Aqua Aire Motel

Review: On August 9th,2013 I decided to visit my sister on vacation in Minoqua Wisconsin. She told me that she was staying at the Aqua Aire Motel. I allowed myself several hours to drive there on the morning of the 10th. I made better time than expected and arrived quite early, at 5:45am. She had mentioned that the proprietor seemed worried about parking availability, but when I pulled into the lot I noticed that the hotel's sign said "No Vacancy" but the lot was only half full; it seemed like there was plenty of room. I parked in the spot furthest from the rooms to make sure I wouldn't take a convenient spot from a paying guest. I went to the room, but, as expected, my sister and her kids were still sleeping. I waited in her room until 8 when they began to get up and I helped everyone get ready for the day. We began to leave the room at about 8:45. I was approached by a man who turned out to be [redacted], the owner, in the lot as I went to my car. He told me that he could have had my car towed, and demanded to know what I was doing in HIS parking lot. I tried to explain that I noticed his lot had plenty of room when I came to meet up with my sister, but he talked over me and escorted me to the office so I could register. My sister tried to tell him that I was just visiting for the day, but he talked over her too, and said I needed to register. I told him that I wasn't really staying there, but had just come to visit my sister for the day and would move my car immediately since he didn't want it there. I went into the office and gave him my name, etc, and he demanded $20 for "use of HIS room." I wasn't aware of any extra guest charge; it wasn't posted anywhere, nor was any "No Parking" or "Parking Reserved for Registered Guests" signage present. I tried to explain that I hadn't spent the night, and wouldn't be spending the next night, or even entering the room again, and had arrived early that morning. He replied that "[He] gets up earlier than [I]do." He was accusing me of lying, I believe, and was charging me an arbitrary fee because I was ignorant of the hotel policies. I'm not even sure these policies were actually in place, but that, instead, he had tried to get an extra $20 from us by intimidating me and reminding me that he had my sister's credit card number and could charge the $20 to her card. He was rude, condescending, and dismissive throughout the interaction. Had there been any postings about these rules I had supposedly broken, I would have parked at the city lot across the street and phoned my sister to come to me so I wouldn't be charged for setting foot on his property. As it was, I had simply taken up space in HIS room while I waited for my sister. I didn't so much as wash my hands there; there was no added expense for him. Many hotels don't charge for extra guests even if they do spend the night -$20 is a steep fee if/when they do, and I have never heard of one that charged for a 3 hour visit to a paying guest. He also told me that he could collect the $20 in cash, or, if I had a credit card, he'd have to charge tax. I'm not familiar with this practice, and I suspect it's not entirely legal, or is designed to evade taxes. When my sister saw the way I was treated, she was concerned and wanted to check out and not stay the second night as planned, but she was afraid he would charge her due to the motel's rigid "non-cancellation" policy. She was nervous about staying at the hotel that night, since he was acting so intimidating and dismissive. $20 is not a large sum of money, but the owner's behavior was abusive, not at all hospitable, and possibly illegal. I think, at minimum, it is bad business practice.Desired Settlement: I just want my money back. I don't think I should have had to pay this fee

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

You may be aware that the hotel owner contacted your office and agreed to refund the money I think he extracted from me unfairly and also offered a personal apology. I appreciate this gesture of his; I really hope he is sincere. I was disturbed by the way he reacted to me and also the way he talked to me on the phone to discuss the complaint. I hope he doesn't act this way to anyone else. He mentioned that he is protective of his property. This was very clear to me, and the hotel is in good shape for its age. I hope he is just as protective of his guests' feelings in the future. I consider this matter resolved.

Thanks for your help,