ComplaintsforLemolo Lake/Crater Lake North KOA

• Initial Complaint

  08/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My family has been excited for their trip at *********** ***. Unfortunately, fires have closed the *** until at least 08/06/2024. We have someone in our party with COPD and with all of the fires in the area, we needed to cancel our reservation as the smoke is a hazard to their health. I called on 08/02/2024 to cancel our reservation which was booked from 08/15-08/18. When you click on the *** National Cancellation Policy located at the bottom right hand corner of the *** Lemelo Lake webpage, it doesn't give direction as to when the reservation must be cancelled by. The woman on the phone was very insensitive and said I called one day too late and now I lose my deposit of $259.63. We would like *** to understand that health issues can impact someone's ability to stay in an area with heavy smoke. I believe a one day policy exception could have been made to create a happy customer experience. The woman I spoke with on the phone had zero interest in understanding our point of view as a customer. We are seeking reimbursement of our entire deposit in the amount of $259.63 as show in the attached reservation. The situation portrays a convenient way to take money from people due to a natural disaster. We look forward to *** Corporation making this right.

  Business response

  08/03/2024

  Re code # *************

  You have contacted the incorrect business for this complaint. KOA Corporate Headquarters are located in *******. We are a family owned KOA campground in ****** and have absolutely nothing to do with this complaint or any oversight on any other KOA's. Please correct your information as this is not the first time that we have been incorrectly contacted by the BBB for something we have no involvement in. 

  Thank You,
  Oscoda/Tawas KOA

  ***************************

  Business response

  08/14/2024

  The guest made a reservation at our facility on 2/16/24 for a deluxe cabin for 3 nights from 8/15/24-8/18/24.
  The reservation confirmation automatically generated by *** included the following information relating to the cancellation policy for Deluxe Cabins as part of the email (this information was provided to the BBB by the guest):

  Deluxe Cabins &Unique Accommodations: These units may have special
  deposit and cancellation requirements. Please check with your selected ***
  campground location when making your reservations.

  *** as a franchisor does not have a universal cancellation policy as it relates to Deluxe Cabins as the market for these large rental units varies greatly from location to location.  Some ***s require the full stay as a deposit and do not allow cancellations with refunds of any kind.  Others require deposits of 50% of the stay with ***** days cancellation windows for refund minus a cancellation fee.  Still others require a single night deposit with shorter cancellation notices.  Our *** requires a single night deposit and a cancellation window of 14 days before the reservation to receive a refund minus a $35.00 cancellation fee.  Below is a copy of the Deluxe Cabin cancellation information as it is found on our website. The full cancellation policy is the First Item under our **** tab at ***.com/campgrounds/Lemolo-lake.

  Deluxe Cabins & Unique Accommodations: 14 Days cancelation notice is required.  Notify us by 4 p.m. 14 days before your scheduled arrival to receive your deposit refund, minus a $35 cancellation fee.  

  The guest contacted our campground on August 2nd, 2024 (13 days prior to their reservation) to cancel their reservation because they were concerned about potential smoke that might be in the area on the date of their reservation. They reported that a member of their family had a health condition that would be unsafe if it was smoky at our location. 
  When the guest was informed that they would be cancelling inside the 2 week window of the cancellation policy they said they would be contacting the *** corporate office and the BBB to file complaints and hung up on my wife before any other potential options could be discussed,such as rescheduling their visit.  As a result, we honored their request and cancelled their reservation under our stated cancellation policy, keeping the one-night deposit as a fee.  As a result the rescheduling of the stay was no longer an option.

  On 8/7/24 the guest sent an email again threatening to contact the *** corporate president and the BBB if they werent refunded their deposit.  We responded the same day with the following response along with a full copy of our cancellation policy taken directly from our website:
  
  Hi -----,
  Below you will find the cancellation policy for the Lemolo Lake *** taken directly from the website.  It is under the **** tab on the site if you would like to review it online.
  A few details relating to your reservation and our ***.  Yes you lost $259 in your first night deposit.  Our business lost the other $518 we would have received with the cancellation of the remaining 2 nights of your stay.  Many businesses charge the entire stay up front with no cancellation window. We and *** chose not to, but we do have a 2 week advanced window for cancellation of our deluxe cabins. The reason it is not on the national *** policy is because not every *** has Deluxe Cabins and every market is different for large cabins and needs policies specific to their area.
  
  We are a *** franchise.  *** has no ownership interest in our business and we are a small family run operation that is currently losing many thousands of dollars every day as a result of a closure by the Forest Service we cannot control that has gone on for 20 days now.    
  You have indicated a family member has health issues and can't handle smoke.  And it may be smokey at our facility during the time frame of your stay.  We have no way of knowing one way or another, it can change by the day or by the hour. 
  In the same way you have no way of knowing if Hood River will be smokey by mid August from the Microwave Fire, Whisky Creek Fire, or ******** Mine Fire that surround your area on 3 sides and are all larger than our fire.  Not to belittle any potential health condition, but absolutely anyone that wants to cancel a reservation can call or email us with a claim of a health condition that prevents them from coming for any reason they chose.  We have no way of verifying or rebuking any medical condition claim.
  
  As a result, we have to go with our stated and published policies relating cancellations.  It may sound harsh, but it's the only way we can maintain our business operation. Otherwise there will be no Lemolo Lake *** to come to.
  
  Thanks,
  ******************* - Owner
  Lemolo Lake ***

  As indicated in our reply email.  Our business lost $518 in revenue with this guests cancellation as we will not receive the other 2 nights revenue we would have received if the cancellation did not occur.  The guest is claiming we are taking advantage of a natural disaster when in fact the opposite is true.  The 14-night cancellation window is necessary to be able to adequately market a newly vacant space in an attempt to recover the lost revenue.  During a natural disaster and the aftermath when reopening the marketing window to be able to rebook the cancelled deluxe cabin is far longer than the 2 weeks normally allotted.  The fires in our area were a known factor on July 16th when the fires started. The closure of the ********************** and our facility was published by the media, on the Umpqua National Forest website and our website beginning July 21st 2024.  The guest had ample time to cancel their reservation ahead of the 2 week cancellation window and did not do so.  In the end, they are fine with our business absorbing all the loss as long as they dont have any cost in the matter. 

  During the mandated closure of our campground lost in excess of 25% of our annual revenue we will not recover as we were forced to close from 7/20/24 to 8/8/24. During the recovery phase we will likely lose an additional 10% of our annual revenue of which this guest is a small part. 
  Nearly every cancellation we receive during periods of potential smoke during fire season comes with an explanation of one member of the party having some health issue that requires the cancellation.  Obviously, while we feel for these issues, we have no way of verifying or refuting any health claim nor do we wish to or have time to. 

  In the end we acted in a manner consistent with our stated and published policies.  This guest chose not to call our facility to obtain information relating to the cancellation policy in advance or access and read the policy readily available online. 

  We stand by our decision to cancel this guests reservation at their request with the cancellation fee being the one-night deposit paid when the guest made the reservation.

  Customer response

  08/21/2024

   
  Complaint: 22084725
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Businesses aren't business without customers. Yes, we were one day late in cancelling but *** continues to reference their losses due to the fires as it customer service doesn't matter. The fact that *** ****** Lake refuses to attempt to work with us on the deposit due to the extenuating circumstances is disappointing. Their email response was heartless and stated anyone could say they had a health problem and get their money back. The bottom left hand corner of the website goes to the *** national policy which doesn't state 14 days. It is misleading. *** Lemelo Lake refuses to take any responsibility and instead continues to state their losses and reference their policies. As someone who works in customer service, we strive for customer satisfaction. Sometimes customer satisfaction includes having integrity and doing the right thing. *** Lemelo Lake has made it clear they refuse to work with us.  We even offered to send them medical documentation of my mother's illness. We are even willing to take a return of half of our deposit. *** Lemelo Lake has discriminated against our family and is hiding behind their polices.
  
  Unfortunately they are a franchise and have no one to answer to. This is why I reached out to the BBB, to be heard and to receive fair treatment. 

  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

*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. ↩