Mark Szegedi-Duffield-Hotels.com-1707195923

> Dear Sir/Madam, > > I would like to begin this correspondence by apologizing for the length of > text that follows. While, in a perfect world, my complaint could be > presented in cold, matter-of-fact bullet points alone, the sheer gravity of > the disgusting treatment I have received – both literally and figuratively > – warrants a more personal, detailed account. > > I would therefore implore you to take sufficient time to digest each > detail and consider how truly awful this whole debacle has been, from the > moment I checked-in to my room, right up to this moment. > > In a nutshell, my complaint primarily concerns the deplorable condition of > my room at Hotel Metropolitan, and the hotel’s unwillingness (both during > and after my stay) to address the numerous issues I raised to their > attention. However, following the indifferent responses I have since > received from both them and you, regarding the treatment I received, I now > have no option but to also include Hotels.com as a source of this complaint. > > In truth, what is perhaps worse than the disgusting state of the room I > had to endure (details of which will be included later) is the contemptible > responses received and a complete lack of empathy or responsibility shown > by any party in this matter. As a customer, a traveller, a paying guest – > as a human being – I have been completely let down, devalued and > disregarded. This is wholly unacceptable and, from your perspective, at > least, should be a matter of concern. > > > > Having lived in four countries and traveller to over fifteen others, I > would like to think that I’ve experienced an extensive range of > accommodations, hotels, motels, hostels and the like. Some quirky, some > rustic, some even unnecessarily excessive or lavish, but never, NEVER, have > I experienced a room so filthy, battered and unhygienic. Honestly, you > don’t expect a room to be perfect – that would be ridiculous – but you do > expect, AT THE VERY LEAST, that your room is clean, and not a bio health > hazard. It’s really that simple. > > Moreover, if one or two things are a little off or below expectation, you > let it go. And why? Because you generally give others the benefit of the > doubt or square the issue away in the knowledge that everyone is just doing > the best they can, right? Right. Well, the problems with my room weren’t > just down to one or two minor inconveniences. Upon arrival it was one thing > after another, and another, and another… > > The room was filthy and evidently had not cleaned in months – running a > vacuum over the visible portion of the floor and changing the trash simply > does not cut it. The majority of surfaces in the room were covered in a > thick layer of dust (see attachments) which had a noticeable effect on the > air quality (I struggle with allergies) and undeniably contributed to the > musty ‘flavor’ of the room. Numerous pieces of furniture and appliances, > left, right, and center, were either broken and/or unclean and/or > inoperable. The cherry on the pie though was that the head end of the > mattress and 2 of the 4 pillows provided had an EXTREMELY STRONG SMELL OF > URINE to them, Yes, urine! > > Given the revolting state of my room, I called the 'welcome email' number > twice on the evening of my arrival to request a room change, yet my calls > went unanswered. The phone just rang and rang, no voicemail, no nothing. > “Why not visit the front desk?” I hear you say… Well, the hotel does not > have a front desk, or lobby, or any onsite staff. Wonderful! And that was > it, for the next two days and nights I was forced to put up with it. > > You could argue that I should have tried calling the following day or got > in touch with you at Hotels.com, but why the hell should I spend my time > chasing a hotel that CLEARLY does not care about their guests (for all the > reasons touched upon above) or, for that matter, a third-party middleman > who has since shown themselves to be cut from the same cloth? I was in in > Long Beach for a limited time to make important dental appointment. Having > had knee surgery just 2 weeks before my trip, I was hoping to be able to > relax and spend some time outside lightly exercising and essentially > relearning to walk, not spending every waking hour trying to solve a glut > of issues with my hotel room. More fool me for opting to support a local > business and forgoing a stay at the Best Western a block or two away in > order to avoid lining corporate pockets. Ironically, if I had chosen to > stay at the Best Western, I’m pretty sure any similar issues to the ones I > endured would have been taken care of without hesitation. > > > > Here is a list of the issues: > > > > 1. Strong urine smell on mattress and 2 pillows > > 2. Thick dust on majority surfaces (inc. bed surround, painting frame, > fan, kickboards, television) > > 3. Broken bed surround > > 4. Bed surround drawer interiors covered in grease, hair and detritus > > 5. Broken lamp > > 6. Structurally unsound table > > 7. Broken toilet seat > > 8. Thick grease and dust on bathroom extractor vent > > 9. No handles on kitchenette cupboards or drawers (inoperable) > > 10. Dirty silverware and plate > > 11. 3 sheets of kitchen roll > > 12. Marked walls > > 13. Broken AC remote. Batteries held in by tape that failed, meaning AC > would not respond to remote and/or cut out/shut off > > I have previously sent pictures and videos of the listed items above to > your staff, and will be more than happy to do so again if you do not have > access to them. It says an awful lot that neither yourself or Hotel > Metropolitan has made any comment on this evidence to date though. > > After my stay, I emailed Hotel Metropolitan in the hope that they might be > interested in the issues with the room they fleeced me for. I suggested > that they could act responsibly and offer to remedy the situation, their > only response was that I was reporting issues “no one else has reported and > could have been corrected by calling us upon arrival”, that I “will need to > file a complaint with them [Hotels.com] as you did not book with us > directly” and that “we won’t be responding direct anymore”. > > You would have thought that any hotel worth its reputation would actually > seek to resolve any and all issues under the understanding that solving > problems is good for future business and ensures positive feedback and good > standards. Wrong! Hotel Metropolitan would rather sweep their issues under > the rug, bury their head in the sand, and spit bile at any customer who has > the audacity to complain. You would also think that huge corporations like > Hotels.com would prefer to be regarded favorably by their customers and > that, furthermore, they might actually fight their customers’ corner if and > when a customer was exploited by one of their clients. Wrong again! > > After Hotel Metropolitan’s inaction and unwillingness to resolve the > situation, I went on a deep dive into their practices and ended up reading > a small novel’s worth of reviews for Hotel Metropolitan and other > properties owned by the same LLC. Their silence in this whole sorry episode > actually speaks volumes as to the hotel owner’s character. I have since > discovered they have a track record of customers complaining about similar > issues to my own (including another urine complaint) and have compiled a > selection of reviews that I am also happy to share with you regarding the > owner’s shameful conduct and exceptionally poor, spiteful interpersonal > skills, if you even care? > > On which note, I would like to include some unanswered questions from our > previous correspondences: > > · Why are you refusing to comment on the evidence I have sent? > > · Why have you not taken any action against Hotel Metropolitan in > light of > their fraudulent advertisement? > > · Why do you insist on referring to my complaint as a > 'cancellation' or > 'change fee' when it is neither. > > · Do your terms and conditions of *customers agreeing to not make > any false* > * or fraudulent bookings *not also apply to the conduct of the hotels you > promote? > > I had hoped that you would have taken the opportunity to elevate yourself > above the shameful conduct of Hotel Metropolitan and offered to refund my > money in full. Alas, it seems you are unwilling to be the better person, as > it were, and prefer to keep toeing this line of being unable to refund > customers without the hotel’s approval. You cannot sit there and tell me > that a multi-billion-dollar company such as yours is unable to extend some > basic human decency, act with some integrity and a moral compass, and > refund one individual’s paltry booking fee. What a sham. What an awful, > disgusting, shameful way to conduct yourself. If you wanted to, you could. > Please do not insult me more than you already have by hiding behind some > meaningless ‘terms and conditions’ as justification for not doing the right > thing. > > I have been passed back and forth between you and Hotel Metropolitan like > some harem whore, while each of you claims the other is the only able to > approve refunds. Shame on you both. The bottom line is that both you and > Hotel Metropolitan have failed in your responsibilities to provide me, as a > paying customer, the services I paid for. Hotel Metropolitan should have > provided a clean, sanitary room with maintained furniture and appliances – > they did not. I therefore consider the transaction fraudulent on account > of the hotel not providing the services they advertised -- a clear breach > of contract. Furthermore, I would go so far as to say that the state of the > room represents an environmental health hazard. You should have > intervened and taken action to rectify the awful treatment and product I > received – you did not. > > On account of these failings, all I am continuing to ask for is my money > back. That’s it. While it may not seem significant to you, that $518.97 is > a week’s earning for me. Hard earned money that I trustingly gave over on > the promise for a service I never received. Out of principle, I will not > stop pursuing this issue until someone holds their hands up, acts with some > decency and issues a full refund. I have as much time as it takes. > > I’m also hoping that you remove Hotel Metropolitan from your platform, > given how truly awful, incompetent and knowingly fraudulent they are, but I > will eat my hat if that happens. > As stated in my previous correspondences, I would appreciate it if you > could directly respond to the bullet-pointed questions so that I may > include them – if necessary – in my BBB complaint regarding your hand in > this matter. > > Regards, > Mark Szegedi-Duffield