ComplaintsforHoliday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Columbus North-OSU

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I booked this hotel stay back in January 2024 for two days in August (8/12-8/14). We arrived on 8/12 to check in and dropped off our bags and left. Upon our arrival back to the hotel, we found a cockroach in our room. We gathered our belongings and left immediately. We stopped at the front desk to speak with the staff and ask for a refund and they refused. The front desk stated they could just upgrade our room, which was unacceptable given the property had cockroaches. We left and paid for a new hotel. I reached out to the hotel the following day and was told I would be given a refund in full and that they had contacted *****. We also took a video of the ***** and sent it to management as well. However, there has been no evidence that a refund has been issued back to my credit card. They are trying to tell me they issued a refund, when all they did was take the $50 hold off my credit card that was put on when we first arrived in case there were any damages. This hotel was booked through GOVX back in January of 2024.

  Business response

  08/16/2024

  This guest was refunded in full

  our hotel is inspected and approved by Orkin a state certified pest control company

  the minute she made us aware, we refunded her in FULL

   

  there is no balance owed by the guest or the hotel once we refund her

   

  please advise the guest she was refunded for both nights.

   

• Initial Complaint

  02/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We arrived at Staybridge Inn and suites on February 18, 2024 at 3:08 PM and check in time was 3:00 PM. ***** (*****?) was the receptionist and when we gave the name for our booking she advised the booking had been canceled. She said the card on file was declined. I advised that I would be using my card and my ID for check-in; however, it was expressed to us that ***** was unable to do that. She told us she was unable to retrieve the booking and we were unable to pay with a different card for that booking she then began to become argumentative. I explained to her that I’ve never had this issue through Booking.com, and I was confused as to why our booking was still showing as active on the Booking.com site when I pulled it up in real time. She began to raise her voice at us, and it made us feel embarrassed and belittled. When I asked if we could set a reservation and check in with her directly, she told us there were no rooms available for February 18 through February 21, but she could call the ******* *** ******* and see if they could give us a room only for February 20. I then advised that we booked this room at Staybridge because of the amenities (full kitchen) and the Holiday Inn did not offer a room with a full kitchen. She kept telling me there were no rooms available for my dates. I offered her my card throughout this entire interaction but she made no effort to rectify the situation. When I tried setting a new reservation through the Booking.com site, the dates were in fact available. At this point, I was so disgusted by how ***** had treated us, I just requested she could see if the Holiday Inn had availability for all three days since she was pushing us to go there instead. She then called over to ******* *** ******* and told them we were coming. She didn’t offer any further assistance or accomodations. She just sent us next-door and told us to give them our names. It was such a frustrating experience. When we arrived at the ******* *** ******* , I told the receptionist my name and she just asked for my payment. She didn’t tell us what amenities were included, nor did she tell me the price. She just told me to insert the card into the machine. When I asked her how much I was being charged, she was unable to tell me right away. I asked the receptionist that was assisting us at ******* *** ******* whether or not it was common for them to receive people that were pushed away from Staybridge In and Suites and she answered "Yes." I also advised that ***** stated we would only have to pay the $401.81 total for the room which included the deposit that would be refunded. So not only was I not charged the proper rate, but I was overcharged. The room was not the same type of room that was originally booked with Staybridge Inn and Suites and the room was not worth what we paid. The interaction with ***** the receptionist at Staybridge inn and Suites, and the receptionists at ******* *** ******* was not a good representation of your company or the type of management both hotels are under. The overall lack of courtesy and understanding from the employees in both hotels was disappointing. I called in yesterday and spoke with ******* to have my $100 deposit returned to the card that was charged for the stay. When I called last week I was told it takes 5 business days. So I waited until today to follow up. It took her a while but she eventually said “You’re good to go, and you’ll see it in your account.” I immediately checked my account and noticed an additional $800 total pulled from my account. I immediately called back and when I gave her my name she said “I knew you’d be calling back, I’m sorry it was an accident.” I didn’t get a chance to tell her but at this point I was furious. She said it will be reversed to my card. I asked when because that was in my account for bills that needed to clear. At this time I’m out of a total of $900 from the ******* *** ******* and I need an immediate resolution to this issue. This has been a very disappointing experience. How do you charge an additional $800 when $100 was supposed to be returned to me.

  Business response

  02/29/2024

  We have sent the guest the refund receipt and are working with her to make sure she get the amount refunded.

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went to Methodist Riverside hospital for lower back surgery. Riverside hospital paid for my room and the reservation was suppose to be two single rooms and one for one day and one for two days. But when I got there they told me that the hospital made the reservation for one room with two queen size beds and I told the manager it was supposed to be two single beds in two rooms. He said I can't change it because I don't have any rooms open for the second day. I said well can you let him have the room that Riverside hospital is paying for because I called them and they said they would cover the room for two days and that way I will only pay for one night. The day of surgery I checked out my room and said now his room is still going to be covered for today and I will only pay for one night on my credit card and they said yes. But when my friend got back from the hospital he couldn't get back into his room and when he was to the desk they said were sorry that room has been checked out of even though his stuff was still in that room. At first they wouldn't even let him get his stuff. Then **** the amvets commander my friend who took me said when ***** checked out this morning he asked you to make sure you guys got the room reservation straightened out that he needed the second day for me to stay and you told him yes. But the manager told him where they checked him out of the room he would have to get him a different room but since I made the reservation I would have to be there to do it. **** told him that would be hard since he is in surgery on his lower back so he finally said well if you let me get my stuff I will just go home at first he didn't even want to do that but finally did. **** said you better not charge ***** for two days since I don't get to stay. But two days later it went on my credit card. When I called they argued up and down he did stay and they wouldn't even give him a receipt for me to have for VA to get my money back. Had to give it to me only.

  Business response

  08/14/2023

  We have emailed the guest and called the guest- 

  the guest was authorized by the hospital for one night only- guest seems he wanted hospital to pay for 2 nights and was charged for the 2nd and third night the hospital did not cover

   

  we will wait to hear back from the guest however we can not bill the hospital arbitrarily for a night they did not accept to be charged for,

   

  Holiday inn osu
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ***** ***** <****************************> 4:21?PM (3 minutes ago)
  
  
  to *********
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hello, thank you for reaching out regarding your billing concern. Please give me a call back as I have left my name and number for you. ###-###-#### you can ask for *****. 
  
  
  
  --
  ***** *****
  Sintel Hotels - Sintel Retail
  Principal
  www.sintelhotels.com
  

   

  Customer response

  08/24/2023

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 20424820
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the reason is they are acting like I want the hospital to pay the bill. Not the case. I am talking about a friends room that I paid for on my own credit card. The friend that took me to have the surgery is the room that is the issue. I reserved the room for two nights and when he came back from the hospital he was locked out of his room and was told where he would have to get a different room but could not change it to my credit card without me being there even though I gave them my card and checked to make sure his room was for two nights they put as one night. Riverside hospital would have paid for my room for two nights with no problem. But that's where they want to act like it is about that room not the one I paid for on my credit card. He is saying that I was charge for two nights because the hospital only would pay for one and that wasn't even the issue. The issue was the room I was paying for and the manager acts like he didn't charge me for two nights. I want to know how he can charge my credit card for two nights when according to his own people I talked to argued I was only charged for one night but I can show right on my card that he charge me for two days on my credit card when no one was able to stay for the second night. I don't think I should have to pay for two nights when the hospital paid for my room and I paid for my friends room. It was suppose to be for two nights but they only had it for one night according to him. If my friend **** could have stayed in the room for two nights like they charged me there wouldn't have been a issue at all. If need to I can get him to tell you the same thing and it took a while for him to let him get his stuff out of the room he was suppose to stay in one night. But they sure charged my credit card for two nights. I have tried to be nice going thru you guys for the help. But if they don't want to make it right this way my county veterans service said they would get me a lawyer since I am a 100% permanent disabled veteran. I will give them a chance to try to correct it. Which I hoped they would.. But I am not the only one who had a issue with that hotel. Thanks ***** 

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** * ******

  Business response

  09/05/2023

  Hello, we left a voicemail for the guest as well and did leave a detailed message. The guest has yet to call us back. That is not standard or protocol. The hospital paid for the nights that they were responsible for and the guest paid for the balance. It seems that the guest wanted the hospital to pay for more than the nights that they had committed and that is not something that they were agreeable to do. How is this a complaint against our hotel? Why is this being registered against our hotel? People Can book a room to pay on their own and then expect a third-party to pay for the room and open a case for it to count against us? That doesn’t make any sense if the guest would like to call us back we are open to discussing this further.

• Initial Complaint

  02/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I'm a platinum elite IHG member (*********), of which I was initially proud until very recent. As an impromptu weekend excursion, I planned to use my "free night" to stay locally, but had a change of heart. My initial booking resulted in a cancellation, as there appeared to be an issue with scheduling on the site. Then I opted to reschedule, hoping the issue would be resolved. The initial booking was 1/29/23 (confirmation #********) and was scheduled for 2/4/23 - 2/5/23; which then resulted in canceling on 1/2923 (confirmation #********). The rescheduled booking was done the same day 1/29/23 (confirmation #********); which still displayed the wrong date, and ultimately was canceled 2/1/23 (confirmation #********). My credit card was then charged twice for a total of $150.99 on 2/3. The transactions displayed a scheduling date of 2/3/23 and 2/4/23. So I reached out to the hotel and asked for a manager (******), whom said he would call me back and failed to do so. I sent an email to; ***** *****, as my cancellation email listed the email address of them. I attempted to express my dissatisfaction and explained if I was unable to come to a resolution I would follow the appropriate channels and listed them. My response from ***** displayed no empathy or thankfulness of my business. The individual simply stated they were threatened by my explaining I received no call back and would continue to seek further resolution if I did not hear anything and explained my protocol. Furthermore the email stated their cancelation policy has a 96 hour window, yet that was not displayed on the IHG website. The website stated I had up until the night prior to cancel a "reward night", which is why I did so. It is unfortunate that loyal customers are treated that way at that establishment. If that location wishes to have future business, it would be prudent to follow up in a timely manner (especially when promised), show appreciation for loyalty and professionalism.

  Business response

  02/13/2023

  Hello ****! usually if we are threatened with the BBB etc we pass over to our attorney for correspondence, however, I wanted to respond respectfully first,

  
  

  Your reservation that you booked was with a reward night that was cancelled within the cancellation period, 

  We have a 96 hour policy on weekends as is stated on our website,

  your reservations were cancelled on Feb 2, 2023 for a Feb 4 arrival

  as you can see this is within the 96 hour policy which constituted for a one night cancellation charge for both rooms,

  
  

  That is the reason for the charge- a cancellation within the cancellation time period

  
  

  I have added the BBB on the email to make it easier to correspond and share your complaint a little further should you wish to, 

  however we do have a cancellation policy which is on your confirmation email and our website

  
  

  here is attached for you a screen shot which your reservation and cancellation details

  
  

  Business response

  02/13/2023

  the guest booked not one but two reservations,

  confirmation numbers ******** and ********

  the guest cancelled the first one within the time period- the guest did not cancel the second one till after the cancelation policy- the guest attemempted some level of leaving out the second cancellation policy but sent the first one for which she did cancel in time,

  she was sent a screen shot of the cancellation policy of the reservastion she did not cancel in time, 

  instead of working with the hotel = she went online and slandered the hotel and its employees with untrue statements and details- and used their first and last names on trip advisor by means of slander and liber- and alluded to fraud- 

  we are filing a law suit against this person with her full details toast we have here in franklin county for libel and slander unless she removes all false reviews publicly.

  the bbb was copied on the email showing proof of cancellation after the policy for the second reservation 

  Customer response

  02/14/2023

  The response is in regards to two rooms that were booked and the confirmation only has one room attached. So there is a huge discrepancy, as well as the confirmed date listed on the cancellation email displays 2/1, not 2/2 as is suggested in the response. So with these two discrepancies it appears as though the information provided is wrong.

  
  

  Last but not least, the cancellation email states if cancellation is made outside of the cancellation window that there would be forfeiture of a deposit and as you see on the screenshot the deposit was free. So by my knowledge there would be no charge. A $150.99 deposit was never made for the 1 room that was booked / cancelled. So it appears as a random charge that was no agreed upon.

  
  

  For those reasons the response is being rejected.
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I checked into this hotel on August 20, 2022 and when I got to the room gnats were in there and in the bathroom too. I then checked out after an hour and twenty-six minutes. I told the desk attendant that night and he said oh I need to contact the manager. I kept calling and was told the manager, ***** *****, was not there and to call back. I contacted my bank to dispute the charge and they said I had to contact the manager. I called back to the hotel and spoke with an attendant, ******* who told me to email the manager, ***** *****. I did that and he told me, while copying his attorney, ***** ******** & a Ohio dispute resolution person, that he had Orkin check the room and they didn't find anything.. Orkin was not there when I was in the room. If there were no gnats in the room, I would not have checked out. All I am asking is for a refund of $165.25 they charged my credit card. If he wants to prorate the refund for$5.00 for the hour I was in the room fine but refund me the difference. I sent Mr. ***** another email to see how he is going to resolve this issue and have not heard back from him. I called back to the hotel a couple of days ago and *******, checked to see if he would take my call and she came back to the phone and told me he said send an email. This is where we stand, no response.

  Business response

  11/21/2022

  Hello, we had Orkin pest control check for the entire room for any sort of pests gnats bedbugs orkin did a full inspection and the report was negative and we shared this with the guest. The guest did use the entire room regardless if he was there for an hour or more. We have a very strict policy that within 30 minutes if there’s an issue we can refund the guest with no penalty. The guest is responsible for the charges as Orkin did a full recess reinspection of the room and confirmed these findings to be completely false. We asked the guest for any supporting documentation or pictures and they could not provide anything. We have followed all state guidelines and procedures

  Customer response

  11/22/2022

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Orkin wasn't at the facility when I was there. The manager could have called them during the week but they could have also rented the room after I left. I can't speak for what Orkin saw 2 or 3 days later. I can only speak of what I and my guests saw. 

  
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** *********

• Initial Complaint

  09/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had plans with my girlfriend to stay at the hotel, we had her daughter with us unexpectedly. Still made the most of it and played in the pool and got to watch movies in the room. I stayed up a little later and was actually hanging out out front with whoever works late shift as I’m sure the cameras will show. My girlfriend left her phone and charger, I called the hotel and asked them to grab it from the room after we left. When I got back to pick up the phone the lady at the desk said she had found cigarette butts in my room and was charging me a smoking fee. I never flick cigarette butts, it a habit from working in areas that completely forbid it, so I flick the burning ember off and stuff the butts in my pocket. Some may have come out when I emptied my pockets at the end of the night. I did not smoke in that room. That said they have pictures and there was nothing they could do, and were extremely rude about it, and wouldn’t give me the managers name. I guarantee the pictures they have don’t have any ash… just butts, because I didn’t smoke in the room. The pool water was also grossly unbalanced, chlorine was at an unsafe level, I used to build swimming pools and had a test kit with me that I used to test the water after they decided they were going to try to steal money from me.

  Business response

  09/29/2022

  The guest had cigarettes all over the room that were fully smoked. Also our pool chlorine levels and chemical levels are all in line with state and city regulations. We can attach pictures of all of the cigarettes that were found littered all over the floor if necessary. We are happy to provide any additional details necessary

  Customer response

  09/29/2022

  I have not seen these pictures, the business refused to show me any pictures the day I was informed I was being charged for smoking, nor would they allow me to speak with the manager who had approved this charge, and has left me on hold countless times in any attempt to discuss the matter. As Ive said before, yes they were smoked ciggarettes ,but they were the butts from me smoking them outside. I put butts in my pocket as a habit to not litter. What you found were butts. Thats it. Not ashes, which would indicate I smoked in the room. I am more than likely on camera smoking outside the night before. I did not smoke in the room. Please show any pictures you have because I guarantee they are of butts only.
  
  

  Business response

  10/24/2022

  Did you guys receive the photos of the smoking issue- we sent them
  directly to you
  
  ***** *****
  Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Columbus North-OSU
  **** ********* ***** ** ******** ** *****

  Customer response

  10/26/2022

  Via BBB Ticket:

  The photos the hotel included are exactly as I said. Those are
  cigarette butts that I've extinguished and roll the tips on and put in my
  pocket. Its a habit from military and construction life. Littering is a no
  go in both fields. Some may have fallen out of my pocket at end of day, but
  that does not constitute smoking in the room. As I said before, ashes or
  some sort of evidence of a smoked cigarette would warrant a smoking charge.
  Please let me know how to move forward, I want my money back.
  
  ****** *******
  ###-###-####

• Initial Complaint

  08/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  our stay August 6th we noticed the carpets in the hallways were filthy and stained. When we go to the room we noticed several things immediately: the duvet cover had a big blue line on it, the pillows had dirt spots on them, the wall by the bed had drips and platters running down it, the bed skirt had dirt stains on it, the furniture was very scratched up, the chair was worn out and dirty, and upon further investigation behind the nightstand there was trash like a cup, tissue some candy and it was clear it had not been cleaned behind there in quite some time. This was our introduction to the hotel. I immediately called down to the front desk and asked if they would send someone up to take a look at this stuff. We waited around for about a half hour and no one showed up. The pool was cloudy and salty, there were many tiles without grout, peeling paint on some of the columns surrounding the pool and the hot tub was not working and was very dirty and had caution tape surrounding it. There were no clean towels and the pool area overall seemed unkempt as there were wet shoes and shorts strewn around the pool area and again on clean towels. was around 12:30 a.m. I parked in front of the hotel and went inside to let the front desk know that there was nowhere to park. At this point the front desk person, a young man, said he would call his manager and see what he could do. He then said that we should try parking on the apron which did not seem safe to me, he even suggested we park in a fire lane in-between two handicapped parking spaces. Ultimately they refunded out money without confirming with us and said if we didint leave they would call the police. W had nowhere to go soo had tpo saty and they said we assumed responsibility because we stayed. The hotel was gross and why should they not be held accountable for our satisfaction and why should we be inconvininenced??

  Business response

  08/23/2022

  This is a very large fabrication of the actual truth. The guest was told that he could park underneath the canopy along with two other vehicles that were parked there. The manager on duty even called him at one in the morning when he was making a fuss that there was no open parking spot.  The manager told him that parking underneath the canopy would not present a challenge to any guest staying at the hotel. The guestinsinsisted on finding a parking spot only and did not want to park right underneath the canopy he claimed that it was unsafe which was completely false

  The front desk addressed the Guest issues several hours after he checked into the hotel room the room was used and then the guest made a few claims about the room for which the front office manager went upstairs and resolved all the issues that seem to come after the guest checked in. We even gave the guest an option of checking out completely out of the hotel and being refunded all of his money despite using the room for almost 6 hours. All of a sudden the guest demeanour changed and he stated that he did not want to leave and that he was absolutely fine at the hotel

  we again tried to refund the Guest all of his money and let him leave so that way he would not make any challenges for the hotel the next morning. We had to guess sign a piece of paper before renewing his keys stating that he was OK with the room and that he was agreeing to the charges. After he checked out two days later he called the hotel looking to speak to another manager than the one he spoke to that night and was pleading a case for a refund. We pulled up the piece of paper that he signed that he was OK with the room and he was OK with whatever changes the manager made for him  in terms of any issues he brought up about the room and then decided to continue staying. He first denied that he signed any paper and then when he saw his signature on the paper he stated that he forgot he signed the paper. The guest is now trying to fabricate further stories in order to get his money back and we also contacted the Booking agency that he booked his room through And they denied him a refund because he agreed to stay at the hotel and accepted  the charges after the hotel took care of whatever issues he was claiming for that night

  Here is the email that we sent to him proving that he accepted the charges

  On Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 2:32 PM ***** ***** <***********@sintelhotels.com> wrote:
  
  HI *****
  I called the travel desk for you and was on hold for about an hour- they are asking if you were given the option to check out and be refunded which you were- 
  they stated if you still stayed then that in their exact words are "the guest took responsibility for his stay and agreed to use the services provided"
  
  On Thu, Aug 11, 2022 at 5:34 PM ***** ****** <***********@gmail.com> wrote:
  
  First I’d like to say that we have had great luck with Holiday Inn Expresses in the past, however this was to our disappointment not the case with our stay August 6th 2022 at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Columbus Univ Area - Osu, an IHG Hotel 3045 Olentangy River Rd Columbus OH 43202 US 00###-###-####. Our hotel confirmation # is: **********.

  Customer response

  08/24/2022

  Thank you for getting back to us and for looking into this. 

  This is a quote from their response:

  "He first denied that he signed any paper and then when he saw his signature on the paper he stated that he forgot he signed the paper. The guest is now trying to fabricate further stories in order to get his money back and we also contacted the Booking agency that he booked his room through And they denied him a refund because he agreed to stay at the hotel and accepted  the charges after the hotel took care of whatever issues he was claiming for that night"

   Is there any evidence of any of this? 

   None of this is true and I'd like to see any proof of any of this. I actually spoke to the day manager that next day and she was very apologetic and even said that her son who was the person working the desk that night witnessed the whole thing said to there that guests (us) were, her words, "So nice." Which were were considering. We called that Monday (we had to drive home and both of us worked on Sunday, and spoke to ******** ***** who is the assistant manager and he said that he spoke with the manager and said that the manager wanted to call me back which he never did and then we called back and he was smug and offered zero accountability. Below is the full detailed account of what happened. We had no place to go and this is why we stayed. I have offered a bunch of photos proving how disgusting the hotel was. The hotel has offered zero proof or evidence. I never said anything about forgetting about signing anything. I can have my partner write another complaint or give her testimony if need be. Below is the full account of what took place and I only did not submit all of this before because of space limitations. The logic here is, why should we be forced to pack up all of our stuff and wonder into the night to try and find another hotel because of the proven uncleanly conditions. They should have been ashamed to present the hotel the way that it was and immediately apologized not antagonize us and basically try to kick us out without offering alternative lodging. I don't consider this resolved at all.  

  First I’d like to say that we have had great luck with Holiday Inn Expresses in the past, however this was to our disappointment not the case with our stay August 6th 2022 at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Columbus Univ Area - Osu, an IHG Hotel 3045 Olentangy River Rd Columbus OH 43202 US 00###-###-####. Our hotel confirmation # is: **********.

  When we first arrived at the hotel before even getting into the room we noticed the carpets in the hallways were filthy and stained. When we go to the room we noticed several things immediately: the duvet cover had a big blue line on it, the pillows had dirt spots on them, the wall by the bed had drips and platters running down it, the bed skirt had dirt stains on it, the furniture was very scratched up, the chair was worn out and dirty, and upon further investigation behind the nightstand there was trash like a cup, tissue some candy and it was clear it had not been cleaned behind there in quite some time. This was our introduction to the hotel.
  I immediately called down to the front desk and asked if they would send someone up to take a look at this stuff. We waited around for about a half hour and no one showed up. We assumed that they were not coming and went about our day because we had plans. One of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because there was a pool, hot tub and gym on the premises. The pool was cloudy and salty, there were many tiles without grout, peeling paint on some of the columns surrounding the pool and the hot tub was not working and was very dirty and had caution tape surrounding it. There were no clean towels and the pool area overall seemed unkempt as there were wet shoes and shorts strewn around the pool area and again on clean towels. This is all on Saturday afternoon when you’d think these things would be attended to.

  We had a tight schedule and had to get moving so we showered and went about our night. The shower curtain was not snapped or properly, the towels were haphazardly hung and offered an overall less than favorable presentation. We didn’t take pictures of this as we were resigned at this point that we had made a bad choice to stay there and there would not be any improvements in the quality of facility or service.
  We went out for the evening and when we came back the parking lot was full and there were cars in the lot blasting music and driving fast around the lot. It was around 12:30 a.m. I parked in front of the hotel and went inside to let the front desk know that there was nowhere to park. At this point the front desk person, a young man, said he would call his manager and see what he could do. He then said that we should try parking on the apron which did not seem safe to me, especially with the cars driving around the parking lot, he even suggested we park in a fire lane in-between two handicapped parking spaces, which I was not comfortable with for obvious reasons. I have included a picture of where it was suggested that I park.
  I assumed that this was what his manager was telling him and not his personal suggestions. Suddenly from inside appeared a woman in a headdress. She did not introduce herself and we only got her name from the daytime desk who said her name is ****** (the phone number she gave was: ###-###-####). She talked very quickly and interrupted me quite a bit so I got on the phone with IHG to try to figure out what could be done.
  With everything we had experienced, at this point we wanted to see if they could just place us in a different Holiday Inn in the city or find some way to resolve the situation. She began making calls so I tried to explain the situation to the IHG customer service person. With regard to the car, she suggested that I could find a parking garage? I showed her the pictures of our room and explained what had happened and that no one had shown up. She said that someone had come but that we were no longer in our room. I explained to her that we waited for a reasonable amount of time and that we had a schedule to keep. She told me that all of her rooms were booked.
  I have to reiterate here that she was all over the place, talking very fast and interrupting me, she mentioned how she was tired and wanted to go home and get some rest. She said something about a refund and a credit within the next year but that we would have to stay at this hotel within the next year but I explained to her that we had not place to stay, that and that it was nearly 1 am and that I wanted to use my points to purchase the hotel and that the credit card company was particular about where I could stay and that with the state fair in town that a lot of the rooms would be booked up.

  I tried to explain to her that I had purchased my room with points on my credit card and that I was not sure if these could be refunded. She was on the phone with another person. Meanwhile I have IHG in my ear bud and he said he is listening to what she is saying. She says that she found another room in a hotel across the street and that she could refund my money and that I could rent a room across the street. I repeated that I had used my points and that 1, I was unsure if these could be redeemed and she did not think they could either, 2, that we would definitely want to see the room first before anything else. *We were very clear about this.
  I told the IHG guy that we were going to check out this room and that I would call back. Before I got off the phone I heard her say, “Oh the room had been taken?” I asked if the room was no longer available, and she said it had been taken by another guest. So I told the IHG guy to hold on a second and he said would your case number? She seemed frustrated and went inside. The guy gave me the case number and did not say anything about whether this had repercussions or anything.
   At this point we talked about our options (me and my partner). We went inside and ****** (if this is her name) was sitting at the front desk. I said we are tired, and have things to do tomorrow including traveling 2 hours back to Cleveland and that there don’t seem to be any options right now but to stay here. She very rudely said your money has been refunded and that the hotel wanted us to leave or that she would call the police. We were flabbergasted, I have never been so insulted, embarrassed, angry, and appalled I my whole life!

  We had been calm and reasonable this whole time and were willing to work with her to find solutions, not to mention we never at any point had asked, requested or approved for a refund to be initiated. I told her that we did not approve any request for a refund especially without a secure place to stay which I would be able to use my points towards. She said, “Well you got a claim number, I checked.” I said that the IHG offered the number and I never specifically said that I wanted to file a claim, that I recall. I simply told him what was going on, asked what our options are and then he offered a claim number when I said we were going to look at the hotel room which we never gpot to see because it had been taken by someone else (supposedly).
  It seemed that IHG giving me a claim number somehow acted as a negative towards ******’s performance evaluation and maybe this is why she was upset. After this however she was rude, curt and unapologetic. We explained to her again that nothing about our complaints had been resolved, she cancelled our room without our approval or with providing a reasonable option for alternative accommodations and that we would be homeless if she kicked us out and that we had done nothing to deserve this treatment which was dastardly. My partner politely asked if we could just stay there for the night as we had no other options, she made a phone call, we spoke to someone on the phone and they made us sign something and we were allowed to stay in the room.
  We both felt traumatized by this experience, we could not sleep and now it was almost 2 am. We had planned to get up early and use the gym but we were so upset and tired we did not have the energy to enjoy this amenity which we paid for. I even had nightmares about the cops coming to our room. We literally felt as if we had been assaulted. I have never had an experience like this and it was certainly the most horrific stay I’ve ever had at a hotel ever.
  In the morning what I would guess as a ten-year-old girl knocked on our door and said she was there to clean the room. We went down to get breakfast and talked to the day manager who was very nice, said her son had been there during the night and said that he had commented to her that, “Mom the guests were so nice.” It was morning and a lot of people were trying to check out and ask questions so we did not get a chance to talk for long but her and the other young woman working the desk were fairly apologetic and understanding and I was ultimately given a business card, a picture of which I have also attached. I was directed to reach out to ******** *****.
  I called him the next day, he put me on hold for a bit then came back and said that his manager was going to call me back which I waited 4 days and he never did. This is when I sat down to write this letter as I figured submitting this in writing was the best way to go about this. Now I will note, I’m a journalist and I get paid to write, and now I am taking time out of my day to have to compose this as I have not heard back from anyone once again. Our patience is at an end. This was an atrocious hotel experience and we are certainly looking for some sort of reasonable compensation.

  We felt like we were treated as criminals at a place which we paid to stay at. What seems like would give us the best feeling of restitution would be to have our money refunded and some sort of voucher to stay at one of your hotels for free. I have not submitted this experience at this point to anyone but who is included in this email and are not vindictive people so we figured we would just lay it out for you and see how we can resolve this in a clean and tidy way where we can all move forward from this and take it as a learning experience. I have attached pictures to illustrate what I have outlined and where we were told to park. 
  When people travel, it is an opportunity to explore a new city, invest in the local economy, increase tourism, reconnect with friends and family, share moments with the special people in our lives and at the center of these experiences is the lodging, the service professionals and the amenities. As I am sure you can II understand if you have a bad stay and are treated poorly it reflects on the place of lodging, the city and the trip.

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The water did not work in the hotel and the staff did not notify the guests of the outage even though it was a scheduled outage. Then the hotel staff lied about me clogging the toilet with a wash cloth because it fell in the toilet. I could not flush the toilet without water so that is not true but they will not return my money for the nights I didn't stay there because of it. I have attached a picture of the toilet that clearly indicates the wash cloth was not clogging the toilet.

  Business response

  08/07/2022

  Guest was made aware the city of Columbus,bus shut down the water from1015pm to 4am. City shut off the water. We. Are all guests arriving and in house available.  Guest trashed room. Left trash all over the entire room and even dropped a rag into the toilet. Did not tell us she threw trash all over the room or dumped a wash cloth in the toilet. 

  Customer response

  08/16/2022

  The hotel did not notify their guests of the outage. I was not the only guest that was unaware of the outage. They had my phone number, email, and knew which room I was staying in but they never used any of those to inform me of an outage which is a basic amenity offered by hotels, water. They also did not give me a trash can so I used my plastic bags to pack my clothes and left the trash in the room. I was never told I was supposed to take my own trash out in a hotel room. They made me plunge the toilet so I should have expected to do everything else but I didn't. To top it off, the manager lies about everything. They tried to say I clogged the toilet with a wash cloth and had to have a plumber come out but it's impossible to plug a toilet without water. Complaint: ********
  

  Customer response

  08/23/2022

  I just want my money back for the days I did not stay in the hotel. I did not "trash
  

  Business response

  08/24/2022

  Hi, I will be able to offer you a portion of the funds back. But due to the condition the room was left in we are unable to refund the entire amount. Please let me know your thoughts

• Initial Complaint

  06/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I had a reservation with the holiday inn express 3045 Olentangy River Road in Columbus, OH and when I checked in on June 25, 2022 they said they were upgrading me and to give them 5 mins. We were then sent to another hotel next door where we were told they got a call from the Holiday Inn saying they ran out of rooms the size we needed and begged them to give us a room. I was charged twice, I had thought it was over $100 so I posted a review. When I called IHG to complain about being lied to and over charged, they told me they saw I was charged twice, which was actually more than the $100 I thought, and they apologized and stated they would release the charge from Holiday inn and it would take 24-48 hours. At 4pm a woman at the hotel called and said they would release the charge. I said yes, I spoke with someone and they said it would release in 24-48 hours. Later that night, at almost 9pm, I received a call from a manager at the Holiday Inn Express threatening me that if I didn’t remove my post he would make sure I didn’t get my funds released for 14 days but if I change or delete it then I can have it in the day that I was promised. He literally tried to tell me they didn’t run out of rooms, and I said yes they did, I didn’t appreciate being lied to, as the front desk at the hotel I was sent to told me they received a cal begging them to sell me a room bc they didn’t have the size I reserved. Then he said we told you we would release the mo ey so you need to change your review and I said no I will not, and he said fine you will get your money in 14 days. Literally threatening me, calling me at home, about holding my money for a room I didn’t even stay in, that should have been release as soon as they sent me to another hotel. I have a 3 year old daughter and to be called at almost 9pm and threatened over a review is crazy. It’s not ethical, or really legal, and I have also reported this to their corporate offices.

  Business response

  06/28/2022

  Hi, the guest was upgraded to a room with a full kitchen. The hotel was located right next-door from the Holiday Inn express our sister hotel the ********** suites. The guess was not charged $100 extra. Her credit card was charged the same exact price. When she checks in there is an additional hundred dollars for authorizations as an incidental charge that all hotels charge that authorization does drop off within 3 to 5 business days and she was told to us. I just checked the account and it shows that the money did drop off for the incidental charges and she was refunded in full.

  Customer response

  06/28/2022

  they should have released the $100 from the holiday inn as soon as I was sent to the other hotel.  The biggest issue is me being called on Sunday at 9pm by a manager at the holiday inn telling me to change my review about them or he would hold my money for 14 days.  He literally threatened me over the review.  That wasn’t addressed at all here. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I had a reservation on Wednesday June 15, 2022 for an early Drs appointment on June 16, 2022. The reservation was for Holiday Inn Express on Olentangy River Rd. In Columbus, Ohio. When we got there, we were told there was no power and we couldn’t stay there. We did not receive any notice at all for this. I checked my bank account the next day and $178.59 was pending to be pulled out of my account. I called the bank and they told me that I would need to contact the hotel. So I tried to call a couple of times and they still didn’t have any power. When I finally got ahold of them, I was told to email ****************@gmail.com. I sent an email and received a response from ***** *****. He indicated that a refund was done for the money they took from my account. It has now been over a week and I still have not received the refund. I have sent several emails and even called the hotel. This guy insists that he has refunded my money but I have not received it. He has not been very nice about all this. I just want my money back! I have even sent him screen shots of my bank account showing they pulled the money but did not refund me. I am on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay for something I did not get!

  Business response

  07/05/2022

  We did not increase her price- she was moved next door to a hotel with a full kitchen and free laundry- the 100 incidental charge dropped off over a week ago and was released for all incidental holds.

   

  Customer response

  07/06/2022

  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint. I was not given a different room or hotel! Not sure what they are talking about! All I wanted was a refund because I did not get to stay at this hotel and they pulled money from my checking account. They have finally refunded me so I am satisfied.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩