Did This Hotel Scam My Family?!

This is just my opinion... I think that this hotel knew what they were doing. 😒
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[@BigBlueD830]

Your aunt might try reaching out to the local news station for that town. Local reporters love this kind of juicy "customer gets scammed" story and brands hate negative publicity.

[@hookedonfandom]

Agreed!

[@Zaft_K]

Name and shame this hotel!!! They are in the service industry, and this is crappy service. Bad publicity is a killer for them. We want to know who these scammers are, so we can refuse *our* business, too.

[@TheLovelyMissBeans]

Local news is 💯 what she should do. I guarantee that within DAYS the hotel will apologize, say this was some kind of misunderstanding, and refund her money, possibly even offer her a future free stay.

[@LoLoLifeinFlorida]

Yes!! 🎈 Agreed

[@goofyfurball7311]

Absolutely

[@Defebwar]

It’s not even “give the customer the pickle,” it’s “give the customer the burger they paid for at the first window.”

[@jeffm9770]

Exactly

[@laurendoe168]

It's more like "Give the customer the burger they paid Uber Eats for"

[@barbaramimibel5756]

@@laurendoe168😂😂 exactly

[@poshment5435]

​@laurendoe168 that then the business gave to someone else... lol

[@soulaanlioness]

@@laurendoe168do you know how Uber eats works?

[@vidareggum6118]

And this is what we call a scam. Name and shame that hotel. Name and shame.

[@katsimms]

It's absolute fraud. Plain and simple.

[@jurbauer]

Agreed. If they don’t fix it, announce it so everyone else knows what kind of scam they are pulling. I’m sure auntie isn’t the first one. I hope we get an update.

[@SaveSoilSaveSoil]

Exactly! What's the name of this hotel? I will stay as far away as I can.

[@geminidrake]

I agree. Name drop them.

[@KasterStar]

Agreed. If enough backlash comes from this story, not only will your aunt receive the refund she rightly deserves, but the GM will probably also receive corrective action for flat out lying. If it happened to your aunt, odds are it’s happened to multiple other people as well. I would drop the hotel name and possibly the city it’s located in as well (although if you’re not comfortable releasing locations, that’s fair)

[@FlightSideOfLife]

Jessica you need to name and shame this hotel!! The bad publicity is what they deserve!

[@sandybruce9092]

The hotel name and location should be named and shamed!!

[@MrEscape314]

Please share this info.

[@SkyTheHusky]

Unfortunately I don't think she's allowed to do so for lega;l purposes. Then again I could be wrong, and also, not like that hotel gives a crap about what you legally are and aren't allowed to do...

[@Wee_Catalyst]

@@SkyTheHuskyIt’s not slander if you stick to facts and the state any opinions as opinions like she did - she walked that line so nicely the WHOLE video that I thought she was setting up to name them Kind of defeats the purpose of this video to watch out for this stuff if we can’t steer clear of the very place it happened

[@SlayingSuperNerdX]

@@Wee_Catalystjust use an alternate name like “tilton” that we could understand

[@InternetJury]

Nothing she can do? It's called small claims court... once they get threatened with a lawsuit, their tone will change. That, or police report for theft of services since the hotel stole something she paid for. There's also a complaint to the federal and state consumer agencies. But do not suggest the BBB... they are useless, they are not a government agency. You habe to go to the regulatory agencies involved.

[@duncanbryson1167]

There are small claims courts here 🇬🇧 and I wondered if something similar existed in America. Here, I understand, there's a fairly small lodging fee. I don't know if that's refunded if successful.

[@InternetJury]

@duncanbryson1167 If you win, the judge can add those fees to the amount owed. There are also fee waivers in some states and counties, depends on the court.

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

BBB insists you try to work the company to resolve it before they will step in

[@InternetJury]

@geoffroi-le-Hook BBB has no authority anyway, that's my point. They are a private company..They have zero regulatory authority.

[@minxymoo2325]

In my state, it is $100 to file any suit, even in small claims court. Then you'd what? Get back $50? Since you lost the first $100 on the cost to file? Literally not worth going to court for $50....

[@victoriasemple4302]

I used to work for a hotel that would do this (it is no longer in business). I can see a situation where someone has called the hotel asked for a room for Friday night, and the general manager saying "oh well, there is no one in that room (as per the note), sell that room". I was forced to double book rooms and then find people alternative accomodation when we were overbooked. That is why the general manager wouldn't give the refund because they will have been the one to authorise the resale (illegally)of that room that was already paid for. I am so glad I got out of there

[@tessycarbaugh2945]

I can see that being the reason the general manager in this situation said "there was nothing they could do" because they might have given the "ok" on selling the room and were now trying to save their skin. Which only puts them in deeper waters by doing that.

[@Sarah_Grant]

Double dipping? Oh, hell no!! Of course, I would have just gone Friday and enjoyed my already paid for night at the hotel instead of all this nonsense....

[@cedarwaxwing3509]

It would have an interestingly awkward situation to show up on Friday night and ask for the room that she had, in fact, already paid for. Watch the front desk/manager/et al sweat that one!

[@Orioline2796]

@@cedarwaxwing3509 Yeah I was thinking the same. Imagine you don't say anything about arriving on saturday morning and when you arrive your room is not ready even if you paid for the night before. And even if I knew the room will not be ready I will be there in the morning demanding my room and I will make a tentrum if necessary.

[@cedarwaxwing3509]

@@Orioline2796 Ooops! 😦

[@maryshellsmith6627]

@@cedarwaxwing3509 Yes, after finding out they sold it Friday night, I would have gone Friday night and said I decided last minute that I might as well use the room, since I paid for it. They would have had to acknowledge the situation, then.

[@cedarwaxwing3509]

@@maryshellsmith6627 I wonder how that would have played with corporate? Or whoever thought this was a good idea. It would probably also be beneficial to audit the house take for that Friday night with a close look at the charges for that room. Selling it twice might give someone an opportunity to slip one of the room charges into their pocket.

[@cdrkennon]

In my 1000’s of nights in hotels I have booked multi-night stays and been delayed before: weather, mechanicals, schedule changes. I have called to say ‘hold the room’ and NEVER had a problem like this when I showed up at oh-dark thirty or late morning or even the next evening. That hotel should be sued.

[@cv990a4]

One time I arrived really late at a hotel in Colorado Springs where we had a confirmed reservation and they had my credit card number to charge us in case of no-show. Arrived late on a business trip at like 2am. Oh, sorry, we sold your room. The only thing available was a fleabag motel down the road. It's the worst feeling in the world to just want to collapse into bed and find out they sold the room out from under you. Clearly they were trying to sell it twice and got caught. There were three of us on business from NYC, very late departure from New York because of thunderstorms.

[@llamalluvv]

I am so fully feral, no matter how inconvenient for my schedule, I would have immediately packed up my kids and checked into my prepaid room on Friday night.😂

[@jimland7176]

I probably would have done the same thing. Brilliant

[@Lisa-xn9xc]

And then? You arrive at a fully booked hotel, don't get a room. Then you might call the police, you might get your money back, but as all the rooms are full, you still have to sleep in your car. In such a situation no one could just make an extra room appear. And the other guest paid as well and also has a right for the room.

[@kiranicole2096]

I cackled. That wouldn't work, but I still think it's great.

[@chrisbolhuis297]

Yep me too. Then showed them what a pissed off karen looks like

[@sarahmoney5470]

​@@chrisbolhuis297nah, that wouldn't be a karen. This woman would be 100% in the right for being upset and wanting what she paid for or for that money back. Parents are rude and entitled and think they're in charge. This woman literally just wants what she paid for and was promised by the third party and the hotel

[@trinhvietanh9521]

ex-front desk agent here. I had to admit that the manager and the boss of the place I used to work always came up and forced me to do unethical things. For example they would state the price on the internet really really low and then forced me to raise the actual price when customers show up, they told me to charging crazy amount of extra fees when families with many childrens showed up (basically triple the orginal room price). And everytime the guests complain, the manager will show up like a hero and told them all the shady things are my (or my co-workers’s) faults. THAT IS WHY I QUITTED THE JOB. I want to give customers nice experiences, not scamminh them and get constantly threaten/yelled at.

[@thistime3889]

I hope you wrote that down on a employers rating site. This is horrible! It appears like those extra fees weren't even written in the details. An families with multiple children will of course pick a cheap hotel. Even just thinking about scamming the most vulnerable is so beyond disgusting.

[@trinhvietanh9521]

@@thistime3889 yeah I remember a family with 5 kids showed up and the price they had to pay is exactly tripple the price they supposed to pay according to their booking on Agoda (the extra fees wasn’t mentioned at all on the site). They couldn’t go to another hotel since it was weekend and our city was a tourist attraction so all other hotels in the area were already full. Another time, a young single mom stay at that place with her newborn baby. She was extremely nice and didn’t travel with anyone else to help her. I worked nightshift and at like 1 in the morning she came down holding her baby asking for help cause the baby thrown up all over her bed. There isn’t any other empty room so I grab a set of bed sheet and go up to her room to help her (the cleaning staff had already went home at that hour). The next day morning, I got yelled at because he checked the camera and I wasn’t at the front desk for like 10 minutes. Seriously, all the room are full, it was past midnight, there’s no guest coming in and the hotel has a guard and security camera. Why can’t I leave the desk for 10 minutes to help a guest that actually needed me?

[@OriginalShroom]

A I've said before, I've worked as FDM for 17 years. I would have refunded that night plus thrown in as many extras as possible.

[@vidareggum6118]

That is because you’re not a scammer. Unlike this hotel.

[@lizzalkula376]

right - I'm not sure if this is allowed or possible but at least maybe something like "I am so sorry this happened I do not have the athority to give money or refunds but what I *can* do (if possible) if issue you a gift card or put in a free night stay (or two) for the trouble and issue this causes"

[@robinwest-4949]

You also would not have likely booked the room the second time.

[@janabote1045]

I've worked at the front desk for several years and we (the front desk agents) were told from the management directly, that a room that is already paid HAS to be hold and isn't allowed to sell to anyone. In this case we would leave a note in the reservation, and that's it! No issues for your aunt. I hope so much that there are much more hotels interested in the guest satisfaction than in money. Best wishes from Germany 👋🏻

[@emmamurphy1519]

She should take them to court as she was refused what she paid for, and the hotel double sold the room, which is fraud.

[@johnm.3279]

The problem is that this was booked through a 3rd party. They have standing to sue, not her. She needs to sue the 3rd party. I know it's not their fault, but that's the way the law works. Shit rolls downhill.

[@emmamurphy1519]

@johnm.3279 she can deal with the third party and advise them she is taking both them and the hotel to court because of them allowing the hotel to sell the room she paid them for. They are more interested in their customers than in their suppliers. I worked with a lot of them and they always sided with the person that is paying them over the hotels. At least the ones I worked with.

[@annaschwirian7548]

​@@emmamurphy1519see the ones I worked with only ever cared about their bottom line. They would also just have to state how their fine terms count no shows as forfeiture of the room.

[@jimland7176]

@@emmamurphy1519Yup. Name both. Let them sort it out.

[@JBKiser]

I know it's probably frowned upon because I would be "part of the problem" and I would be "letting them get away with it" and it's "the principle of the matter", but if it's $150-$200, I'm not suing for that unless that $200 is the last $200 I have. It's not worth the headache of finding a lawyer and going through all the hassle of going through the process, plus possibly actually going to court if it's not just settled, etc. I just don't feel like the time and effort is worth it for $200. I would try and do what I could with the hotel, 3rd party, and credit card company, but if all of that doesn't work then I'm just leaving a bad review and just calling it a loss and a learning experience.

[@valeries2304]

Definitely call an attorney. Once you call the hotel and tell them that your lawyer will be contacting them, they usually change their tone. If not definitely sue them in small claims court. Sue for the amount lost, time off work for court and lawyer and court costs.

[@Wee_Catalyst]

And the stress and hassle of not being able to arrive when she planned to

[@OriginalShroom]

Not only was the hotel getting paid twice for those rooms, but they were cheating Corporate out of their franchise fees for those rooms. Yes, Corporate gets paid a portion of each room. The GM could have paid hey out of their petty cash fund.

[@xbubbahotep]

fancy seeing you here.

[@OriginalShroom]

@xbubbahotep Hey there. Fancy seeing you. I love this young lady's videos... she's great.

[@RandyWinn42]

That is an interesting thought. A letter (or email) to corporate is definitely a good idea. If they did this once, they probably would do it again.

[@meganchambers8108]

I was a server, and this makes me think of one thing: ranch. At the restaurant we charged like $0.50 per cup of ranch in the system if we rang it in. But also, the ranches were right on our side and we could grab it ourselves. So if someone wants 1 ranch with their meal, sometimes I would just grab it for them and not charge. But we had the charge there for people who would order wings (which already came with ranch) and then be like "OH we need like 8 extra ranches". Sometimes the question of "to charge or not" is nuanced.

[@nessat6335]

"YoU bOoKeD tHrOuGh A tHiRd PaRtY" "YOU MADE THIRD PARTY BOOKING AVAILABLE, THEN SOLD THE ROOM THAT WAS ALREADY BOOKED AND CONFIRMED" .. sorry for the caps, but yep. Obviously that's immoral... then again, businesses get away for doing even more immoral things. :(

[@annafarris5382]

She should absolutely sue that hotel. For the principle of the thing. That's absolutely a scam! Shame on that hotel! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

[@ashlynalingh]

I have a degree in business and I think at this point she should be getting her lawyer involved. Because even if the original amount is for 150-200 she could at this point also included damages and I seriously doubt any jury that heard this would vote in the hotel’s favor. She could also claim the hotel had violated contract as when you book with a hotel it is a form of contract so them booking the room again and not letting her in is a violation. At the end of the day if she took it to court she could get a lot more that just 200$

[@WxBuggin]

This. Plus this "procedure" seemed so deeply in place- all the way up the ranks - that there is ZERO chance they haven't pulled this before.

[@homerman76]

Yeah, that's thing about lawsuits in cases like this, it's not always just the original fees that you'll earn, and a good lawyer will know how to get their legal fees covered by the defendant too so that you're not losing out on anything, though it depends on the lawyer. The only problem is if you'd have to travel out to attend the court proceedings.

[@bettywith2girls]

@@homerman76 Yup, and especially if it's far away and during the work week when you normally would be working. Might be too much of a hassle. I would go with the local news myself.

[@sashabenoit1518]

No, getting a lawyer for this is absolutely useless and a complete waste of money. You would end up losing more money than the case is worth. Also, this is a case for Small Claims Court in which you represent yourself. They don't allow attorneys to litigate your case for you. All that a lawyer could do for you in a case like this, is help you with drafting and sending a demand of payment letter to the Hotel and help file the lawsuit with the Courts, if they still refuse to pay. And unless your attorney is a good friend or family member, that's willing to give you a huge discount or help you for free, you will be paying more than the $150-$200 that the Hotel owes you just for the paperwork alone, which isn't even necessary because it's incredibly easy to file it yourself, literally anyone can do it. As for how much money you could potentially be awarded for a case like this, it's really up to the Judge's discretion (There is no Jury in Small Claims). You would definitely be reimbursed for the double booking, plus your court costs to file the case would be reimbursed to you, and any money that you are out that you can prove was a direct result of the Hotel's actions. However in this case, she was aware of the double booking ahead of time and it doesn't seem that it cost her much additional money, if any, so I don't think that would apply here. She could ask the Court for punitive damages, which is essentially just a penalty fine against the wrongdoer that sends a message to hopefully deter them, and others, from doing this again. Small Claims Judges don't typically like to award punitive damages unless it's under extreme circumstances where the behavior or actions were so egregious that they feel compelled to punish the Defendant. I would say given these circumstances, she has a decent shot at some punitive damages because what the Hotel did was illegal and a total scam but the Court is legally restricted on how much they can award by the statutory maximum of their jurisdiction, which in Small Claims is usually limited to only a few grand. And the Judge can decide on any amount within that limit, so there's no guarantee that she would be awarded the maximum. It's absolutely still worth pursuing the case because she'll definitely at least be reimbursed for the money that she's out. I just highly advise against hiring a lawyer for something as small as this because it's just not worth it financially, which is exactly what the Hotel is counting on for people to not come after them.

[@emilym7650]

A Better Business Bureau complaint (assuming the hotel participates) &/or a complaint filed with the fraud department of the applicable state's office of attorney general ought to lead to a swift resolution of this issue.

[@dotschischloh9767]

If the hotel is a member of a Hotel and Motel Association you can lodge a formal complaint.

[@adterpandrea]

She needs to call them out, by name, on social media and tag them. Then have the entire soccer team repost the story. Also, go to the news. Nothing works better than making it public!

[@doodles3075]

Id be naming and shaming. The hotel has sold and received money for the same room twice, its disgusting

[@slickm0uth]

Dude. The way people on the internet are. They be bumped all the way down to a 1 star on every review site. People take things too far these days. I mean i get it, but she would look bad if she did that.

[@EveForbiddenFruit]

Hiiii I just came on here to say that I watch your videos all the time to the point that I just interviewed for the Front Desk position at Hilton and despite me never working in a hotel before, they said my knowledge was stronger than the actual hotel people who applied for the same position. And now I have the job and it’s all thanks to you!!! You’re the best!!! ❤️

[@alexbrown1930]

I just discovered her channel last night, and, honestly, I have had to deal with something like every situation I have seen so far. Some, I might have handled differently, but these are great, and I actually sent the link to my manager saying they are great training videos.

[@vnokesCO]

The hotel's in the wrong, with double booking the room. I wonder how they did that in their reservation system & what accounting thought of that? Whoever is at fault (hotel, not 3rd party) should pay your bonus aunt back. Also, not a good business decision, what with losing many rooms of future business 🤦‍♀️

[@Srode1999]

I'm sure they marked the room as a cancellation for the first night. As it is a non-refundable third party booking, no need to explain away the double payment.

[@tyronemcsanchez]

Hotels are not supposed cancel or make any changes to 3rd party reservations. If they did anything, history will show on the reservation.

[@somebody9]

Absolutely agree. She was paying for that night, so she had that room for that night. From an accounting perspective, the money your aunt paid for Friday is called unearned revenue because the hotel has not provided a service for it. At my hotel, we saw cancellation fees as a charge to cover lost sales since we probably were too late to re-sell the room (obvs not a problem here). And even when the guest couldn't cancel the 1st night for some reason (like a third party), we always check the reservation in so it wouldn't get cancelled by audit. I have no clue how that hotel didn't check the 3rd party reservation in and still supposedly got paid their cut from the reservation. Ridiculous

[@nimbysep7602]

Take them to small claims court. Go for the cost of the room and ALL COURT COSTS. Unfortunately I have seen this before and once the court is notified of the THEFT BY DECEPTION since paying for the night before gives her the right to early check in (even at 4 am if she wanted, or right at normal check out time) hotels will refund the money to make a COURT CASE go away. Also post on ALL pages where you can review happened and that you will keep people updated about the court case.

[@crackerjack010101]

This is most definitely theft of services via deception. And the courts eat this stuff for snacks.

[@KasterStar]

As well as punitive damages for the stress caused by the whole ordeal, not to mention the time she’s already taken trying to make her way up the ladder to speak to these people.

[@JenniePrice89]

I’m not litigious by any means, but agreed! Time is money and stress affects your whole life, including work productivity.

[@brandyjohnson1220]

Something very similar happened to my family and I when on a vacation in Florida. We had booked several different hotels in different places as we were going to spend a couple of days in the keys, visit family in Tampa, and go to Universal Studios. Well after visiting the keys, our vehicle broke down on the way to Tampa, meaning we would miss check in at the hotel in Tampa. My mom called and explained the situation, letting them know we WERE STILL COMING but it would be the next day, after our car was repaired. As I said, we had already booked 2 rooms so they were paid for already. The front desk agent assured my mother that it was fine, we would still have those rooms when we arrived. Fast forward to the next day, our car was fixed quicker than expected so we arrive at the hotel in Tampa at around noon. When we try to check in, we are told that there is only 1 room available for us until the actual check in time (I can't remember exactly what time that was) because SOMEONE WAS IN THE OTHER ROOM! To say my mother lost her sh*t would be an understatement. We were not only refunded the cost of both rooms for two of the three days they had been booked but we were also given vouchers for the hotel restaurant, spa treatments, ECT. She didn't take her anger out on the front desk, she immediately requested the manager. I don't recall ever seeing my mother lose her temper like that before or since 😂

[@anngrimm6599]

@@brandyjohnson1220As she should have!

[@timothyness117]

Too funny! As a CNA we had to watch that, “Give them the pickle”!!!

[@kpalme1]

That is absolutely wrong. I would next try to identify the management company. Is the hotel managed or franchised & then reach out directly to them. It still may not work, but it also can’t hurt

[@dianapohe]

I remember that at Shmarriott, even if a reservation was flagged as a no-show, we still were not allowed to resell the room until 10am because technically the guest could show up the following morning at 10am and still claim their room (of course, only if it was at least a 2 nights stay). NO WAY they could ever resell that room, it was so poorly managed on their side.

[@Marcus_Taurus5]

No, you are spot on! Even your options are accurate...They can definitely cut a check from their hospitality/service recovery account. Putting money back on the card with no prior charge is an issue, but would be a last resort. Corporate, corporate, corporate on this one. That is not a valid process for any hotel, and sounds illegal.

[@annaschwirian7548]

Only issue here is as she paid 3rd party they are legally not allowed to inform her of the rate they were paid and have no clue what the guest paid. Example I had a guest book via a 3rd party once the Hotel was paid $75 for the night. The guest was bragging to her cousin how her cousin paid $185 that night by booking direct and she only paid $145. So 3rd party was taking $70 worth of profit from said booking. So the only option would be to refund 3rd party for 1rst night and then they would have to refund guest (which I've never known 3rd party to do) They should have never have sold a 3rd party room . Honestly this issue would have been 100% easier without the 3rd parties involvement.

[@justjonoutdoors]

I would show up Friday - EARLY. Maybe it’s time to name names - Chain, Specific location, manager’s name, etc.

[@noamnadam310]

A year ago I was in a flight to London that arrived in Doncaster England (long story but not only was the flight delayed but we also had a five hour train ride until we got to our hotel) I told the hotel that our flight got delayed and that we wouldn’t get to the hotel till 10 AM the next morning. Let me tell you, if they had done that to me after that horror show there would have been some strongly worded emails sent to the management. Luckily they kept our room clean and free for us to positively crush once we got there

[@xamyx725]

I think that’s where the aunt missed the mark. When she told them she’d be checking in on Saturday, they likely presumed she meant the regular check-in time, and they could get by with it. I’m absolutely not condoning the fact the hotel double-dipped, but the aunt should have clarified she’d be checking in early the next morning.

[@UncleTogie]

I've never had this issue before, but I've *always* booked directly. Best of luck to you and your aunt, Jessica!

[@dawnkladerman598]

I've found if I'm far enough in advance & have a rewards membership, I can usually match or beat the rates. But you have to put in the effort

[@annieleedriver2651]

Make a petition and we will all sign it. ❤she deserves her money back❤

[@dheemidheemi]

Yes because petitions are super effective

[@dodobrain115]

I work in customer service personally, this story has me up in arms. The pickle is rightfully owed in this case, even airlines compensate for double bookings in some regard.

[@OriginalShroom]

My next phone call would be to Corporate.

[@Raesling1]

My next move would be to file it with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This is fraud.

[@kconway2263]

Often if you threaten to complain to a government agency or the BBB, they’re willing to play ball. I’m not a big complainer, but you mess with my kids or my money, it’s on. I try to be polite when I’m going full Karen, though. 🙂

[@Shmaples]

She already contacted corporate

[@jacquelynbaisden1583]

My next call would be a lawyer

[@jacquelynbaisden1583]

​. That's what i thought, my next move would be calling a lawyer

[@damegataco]

Definitely 100% advocating for oneself is not being a Karren... To be a Karren is advocating for one's unjustified entitlements. In this situation she's definitely advocating for justified entitlement as she was entitled to have that room because she paid for it.

[@katieh40]

Front desk here, as night auditor I would never sell room that is already paid for. 🤯🤯🤯

[@mrs.manrique7411]

I bet it was a manager who told front desk, “Hey let’s get extra money!”

[@angelasmith3948]

In situations like that we would have checked them in Friday. Third party bookings were always checked in even if they they were a no show. I am trying to figure out how their reservation system allowed them to sell the room. A manager would had to overwrite it.

[@melissasmith8582]

Back when I was a reservationist at a hotel, double booking would sometimes happen. However, double booking would have to be rectified. So yeah. No two people(parties) can be booked for the same room. Nobody wants that mistake. You give the room to the person who paid for it first. That information is documented.

[@lord_luce]

I love the line "I would be ready to raise a pitchfork or two" 😂

[@Angiesmangie09]

Your aunt PAID for the EXTRA PICKLE. Give her the darn pickle jar!!

[@2011dlm]

I wonder how quickly they would settle if she took them to small claims court.

[@TheMadMaple]

I've been working the night audit at one hotel or another for over 20 years now, and.... yeah, I've never heard of anything like that. The hotel's double dipping. If it's a chain hotel, your aunt should call corporate. If it's independently owned, she should call the owner. And if she doesn't get satisfaction, she should sue their asses. Or at least try to get one of those consumer affairs guys from the local news to look into it. And it goes without saying, never darken that hotel's doorstep again. But you knew that part.

[@ralfmimoun2826]

Afaik, the computer systems of most chains give you a fight if you try to sell a room twice. A call like "oh, plans changed, I'll arrive on Friday" would spark some activity. You can alwayss call on Friday and inform them of a sudden delay...

[@toxicginger9936]

@@ralfmimoun2826 I would bet they had a room that was technically out-of-service for repair or renovation and they put the aunt in that room for the night she wasn't coming. Solves the system issue of preventing a double-booked room.

[@justmutantjed]

7:24 - Oh dang, yeah, the hotel was at fault there. They double-dipped on your Bonus Aunt. B.A. paid for two nights, the hotel went and oversold and got away with it. What's amazing is that the OTA isn't even at fault here. Just a greedhead in management.

[@baylithe]

Protecting the hotel by not naming them just lets them get away with it.

[@xamyx725]

Or, it opens her up to possible legal action… While she would likely win, it’s not worth the hassle, and potentially having to suspend her channel…

[@EmelRaines]

​@@xamyx725 exactly. At this juncture, from her, it's hearsay. So her just name dropping a hotel could cause her trouble. Let alone harassment that comes from online people tends to attack the people who CAN'T do anything just because they're the only people available to harass. That's been shown time and again.

[@johnm.3279]

@@xamyx725 What she said is true. This isn't the case in other countries, but in the US truth is the ultimate defense against libel. If the hotel was stupid enough to try anything, they would get a front row seat to the Streisand Effect.

[@jimland7176]

@@xamyx725Honestly if it were me I would sue anyway. Will the lawsuit be more expensive than the payout? Yes, but you know why? Because phuck em. Thats why. Make their lawyers earn their retainer.

[@xamyx725]

@@jimland7176 I would definitely sue them, as well.

[@darynvoss7883]

Name and shame.

[@anothersquid]

A letter from a lawyer seems in order here. That's where your aunt needs to go.

[@larrymitchell1628]

Sign up for Legal Shield. Cheap. And they’ll write the letter - no extra charge.

[@dianabrown2258]

You said “this was her first time booking a hotel” so nicely lol 😂

[@randomllama7362]

The local tv news would love this story for their consumer helpline..

[@michaeljacobs9633]

Thank you for revealing this scam. As a retired former lawyer, I smell a possible class action lawsuit. Chances are that your aunt is NOT the only person they have ever done this with. We could be talking MEGA bucks here. (Consult a local lawyer.)

[@NotPrincessButLeia]

I once reserved a hotel room in Atlantic city and later on called to confirm my reservation just to make sure everything was good since we were going to be coming there soon. They confirmed that everything was good and then later on I needed to make sure something about the room, so I called again and asked them about it, and they said that they had no reservation for me because I cancelled it last time I called. I was like "What?!" So yeah, no room for me and they had no way of helping me. I have no idea what kind of morons work there, but they clearly think that 1 C word is equal to another C word (Confirm = Cancellation)

[@BigHappysPlace]

Sounds like it Wyndham hotel. It's odd that I have heard this type of story before. my friend had this kind of situation happen a few years ago with a Wyndham. in the end, they not only got their money back. But because it went as far as a law suit. they received compensation in lost time and legal fees. Cost the Wyndam around 10K when it was said and done.

[@marciajanepalizza7086]

Great…”Give the guest the pickle”. Don’t know why, but it cracked me up. 😂

[@zoestewart9007]

Sue em. Send my condolences to ur poor bonus aunt. 😢

[@AriTheWarrior999]

Yiiiiikes... I work audit for a hotel and we do, on occasion, oversell the rooms because what our system shows and what the third party sells "overlap" at suddenly we're at 103% capacity. When that happens, ya know what we do? We call around, find an available room at another hotel nearby, "walk" the guest there, and not only do we refund whatever they spent at our hotel, we also pay for the room at the new hotel as an apology for not being able to accommodate them. Absolutely that hotel's issue to resolve. Grossly negligent behavior.

[@Oduunich]

🤣 Oh God, I remember "Give 'em the pickle." We had that when I first did "Guest Services" at Shanty Creek Resort in 2003.

[@freeschmidt]

I like the points you make about what is and is not a Karen. My kids love watching youtube shorts about Karens, and now I'm trying to help them understand that respectfully standing up for yourself is totally different from trying to get your own way by being mean/entitled/horrible to everyone.

[@karinmaku]

They won’t do anything because you didn’t reveal the location that did this. If you told people which specific hotel did this and they saw a dip in sales then they wouldn’t do stuff like this. People only learn when it affects their wallet

[@richardfabacher3705]

If she gave the name, the hotel lawyers would get her demonetized, maybe banned, on YT, sue her for defamation, tie her up in a lawsuit for years, and probably kill her puppy or kitten. True or false don't matter. Even if the hotel lost in court, her life would be destroyed.

[@ZombieMinion1992]

@@richardfabacher3705 I mean, it is no different from giving a review. People point out brand and talk smack about product all the time. It is fairly normal for people to point out when brands are doing shady things and plenty of them are still on the platform and making money. Sometimes it does out to call out companies that are being jerks. As long as she isn't doing a call to action and demanding us, as her fans, do something bad to the hotel it isn't a real issue. KZbin has let people get away with a lot worse after all.

[@richardfabacher3705]

@@ZombieMinion1992 About once a week, there is a YT about people being sued for bad reviews. I even remember one where it was just an "average" review. Be careful. And remember, huge corporations have salaried company lawyers on staff. All a lawsuit costs them is the filing fee.

[@islandrebelmakeup4653]

The thing about the “give the guest the pickle thing” is in that scenario, you do lose money on the extra pickles. This isn’t even that. They’re taking money they shouldn’t have. They’re double booking. They oversold. When you are bumped off a flight because of overbooking they’re required to book you for free on the next available flight, and you are also entitled to extra financial compensation (which is a sliding scale based on the circumstances). In all seriousness, this hotel shouldn’t just be refunding her for the night they STOLE from her, but should really just refund her entire stay as an apology for this egregious act.

[@alpacalypse4552]

Yep, this is the entire thing. This isn’t about free pickles, this is like reselling the half of the burger the aunt wasn’t going to eat off her plate and then saying they can’t refund it because she ordered through doordash.

[@loufacey-muench4733]

This tells me that in a similar circumstance, the thing to do is to let them know you will be arriving either late or early the next day, so that no one gets the idea to turn the room into a multiple profit center.

[@ashhatcat]

Give her the refund and a free nights stay in the future for the inconvenience scamming bs

[@annaschwirian7548]

Only issue here is as she paid 3rd party they are legally not allowed to inform her of the rate they were paid and have no clue what the guest paid. Example I had a guest book via a 3rd party once the Hotel was paid $75 for the night. The guest was bragging to her cousin how her cousin paid $185 that night by booking direct and she only paid $145. So 3rd party was taking $70 worth of profit from said booking. So the only option would be to refund 3rd party for 1rst night and then they would have to refund guest (which I've never known 3rd party to do) They should have never have sold a 3rd party room . Honestly this issue would have been 100% easier without the 3rd parties involvement.

[@ashhatcat]

@@annaschwirian7548 agreed, third party's service needs to increase so much, because of that just not dealing with them is definitely the go to. But she does deserve something in return for this scammy behavior. Hope it gets settled soon.

[@MsJersey3]

same thing happens in retail, your told to follow the exchange/return policy, but if they complain to the DM they get their own way

[@RhyperiorRanger]

9:22 my god she DOES have superpowers. The hotel that wronged her bonus family is done for

[@markfenbers1329]

This situation teaches me to say things like, “I *might* not make it in town Friday night until well after midnight if at all, but if I do not get there for Friday night, please don’t cancel my reservation for Saturday as a no-show!”

[@Peanuts-N-Corn]

Which hotel was it so we can boycott them

[@vickywickyofficial]

that front desk agent was so oblivious that the aunt had a niece that has 768K+ subscribers on YT.

[@barbarapouw-vandevelde3080]

Quite funny that airlines do this sort of stuff all the time and get away with it.

[@islandrebelmakeup4653]

Actually there are clear requirements for compensation for this. You’re supposed to be on the next flight free and get handed extra cash compensation right there (amount of which is a sliding scale based on the specific circumstances). You do have to know exactly what you’re entitled to to get it out of them but if you tell them what you know you’re entitled to they don’t haggle after that.

[@xamyx725]

@@islandrebelmakeup4653Not only that, but it’s written into the fine print of the airline reservation that this is a possibility.

[@dallenford9592]

"Oh, I'm sorry, my plans have changed and I'll be there Friday night, which I booked, after all. Good luck explaining that to the other people you stole my room for!"

[@frankntejada4612]

Say their names, say their names! (Hotel) Lol

[@sidneablackstone2428]

I used to work as front desk supervisor and we discovered that an employee was actually the culprit in a scam like this. We had lots of long stay workers that the company would pay for the rooms and they booked the night before a morning arrival so the employee rented out rooms with an early checkout and pocketed the cash. We were getting lots of complaints about the housekeeping and then one day workers arrived were given their room and the night desk clerk had not made sure the people actually checked out for whatever reason and the workers found the over night guest still sleeping. Yeah, didn’t end well for the night desk worker. So, she was keeping the money from who knows how many bogus check-ins. It blows my mind she didn’t think she was doing anything wrong because the hotel was getting paid for that night and the night guests were getting a room. Simply mind bending.

[@christinelint6618]

You should do a skit of this! This story is wild!

[@robertbateman3665]

My wife was a guest service manager at a major hotel chain. She got into trouble for NOT reselling a room in a similar situation. The general manager threatened to fire her over it. She went to the hotel corporation and explained the situation and the General Manager got fired! Right is right. I'm very proud of my wife!

[@NoxCattus]

Her state's secretary of state website should let her track down the owner of the hotel and she needs to contact them directly. Also, as a former FDM, more than one occasion I saw management rush to fix things when they went public. She needs to put this out there in every public place she can and in her guest survey response so that it flags for corporate. That said, I almost feel bad for the hellfire that will be raining down on them for this cause they couldn't have possibly picked a worst family to mess with. Get 'em Jessica!

[@littlespotofsunshine]

I just found out about airlines doing this too!!! Intentionally (and I think illegally) overbooking/double-booking on a gamble that people won't show up, and then when they do, they're turned away from flights they PAID FOR well in advance because greedy booking practices. There should be more accountability when things like this happen.

[@xbubbahotep]

yeah at the hotel i worked at we would have refunded the virtual card and contacted the 3rd party to authorize a refund.

[@mrs.manrique7411]

I understand why the hotel thought, “Oh this guest isn’t showing up Friday night, that means she’s not showing up till 3pm Saturday,” because of the nightly terminology of the hotel industry, but NOT refunding this sale (sold probably due to the fact that it’s a “busy weekend”) is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.

[@jonavantour9856]

I was a house keeper at a low end barely 2 star hotel and yes they did this regularly! They would regularly over sell there rooms all the time and then turn The already paid Customers away with no refunds. I wonder why they had such a low rating and a bad reputation. But I also can’t count how many times the other house keepers including my manager was doing lines of coke and meth off the bathroom counter. I went to the general manager about a different problem, he looked at me and said who are you? I don’t even have an employee file for you? That’s when I slammed down my clipboard and I walked out right their and then. ( they did have a file because proper taxes were taking out and I was getting paid) but there was enough that him saying that was my final straw. I was hated around there because I didn’t do drugs and I was a litter better off in life than them.

[@bartonstrauss6519]

Hotel experience aside, if you paid for a service, that service should be given. She paid for the room and even alerted the property, SEVERAL times even, that she won't be in that first night but the next day. However, they saw fit to not only take her reservation, but to SELL her room to another person (overbooking in lame terms). Would love to see how they would justify it IF she happened to have a change of plans to come in that first night instead. Pretty sure they would have figured out something to comping her as she is a paid guest without a room, but they love to make too many excuses. I used to work hotels myself as an audit and sometimes run into cases of overbooking. I never once had a problem with refunding a guest even if they are third party. Easy solution is to call the third party myself and work out a refund with them even for reservations that are refundable. Own up the guilt and fix it. (I know I am making this comment 3 months later, but I seriously hope your aunt didn't have to wait that long for a solution)

[@thekoasterkings151]

How can a hotel override the booking system to book the room but not override it to offer a refund?

[@giantgeoff]

Cash off the books

[@toxicginger9936]

I would bet they had a room that was technically out-of-service for repair or renovation and they put the aunt in that room for the night she wasn't coming. Solves the system issue of preventing a double-booked room.

[@annaschwirian7548]

​@toxicginger9936 actually it's up to the hotel system a friend of mine worked for one brand that had a button that allowed them to check in a guest to a pocket room (a non existent room that was to be used for no-shows with a non cancel agreement. ) This allowed the hotel to sell rooms rooms and still keep the reservation to pull out if the guest showed up at a future time. She hated the feature because people would do stuff like this hotel did with it instead of using it to sell a room after 1am (there no show time) before audit hit a 3am

[@Susirajantakaa]

I guess it depends on the used computer system. But you can for example just leave the room as overbook, or put the reservation on waitlist. Of course hotel could refund the price, but as booked through third party, they still have to pay commission of the total price to the third party. For accounting purposes it might be problematic if the prices on the reports from third party and hotel doesn't match. That's why it would be propably best to do refund through said third party. Because of this, in the hotel I work, we do not do refunds on third party reservations. If there is some issue and customer requires some refund, we usually offer voucher to the restaurant etc. But never ever we double sell pre paid rooms! That is just outrageous!

[@michaeleverett9091]

I'm so glad that the first few comments include 'local news station' and 'small claims court'. This is theft, pure and simple. An accomidation had been purchased and paid for, and the guest contacted the location to verify the situation. The guest had a contract and the hotel broke it. Maybe the guest saying 'so you'll be refunding me, right?' started the conversation on the wrong foot, but still.

[@anastasiav626]

It's not just giving out the pickle situation. It's beyond that.

[@aquamanscodpiece6114]

I was a night auditor. This was common practice in the hotel that I worked in. If the guest arrived before I was off shift (7am) I would ask them to wait in the lounge, with breakfast and coffee, till the next shift came in. My former manager would show up at 645am to 655am. I would tell him that a guest is having difficulty, and direct him to the lounge. It only happened 3 times. I was asked to leave due to my inability to do the job required. Sidenote, when they would come to check in, I would sigh dramatically and say..."he's always doing this." I hear, years later that he was fired after showing off his cash purchase Range Rover.

[@MasterAsh]

No you are spot on, as annoyed as I would be about it (mostly because I hate dealing with this kind of stuff) I agree, we've done your solutions multiple times with other guests. It really is a matter of the hotel's fault that they won't at least refund her. Like there could be a multitude of reasons they may have sold the room (sold out due to third party problems, other guest issue, etc) but at the very least there are also ways for them to refund her for the inconvenience that it caused.

[@annaschwirian7548]

They should have definitely refunded the 3rd party for the night but as legal contracts between 3rd parties and hotels usually state your not allowed to inform the guest how much you received via the 3rd party as 3rd parties receive a % of the booking amount.

[@MatsuyoRific]

Former GR, and current booking agent here. I have a strong feeling this wasn't the hotel I work for, but if it WAS, there would 100% be other options. You're absolutely right about the GM contacting the 3rd party, and refunding the 3rd party to refund the guest. Also, we have certificates good for 1 night at any of our hotels that can be issued as compensation. They're often given away instead of refunds, as incentive for the guest to at least try to give the company one more chance to provide a good stay. Mine doesn't but if the hotel offers special amenities like room service or an on-site restaurant, give the guest a meal voucher, or free free room service. Also, the reason for no-show fees and the like is because the hotel can't sell that room due to the guest booking, but if they were able to sell the room after all, then there really is no reason not to refund the night. If the guest is already paying for the room, then it's their room. I often get guests who stay for business only a few nights per week, but are planning to stay for 10+ weeks. In those situations, I always check to see if it would be cheaper per week to just book the full time to save money. This comes with the added benefit of the guest being able to leave stuff in their room when they're gone. I can't even imagine the hotel trying to still rent those rooms out for the nights the guest was gone in that situation, because the guest is still paying for the room. That just boggles my mind!

[@gennyquevillon1716]

That is insane... I live in Canada, and we have the government agency in charge of protecting consumers from this kind of scammy behaviour. I would definitely contact them regarding this situation, because that is just not right 😒

[@naturalphenomenon1402]

That is great 🇨🇦. A country should govern in a way that defends their people from harm. In the U.S., however, a large percentage of the people have been gaslighted into believing that all Regulation to protect the people is a Socialist Government overreach. The corporate lobbyists that benefit from exploiting people get away with absolutely 0% accountability. Better yet (for them), they get laws passed that protect THEM from the people that dare to challenge their damaging actions. Best of all( for them), their constituents demand it.

[@stillwatersfarm8499]

@@naturalphenomenon1402the US has agencies too - the state attorney general’s office and the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection.

[@martaaberg3330]

Absolutely contact the media. Use the NAME of every manager she spoke with. She can also go through small claims court, but that's a hassle. Also, anyone who wants to avoid this in the future, don't tell the hotel you will not be there. Tell the hotel you will be arriving sometime in the middle of the night so they know that can't resell the room.

[@pitrex111]

No you're totally right. She was entitled to that friday night and it would be hell to pay if your aunt would got friday anyway, just because

[@melissadunton3534]

Right? What if she decided last min to just go ahead and check in late Friday? Which would have been entirely within her rights.

[@segevstormlord3713]

I can totally understand selling the room, especially to a guest who's desperate to get a room, maybe has a history with the hotel or a good sob story... ...but they absolutely should have contacted your aunt and told her, "Hey, since you said you weren't coming in, we had this guest desperate for your room, and we would like to refund you after all, as we sold the room to this other person for Friday night."

[@michaeltroxel-g3t]

The hotel should have been proactive in their response. A lot of hotels will do this. I worked at a property in North Carolina that constantly over sold. They would walk a guest to a compatible hotel in the area and pay for it with a refund to their room. while it was costly it made for a customer that wasn't a mad. In this case the hotel should have not said anything and made a note for the desk and housekeeping to ready any early checkout room that was available.

[@MegaKaitouKID1412]

Perhaps they didn't expect to have any early checkouts? If there were sports tournaments in town, what were the chances that almost all their Friday night bookings also had the Saturday night too?

[@MusicaTexas]

From another service industry worker, best next move for your Aunt is local media, especially if it is a chain. As far as if you are being bias, no, not even a little. You are absolutely right that it is in fact the hotel's responsibility.

[@finkelmana]

I dont work in the hotel industry, but I do work directly with customers. Generally, I completely disagree. Do *NOT* give them the pickle. Its all about setting expectations. When you give a customer control over expectations, then they get to set whatever expectations they want. Every time they come, they expect a free pickle. Soon they will ask for two. Their companions will start demanding free pickles. The people at the next table will overhear and say they want free pickles. Every time you give in, they know they can push the boundaries further. As the saying goes, you give an inch, they take a mile. You absolutely can say no to a customer without being rude, possibly offer some other option. However, the phrase "The customer is always right" is 100% false. If that were true, you would be paying the customer to stay at your hotel.

[@annespurlock1255]

I worked in hospitality for nearly a decade and many of those years was spent as a night auditor/front desk agent. The hotels I worked at never did this. In fact in the last hotel I worked at, before I ran the audit, I was to check in any remaining reservations so that we would not have any no shows on the audit report. This was especially true with third party reservations because we didn’t always know when they would be arriving. If she hasn’t, she should try contacting the third party she booked through and see if they can do something.

[@mikkeljeppesen7696]

i compleatly agree with you, this is not okay, and she needs to get her monny back. even if you hire a layer, to get it back, as a case off prinsiple

[@phoenixdelacroix7517]

FDA here, I have some behind the scenes info about stuff like this. 3rd parties are notoriously horrendous to work with, especially on sold out nights. They constantly overbook us because unless someone has been checked in, they will show that room as available on their site and let people book even if the in house availability is 0. In this case, it definitely was SUPER shady that the hotel allowed an overbooking like this, because if your aunt had decided to show up on Friday night instead they would have had even more issues to deal with. That being said, it is on the 3rd party to deal with the refund, because the hotel DOES NOT TAKE PAYMENT unless it's marked as "hotel collect". In most cases that I've heard/dealt with, we'll take a CC for the deposit/incidentals, but we charge a prepaid card in the name of the 3rd party because they've already collected payment from the guest. Unless damage has been done to the room, the deposit will be released back to the guest upon check out but that is the extent of what a hotel will "charge" for a 3rd party reservation. Your aunt should raise hell with the 3rd party, because they are the only ones who can issue any sort of refund for this. As long as there are actually notes on the reservation that your aunt wasn't in the room one out of two nights, they can force the hotel to confirm a refund, even with the room being double booked

[@mariastorts4761]

I have once called a hotel and said I'd be checking in that day, but not until late that night, so don't call me a no-show and consider the room available. It all worked, and I was very glad I did that

[@MatsuyoRific]

I already wrote a long comment, but as a former GR agent myself, I highly recommend your aunt calls Guest Relations back, and request they escalate to the DM. And call back every other day to make sure the GM isn't closing the case without DM notes. Calling every day can be counter productive, cause the case needs to have that 48 hours to expire. All of us got seriously pissed off when GM's would do this, and fight harder to make sure the guest got helped. Some of us would even keep an eye on these cases in our downtime, to ensure the GM's were held accountable. GR is paid by the company, so we don't give a damn about professionally pissing off bad GM's where we can.

[@davida8833]

We need a name and location for that hotel. Perhaps then corporate will listen!

[@dawnkladerman598]

She stated they're no longer in business

[@stevelind1134]

This is why I sometimes book back-to-back reservations (ie, a separate reservation for each night). I also book 2 one-ways instead of round-trips on flights. It's usually easier to just abandon a reservation instead of modifying it.

[@Kewhi-zz5sx]

I would pursue legal action. That has to be illegal, and I would honestly hire a lawyer. DONT DARE COOL DOWN. I’m more determined when something unfair or cruel is happening to another human being. I don’t take nonsense.

[@katsimms]

That's what I'm thinking and came down to the comments to say. The hotel committed fraud.

[@annaschwirian7548]

​@@katsimmsthat would be hard too prove because technically as a no-show on night 1 they could sell said room after audit. By the legal terms in third party contracts the guest is not guaranteed a room if they do not show up on that 1rst night. ( I've delt with a number of issues with this and guests where they didn't call so they were considered a no show and we sold remaining nights as directed by the 3rd party. Guest shows up three days late to check in and were sold out. We offer to refund all but the 1rst night and 3rd party refuses stating guest broke legal contract)

[@boxhunters]

If she won't get money back based on being related to someone with your reach we all are helpless. Please pursuit this for all of us. This potential boycott will be costly for them