Hey, that’s not a Holiday Inn
Question: I recently prepaid for two hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn Express in Statesville, N.C., through Travelocity. As a frequent traveler, I trust the quality and service of the Holiday Inn Express brand.
But when we arrived in Statesville, there was no Holiday Inn Express. The hotel had been re-flagged as an Econo Lodge. If Travelocity had bothered to tell me about the change, I would have gone elsewhere.
I prepaid close to $100 per night for the rooms, but the hotel had rooms posted at $39 a night and it was not full. The quality of the property was nowhere near what Travelocity showed on its Web site. It was a dump.
I have contacted Travelocity customer service several times and, to date, have received nothing but the runaround. I asked for a total refund and have received absolutely no reply. I’m truly disgusted by Travelocity’s complete disregard of the situation and would appreciate anything you could do to help me.
— Bill Wright, Hayesville, Ohio
Answer: Econo Lodge and Holiday Inn Express aren’t the same thing. Not by a long shot.
Econo Lodge defines itself as a low-priced hotel chain for “those traveling on a budget.†Holiday Inn Express is a midscale hotel brand with additional amenities, such as fitness centers, in-room data ports and unlimited local calls, according to the company.
Bottom line: The re-flagged hotel was a downgrade. You should have been told about the change and either offered a refund or had your rate adjusted based on the change.
So why weren’t you? I checked with Travelocity, and it says it wasn’t notified of the re-flagging. If your hotel had told the online agency about its brand switch, then Travelocity might have done something about it.
I’m a little bit skeptical of that explanation. While I don’t doubt that Travelocity didn’t get word of the re-branding, I wonder why, with all that cutting-edge technology at its disposal, the online agency couldn’t catch something like this. When a hotel changes its name or goes out of business, shouldn’t someone at Travelocity be paying attention?
Travelocity’s records indicate that you waited until after your stay in Statesville to contact the agency. It would have been better to phone the company when you arrived at the new Econo Lodge and ask it to address your problem right away. By accepting a room at the hotel, you limited Travelocity’s options for resolving your complaint.
Travelocity says it promptly responded to your first e-mail, apologizing for the lack of notification and asking you what kind of compensation you wanted. According to the company, you didn’t reply.
Travelocity has sent you a voucher for $150 off your next hotel purchase.
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