaint ..this time I saw it and was tramatized ..didn't sleep there all night in total shock That I took pics /video of it with my camera phone ...My fiance was bitten in the face body and head by bedsbugs in rm 217 at this facility..they were in the sheets and bed he(my fiance) has bite marks all over him..

the hotel mgr wasnt on duty at the time he jumped up feeling the bite marks after inspecting the bed throughly we found a nest of bed bugs in the crease of the pillows and bed... we called man on duty at front desk and he switched us to a rm that was worst and said we have to wait until morning for a refund no mgr on duty at the time morning comes he refunded our money but was very nasty and saw video and pics we even have one of the bugs ina container that we caught to prove it..

please contact me asap as we plan on persuing this further with a attorney..i am attaching the video and we still have the large bug we caught in a small box to priove it please watch the video ...I never recieved a response from the 1st complaint I made months earlier about bed bugs at HOJO in Parsippany nj

B of Tehachapi, CA July 20, 2009

Below is a copy of the letter that HJ required that I email to HJ regarding poor service: Problems incurred: 1. Smell of burnt cigarette in hallway even though I was told that the Hotel was a non-smoking hotel.

2. Lack of amenities, specifically no refrigerator in room which I required for my Wife's medication. There were two refrigerators by the elevator and I had to plead for the use of one.

3. There was no coffee in the room although there were cream/sugar/stirrer packet available both days.

4. On the 1st night, at 8:50pm when we returned to the room, it was discovered that the room had not been cleaned. After getting excuses from the on duty manager, the only managentment on duty, I was told that there was only one room service attendant on duty that day. Finally, at 9:10pm the room service attendant arrived to clean the room.

5. The "free" hot breakfast was not hot but lukewarm and served in a room that had inadequate lighting although opening the drapes would have benefited.

6. The Hotel was under conversion to a Holiday Inn and the staff did not seem to care about current customers.

7. When I expressed the problems there was no one available to assist me, furthermore when I was given a customer service number, it was only the reservation number and although I was given a phone number for customer service, no one was available to assist me.

8. Finally, when I did finally contact Customer Service, I was told that they would contact the Hotel Management and they would have them contact me within seven (7) days, however, I was never contacted and had to contact Customer Service by telephone eleven (11) days later.

This email is sent at the instruction of the Howard Johnson's Customer Service Department when I called. I was told that the Corporate Customer Service would contact me within 24 hours.

Their Corporate Customer Service never called me. I did call them 4 days later. I was told that I would receive a 50% refund. A week later I had not received the refund on my credit card. I called Corporate Customer Service and was told that they would send a check they could not credit my account. But, as of today, 2 weeks since I sent the requested email, they had not sent the check. Furthermore I was told that they would send the check within the next three weeks from today. Not only was the Hotel poorly managed, their Corporation is obviously poorly managed as well. I run a small business and if there is a problem which requires a refund to a customer, I do it immediately, not three weeks later.

Karen of Richland Hills, TX June 29, 2009

We scheduled a family reunion there for June 26&27. We were told that the hotel had just recently undergone rennovations. The Lobby,FrontDesk, Front Restrooms, The Lounge(bar)and the Atrium all looked nice. The rooms we rented however were another story. Over crowded with old beat-up furniture, the drapes were old, dirty and barely hanging on the rod, four and five hooks were missing or not hanging on the rod, which let a lot of light in, both in the day time and at night time. There were ants, and terrible odors. The ceiling tiles were loose and some cracked and did not fit properly. The problems in above paragraph were not just in my room but at least 8 rooms used by other members of our family there for the reunion. My cousin had to try 3 rooms before she found one that she would agree to stay in. I am not sure if we had ten rooms reserved or just the eight I mentioned.

When the plans were made with the hotel, we were told that we could not have our meals catered in, that we would have to let the hotel prepare our meals. They gave us prices for sandwiches and finger foods for Friday's supper, for lunch Saturday that would include a meat entree, two vegetables, a salad, dessert, rolls and tea and we were offered the Continental breakfast(free) or a breakfast buffet for 6.00. We certainly did not mind the hotel preparing our meals and all were looking forward to the breakfast buffet. When it was time for supper Friday evening, they brought in a deli meat tray, fruit tray, and cheese tray and no bread, my cousin had to go buy bread and condiments and we had to ask 2 times for tea. None of the food trays were prepared by hotel staff but purchased and brought in to us. Instead of the 6.00 or 7.00 a person quoted to us, they charged 11.00 even the children had to pay 8.00.

When we questioned them, they said it was because we had ordered for a certain amount and that is what we received and the fact that we had to divide the cost among less people that made the cost higher for us. Well, we would and did understand that, but the amount of food they brought in would have not fed but one or two more people, certainly not the number we had planned for. There was no breakfast buffet available for the guests, we either had to eat the Continental breakfast or find a resturant.

Now for Saturday's meal, ONE ENTRE:(grilled chicken, very good) TWO VEGETABLES:(canned green beans,OK, mashed potatoes, so thin that they poured them from a pitcher, really they did)SALAD:(none was available) ROLLS:(the roll it's self was good, but it was served cold) DESSERT:(none available) We were upset that they had the facilities to prepare our food Saturday because but could not offer the breakfast buffet.

The most upsetting thing of the whole stay for us, occured Saturday night. The hotel had booked an anniversary party for Saturday night and had posted a sign on the front desk, it was behind another sign, however if you had to wait long enoug to get checked in and I did, you might have seen it. I saw the sign, finally after waiting at least 20 minutes to get checked in. The sign said "There has been an event scheduled for Saturday night in the Atrium and there will be loud music and may disturb some guests, but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it" I thought that was strange, but did not think too much about it since I did not realize that all the rooms outlined the Atrium on three sides and would be very near the party. We had to go through the Atrium to get to our rooms.

Well, when my other family members saw the staff decorating the Atrium Saturday they were surprised when I told them about the party, we were discussing it at our noon meal Saturday, and all thought we certainly should have been advised about the party before we checked in. They had not seen the sign and had not been told when they checked in. I told them that a sign was on the counter when I checked in Friday just not where you might have seen it easily. Absolutely no one else had seen the sign. I took them out to see the sign and it had been moved to front and center on the check in counter.

Also, I did not remember seeing a portion that was on the Saturday sign, being on the sign I saw Friday afternoon. It said on the Sat. sign that there absolutely WOULD Not be any refunds for Saturday night's reservations. Well let me tell you this made some of our group pretty angry, because they had not seen the sign. My sister and her husband said it positively was not there Thursday when they checked in. They were the only ones that made reservations for Thursday night, and we think the hotel staff did not put the sign up until Friday. We asked the lady on duty what time the party would start and be over and we were told it would start between 7:30pm and 8:00pm and would be over around 10:00pm. Some of us thought that wouldn't be too bad, we would just stay in our meeting room and play games until it was over. We kept waiting for the music and party in the Atrium to start, well it finally started after 8:30, we were told that it would still break up around 10:30 or 11:00. Around 10:45 a couple of people in our group went out to see if they were starting to close down the party and they were told that the party would break up at midnight.

All of us were upset about that, we had some in our family that are in their seventies and eighties and had already gont to their rooms and they were unable to sleep. I think this was very rude and unthinking to not tell us verbally when we checked in that this event was scheduled and give us the chance to stay or make other arrangements for Saturday. When we checked in we were told we had to pay in advance, we have never paid in advance at any hotel we have ever stayed in unless it was our idea. We have always paid when we check out. Of course now we understood why they wanted us to pay in advance, they knew that there would be many of us wanting to make other arrangements for Saturday night. My sister and her husband said they were not staying and I told them that the sign no refunds. He told the desk person that that sign was not up when he checked in and that he wanted his money back because he was leaving. They told him they could not refund his money, but they would check with management and if they could they would mail him a check. Needless to say, none of our party will ever stay there again.

As we played games waiting for the party to break up in the Atrium, much to our surprise the noise and music from the Lounge(bar) was so loud it was annoying. We thought the we would never get to go to bed. To add insult to injury, I was going over my receipt for my room and guess what was at the very bottom of the receipt?? This is what it said--- "The Atrium area is closed for public gatherings between the hours of 10:00pm and 8:00am. Please keep noise to a minimum during these hours!!" So they violated their own policy.

Sunder.V of Singapore, Singapore June 26, 2009

I had made reservation to stay at Howard Johnson Hotel Newark from 29th April to 5th May 2009. However I cancelled the reservation 3 week before my travel date. I had received confirmation reply for cancellation of stay from Howard Johnson and they still deduct USD 258.98 from me. I had been sending several e-mails to them and they replied me feeling apologetic and sorry and nothing has been made to refund me. It has been almost 2 months now.

Despite my reminders to them they are not taking any action. This is unfair to me as the money was deducted even before I travel and they could not refund me till today. This is annoying me. I sincerely hope the relevant authorities can look into the matter and help me to get my refund. Appreciate your help and Many Thanks.

Brett of Marlow, OK May 18, 2009

I booked 2 nights at this hotel because of a work related training. Nonsmoking/King bed. Very apparent this room was used for smoking or nonsmoking either, as there were ashes in the drawers, and the room smelled of smoke. Lots of mold on the bathroom walls.

Reported this to the front desk, who said they would pass it on to housekeeping. I paid with a company check when I arrived at check in, or I would have never stayed a second night.

Carmela of Maplewood, NJ April 14, 2009

Carmela of Maplewood NJ (04/14/09)
My family and I were driving 800 miles to New Jersey and decied to stop to rest. At 0154am we checked in at the front desk of Howard Johnson hotel. I had trouble sleeping because the pillows and blankets smelled as if they were not changed. At 0300am, I went to the bathroom to my surprise to find a cockroach crawling on the bathroom floor. I placed a garbage can on top of it to secure it. I got dresses and went to speak to the front desk manager to tell him I was leaving and would like my money back.

We checked out at 0320am and the gentlemen told me he could not refund my money. Nevertheless, we were so awakened that we decided to get back on the road and follow up with the General Manager. It was the worst ride home ever, we were all sleep deprived and delirious on the ride back.

The following week I called and spoke to the front desk and left 2 messages for Vick Shah (GM) and never recieved and calls back. One time I called the female whom answered the phone told me I stayed for an hour and a half and that he probably would not refund my money. Another time a pleasant female answered and promised me personally that she would ensure he calls me back, still no return call.

I spent 50.00 on the room for an hour and half. From 0154am to 0320am.

John of Simi Valley, CA March 21, 2009

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