Complain about a product or service

Holiday Inn Express

Frank of Finksburg MD (11/27/05):
On Oct. 27, 2005 while on vacation in North Carolina, I was surrounded by 8 men and robbed on the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express that I was staying at. My wife was able to escape the attack only to go to the front desk and find no one there to help; she then tried the pay phone and it was "Out of Order". By the time I was able to call for help, the 8 criminals were all gone along with my $1,000.

They did have security cameras, but no one was monitoring them. If they had seen the incident, the police could have responded and saved me and my money. I have a copy of the tape and as it turns out, the criminals car would have been very easy to identify if someone had just told the police about the video at the time. I had to check the next day and ask them if they had a working camera. The tape quality is so poor, the police could not use it, but it does show part of the assault.

While I realize they certainly did not wish this to happen, I did expect a high level of security from their organization, especially since this occurred at 6 p.m. in perfectly clear weather in broad daylight. They were negligent in their security.

Donald of Napa CA (2/23/04):
My eight year old daughter was injured walking around an indoor hot tub while we were on a weekend get away at the Holiday Inn Express, South Lake Tahoe. She slipped on the glazed tile floor and landed on her mouth. I had to take her to a Dentist and he did a great job of taking care of her.

When I returned from the dentist, I expressed my concerns regarding the lack of safety precautions taken in the hot tub area. The manager told me that no one ever slipped before and there's a sign posted. I tried to explain to her that this might be the first of many accidents if she didn't do anything. She told me she would pass this on to the Hotel Owner and he would get back to me. Before I checked out, I called the mamager and asked if the owner was going to contact me. She told me that the owner is not liable because his insurance would not cover my daughter's medical expenses.

I was offended by her comments and asked to speak to the owner. She told me she would leave him a message. I asked about the Hotel's satisfaction promise of service and she told me that she wasn't responsible for my dissatification of service because she tried to resolve this matter. Holiday Inn should not have individual owners.

Kaithlean of Roanoke VA 8/2/03):
My husband is a priority club member with Holiday Inn. We decided to book a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. He received one night's free stay with earned bonus points, and one night on his military discount which was $99.00 for a double room. The second day of our stay I checked my bank account to see if our direct deposit went through and was puzzled to see that a $421.20 charge was on my debit account. I spoke to a bank representative and they told me it was from the Holiday Inn Express where we were staying.

My husband went down to inquire as to WHY $421.20 was charged to our account. It was a "hold" charge for the $99.00 room for one night. The front desk clerk assured us that the charge would be credited to our account when we checked out and we would only be liable for the 99.00, roll away bed and any other miscellenous charges. On the third day, when we checked out my husband again asked about the $421.20 charge. The clerk assured us that our account would be credited the same day, less the $130.45 room charge, so we went on our way, three kids in tow.

When I went to use my card, I was horrified to find out that my card was declined...immediately I called my bank, only to find out that the Holiday Inn Express had charged to my card $842.40 and and the room charge of $130.45...this took everything out of the only access we had to funds for our trip. This all happened on a Saturday, so we are unable to rectify anything until the following Monday. We are 300 miles from home, unable to access OUR money due to an incompetent mistake. Thank God we had friend close to where we were visiting.

With no satisfaction from the Hotel itself, my husband finally spoke with a rep from Holiday Inn Corporate. We were on the phone with her for more that 45 minutes, she tried hard to rectify the situation, however due to the fact it was Saturday could not arrange for the money to be credited back to my account until Monday. So her we sit on Saturday, our trip ruined, my bank account with zero balance and what was to be an enjoyable 4 day excursion...totally ruined by an the most absurd charge for a room I have ever encountered. You can bet that my husband will find another hotel chain to work with after 8 years of loyalty. The moral of this story, ask about the amount of a "hold charge" for your room, and DON'T use your debt card.

Karl of McAlester OK (7/21/03):
I have a laundry list of complaints about the Holiday Inn Express, McAlester OK. I had a long term stay as a result of a move. My company paid my moving expenses and I got reimburesed after the fact. I wanted to pay in 30-day increments because that is how I get remimbursed. I explained this to the staff and they said no problem. When I went to pay however I found out they had been charging my card without telling me.

I said how can you do that without informing me. They said they put a letter and a receipt under the door to my room. When I said I never received it, they said maybe we put it under the wrong door. I asked them if that meant they gave my credit card number to another guest and they didn't know. The manager was less than helpful, he avoided me at all costs.

The pool is filthy, they don't even turn the filter on. One Saturday night I counted 30 people elbow to elbow in the pool and the filter wasn't even on. The hot-tub is a gaping concrete hole in the ground next to the pool. It has been out of order for months so they drained it. Now it is just a 6 foot hole waiting for someone to fall in it. There is nothing to prevent kids from going near it. OHSA should investigate that.

The continental breakfast is never ready on time and I usually have to leave for work while they are setting it up. On weekends they run out of food if the hotel is full. One day the server even told my wife "I guess you should get up earlier". Our phone has gone out for a week at a time.

Jeanette of Las Vegas (8/20/02):
I made reservations at Rapid City, SD, over the internet for four nights stay starting on 8 August 2002. I contacted the hotel by phone on the 6th of August to cancel the first night only to find out they were not holding a room for us and there were no rooms available and there would not be any available until August 11. Even though I had a confirmation number they did not apologize for the inconvenience. I then told the desk clerk to cancel all of the nights and I told her I would take my chances when I arrived. I did not receive a cancellation number nor did I know I had to have one. We arrived at the hotel on the the 10th of August and checked-in without incident.

When I received my credit card statement, I had been charged for the 7th of August. When I called to see if the problem could be rectified, I was informed by the day manager (Jamie) that she could do nothing because I did not have a cancellation number. I have phone records to prove I made the call to the hotel on 6 August.

Cara of Mesa AZ (10/1/01):
On Saturday, September 29, 2001 I was informed that an event planned for the following weekend at the 4300 East Washington Street, Phoenix, property was being pushed to a smaller room. Shocked, I asked how that was possible, when we had written documentation that it would be held in the ballroom. I was told in a sarcastic manner that Holiday Inn had the right to move us anywhere they wanted. I asked if that was legal. Dodie stated that she had checked with her legal department and was told it was legal. She went on to state that Holiday did not need to disclose to the client that they could bump you to another room, when signing their contract.

My husband asked if what she meant was that she deliberately deceived the client. Her response was that this was normal business practices for the hotel industry. We asked to get our money back and were very upset that a week before we were being pushed to a smaller room. She was very outspoken about how it was not her problem. She stated that she would return our security deposit and that was the best she could do under the circumstances. My brother and I went to four other hotels and were informed that legally they do need to disclose the information to us. That we should ask for them to pay for the invitations and the stamps since we had to move our event. When I spoke to the Regional Manager, he stated that he would need to get both sides of the story and he would try to get us our money back.

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