Complaint Review: Days Inn - Wildwood Florida

Hi Carl and thank you so much for your comments and might I add VERY WELL PUT! I have read your reports and those Days Inns sound about as horrible as this one in Wildwood, FL, but at least you were given a refund. I was given that attitude that you identified so well :) I don't think corporate will chime in here as they always use that excuse that each Days Inn is "independently owned and operated" therefore, they hold no responsibility and do not honor their "satisfaction or money back guarantee." They also don't care about their "poster girl" because any other business who cared about their reputation would have fired such an unpleasant employee a long time ago. Even though Samantha thinks it's very sad and can't believe I am still voicing my opinion, I will continue to spread the word about the low-level accomodations and deplorable customer service at this hotel for as long as anyone will listen.

I have visited two Days Inn's in Florida in the last two weeks. They were both terribly run down and I didn't stay at either one, but neither, no matter how run down they were, gave my any trouble at all about refunding my money (though one man was extremely rude). I did reviews on both of them if you care to go find them Your attitude in this forum completely nasty and certainly does not suggest to me that I would like to come and visit your motel. Might I suggest that you quit calling people names as you are coming across as a hostile person with a vindictive attitude. You are not winning anything here, and you are most certainly not a poster girl for your establishment. I have met managers who can be nice to some people (June, who probably had a great stay and didn't have reason to cross you) but as soon as someone has a complain they act like they have been personally attacked. From where I sit, you are the one doing the attacking. We are guests. A big portion of your job is customer service. I would suggest that if you can't meet a customers expectations you CAN at least be polite. Your demeanor here tells me that you are probably not very helpful with guests who have problems with your rooms or your service and I for one will not ever visit your motel. I would really like to see someone from Days Inn corporate chime in here. It would help me to decide if I will ever again stay at any Days Inn motel. I have many times in the past, but not for several years. My own experiences this year and what I have read from you... well, suffice to say right now the future is not looking good for any more of my dollars going to any Days Inn.

Hello Samantha. Again, I think we need to get the facts straight for you... FIRST, I was not the one who labeled you as "arrogant and high-handed." If you read more carefully, you will see that it was another perceptive consumer who used those adjectives after reading your postings, and I just happen to completely agree. I have done my best to stick to the facts and don't feel that I have personally insulted you at all, much to the contrary of your unprofessional name-calling. SECOND, I have never asked to be "clued in" about your personal life. In fact, considering that I am a college graduate, hold a license as a medical professional with advanced certifications, and have been successful enough to manage an early retirement, your credentials are not all that impressive! However, I do wish you much luck with your studies and hope that as you become more educated and wiser that you will learn how to treat people with more fairness and respect than you have thus far shown. THIRD, please be assured that I am fully enjoying my life so you need not feel burdened to continue to feel sorry for me as you stated. My life couldn't be happier so put those sad thoughts out of your mind :) AND LAST, let's get back to the real issue of a true rip-off. You can continue to try to justify your actions and those of the Days Inn Corporation but the outcome remains the same. We paid for a room that was untouched and you know that, yet you collected revenue for nothing that night. No one likes to throw money away, myself included, but it did not set us back as much as it may have another unfortunate traveler. The unfair treatment and disrespectful customer service are the real issues here. It's a disgrace to the business world. When you, as a manager, express the quotes above such as "consumer attitude certainly isn't what it used to be" and that we, as consumers, have "given the customer service professionals the attitude they have" something is very, very wrong! The large majority of us just want what we paid for, no more and no less. We don't like being ripped-off. Every consumer reading this needs to seriously consider those remarks and act accordingly.

Wow, how lame are you that two years later you are still barking up the same tree? I actually had no intention of checking this report again until a very good customer of ours mentioned that they had come upon it. I was most certainly not silenced by anything that anyone had to say, I just actually have a real life and a real job. I am amazed that you would call me arrogant and turn right back around and insult me personally. You don't know anything about me, lady. I have a job to do, but that has nothing to do with who I am as a person. Since you seem so concerned, and since I have obviously been on your mind for over two years, I'll clue you in a little. Yes, I have been to school, in fact I am currently still in school studying family law. I am very happily married. I have two beautiful children who I bring to work with me everyday. I work 40 plus hours while taking care of my children, go to school, and take care of my husband and home among other things, therefore I don't have the time or desire to check your silly rip off report everyday for a new entry. I am very sorry your life is so sad that this is all you have found time to do. As far as the other Day's Inns are concerned, I absolutely agree with some of the things that have been said. It is very true that there are some Days Inns that truly need some work, however it is unfair to group us all together. When you have a corporation as large as Days Inn, there are bound to be some bad apples among the bunch. I cannot speak for any of the hotels mentioned, but Days Inn Corporate has made great strides in weeding out the below standard properties. You will find that if you look up any major hotel chain, including Quality Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, even the Hilton chain, you will find numerous reports on this site against them as well. I don't feel as though you were cheated at all, Deborah. You didn't follow the rules therefore you were penalized. You chose not to educate yourself on our hotel's policies. You chose not to check the room right away. You chose not to accept any other alternatives that you were offered to correct the problem. Why am I the villain when you put yourself in the position that you are in? Why am I wrong for upholding our company's policies when you broke the rules? Thank you June for such a nice reply, and I couldn't agree with you more. Consumer attitude certainly isn't what used to be, especially in this case. You can't just go into a business, have a complete disregard for their policies, do what you want, and then expect them to abide by your demands. Furthermore, I believe that Deborah went through with going to another hotel and paying the extra money because she thought that she could just dispute the charges on her credit card and not be charged for her stay at Days Inn. News flash, when you dispute charges with your credit card, they will award the money back to you...ONLY if you have a valid complaint and can back that up. Obviously Deborah could not back that up. Nor could she back it up in the original customer service complaint or the second complaint that she PURPOSELY falsified. This lady has absolutely no credibility in my book and apparently she doesn't with her credit card company, Days Inn customer service or the Better Business Bureau. Lastly, I want to agree that I am glad that this report has gotten some attention as well. I think it has shed some light on the abuse of the customer service system. It's people like Deborah, who break rules and expect companies to bend over backwards for them that have given customer service professionals the attitude that they have. I want to conclude in saying that while we may have been portrayed as a second-class hotel with poor accommodations, our revenue has continued to significantly rise each year since this report has been filed. We have every reason to believe that this trend will continue.

I am the original author and I am copying some communication from Days Inn regarding this incident. I am posting this to demonstrate the type of customer service they provide. In a message dated 10/28/2005 9:31:01 PM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Dear ..... Thank you for contacting the Days Inn Customer Service Department regarding the experience you had with the Wildwood, FL hotel. I apologize that the property did not meet your expectations. Each Days Inn hotel is independently owned and operated under a Days Inn franchise. The property's management is responsible for meeting Days Inn standards and for day to day operations. Due to the amount of time that has passed, we feel that the best resolution would be achieved by direct communication between the property management and you. Thank you for your patronage. I sincerely appreciate your choice of Days Inn for your lodging needs. I hope to welcome you again at a Days Inn hotel in the future. Sincerely, Melissa Huber Customer Service Representative AND my response to this email... Hello Melissa, I really didn't expect too much from customer service after my initial attempts when this occurred. I have tried contacting management but that got me no where. Again, the excuse that "each property is independently owned and operated" allows the consumer to be ripped off by the Days Inn franchise without recourse. An apology doesn't make this right and no, you will NEVER be welcoming me at a Days Inn again. I will add these letters to my Rip Off report to demonstrate the customer service representation that will be encountered by anyone having issues with a Days Inn stay. Sincerely, Deborah So again, pass the word on to everyone you know that staying at a Days Inn is certainly not a good idea because who knows who is " independently owning and operating" that hotel you are in, and you have NO recourse if you are ripped off! As evidenced here, they do not honor their money back guarantee.

I am the original author and I am copying some communication from Days Inn regarding this incident. I am posting this to demonstrate the type of customer service they provide. In a message dated 10/28/2005 9:31:01 PM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Dear ..... Thank you for contacting the Days Inn Customer Service Department regarding the experience you had with the Wildwood, FL hotel. I apologize that the property did not meet your expectations. Each Days Inn hotel is independently owned and operated under a Days Inn franchise. The property's management is responsible for meeting Days Inn standards and for day to day operations. Due to the amount of time that has passed, we feel that the best resolution would be achieved by direct communication between the property management and you. Thank you for your patronage. I sincerely appreciate your choice of Days Inn for your lodging needs. I hope to welcome you again at a Days Inn hotel in the future. Sincerely, Melissa Huber Customer Service Representative AND my response to this email... Hello Melissa, I really didn't expect too much from customer service after my initial attempts when this occurred. I have tried contacting management but that got me no where. Again, the excuse that "each property is independently owned and operated" allows the consumer to be ripped off by the Days Inn franchise without recourse. An apology doesn't make this right and no, you will NEVER be welcoming me at a Days Inn again. I will add these letters to my Rip Off report to demonstrate the customer service representation that will be encountered by anyone having issues with a Days Inn stay. Sincerely, Deborah So again, pass the word on to everyone you know that staying at a Days Inn is certainly not a good idea because who knows who is " independently owning and operating" that hotel you are in, and you have NO recourse if you are ripped off! As evidenced here, they do not honor their money back guarantee.

I am the original author and I am copying some communication from Days Inn regarding this incident. I am posting this to demonstrate the type of customer service they provide. In a message dated 10/28/2005 9:31:01 PM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Dear ..... Thank you for contacting the Days Inn Customer Service Department regarding the experience you had with the Wildwood, FL hotel. I apologize that the property did not meet your expectations. Each Days Inn hotel is independently owned and operated under a Days Inn franchise. The property's management is responsible for meeting Days Inn standards and for day to day operations. Due to the amount of time that has passed, we feel that the best resolution would be achieved by direct communication between the property management and you. Thank you for your patronage. I sincerely appreciate your choice of Days Inn for your lodging needs. I hope to welcome you again at a Days Inn hotel in the future. Sincerely, Melissa Huber Customer Service Representative AND my response to this email... Hello Melissa, I really didn't expect too much from customer service after my initial attempts when this occurred. I have tried contacting management but that got me no where. Again, the excuse that "each property is independently owned and operated" allows the consumer to be ripped off by the Days Inn franchise without recourse. An apology doesn't make this right and no, you will NEVER be welcoming me at a Days Inn again. I will add these letters to my Rip Off report to demonstrate the customer service representation that will be encountered by anyone having issues with a Days Inn stay. Sincerely, Deborah So again, pass the word on to everyone you know that staying at a Days Inn is certainly not a good idea because who knows who is " independently owning and operating" that hotel you are in, and you have NO recourse if you are ripped off! As evidenced here, they do not honor their money back guarantee.

I remember when Days Inn was a reputable place to stay, you know, clean room, white sheets, etc. I just came back from a road trip that was a week long, and was unfortunate to stay at the Days Inn, room 143, in Cordele, Georgia on Saturday October 8th. It was late, and other hotels in that exit had no rooms left, so I had no choice. This place was so bad that I slept with my clothes on. The cheap pillows were worse than an airline pillow. It was filthy enough that I wouldn't even take a shower there. The next morning when I got up, I saw that the boxspring on my bed had large blood splatters all over the side. It really looked like a murder scene on the side of my bed. No more Days Inn for me. Next time I'll sleep in my car, or a cow field, but never again in a Days Inn !!!!!!

Again, I am the original author and wish to add a few more observations. Bill, your experience at Days Inn sounds like another in the string of nightmares. I have noticed that so many of the hotel postings on this site are by people who have been ripped-off in some way by Days Inn. To Joell who posted above and represents herself as an employee in Days Inn "customer service"... I have never met nor talked to her or anyone else in customer service. Despite my many attempts, no one from Days Inn ever called or contacted me to discuss my complaint nor did they advise me of any decision. The only thing I received was a generic email. Looking at Joell's hostile response, seems there is no customer service but rather CORPORATE SERVICE! (Either that or she's related to Samantha.) And you may think it's funny that this property still carries the Days Inn name but we as consumers are learning from that exact theory. Days Inn Corporate obviously doesn't care who it lets use its name as long as they collect their part of the sales revenues! And Samantha, you seem to have been silenced by the good people who have seen through your sarcastic charade. I really had to laugh when you talked about the "three sunburst rating" awarded you by the Days Inn property inspection. When you were in school (if you went to school) did you grade your own tests? A campany rating itself has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! They would be cutting their own throats by admitting that their property should be condemned. In the real business world, companies are evaluated by INDEPENDENT agencies to maintain a high standard of performance. All one has to do is pick up the AAA Tour Guide to see that when that did happen, this hotel was deleted from their book due to your sub-standard environment. And by the way Samantha, I hope this does not sour you from striving to earn more rewards for your customer service skills. Do they give those to the person who rips off the most people each month? And, in your own words, "Have a great day." In conclusion to this, I have to thank this site for opening my eyes even more than my experience did. Consumer knowledge carries a heavy weight. If I have told 10 people of my experience and they each tell 10 people and so on and so forth, it truly WILL have an impact on a poor business which is not meeting the consumer's needs.

You know we have stayed in some really, really nice Days Inns in the syatem however most are pretty beat in Florida (particularly SW FL) where they have had more than one year to replace their signs after Charley and have not done so. We returned to SW Florida in Feb, 2005 only to find we could not stay anywere near a bunch of land and houses we purchased since most in the Port Charlotte/ North Port since they were all were all FEMA occuoied hotels. BTW, they still are, folks playing the system. Aar (at any rate), we stayed at Days in North Fort Myers, on 41. I ended up pulling into a Cirlce Jerk gas station and calling the place...the sign had blown out and was never replaced...warning 1. I attemted to check in with several Visa cards, which were all denied. All have zero balance (I pay them in full each time) however their rinky-dink dialup modem kept disconnecting, like AOL in the '90's if you can believe it....warning 2. Finally my Company Visa was accepted at $97/day for this crappy rank nothing has been done to this place in ages room and we stayed until our business was complete. Nasty. Wear socks to the bathroom and throw the bedspread on the floor. Could you for one moment imagine being in a crappy Days Inn for over one year? Since we have been staying at Choice hotels (Comfort Inn,etc). brand new rooms, suites from $41-71/day.

I am the original writer of this rip-off report. I have since moved to Florida and had to re-register to respond. It's been awhile since I checked my report and was surprised and pleased to see that it caught some attention. A big thank you to Meredith in Virginia. You are very perceptive and wise to pick up that smug, arrogant tone in Samantha's rebuttals. That is EXACTLY how I would describe her overall personality. And to Sherrie in North Carolina...you are so right to say that "there are times when you should just do the right thing." Unfortunately, this is not part of Samantha's nor Day's Inn's policies. And to Sherri in California: I do agree that this hotel chain is in the declining stage and going downhill fast. I fully believe the reports you mentioned. My biggest reason for leaving the hotel was the non-functioning air-conditioner. In the 90 degree heat and humidity so common to Florida, any room would develop mold and mildew leading to that horrible odor. It's also not comfortable sleeping in that heat without the benefit of air-conditioning. And Leticia...no, I did not assume Samantha was psychic. When I returned the room key, I fully described where I had been and that I was only in the room for a few minutes. I even offered to have her inspect the room to see that nothing had been touched but she refused And yes, I did descibe the party crowd as migrant workers because that is exactly what they were. I am not a racist and meant no disrespect by that description. They work very, very hard for their money and deserve a drnken party at the end of the week. I may have joined them if I hadn't driven 700 miles and needed some sleep. Hello to June of Florida. I am so glad you are treated with respect and enjoy staying at this hotel. Unfortunately, this was not my experience. I have never met you and very much resent you describing me as "a type of person that is never satisfied with anything." Perhaps I should descibe you as delusional because your experience is so different than mine? As stated in these prior reports, real people have better things to do than file complaints and post gripes UNLESS there is a truly justified reason. Without doubt, I was ripped off by this Day's Inn. The corporate office uses the excuse that they are all owned and independantly operated to avoid having to deal with any of them. It's just poor customer service followed by more poor customer service. I am just pleased to see that this is getting some attention and hope that it continues. And thank you to the people who have understood and posted some great reports. And for those of you who are so quick to judge...what would you do in this same situation? Finally, as Meredith stated: the best thing to do is to always check the room before paying or showing a credit card. It is a habit I have learned the hard way but follow it faithfully now.

You know what, we can fuss about this all day, but there is a very easy solution to the problem..........ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, check your room before you pay. If you find the room to be unsatisfactory, give the key back and walk away with your money in your pocket, I will NOT pay before I see the room!

Since you couldn't find any takers among the 'cursing, beer drinking migrants' in that group, you decided to take your business elsewhwere where the pickens are better. Some of these migrants have good taste, you know. Evidently they displayed it when you walked by.

How was Samantha to know that you went across the street for gas and dinner before checking out the room? Did you inform them of that fact when you got the keys? She was going on the belief that you went to your room as soon as you got the keys. Most people do that.( it's like you wouldn't live in a place that you didn't see, what's the difference with a hotel room?) I know that I do. Just to make sure that everything is working. But you expected her to suddenly know that you went elsewhere first (if you didn't make that part up.) And then not get charged when you came back and found the room not to your standards. BTW also (no one has mentioned this so I will.) You are coming off as almost racist in your complaint. The entire migrant workers thing. It could have been drunk truck drivers staying over for the night. Or just a drunken party. Why the migrant workers remark?

How was Samantha to know that you went across the street for gas and dinner before checking out the room? Did you inform them of that fact when you got the keys? She was going on the belief that you went to your room as soon as you got the keys. Most people do that.( it's like you wouldn't live in a place that you didn't see, what's the difference with a hotel room?) I know that I do. Just to make sure that everything is working. But you expected her to suddenly know that you went elsewhere first (if you didn't make that part up.) And then not get charged when you came back and found the room not to your standards. BTW also (no one has mentioned this so I will.) You are coming off as almost racist in your complaint. The entire migrant workers thing. It could have been drunk truck drivers staying over for the night. Or just a drunken party. Why the migrant workers remark?

How was Samantha to know that you went across the street for gas and dinner before checking out the room? Did you inform them of that fact when you got the keys? She was going on the belief that you went to your room as soon as you got the keys. Most people do that.( it's like you wouldn't live in a place that you didn't see, what's the difference with a hotel room?) I know that I do. Just to make sure that everything is working. But you expected her to suddenly know that you went elsewhere first (if you didn't make that part up.) And then not get charged when you came back and found the room not to your standards. BTW also (no one has mentioned this so I will.) You are coming off as almost racist in your complaint. The entire migrant workers thing. It could have been drunk truck drivers staying over for the night. Or just a drunken party. Why the migrant workers remark?

How was Samantha to know that you went across the street for gas and dinner before checking out the room? Did you inform them of that fact when you got the keys? She was going on the belief that you went to your room as soon as you got the keys. Most people do that.( it's like you wouldn't live in a place that you didn't see, what's the difference with a hotel room?) I know that I do. Just to make sure that everything is working. But you expected her to suddenly know that you went elsewhere first (if you didn't make that part up.) And then not get charged when you came back and found the room not to your standards. BTW also (no one has mentioned this so I will.) You are coming off as almost racist in your complaint. The entire migrant workers thing. It could have been drunk truck drivers staying over for the night. Or just a drunken party. Why the migrant workers remark?

But it seems that the ones I have seen in the past ten years or so attract a lot of druggies and prostitutes, as opposed to business travelers and families on vacation. I am talking about ones from Georgia all the way to Northern California. I know that my brother-in-law, who is a narcotics officer in Georgia is constantly having to go in and clean out the drug dealers out of the ones in his area. And common sense tells you that when the primary clientele is compromised of less-than-stellar citizens, the amenities and accomodations are going to be less than stellar. It is really sad to see such a decline in what used to be a good hotel/motel chain. Not saying they are ALL that way, but the good ones are becoming fewer and fewer.

So what if Deborah went across the street and got some gas and dinner. You should have been able to tell if the room had been used at all and given her the benefit of the doubt. If the room was acceptable do you think this woman would have thrown away her money to you and gone to another motel only to pay more money? It just seems to me you could have been a little more accomidating, she did not hurt the room by walking into it and walking back out. I know what the sign says, but there are times when you should be a nice person and just do the right thing.

I am appalled that such a sweet girl is being spoken about in this manner. I stay at the Days Inn in Wildwood frequently when I travel to North Florida to visit my grandchildren. The hotel itself is a limited service hotel, but have always found it quite clean and far from substandard as Deborah has described it. One of the brightest spots during each one of my stays there is chatting with Samantha. She remembers me by name everytime I come in, and is even thoughtful enough to inquire about my grandchilren each time I speak with her. She is very pleasant, efficient, and always does her best to accomodate me. I have also witnessed her interraction with other customers, and have found her to be just as lovely with them. I have never had a problem abiding by this hotel's policies, and I do not feel that they are unreasonable. I feel that if Deborah would have taken a few minutes of her time to learn the hotel's policies before leaving the office, she wouldn't feel as though she had been cheated. After all, ignorance is not bliss. I just hope that more consumers realize that the person working behind the counter also has rules to follow. I know there is a lot of fuss lately about customer service going down hill, but consumer attitude is not what it used to be either. I feel that Samantha did what was in her means to satisfy this person, but it seems quite clear that this is the type of person that is never satisfied with anything. Samantha's patience and professionalism should be applauded.

I just don't believe anyone would persecute an innocent motel, lodge complaints and post rip-off reports if there wasn't something wrong with the Days Inn accomodations or its staff. For goodness sakes, real people have better things to do. Sorry the desk manager feels like an innocent victim, but her tone in her rebuttal comes across as very arrogant and high-handed. No wonder the customer couldn't get any satisfaction from the desk manager. For pity's sake, I'm sure Samantha doesn't want to hear you explain your consumer hostile policies to us one more time. I know I don't. They are a customer service failure. So the desk manager may have the might of Days Inn behind her, and Cendant Inc, and the credit card companies, and the state attorney general behind her? She must feel very smug. But others of us who've dealt with Days Inn and been burned know that this doesn't give you the credibility you think it does. Its just typical for Days Inn to try to make us feel small and helpless for daring to complain about poor value and bad service.

Thank you so much, Joell. It is really nice to hear from someone on "our side of the fence" that knows that while the customer is always appreciated, they are not always right. In my experience dealing with other properties, it is very clear that most Days Inn employees do strive to take care of their customers within reason to ensure that they are a happy, repeat customer. Depending on the customer, though, that is not always an easy task. It is very nice to hear kind words concerning this case, as it has brought me a lot of worry. Many, many thanks, Samantha

I have to back Samantha 100% regarding this case. I work in Days Inn customer service, and I know that it is possible to file two different complaints if you use two different addresses, or spell your name differently. Customer service would not falsify information like Deborah claims. Also, if we have multiple cases filed for the same guest (which are pretty easy to find, actually), we will kill those extra cases, as only one is necessary. Deborah, Days Inn does, in fact, inspect their properties regularly. If this property was not up to our standards, then why are they still a Days Inn? Very funny. I just want you to know that from my experience, the staff of our hotels try their very hardest to keep their guests happy. They really do. If you travel, even infrequently, you should be aware that many hotels have a policy that you can only get a refund within a certain time period. Next time, check out what the policy is, and abide by that. It is the best way to prevent problems. Samantha, I have to commend you for your incessant kindness, even though this woman has really tried to make you sound like a horrible person.

This will be my last response to an individual who has not received credibility from any of the sources she has tried to use. I choose not to dwell on this because I have far too many other things to do. I just want to quickly touch on the fact that AAA has not been to our property in years. It is not mandatory that AAA inspect our property. They have not contacted us in many years, and we have not contacted them either. However, Days Inn, who has recently visited our property not only gave us a passing grade on our inspection, but thought that we were worthy of a three sunburst rating. I also want to note that we are acting members of the Better Business Bureau, and we have never been contacted concerning this case. If we had, we would have responded in the same way. Also, we have documentation PROVING that there were two customer service cases started by you, Deborah, and that they both have different addresses, and the spelling of your name is different. So maybe your facts aren't as straight as you think. After all, customer service cases have case numbers that prevent them from being "lost". The bottom line is, the room was rented to you longer than the time allotted for a refund. I have explained this policy to you. If you still do not understand it, feel free to call me, and I can explain it to you again. If you want to continue to go about things the way that you have been, go ahead. I am sorry that you were not satisfied with your stay or the outcome of your many attempts to make our business and myself look bad. After all, at the end of the day, I still have a job to do, and you still paid for a service that we provided you. I do hope this does not sour you from staying with the Days Inn brand. I am not going to play this back and forth game with you on the internet, or anywhere else for that matter. It has been more than a year since this has happened, and if this is how you choose to handle things, then that's fine for you. Again, I do hope that this does not sour you from staying with the Days Inn brand. Have a great day.

Nice try but let's get the facts straight! First, I realize there is a 15 minute grace period after entering the room but after getting gas and dinner, we were NOT in that room longer than 10 minutes. Second, I was NOT concerned about the level of traffic noise but rather the drunken, noisy party outside the motel doors and the outdated, non-functioning air conditioner in the 90 degree Florida heat and humidity! Yes, I did file more than one complaint with Customer Service but only because they stated they "lost" my prior complaints. Plus, it is ridiculous to accuse me of falsifying my name and address! How would I receive notification of the company's follow-up determination? If that was done, it was by that department and not me. In regard to the "something for nothing" statement...again, the facts. We were charged for a room that was untouched and never used. I understand the value of a hard-earned dollar, too, but we chose to pay DOUBLE by leaving this below-standard room and paying for another motel that night. I would say that YOU got something for nothing that day, not US! If Days Inn has determined this establishment to be "up to par", then their standards must be well below AAA whose on-site evaluation resulted in your removal from thier tour book as you no longer meet their standards! And last, I do have an active complaint with the Attorney General and am not aware that any determination has yet been made. I was referred to them by the Better Business Bureau when you refused to answer their inquiry. Regardless, I will continue to honestly describe my experience in order to prevent some other consumer from wasting their "hard earned dollars" as I unfortunately did.

The accusations in this report are completely ridiculous. Deborah came into our hotel and the room that she rented was registered to her for more than an hour before she came to the desk to complain. We DO have a fifteen minute grace period in which a guest has to lodge a complaint. That grace period is calculated from the time a guest checks in and so forth. This policy is very CLEARLY stated in TWO different places at our desk. Fifteen minutes is plenty of time to walk into a room and decide wether or not the conditions are to your liking. Furthermore, it only takes fifteen seconds, not "ten minutes" to walk into a room and decide that the room is "smelly".

Our location is directly off of I75. It is very plain for anyone to see that we have three major truck stops and a major interstate as our neighbors. Before a guest even pulls into our property, it is safe for them to assume that there will be a level of traffic noise that cannot be avoided.

I would like to specifically address the consumer that is making these accusations. This woman called Days Inn Customer Service created a case with them. We responded to this complaint and Days Inn Customer Service found her case to be unfounded. In turn, Deborah called customer service again and created a new case using a different address and spelling her name differently. When customer service discovered that she falsified information, they killed that case completely.

When Days Inn customer service did not do what she wanted them to do, Deborah then called her credit card company and disputed the charge. We were notified of the chargeback, and we immediately responded. If a consumer disputes a charge with their credit card company, the company in question is notified. If that company does not have a valid reason for charging that credit card and cannot prove that reason, the credit card company will not allow the card to be charged. Furthermore, when the company is notified, they are given a deadline in which to respond to the chargeback. If they do not respond in the time allotted, or "refuse to cooperate with the billing dispute", the credit card company will not allow the card to be charged. Again, we responded to this dispute immediately, and the dispute was awarded in our favor as the credit card company found these charges to be valid as well.

After losing two customer service cases and a dispute with her credit card company, Deborah turned to the attorney general. We have been contacted by the attorney general and they too have found her complaints to be completely unfounded.

I have documentation on file to back up all statements in this rebuttal.

We have been in business under the same ownership for six years. We are a very respectable and professional establishment. Because we are a part of the Days Inn franchise, we have brand standards that we have to abide by. We are inspected several times during the year by Days Inn, and our property is completely up to par. Surely Days Inn would not let a property as dilapidated as we are being portrayed carry their name.

As for the personal attack on myself. I have a job to do, as I'm sure Deborah does. I have been in the hotel business for several years and I have seen a lot of things and a lot of people come through our doors who would like to get "something for nothing". I am in no way a scam artist and being a single, hardworking mother myself, am in not way out to "rip someone off". I do my job well, as I have been often commended for my customer service skills. I am more than willing to work with anyone within means, but what is right is right. I believe that if you utilize a service, you should pay for it. I understand the value of a hard earned dollar, and I have never cheated anyone out of their money.

Front Desk Manager
Days Inn, Wildwood, Florida

Our Tourism Editor found the Days Inn no longer meets AAA standards and thus approval has been withdrawn.

Prior to the issuance of our current TourBook guide, our Tourism Editor visited this property and found that it no longer met the standards for affiliation. As a result, approval was withdrawn and this property is not listed in our current TourBook guide.

thank you for taking the time to let us know about your experience.

Sincerely,