Complain about a product or service

Travelodge

Donna of Hopatcong NJ (04/09/08)
We checked into the Travelodge in Williamsburg, Va., at about 9:00 pm. The rate was good and we were staying for two nights. The hotel looked nice enough in an ok area. The first night was ok, there were a few things but it was the second night that was the problem. About 1:30 am there was quite a commotion outside. It became louder, so lound in fact that I was very scared someone would break in. I am a single mother and I was alone with my daughter. I imagined terrible things. Just as I was about to call the police the noise died down. We woke early and went to check out. It was then I noticed my car window was bashed in and there was glass everywhere. My GPS was stolen along with multiple items that were located in the trunk of the car. The police were called and the management was called. Nothing appparently could be done.

We had a gps, digital camera, portable dvd player along with 17 dvds, an mp3 player all stolen. Along with the smashed window. All that means nothing if the rowdy group outside had harmed us which obviously was a definite possiblity - they were up to no good.

Cassi of Advance MO (02/19/08)
The room was not clean when I checked in and was not cleaned for my entire stay. I finally had to clean the room myself. Then they overcharged me.

Joe of Schaumburg IL (11/11/07)
There were no towels in the Travelodge room.  I complained and was told to leave.  I said "No."  The police were called, and I left.  I ended up in the hospital and my wife became ill.  I have complete details in a computer document.

John of Santa Rosa, CA (10/04/07)
Registered for Travelodge Northeast in Philadelphia, PA on line. Paid by credit card. Arrived, checked in the front of the place and was assigned a room in back. As I drove around, I noticed sheets on the windows, taped windows, and filthy windows. The only entrance to the room I had rented was open. When I entered the building, the stench inside the place was awful, and I nearly gagged. The air in the building was filled with mold or mildew or something in addition to cigarette smoke. Awful stuff. Carpets and walls were filthy and I had to walk through this area to get to my room in the back. I turned a corner to the no smoking area, which was a slight improvement but there were no exits to this area except for one small door at the end and the latch was broken on that door. I left and did not ask for my money back. I exited in the empty pool area. This Travelodge is under renova-tion and rightly so, but no one told me about it at any time. The place was only $75 a night. I should have known better. I do now. It was a $75 lesson. I would like to complain to corporate headquarters for Travelodge, but cannot locate that address.

Result was we were stuck in Philadelphia on a Saturday night, after traveling from California. We had to locate another place and changed our plans and ended up in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey at a Doubletree Hotel for more money but which was a marvelous place to stay.

Joann of Jacksonville NC (08/25/07)
We checked in on August 24th in Williamsburg, Va. When I got into the shower i about puked.Found on the inside of the shower curtain several pubic hairs. I also found urine and pubic hairs around base of the toilet. I went up to the front desk to complain and she said she would get us a new room. I said the same person is cleaning that room also. She stated she even talked to her district manager and thats all they could do. I had nowhere else to stay as it was prime season with no other hotels to be found.

Richard of Dayton NV (12/02/06)
My wife and I stayed overnight at the Travelodge Motel in Reno on Sept. 12 where I was awakened by bed bug bites on my forehead and body. I went to the desk to show them my bite, they gave me another room. The next morining I took a bed bug to the desk to show them and I also told the shuttle driver taking me to the airport to catch a flight, about the bed bugs. Wks. later we talked with Lisa Andrus in person and she appeared to know nothing about the incident. I wrote to her describing the episode and also telling her about my wife not-knowingly took the bed bugs to her brother's home and infected it.

It cost over $200 for debugging and we had to throw out pillows, luggage, and clothing that were infected --  bringing the loss to well over $500. When I asked for some kinds of compensation, they hotel offered 1 night of comp.. I responded with a counter offer of 6 nights of complimentary rooms they rejected the offer. I find their response to my complaint insulting.

I don't have a total figure on the financial loss but it is well over $500. I am very sensitive to bites of any kind so my bites were over 1.5 inches in diameter and prevented me from sleeping all night. My wife had to throw out 2 suitcases, 2 down pillows we bought in China, slothing, and the cost to debug her brother's home.

McKee of Kirkwood MO writes (10/14/02):
we made reservations at the Harrison St. Travelodge in Chicago. When we arrived, we were shocked at the condition of this property. When we decided not to stay, I tipped the desk clerk $5.00 and told him that this hotel did not live up to our expectations. When we went to retrieve our vehicle there was a small amount of cash missing from the storage container between the seats, and a pack of cigarettes was also stolen. This nightmere cost us about $18.00. We were lucky to get a reservation at another hotel.

Savanah of Columbus OH (8/29/02):
My boyfriend and I had to vacate our apartment in quite a hurry as the smell of gas bacame so strong we could no longer breathe. We then searched for the beat priced motel that late at night. Travelodge was $44 so we took the room. The place was disgusting. Holes in the walls, yellowed walls and ceiling with a peeling border. Yellowed sheets, half of the lights weren't working. The bathroom reeked of a certain female issue I dare not mention. The whole place just felt sticky.

No wonder they had a sign that said no refunds after the first 15 minutes, that really doesn't give you long enough to park your car in front of your motel room, investigate the room and then run to the office. I was appalled.

Mari of Apache Junction AZ (8/13/02):
We booked a room for two nights at the Travelodge in Sun City, Calif. It was under the "Honey of a Deal" plan where we would get the second night at half price, we thought. When we got there we found out it would not be honored by their place. I had made the arrangements through the Internet and then phoned them. I have a letter from Mr. Patel, the manager, that says that we will be awarded a refund by either them or the corporate office. We have not heard from them. I do not know how to contact their corporate office. It has been almost 2 months now.

We did stay at the Travelodge and paid the price for the two nights with our credit card -- $127.60. We were to get the second night at half price but ended up paying full price. We were mad at having to pay full price when we had planned for half price. It was too late to go to another hotel/motel that day. We were to meet our daughter that evening. It also shorted us of funds that we had not planned on spending. We are retired and not rich people.

Also, we found the room was not as clean as it should have been. The microwave was really dirty inside, also one of the beds looked like someone had slept in it already. They have a special way of tucking the blanket and sheets in on a bed that lets you know if the bed has been used. The blanket and sheets were not tucked in on one side like it should and the sheets were wrinkled like someone had been in the bed before. It was questionalble and we both slept in the other bed in the room. We did tell them of the problem the next day and they did rectify the situation but why should we have to deal with it in the first place. I will not plan on staying at their lodge again!

Travelodge is owned by Cendant Corp., which also owns the Days Inn, Ramada and Howard Johnson brands, among others.

Contact info:
Customer Service (Guest)
1-800-835-2424

Or ...
1910 8th Avenue, N.E.
Aberdeen, SD 57402-4090

William of Ashland OH (8/11/02):
We recently used the Visitors Bulletin to clip out a travel coupon for an advertised $39.95 stay at a Travelodge. We drove out of our way to find said hotel, arriving at 5:00 P.M., only to be told that all the special rooms were taken. This despite the fact that there were only two cars in their lot. They refused the coupon and would not even upgrade a room for us.

We do not expect anything extra out of this, only apromise of a future stay at one of their Hotels for their advertised $39.95

James of Nashville TN (8/11/02):
Booked a room at Travelodge 5410, Mt. Ruhmore Rd, Rapid City SD, Aug. 5-9. Price $219.00 plus tax for two persons. A more reasonable room could be purchased in the area, but we wanted to have plush quarters for the days there.

When we arrived we were given room 323 (a basement room) in the very back of a rundown motel. I went to the office and asked if we could move to the front where a paved driveway existed. In a rude manner I was told no, that a bike rally was in progress and she could fill those easily. Realizing we had been cheated we decided to make the best of the situation.

On day 3 the air conditioner went out filling the air with smoke and fumes that made the room and our clothing smell. Still we washed our clothing at a laundry and went on about our vacation. The same night or early the next morning the replaced air conditioner failed to function leaving us hot and unable to sleep well. I went to the manager and told her that this occurred and that I would like some compensation. I was told that I should have called at the time it happened -- 1 or 2 in the morning. The place was filled and no lights were on in the office. I asked who should I have called? No answer.

I went to the owners and was told no compensation - the owner then turned his back on us and ignored our complaint. I talked with "Mike" a maintenance man for the motel and he stated that he could not have done anything as he had to order a unit and was waiting on it to arrive. I went back and asked the owner if I could recover my money for the comming night and with bike week going on perhaps they could fill it. I was told I was welcome to leave but would get not a penny from them. I found out later that this same motel had more than doubled the price for this week, yet they refused to compensate me in any way.

Clyde of Arkansas City, KS (6/29/02):
My family and I checked in at this Travelodge on May 31,2002. We were going to be staying there for an extended amount of time while we were house-hunting. When we checked into our room we noticed that the air conditioning was not working properly. When we called about it the manager said that he could feel cold air coming out, so it must be working; we should just give it a couple of days.

Three days later the manager FINALLY came up to check on it and realized that the vent was on upside down! When he "fixed" that the AC still wasn't working right -- even the maintenance man and housekeeping staff said our room was warmer than the other rooms. We ended up buying a fan ourselves, and all the manager said about it was that he had spent $6,000.00 maintaining the AC and we were just "too picky" about how cool our room should be. At $230.00 a week, I think we could reasonably expect a comfortable level of air conditioning without having the manager complain to US about his expenses!

Another problem that developed occured on a Sunday when the regular housekeeper was off-duty and the manager's wife was filling in. She walked right past our room and did not knock on our door to see if we needed linens or anything. I know she went by because my daughter and I had the curtains open, and one of the people in our party was on the bed closest to the window, listening to music on a personal CD player. His eyes were closed and I guess she thought he was sleeping so she didn't knock at all. When she walked by and saw the "sleeping" person she also saw me standing there cooking. I waited for over an hour, and finally at 1:45pm I called down to the front desk to ask for some towels. They said their housekeeping quit at 1:00 and we would have to wait till the next day!

When I told them she had just walked by without even knocking, the manager said that he would bring us some towels in 30-45 min.-- 2 HOURS later the manager's wife brought up only 2 bath towels, 2 handtowels, and 1 washrag -- and there were FOUR adults staying in this room. So then I told her we also needed clean bedding, and she told me I did not need a new bedspread. When I told her that yes I did, because that one had been on the bed for 2 weeks, she told me I had to follow her downstairs to get one if I wanted one. I said "OK -- here are the dirty towels" and she retorted, "No No -- YOU carry"! These are just SOME of the MANY complaints I have about this place. The manager and his family are VERY rude and unfriendly.

Rod of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (3/10/02):
We had an extremely unpleasant experience with a Travelodge in Las Vegas. When we got home, we wrote to the Travelodge Customer Service and told them of our experience. Long story short, we got a reply from them, stating that they had done a "thorough review" and suggested we deal directly with the management of this particular location. I responded to them with the following letter, which will explain our story a little better.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, however, if we would have received any type of satisfaction from the management initially, there would have been no reason to contact the Travelodge Customer Service. Maybe I did not communicate the fact that we had spoken with the management several times, to no avail. Inconsistencies were reported on several occasions, but service did not improve, in fact it became worse.

As I said in my first correspondence, I do understand that each franchise is independently owned and operated, however I also understand that certain criteria and standards must be met to carry the Travelodge name, and that is what customers come to expect. Our experience with this particular establishment was far below the standard, not only with the behavior of the staff and management, but with the condition of the room in terms of cleanliness.

I will commend management on one thing, and that is the way they back their staff up -- second to none! From the first day, when our room was not cleaned, we were accused of leaving a "do not disturb" sign on the outside of our door (which was their excuse for not cleaning the room), and the day of the robbery, we were accused of leaving our door open. There was no forced entry into the room, and the maids or whoever cleaned the room that day were the last ones in the room, another point management would not acknowledge.

What management did do was cleverly set us up to be one of those customers that "you just cannot please." I can assure you this is not the case. The first night we arrived, we met two young men in the parking lot that were extremely angry, and were going to leave if they could find another place to stay. (This was the long weekend in the states ... President's Day) They said something about reporting this establishment to the Dept of Health on the following Tuesday.

I must say, I am rather disappointed in what you call a thorough review. inted with your response.

The consequences of this stay resulted in our room being robbed. It happened on a Friday and we were leaving the following Sunday. They took all our shopping that we had done, all our money, jewelery, cameras, toiletries, clothes, underwear etc. What was even worse than being robbed is the way the hotel treated us after.

Their first response was, "You didn't like it here from the start...why did you not leave?" and "You must have left your door open."

The more I think about it, the more bizarre this becomes. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police are investigating. I also wrote to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce (no resonse as of yet), the Better Business Bureau (interestingly enough, I think that this particular location is not registered with the Better Business Bureau!)- (no response from them as of yet) and the Convention and Visitor's Authority (they did contact me by email and said that they will be contacting the Hotel about the importance of service.)

Omid of Beverly Hills CA writes (7/6/01): I checked into the Travelodge in South El Monte on July 4, 2001 at 5:00 AM. When I arrived at my room, I discovered sheets that were not clean. Immediately, I called the front desk, but there was no answer. I called the Travelodge central office and was told that I must talk to the front desk personnel to change my room. I went down to the front desk and rang the bell.

After several minutes of waiting, the representative came out. I explained that the sheets were dirty and requested another room. He gave me another room and asked why it took so long before I realized that the sheets were dirty. I told him that I had been calling the front desk and the Travelodge central office for half an hour. He then requested the new key back so that he could give me another one. As soon as he got the key, since we were conversing through a night window, he said that since I called the Travelodge, he was not going to give me a room, but a refund instead.

I told him that a refund was not what I had come for, but rather a change of room. He said he was going to refund me only and told me "get out of here or i'll kick your a**." I left immediately and called 911 to report a threat. An officer came and talked to the gentleman and it was decided that I was to get another room, which the officer inspected, free of charge since it was 6:00AM at this time. Both parties agreed and the officer left. At checkout, when I requested a refund slip for my credit card, Mr. Patel refused.

My girlfriend and I could not make our appointments as planned for the 4th of July events due to fatigue. Also, a charge of $71.80 needs to be refunded.

Omid may not be able to get the refund he wants. If the local hotel is a franchisee, it may not respond to pressure from TraveLodge headquarters. If Omid wants to waste more time on this, he could dispute the charge on his credit card. Whether this would be successful is hard to say.

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