Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Louis Downtown Reviews (%countItem)
Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Louis Downtown Rating
Address: 610 N 7th St, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63101-1209
Phone: |
Show more...
|
Web: |
|
E-mails: |
Sign in to see
|
Add contact information for Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Louis Downtown
Add new contacts
On June 27th, I contacted the Embassy Suites located at 610 North 7th Street to inquire about using a silent auction certificate good for two nights at the hotel in July of 2018. I explained to the person I spoke with that I had this certificate from a silent auction and asked if it could be used on July 4th or if that would be a blackout date due to it being a holiday, and that individual told me that there was not an issue with availability at the hotel on that date. I also asked what information they needed to verify my certificate on the phone as the certificate did not have a code or other identifying information. I was told just to bring the certificate with me when I arrived at the hotel.
I arrived with my partner at the hotel on July 4th, and was told that there were no notes in the reservation file about a silent auction certificate and that I would not be able to use the certificate as a specific person had to approve the certificate and that did not happen. Note that the certificate does not state that I need to speak with a specific person, only that I needed to contact the hotel directly to make the reservation, which I did. I asked to speak with another manager and was told I could not speak with anyone else. The manager I spoke with offered to “negotiate a rate” for the room for the night, which appeared to be a bait and switch tactic to get us to pay for the room after we had already driven four hours from Indianapolis to St. Louis, taken vacation time for work, made reservations at tourist locations, found pet sitters, etc., etc. in planning this trip. We told the manager we would not be staying and left.
The next morning, I received an email from the Embassy Suites with my bill for the previous night’s stay. I called the hotel and explained that we had not stayed the previous night because they would not honor the silent auction’s certificate. The manager told me that it was considered a late cancellation anyway and that I was required to pay. This manager was extremely rude and I had to ask at least once for him to stop talking over me. I contacted corporate ***, and was later contacted by another manager from the Embassy Suites who had reversed the charges.
After attempting to and unsuccessfully find a resolution with the St. Louis Embassy Suites, I contacted corporate *** and was offered one night and 5,000 *** points, which is the equivalent to about $30 and would require me to spend more money at *** hotels in order to accumulate enough points to use the 5,000 points they were offering. As their offer was not equivalent to the two night stay I paid for at the silent auction, I declined.
While St. Louis is lovely, it took planning to take time off work, find backup for other commitments, gas money, etc. to plan this trip, and it’s not possible either from a time or financial perspective to visit again just a few weeks later, as suggested by ***, to use my certificate. I was not wedded to going to St. Louis on July 4th and had I been told that July 4th was not a possibility, I would have been happy to book for another date in July. Further, I had to use unrestricted hotel points at another hotel to secure a room for July 4th and 5th so we had some place to stay that can now not be used for another trip to any city. Finally, I paid money to support a non-profit for this certificate. This was not something given to me for free and it was not a donation that I could have used as a tax write-off.
My ask continues to be that I receive an equivalent two night stay that is not limited to St. Louis as an exchange or refund for the certificate I was not able to use and the points I had to use to secure a hotel room last minute in St. Louis.
We are certainly sorry for the inconvenience Ms. experienced in redeeming her gift certificate. Although it appears she didn't notice the identifying certificate number, there is in fact one. This certificate also states that in order to be redeemed the recipient is to call a specific number which is listed on the certificate. certainly we are not able to accept donated certificates on any given night of the year. The ability to redeem would be based on the business levels of the hotel which is why we ask for them to call the number on the certificate directly. We would be happy to supply a new certificate for 2 nights with an extended expiration date, however I cannot give a certificate to any Embassy Suites because we only have control over this location. This offer would be on the same terms as the previous offer where she would need to call ahead and see availability. We would also like to get her certificate code which is located in the bottom right hand corner. Ms. is more than welcome to reach out to me directly. My information is listed below.
***
Director Sales and Marketing
wade.***@hilton.com
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Attached to this email is the certificate I received from the silent auction for the two night stay. In response to Mr.:
1) There is not clearly identifiable certificate number on this certificate, perhaps the #780 number in the corner is what you are referencing. However, it could also be the auction item number or could mean something else. As I stated in my original complaint, there was nothing on the certificate that stuck out to me as what would identify the certificate I held, which is why I asked the person I was making the reservation with what information was needed from the certificate as I could not determine what identifying information was needed.
2) Again, I did call the St. Louis hotel and went through some sort of transferring to end up speaking with the individual who ultimately made the reservation. The certificate does not specify that I needed to speak with Mr. or any specific person in order to make the reservation. If it had been clear that I needed to communicate with a specific person, I would have done so. So if staff are not trained on how to handle these types of requests (e.g., that they need to be handled by a specific hotel, person, etc.), that should not become my problem when I have done my due diligence to communicate my request to the business.
3) I agree that the certificate was subject to blackout dates at the discretion of the hotel. I asked about July 4th and was told that availability was not an issue when I called to make the reservation. I would have been happy to have stayed another time in July if July 4th was an issue, but I was told it was okay. Again, the whole situation feels like a bait and switch tactic when we had a room reserved and were told we could "negotiate a rate" for the stay and I was charged for the room when hotel staff knew that I had left because the certificate was not being honored. This and the fact that I easily booked a hotel room a block away the same day for a reasonable rate would suggest that availability was not truly the issue.
4) As part of the *** chain, it is untrue that this hotel is not able to give a certificate, points, etc. to another Embassy Suites or *** location. They do it daily with loyalty points that can be used at any *** hotel. So perhaps this issue has not made it to the correct person at this hotel or within the corporation to resolve this issue.
5) I previously requested to speak with Mr. Wade on July 4th and was told I could not, and he has not reached to me to resolve this issue despite me speaking with many managers at this hotel and also with corporate ***. To suggest I haven't attempted to resolve this with him, the hotel, or the corporate organization before I reached out to the Revdex.com is incredulous.
Sincerely,
Kristina
We are disappointed that our offer to replace the certificate with an extended expiration date is not an acceptable resolution for Ms.. However, our hotel can only provide a gift certificate for our hotel and not for any other hotel.
We strive to assist many organizations in our community, as well as other areas around the Midwest, by providing donated certificates to support their specific fundraising endeavors. We feel this is something we must do to help impact positive change in our community and beyond. However, as is indicated on the certificate which Ms. attached, the certificate instructs the recipient to call a specific phone number to redeem, which is not the main hotel number but rather the direct line of an individual team member at our hotel. No message was left at this number by Ms. so it appears she called the hotel directly but not the specific number the certificate instructs to call.
With that said, we are still willing to replace the certificate with a new one with an extended expiration date. However, we cannot provide a gift certificate to any other hotels.
Additionally, we will reach out to the organization to whom we donated this certificate to ensure they are aware of the situation and to see how we might be able to work together in the future to still provide them with the support, but ask them to provide more clear guidance on the use of the certificate.
Please advise if this offer is acceptable and to who's attention we should send the certificate.
Thank you
I booked a reservation at this hotel today, 2/27/2018 at approximately 8:47 a.m. arriving on 4/4/18 and departing on 4/8/2018. I also received a confirmation number. However, when I telephoned again at 11:18 a.m. inquiring why I had not received a confirmation email, I was informed the reservation made by the previous reservationist was for a different hotel of which I was not informed.. This action can be interpreted as a switch and bait tactic.
This consumer used a online reservation app, we would like to speak directly to this consumer to address the issues they are having personally. I have sent all my direct contact information in both an email and in a voice message to this consumer.
My wife and I went to the Embassy Suites in Downtown St. Louis and it was originally booked through ***; We originally booked the stay for 10/12-14 originally. When we got there we decided to go to Hermann, Mo, so we asked if we could check out early and the front desk said that would be a problem. I have called repeatedly and gotten the run around from the following vendors: ***, ***, and Embassy Suites. We have been calling for three weeks and still have no answer nor refund.
Here is the info we have comfirming *** was going to refund us. We are getting passed around between Embassy suites, *** and ***.
*** and ***
---------- Original Message ----------From: *** <***.***@Hilton.com>To: "***@cox.net" <***@cox.net>Date: November 17, 2017 at 2:10 PMSubject: RE: Embassy Suites St Louis Downtown
Please see below.....
Called *** again.. the guest booked through an affiliate of ***..so not even ***; this is like a 4th party booking. *** did refund it but it was the agent’s card of the affiliate of ***… They also refunded two nights instead of one, so the person I talked to is fixing everything. She said there was no communication noted that *** reached out to the affiliate of *** to tell them to refund the actual guest credit card, so she is doing that right now, and also correcting the refund for one night instead of two so we don’t get hit with an incorrect chargeback later. The 10 business day timeframe unfortunately will have to start again for the guest, but at least it wasn’t a mistake on our end.
I looked up the booking code on the rsv ‘USWB’ and it just says it’s from travel agents and 3rd party websites.
From: *** Sent: Friday, November 17, 2017 11:34 AM To: '***@cox.net' Subject: Embassy Suites St Louis Downtown
Below is the confirmation that we requested for the 3rd night to be refunded.
***'s telephone number is ***.
I am sorry that your went through a frustrating process.
*** | General Manager
I have spoken with Ms. and sent her multiple emails explaining the status of her refund. Ms. booked her reservation through a 3rd party website (***) and we have taken appropriate steps for that company to repay her in full for the modifications in her reservation. The hotel did NOT actually charge Ms *** so there is no refund we are able to give her. *** has advised their client that she will be reimbursed 7-10 business days from effective date of November 17th.