Choice Hotels

I spent the night at the Quality Inn in Glenwood Springs Colorado. I was awakened at 5:00 am by the sound of dripping water coming from the bathroom. I went into the bathroom turned on the light and was standing in water. The water was coming from the room above, and the water was leaking from the fan and light in the ceiling. Because I was standing in water in bare feet, I could have been electrocuted. I called the front desk to complain, they said they would check on it. I proceeded to just check out because I could not use the bathroom facilities and I needed to get on the road. The manager was rude and would not comp the room, but would take $20 off the bill for my inconvenience. I could not use the bathroom, and could have been electrocuted.... all for $20. I will never stay there again.

I have tried the standard approaches to resolve the issue: email/calls to customer service at Choice Hotels. The staff is consistently rude and abrupt. Bottom line, they continue to indicate emails had been sent indicating points would be deleted but I never received the notices. I lost the 2000 points. Choice lost my loyalty and business.

We stopped in Perry, Georgia on October 13, 2011 on our way to Gatlinburg, TN. We go every year and usually stay in a different hotel. This year we thought we would try Comfort Inn & Suites. Bad choice! We stopped for the evening. So we paid for the room and got the key and went to dinner before we actually went up to the room.

When we got to the room, there was a used towel hanging from the bar by the shower and a used bar of soap was at the sink with a nasty hair on it. We immediately called the front desk and I was told they would send housekeeping to clean it. I said no, I wanted a different room, which I did not get. I also felt like the girl at the desk had an attitude. So we got a refund and went across the street to the Best Western where we usually stay every year. I will never stay at a Comfort Inn!

They lost our business forever and I will tell everyone I know not to go there ever!

Our toilet in our room was clogged. We called to complain and were told to come and get the plunger. I do not have to plunge the toilets of Comfort Suites. I placed a complaint when we arrived home, and no one ever got back to us. We had to sleep in a room with a clogged toilet all night.

Bedbugs in the room. I even caught one and brought it to the front desk clerk. Nothing was done and I was told that the manager would handle it.

My complaint against the Clarion Inn & Suites hotel for the five days I stayed there has been resolved. My current complaint is the Choice Privileges rules stating that group billings rates that are paid by each guest at checkout are not eligible for points. In other words, to book a convention at the hotel, every member staying will not get credit for their stay. Is this the only rewards program that does this, because all the others I use allow the points to be credited?

I will pass the word to never book reservations with Choice Privileges ever again. It is just too bad that this hotel chain will lose hundreds of future bookings because of a few points that most of the guests will never use anyway!

I am an employee who doesn't get paid and you cannot contact the owner. When you contact him, he will tell you "I will pay you when I want too and Choice will do nothing to me". I haven't been paid in a week. His name is Suneal ** at the Comfort Inn on Hwy 55 in Durham, NC. I contacted EEOC and they informed me that they will investigate Choice as a whole because too many of these situations occur and believe that Choice is a fraud. Do not stay at a Choice Hotel, it's a fraud.

#1 - First stay was June 26, 2011 at Comfort Inn (Sunnyvale, CA). I prepaid my reservation for 2 rooms. One of the rooms was not what we paid for and the clerk told me he was sorry but they had maxed out all the rooms. They could only offer one king bed room, when I paid for a double full bed room. We tried other hotels due to the dissatisfaction and no result. They where full due to a convention. On the other side, we prepaid and would not be reimbursed until the weekday manager would have a chance to see our complaints.

Finally, I got tired asking for what we needed. We had nowhere to go and our family was tired and we asked for a rollaway so we would not sleep on the floor. They took one, it was broken and left it there. That was all they could offer and extra sheets so we ended putting ourselves some phone books from our room. The other, we had to balance the bed so that my son would not fall off. We called the manager on the following Monday and no news to this date.

I contacted Choice Hotels who we booked through and they filed a compliant with the reference number, and asked to wait to hear from the Comfort Inn hotel and no attempts where made. Choice said they tried to reach me by email but none have been received. I've called Choice Hotels various times over this matter as well as Comfort inn!

# 2 - Second stay was Aug 13 2011 at Comfort Inn Newark CA. I made a reservation for 3 rooms non-smoking; one was under privilege points while two where paid for. When we got there, the clerk told me that they only had smoking rooms and the hotels was full. She stated that in her computer, it was smoking rooms. I showed her my confirmation printouts and she apologized but nothing could be done!

Finally, we did get one non-smoking room but not the others. We where told to contact Choice Hotels for further complaints. On the following morning, the new shift clerk asked why we had opted for smoking rooms and why we settled to one king if we had reserved for two doubles non-smoking. I asked her how did you know? She said, I'm looking at your reservations! She gave me the info of the manager. The manager did contact me and I contacted Choice Hotels; we where reimbursed for one room.

I wanted to get some clarification regarding a complaint I lodged against a Comfort Inn where I stayed three weeks ago.

I could not understand why my personal information would be given to the general manager (GM) at the hotel that I complained about. I expected a response from the customer (guest) relations department since I sent them a three-page letter. When I asked the corporate guest relations why this was the case, I was met with excuses as if they sided with the GM of the Comfort Inn. The reps I talked to knew little about my complaint and when I asked to speak to a higher up (Dean **), they were evasive, not wanting to divulge his information. Dan ** (CR supervisor) did make it clear that he would explain his side to Dean while I would not have a chance to contact him at all. Dan ** also downgraded my complaint experience as "not really biased, scapegoated, or stereotypical" without experiencing or having full knowledge of the events contained in the complaint.

The one thing I learned from this experience is that Comfort Inns are independently owned and operated, which means they can treat customers any way they want. Choice Hotels only relays information back to the GM. If the GM was so sorry, she could have apologized during my five-day visit.

I am willing to submit the full complaint at your request.

Promotion: "Stay two nights, get one free." This is not possible, yet they continue with this promotion.

On Sept. 22, 2010, I booked a reservation online with Choice Hotels International for an Econo Lodge Hotel in Groton, CT. I had a check-in date of Oct. 16, 2010 for one night only. On Fri. Oct. 15, 2010, I went to check my email to obtain the address for the hotel and realized I was never sent a confirmation. I checked my bank account and noticed I was not debited for the transaction. I called the reservations number that I obtained online for Choice Hotels. I spoke to a male customer service rep. Unfortunately, I did not obtain a name. I advised him that I needed the address for the hotel and provided him with my information. I told him I did not receive an email confirmation and my bank account was not debited so I wanted to make sure the reservation went through.

He stated my bank account would have been debited immediately and since it was not, I did not have a reservation! I gave him my information and asked him to try to look it up because I did not want to make another reservation elsewhere and be double billed. He said again if my account was not debited, there was no reservation. I provided him with my name, check-in date, the date I booked my reservation online, and the hotel I was to stay at. Again, he said I would have no reservation booked since my debit card was not debited.

I went ahead and booked another hotel at a higher rate. On Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, I arrive at my house and check my bank account online. I had a debit of $100.79 from Econo Lodge. I called Choice Hotels reservations number and was advised that I had to call the customer relations unit in the morning. I explained my situation and the customer service rep asked for my information. She was able to pull up my reservation. She also apologized for the person I had spoken to on Friday night and stated that he would have been able to pull up the reservation as well if he would have tried.

On Monday, Oct. 18, 2010, I called the customer relations unit. I explained the entire situation again and they state that they will look into the situation and get back to me. On Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, I receive a letter from Choice Hotels dated October 18, 2010 stating that they thank me for contacting them and apologize for my frustration but that's about it. The letter was extremely generic and led me to assume nothing was going to be done. I figured I'd give it a week or so and maybe, they were "looking into things."

On November 2, 2010, I decided to contact them to see if my situation was being reviewed. I spoke to Chris ** at Choice Hotels at approximately 2:35 pm EST. Chris advised me that I need to contact the actual hotel, Econo Lodge in Groton, CT, because they charged my debit card and only they can return the money. I told Chris that no one advised me of this when I had called. He apologized and provided me with the phone number to the hotel.

I then called the Econo Lodge hotel in Groton, CT and spoke to Minny. She stated that I was charged for being a no-show at the hotel when I had booked a reservation and that they had to charge my card. I explained all the above details to her and she stated there was nothing she can do and Choice Hotels was at fault for this.

I then call Choice Hotels again and explain what Minny said to me. I spoke to Lonny and she said that only the billing department can do anything and the "billing department" is the actual hotel. She also told me that I should have called the hotel to confirm my reservation. In other words, I book through Choice Hotels but shouldn't rely on their customer service representative's word that I did not have a reservation. I explained that the person I spoke to insisted I had no reservation, therefore, I did take his word for it.

I'm going back and forth between Choice Hotels and Econo Lodge in Groton, CT. It is so frustrating. I will never book with either company again! Now I'm fighting to get my $100.79 back.

This is the Letter of Complaint sent to Choice Hotels International:

Please allow this email to serve as a summarized version of the attached Letter of Complaint serving as documentation that between the dates of August 31, 2010 and September 13, 2010, Choice Members Robyn ** and Mr. Morey **, suffered maltreatment extended by your Choice Privilege Member Services staff, and Comfort Inn, located at 55 Hampton Boulevard, in Capitol Heights, MD. We were told we abused the Two Nights Stay One Night Free promotion after spending almost $1000 with Choice Hotels within the past 2 weeks (http://www.choicehotels.com/earnafreenight). *You will find a chronological order of events on the attached official Letter of Complaint, along with documented attachments of support.

Please be advised that we, said customers, called Choice staff on several occasions to receive guidance and direction on how to benefit from the aforementioned offer. Although a vast variety of opinions and contradicting information was offered, we continued to communicate with the Choice organization to ensure we were adhering to the proper procedure. I am certain that your database and telephone system maintains records and emails to verify these countless efforts.

In a nutshell, we were ultimately accused of abusing the Choice Privilege Rewards policy, which unfortunately questions our integrity, and is deemed offensive as continual patrons of Choice Membership Services, including extensive stays at the Comfort Inn. As a result of this unfounded and bogus claim, the Choice Members staff took it upon themselves to strip all existing earned points (points earned through previous stays at other facilities; current stays at the Comfort Inn; and points personally purchased with our credit cards; some which had been redeemed and then retracted) without prior notification, concrete facts, or considerable deliberation from us, the customers.

Hence, based on the level of activity, consistency of unresolved issues, unauthorized charges, and purchases invested within a 2-week stay, there is no logical reason Choice Membership Services would penalize us for alleged privilege abuse. You will see by the attached documentation that your organization regularly updated the website of current and pending stays and points, sent confirmation and congratulatory emails, and person-to-person telephone adjustments. If we abused your system, it is not likely that we could have 'hacked' your system with updates, stole phantom points, and distributed falsified electronic correspondence sent to ourselves; while making sure you took the money from us daily. Sounds a bit unintelligible and impractical, wouldn't you agree?

The reality of the matter Mr. ** is we, the customers, were not accommodated hospitably; the turn around time for management feedback from Comfort Inn was lengthy and towards the end, Choice Member Services staff became disrespectful, impatient, unemphatic, and demeaning in tone. Through the tension and excessive challenge in conducting a positive and regular participation in the Choice Membership program (although mine was short-lived), we, the customers, do not believe we were advantageous in benefiting from the Choice Hotel special offer gimmick, and false advertising scandal. In addition, customers had to technically purchase more than two stays based on the 72-hour reflection in your system, and wait for a certain indicated amount of point accrual in order to truly earn a free night.

At this time, we the customers are requesting an explanation and apology, along with a retraction of the false accusations, unfair and derogatory investigative findings conducted by Choice Member Services and Comfort Inn, and discrediting deformation of our character humiliatingly thrust against our record of longstanding integrity as citizens and patrons of the Prince Georges County community and local businesses here in Maryland. You can keep the total remaining 10, 720 points you stripped from us (not including Mr. ** points). The points we paid for through hotel stays and separately to earn the free stay, the points your organization says we don't deserve; the points whereby your staff member, Greg, who of course could not give me his last name, stated that we actually owed 14, 000 back after spending almost $1000 (not including prior points Mr. ** obtained before coming to the Comfort Inn two weeks ago), with your establishment.

We no longer desire to be part of the Choice Membership facade, and will never participate in the Choice Hotels International scandals again. In fact, we, the customers, will never stay at another one of your establishments again which is unfortunate, because months ago, we stayed at the Shady Grove Sleep Inn in Rockville, Maryland for weeks at a time, and they were phenomenal. Based on our past credible experience with them, we thought we would give Comfort Inn a try, which was the biggest mistake we could have ever made. Never once did I get to watch television, spend quality time with our daughter, go to the gym or pool, or relax, because we spent our entire time combating undocumented inconvenient 'policies,' getting fussed out by your staff, and chasing management.

We, the customers, never enjoyed a quality stay. Your promotion was not worth the waste of time, effort, and frustration. With this said, we, the customers, are in high hopes that when dealing with future clientele, especially us proud and upstanding Prince Georgians, the Choice Hotels International family will come to the understanding that people [customers] will spend money with or without rewards and gimmicks if they experience courtesy, appreciation, and respect as your website states, "Your values shape who you are (http://careers.choicehotels.com/)" in bold print.

Mr. **, at the end of the day, to be hospitable: "given to generous and cordial reception of guests; promising or suggesting generous and cordial welcome; offering a pleasant or sustaining environment;" and worthily accountable: "an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for one's actions; (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/);" are the most important elements in providing optimal customer service, generating new customers, and producing repeat clientele long term. Last, Mr. **, when it comes to international business ethics and etiquette which your establishment may feel you are eliminated from, one of the first rules of success in a global industry such as yours; especially the Hospitality Industry barely surviving in a waning economy is to be sensitive, inclusive, and nondiscriminatory in building positive partnerships and relationships with your neighbors within each locale, the surrounding businesses, and the culture of your existing and potential clientele.

In the interim, thank you for the unforeseen learning experience, and we truly appreciate your time and consideration in review of the matter at hand, as we anxiously anticipate your timely response."Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value." -- Albert Einstein.

Had to request room after room because of the horrible smoke stinkiness. Had made reservations through Choice Hotels for two non smoking rooms. Upon arrival (and after they gave me 7 different keys to 7 different rooms, all with the horrible smell - and by the way in one of them the a/c was not working), called Choice hotels and was on hold with them on and off for an hour and a half. Spoke to at least four people from Choice Hotels and all of them said they couldn't do anything because the cancellation period had expired and only the hotel manager could help me. The hotel clerk told me that he could only call the manager in case of an "extreme emergency."

By 8pm all of us had had enough (I'm allergic to smoke and two kids in our party have been diagnosed as asthmatic) so I paid for the rooms and left. The next day, I went to the hotel to speak to the manager at 10am. He hadn't arrived. Went back at 2pm and he had already come and gone for the day. So I asked the day hotel clerk to please call him. She did and the manager told her he was aware of the situation and that he would reverse the charges. He never did. Sent him an email "reminding" him, but again, he never replied to my email nor reversed the charges.

I have a larger family of six. When my husband and I travel, we normally stay in a Choice Hotel or have to pay for two rooms. We prefer Choice Hotels because they accommodate my family of six. My family wanted to make a trip for school clothes shopping and just one last small vacation. I booked a room at Vancouver, Washington because of its close proximity to Portland. It was close to a large mall and it wasn't too expensive. Upon our arrival, everything seemed and appeared to be fine. My husband and children were anxious to get into the pool and they did so. I stayed behind in the room and was putting away everyone's clothes for the weekend.

I opened a drawer on a nightstand next to the bend. What did you think I found? It is drug paraphernalia; to be exact, a crack cocaine pipe. I grabbed a garbage bag and placed it in there. I took it to my husband and showed him what I found. He told me to see if we can get another room. I went to the front desk and showed the black gal that was there. Her eyes bulged and said, "What is that?" She then called over the maintenance guy. He said, "Wow!" She asked, "What is it?" He said a crack pipe. She then took and labeled it. I stood there waiting for an apology. When I didn't receive one, she proceeded to ask the maintenance guy what she should do with it. He told, "We usually put all of those in that container where all the needles are found." I asked her what she was going to do. She smiled and didn't say anything. I then walked away. I came back and asked them to have the manager call my room as soon as possible. I never received a call.

We knew I was already charged for the room, so we thoroughly looked at the rest of the room and found a baby bottle under the sleeper couch, a few crumpled receipts under the desk, and crumbs on the chair next to the desk. I cleaned up the room as best as I could and decided we needed to make the best out of it. I tried to call the complaint hotline however and spoke with a gentleman named Bob. He informed me that there wasn't anything he could do for me as long as I was staying in the hotel. I explained the situation. He said, "Well, go back to the front desk and ask what they can do for you." I said I did. He said, "Did you ask for another room?" I explained there wasn't any other rooms the size I need; otherwise, I would have. I do not want two rooms. He said, "Well, if you aren't willing to speak with them about getting two rooms, I can't help you." He kept saying, "What do you want me to do." I said, "You should know and I shouldn't have to tell you." He frustrated me more than anything so I hung up.

The rest of the weekend went fine until the day after my stay. I got charged the full amount to my debit card. They release one day charges and still have a hold on an additional day. I called the hotel to get things straightened out. The lady stated she couldn't help me and I needed to speak with the manager Ryan, and he arrives to work at 8:00 a.m. I say, "Okay, I will call him then." I just got done calling at 8:45 a.m. and he of course has not arrived to work yet. They do not know when he is going to arrive.

I booked a room for 2 nights. I started calling on 8/20 to cancel due to the fact that friend going with me was injured and could no longer go. We would have a q10 ride. I called until 2:00 am, at that time, they felt fee would be canceled but could not get through to econo9 lodge and if I did cancel, I would have to pay 112 dollars. This should not be. I am disabled and can not drive.

Found a charge of $111.18 on a credit card I haven't used since April.

We stayed at that motel many years ago, but haven't been back to Manhattan for years. Investigation reveals that 1) Hotel was disinfranchised from Choice within days after this charge. (By Choice CSR) 2) There were a hundred charges of the exact amount of my charge on the same day, so the manager did not know which one to reverse. (By hotel manager) 3) Hotel was closed by Riley County Health Department for bedbugs within days of this charge. (By Manhattan PD) (Manager told me they had air conditioner problems--in November in Kansas!)

Again called Choice and again got standard answer: We are not able to interfere in complaints against independently-owned franchisees. I asked if they didn't want to get involved to prevent damage to the chain's reputation. Apparently not. I was told that obviously there were problems with the hotel, because it was being disenfranchised.

I told the Choice CSR that they were still answering the phone Econolodge. Was told that they were allowed to do that for 90 days.

Obviously fraud going on here, probably attempt by manager to take the money and run.

Manhattan PD told me to file an out of jurisdiction report with my local PD. My local sheriff (I'm not in city limits) had never heard of such a thing, and promised to call Manhattan PD and get back with me.

Have yet to hear back. Choice will do nothing; Econolodge manager said he'd research and call back (Ha!). Credit card company acknowledged my complaint, and promised to investigate.

Charge is still on my account.

1) My son met his fiancee and her friend at a Quality Inn in Abilene, TX. They had 2 rooms reserved for 2 nights, both with his name. The women arrived first, and told the clerk that they had a reservation in his name.

Two days later, they paid for their room, and he paid for his. The next day, all three were back at their jobs miles away. Later, his debit card was charged for an additional six nights. One was the original check-in date (they charged him for a no-show confirmed reservation for that night), and five were for his room for the rest of the week.

He was refunded the first night fairly quickly, but it required writing to the CEO of Choice Hotels to get a refund on the five nights. The hotel even provided a receipt that he had signed for two nights, but the manager insisted that Housekeeping had cleaned the room for seven nights.

He received the standard song-and-dance from Choice; they are not responsible for independently-owned hotels.

Shortly after the stay, my son moved 400 miles away. His mail that I forwarded to him (including the credit card company and hotel responses) didn't catch up to him until the time limit had passed for disputing charges. He was unaware that his account had been charged until his check for an engagement ring bounced.

Other consequence: In a completely different city, we cancelled reservations with Choice and found rooms in a different chain for the wedding party and out of town guests.