For the first time in 30 years as a very frequent business traveler, I was 'walked' from reservations I had made at the Embassy Suites in Norman, OK on hilton.com almost a year before the dates that I reserved.
I planned an experience for an important customer where I would escort him on a trip that centered on staying at the team hotel for the University of Tennessee to watch their game college football game against the University of Oklahoma. I spent thousands of dollars on a pre-game trip to Las Vegas and a post game trip to Nashville with First Class Airfare and accommodations centering around the experience of staying at the team hotel and tickets to the game.
We were informed when we arrived at the hotel, that we would not only be denied the rooms we had reserved to accommodate a group booking, but that we would be placed at a substandard hotel thirty minutes away in Oklahoma City without any offer of transportation. I was shocked to be treated with such disregard. I refused the alternate accommodations and was able to cobble together, on my own, a plan to stay the first night at a local Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn with a stay in Oklahoma City the evening after the game.
I was also disappointed that no attempt was made to contact me at any time prior to my arrival at the hotel. Additionally, even though the hotel promised to pay for my hotel rooms both nights, they failed to do so for my second night in Oklahoma City, after a specific promise by the manager that afternoon to call the hotel that I again secured reservations with on my own.
I have written both customer service at hilton.com and the hotel's owner, the John Q. Hammons Company in Springfield, MO. So far the only result is the Hilton.com representative telling me that they couldn't do anything since my reservation had been cancelled (by the hotel, of course, after I tried to check in).
I think I am due compensation for the damages and inconvenience I and my client experienced and my review of Oklahoma law seems to allow for that. Where should I go from here?
I planned an experience for an important customer where I would escort him on a trip that centered on staying at the team hotel for the University of Tennessee to watch their game college football game against the University of Oklahoma. I spent thousands of dollars on a pre-game trip to Las Vegas and a post game trip to Nashville with First Class Airfare and accommodations centering around the experience of staying at the team hotel and tickets to the game.
We were informed when we arrived at the hotel, that we would not only be denied the rooms we had reserved to accommodate a group booking, but that we would be placed at a substandard hotel thirty minutes away in Oklahoma City without any offer of transportation. I was shocked to be treated with such disregard. I refused the alternate accommodations and was able to cobble together, on my own, a plan to stay the first night at a local Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn with a stay in Oklahoma City the evening after the game.
I was also disappointed that no attempt was made to contact me at any time prior to my arrival at the hotel. Additionally, even though the hotel promised to pay for my hotel rooms both nights, they failed to do so for my second night in Oklahoma City, after a specific promise by the manager that afternoon to call the hotel that I again secured reservations with on my own.
I have written both customer service at hilton.com and the hotel's owner, the John Q. Hammons Company in Springfield, MO. So far the only result is the Hilton.com representative telling me that they couldn't do anything since my reservation had been cancelled (by the hotel, of course, after I tried to check in).
I think I am due compensation for the damages and inconvenience I and my client experienced and my review of Oklahoma law seems to allow for that. Where should I go from here?