We had booked 5 rooms directly with the hotel 2 weeks prior to our arrival date. I was given confirmation numbers and the rooms were held with a credit card. My family was to arrive on a Friday and 3 members of our party were to arrive on Saturday. These 3 people were staying in the same room. The Thursday prior to our arrival date I called to make sure everything was in order I was assured by the desk clerk that everything was fine. Checking in took 45 minutes.
I went to my room that was adjacent to the pool area, turned on the air conditioner and it made a very loud noise. The noise was so loud people in the parking lot were turning around to see what it was. I called the front desk, they told me to wait and see it might quit. So, I waited. Sat on the beds, my daughter climbed in one of the beds, used the bathroom, opened the soap washed and dryed our hands etc. The noise did not quit. I again called the front desk and they said to come and get a key for another room. I went to the front desk and had to wait again for another 45 minutes. Now they do not have a room available that was specified in my reservation or near my family. Take it or leave it. No apologies for the inconvienence. Gathered our stuff moved to the new room and went to sit out by the pool with the rest of our family. The air conditioner was great fodder for jokes while we were sitting by the pool but then 2 people were standing at that very room, card keys in hand and going in the room. This hotel just rented out the very room we had just left out of, bed unmade toilet used etc. etc. knowing full well we had just been in there.
Day 2
My son arrived Saturday at 1:00 AM was given the key to his room. He opened the door, bed had been slept in, towels in the floor, beer cans everywhere, the room had been used and not cleaned. He went to the front desk and was informed there was not another room available. The desk clerk was sending him to The Sleep Inn. He drove to The Sleep Inn. They only had a single room available. He called Quality Inn. The desk clerk told him to find a hotel and Quality Inn would reimburse him the next morning for the hotel room. My son drove around Arlington/Dallas went to 3 different hotels, all booked. Between Six Flags and a Major League Texas Rangers playing that weekend it was no wonder everything was booked. At 3:45 AM he found a room at Crown Point with 2 beds. The price was 179.00. He took it. At 4:00 AM he called us to let us know he was in his room finally, separated from the rest of the family but in a room.
Day 3
9:00 AM
Entire family ready to go to Six Flags going to get there early. On the way to get in the cars my son and I went to the front desk to get his reimbursement for the room last night. Presented the bill to the front desk clerk. She was aware of absolutely nothing. Had to explain the whole situation to her. After the explanation, she point blank stated we are not going to pay this. I explained to her that this is what he was told to do last night and that is what he did. She stated that he should have found a cheaper hotel. I explained to her ( like I actually needed to) that on a Saturday night 2:00 in the morning and a person is not familiar with the area finding a hotel and then one that isn't booked is not all that easy, not to mention the fact, that he did have a room reservation at HER hotel and Her hotel rented him a filthy room and he shouldn't have had to ride around at 2 and 3:00 in the morning looking for a cheaper room. By this time there are about 10 people behind me waiting to either check in or out and people all around that are eating their breakfast now we have become the center of attention. Now the rest of the family comes in to find out what is taking so long.
The front desk clerk slid the bill from the other hotel and said the manager will not pay this. I told her I wanted to speak with the manager. She said he was not there but she would call him. She stayed in the room at the back of the front desk for a while and came back and said that he was not going to reimburse my son. By this time the crowd had increased to include a church group with people standing in the glass foyer. I again stated my reasoning that Quality Inn should be responsible and I wanted to speak with the manager myself on the phone. The front desk clerk phoned him, she informed him that I wanted to speak with him. He refused to speak with me. The manager told her to reimburse my son what the cost of his room would have been at the Quality Inn 69.99 ([--]rate)plus tax and that was all that they were going to do and if I had a problem with that I could see the manager on Monday but they didn't know what time he would be in.
The crowd has grown even larger, it is now 10:30 AM, people are just throwing their card keys on the front desk, I have children, teenagers and other family waiting to get to Six Flags(early). I told my son to just take what they were offering as there was not going to be any resolution to this and we had to go. He told her okay and she said the manager would have to write him a check and we got to hear once again how the manager wasn't there and wouldn't be until Monday and she didn't know when. Now, I am getting angry as well as everyone standing behind me. A man in the back hollered "You have got to be kidding, give the kid his money". Finally she conceded and I guess paid my son out of a petty cash bag. At 10:45 we were walking out the front door of The Quality Inn embarrassed, humiliated and angry but
on our way to Six Flags.
Day 4
Check Out
Reserved our rooms with a credit card. Paid in full with cash when we checked in. Quality Inn makes you sign a paper agreeing to the room rate. We signed the paper and kept our copy(thank goodness). Took our keys presented them to the same female desk clerk. She informed us we owed $88.00 more dollars. I asked for what? She stated that was our balance and started quoting different rates for the various nights we stayed. I told her that the rate we were given was the same for every night for every room. She stated they were not. I had to try and remember conversations 2 weeks prior when I made the reservations by phone for 5 rooms, the names of the people I talked to and then I remembered the piece of paper we signed when we checked in, I told my husband to go and get the paper out of the truck. (A crowd is starting behind me again) Then the clerk said oh, there it is. It is okay. I don't know why the computer does that. That was it no apology, no nothing.
We have our own business and no matter what, our livelihood depends on customer satisfaction no matter what and at any cost, that is why our family is still in business after 26 years.My son was angry at the desk clerk that had told him that night to just get a room and my son would be reimbursed for it. I explained to my son that no, we are not to be angry with him( we know his name but decided it might be best not to include it) because he was trying to make a bad situation better, he was trying to make his customer happy and satisfied, he was trying to do his best and thought that his company, Quality Inn, would stand by his decision. I would hire him in a minute. He knew the right thing to do and he did it. Quality Inn did not.
Never Ever again. I will sleep in the car and potty in a park before I ever stay at another Quality Inn.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
no way!
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Theme / Amusement park, Shopping
Management Response
gmarlington, General Manager
(Management representative)
Feb 13, 2008
It was unfortunate that this guest had to face so many hurdles through their stay at the Quality Inn at Arlington Highlands (our name has changed).
To begin with, many rooms at a hotel go in and out of inventory due to maintenance problems. A 140 room hotel built in 1983 that averages 70% occupancy rates will experience wear and tear. We try our best to turn these rooms around as quickly as possible to ensure we can accommodate all guests on our arrivals list (we were sold out that weekend). The first room in question was resold because the air conditioner unit was replaced and the room was re-cleaned. No guest would ever settle for a room with that noisy of an air conditioner nor a room that was previously used as this guest has stated.
Unfortunately, it seems a breakdown in communication and lack of adequate training lead to problems that could have easily been resolved.
Since this incident, the following actions were taken to improve the quality of the hotel:
1.> Both the Executive Housekeeper and Front Desk clerk in question have been replaced.
2.> A new 5 day training program has been introduced for all Front Desk Clerks before they are even allowed to speak to guests or work alone.
3.> Increased staff levels when occupancy levels reach 65% and have included an action plan for managers to work the Front Desk if staff members are absent due to illness or vacation. The guest should never have to wait!!
4.> We now have an Emergency Response Plan for incidents where guests have to be relocated to other hotels. Including creating a system where we pay the hotel directly for the guests room instead of reimbursing the guest. I'm proud to say that we have never "walked" a guest to another hotel since this incident.
5.> An improved Manager On Duty procedure so that guests who wish to report incidents, comments, etc may receive responses from Management the same day, usually within the hour.
6.> Increased flexibility in allowing our Front Desk Service Agents to provide the customer with everything they need to be satisfied with their stay.
Unfortunately, this hotel was built in 1983 and I am unable to expand the breakfast area of the hotel due to permit regulations guided by the City of Arlington. However, we do pass the adequate seating guidelines governed by Choice Hotels International.
This hotel changed ownership in December 2006 and has gone through some dramatic changes.
As any business owners/operators know, with change comes minor bumps and headaches. This guest experienced one of these headaches, but also opened our eyes to some gaps within our system. Staying in business for 26 years (as the family of this guest has done) is an incredible feat, but I'm sure mistakes were made along the way and headaches were experienced. Its our response to these headaches that lead to such great customer satisfaction.
I'm happy to say that we worked hard to resolve these issues and will continue to work hard to strive for better for our guests.
Regards,
Manu Lail
General Manager
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
