A Sudden Intrusion
Imagine you are on a holiday and relaxing in your hotel room. It is the middle of the night, and you are comfortably tucked in the bed watching TV. Suddenly you hear loud banging on your door. When you nervously open the door, the people in the hallway ask you to leave the hotel immediately with no explanations given.
That is what happened with Susan Leger and her granddaughter Helen when they checked into a hotel in Georgia. While enjoying their stay in a hotel, they didn't know that in a short period of time, their lives would drastically change. And the reason for that was one, at first glance innocent, review.
Sixty-three-year-old Susan Leger is the best grandmother anybody could ever ask for. All of her grandchildren adored her and made sure to visit her as much as possible.
Out of all her grandchildren, Helen was the youngest one. She was also extremely attached to her granny, who felt the same about the girl. That's why one day Susan and Helen decided to take a holiday together. Little did they know what this decision would lead them to one day.
A Lot of Planning
The grandmother and granddaughter duo then busied themselves in elaborate planning. They started by making a list of all the places they wanted to visit along with planning the logistics.
The idea was to select the best place combined with manageable logistics. However, despite all this planning, things went wrong during the trip.
Resort Town of Helen, Georgia
Finally, they decided to spend three days in the resort town of Helen, Georgia. The plan was to go around the town during the daytime and spend nights comfortably in the hotel room tucked inside the blanket.
The next step was to find a hotel that would suit all their requirements. Again, after a lot of browsing and asking around, they booked a nice hotel, only to be disappointed terribly later.
Baymont Inn & Suites
Susan booked a hotel called Baymont Inn & Suites in the resort town of Helen, Georgia. The hotel is owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Group.
To make things easier for her, Susan made the booking via Hotels.com. The site asks you to give feedback about the hotel the moment you check in and this was the same thing that put Susan in trouble.
Reaching The Hotel
Susan decided to drive down to the resort town of Helen, Georgio with her granddaughter. The duo spent a lot of time on the road and was absolutely exhausted when they reached the hotel in the evening.
However, the staff at the reception desk was helpful and allowed them to check into their room successfully. The duo grabbed their luggage and went to the room, only to come out again a few hours later.
The Condition of The Room
When Susan reached the room with her granddaughter, both of them were slightly disappointed because the room was nowhere close to the pictures on the internet. However, they hid their disappointment and Susan gave a tip to the bell boy who helped them with the luggage.
After closing the door, Susan went around the room to see if everything in the room was working. To her surprise she found out that the bathroom light was not working, the toilet did not flush well, and the overall condition of the room was a little rundown. You can not anticipate what steps Susan must have taken next.
Email Regarding the Feedback
Around the same time, Susan heard an email notification and checked her phone. It was an email from Hotels.com asking for a review because it reflected in their system that Susan had finished her check-in process.
Seeing the condition of the room, Susan left a three-star review and highlighted the other problems as well like the toilet does not flush, the room is in rundown condition, and even the pool is not open. Soon she forgot about the review and started settling in the room with her granddaughter only to be disturbed terribly later.
Watching Television
Susan was very exhausted and decided to deal with the room situation first thing in the morning. After taking a bath and eating some food, the duo settled in front of the television watching their favorite movie.
Susan was very glad to see her granddaughter having an enjoyable time. However, at 8:40 PM Susan got a call from the hotel manager, and she couldn’t believe what he asked her to do.
Leave The Hotel
The hotel manager asked Susan to leave the hotel room immediately and that he had already called the police. Susan couldn’t believe her ears when he said that.
A million questions popped inside her head, and she had no idea how to answer him back. Was this a prank call?
Susan Extremely Worried
The hotel manager after asking Susan to vacate the room and leave the hotel hung up the call. Susan was petrified after receiving the call and had no idea what to do next.
She hoped with all her heart that it was a prank call. However, she was proved wrong when she heard a loud knocking on her door a few minutes later. What exactly was happening?
Knock On The Door
The knock on the door was so loud that both Susan and her granddaughter were taken aback. Susan could feel her granddaughter clinging to her leg and crying hysterically.
However, Susan gathered courage and proceeded to open the door. What she saw outside the door shocked her terribly.
The Police
There was a police officer from the Helen Police Department standing outside the door. Susan asked him what was wrong, and he informed her that she had to leave the hotel as per the hotel manager’s request.
Susan was horrified after hearing this. She asked the police officer, “But why?”
Bad Review
To Susan’s surprise, the police officer informed her that the hotel manager is doing this because she gave a review of three stars to the hotel. The next question Susan asked him was, “Can he really kick me out in the middle of the night because of a bad review?”
Susan was sure this was legally wrong. However, what the police officer informed her next, blew her mind.
Within The Law
The police informed Susan, “Yes ma’am he can, and it is within the law.” The situation was getting scary with each passing second.
Susan had no idea what to do next because both she and her granddaughter were in their pajamas ready to call it a night. The police officer then suggested something to Susan.
A New Hotel
The police officer suggested to Susan that she can shift into a new hotel. But still, Susan could not believe that she was being kicked out of a hotel because she gave a candid review.
The police officer also tried reasoning with the hotel manager that he should not kick out an old lady visiting with her granddaughter in the middle of the night. However, the manager was ready to refund Susan’s money and kept insisting that he is asking her to leave just because she is not happy with the hotel.
Fairfield Hotel
The situation was bizarre, and Susan decided to take into consideration what the police officer was suggesting. She could see that her granddaughter was very scared, and she wanted to put an end to her agony as soon as possible.
She quickly grabbed her stuff along with her granddaughter and proceeded to get out of the hotel. The police officer then took her to the nearby hotel called Fairfield hotel.
The Next Morning
Susan had already made full payment for three days at Baymount Inn & Suites. This was a sudden change in plan and Susan had to think about how they wanted to spend the rest of the trip.
However, the nights' bizarre events greatly disturbed the duo. The next morning, they decided to cut their trip short and return home.
Concerned Family Members
Susan’s family members were very surprised when she returned the next day after the departure. They were not expecting Susan and her granddaughter back for another two days.
When they reached home, she explained the whole situation to her family members, and they were equally horrified hearing everything in detail. After some discussions, Susan and her family members decided to do something about the bizarre situation.
Official Complaint
The Leger family filed an official complaint with Hotels.com because it was through their platform that the booking was done. Hotels.com lodged their complaint and promised them to look into the situation as soon as possible.
Susan was a little relieved after hearing this promise from them. However, when Hotels.com talked to the hotel manager regarding this, more confusion took place.
An Interview with The Hotel Manager
Hotels.com tried reaching the hotel manager and scheduling an interview with him but the manager kept declining their offer. It was only after Hotels.com contacted the franchisee that the manager agreed to a telephonic interview.
He said he asked Susan to vacate the room because she did not bother calling the reception first and informing them of her problems. However, who knew the manager would say something completely different the next time.
Camera Interview
A few months later, during a camera interview, the hotel manager said something opposite to what he said earlier. He said that Susan called him multiple times with no real problems, hence, this is why he asked her to leave.
Whatever be the reason, it was extremely unethical on the hotel manager's part to ask an old lady to leave with a 6-year-old girl in the middle of the night. What would you do in such a situation?
Money Refunded
The hotel manager, however, as he promised earlier, did refund the money to Susan. He added that according to the booking terms and conditions, refunds are not allowed but he was making an exception for Susan.
In such a case, there should be specific guidelines to not expel guests in the middle of the night. Do you think a refund was enough to compensate for the mental trauma Susan and her granddaughter went through?
Susan Blames Hotels.com Also
Susan also partly blamed Hotels.com for the trauma she had to undergo. She believes if the booking platform did not have such policies, the customer experience would be very different and better.
She recommends that they should ask customers to give feedback after they have completed their stay successfully. Also, the feedback can be kept anonymous to save the customers from backlash from the hotel administration.
What Did the Police Say?
The police issued a statement saying no one is to blame. They said the situation was simply a clash of two personalities.
The best solution was for both parties to go separate ways. Although, the situation could indeed have been handled well.
How Did Susan Cope?
In interviews later, Susan said she did have a difficult time coping with the trauma after the event. Her granddaughter is still struggling and finds it difficult to stay in hotel rooms.
She is constantly scared that somebody will barge in and ask her to leave. What would you do to cope with something like this?
Where Is Humanity?
It is surprising though that the hotel manager did not show any humanity. He did not see how unfair it is to ask an old lady to leave in the middle of the night with her granddaughter.
This is a learning lesson for all of us. We should never compromise our principles and ethics even when angry.