Great Northern Resort

Thank you for contacting us about the issue regarding Mr [redacted] Although we strive to make all our guests feel at home, we are not always successful We are a seasonal business and have been in business for years serving those wishing to visit Glacier National Park We believe we hire exceptional employees every season to service and inform customers of great places to see, visit, hike and explore We received the following email with allegations of blackmail in exchange for a refund for a night the customer chose to leave during his reserved stay We operate under a very tight cancellation policy as we are a seasonal businessThis customer booked through a 3rd party (Expedia in this case) and are subject to their rebooking and cancellation policies We still have obligations to the 3rd party company for a booking fee for the guests stay unless the guest cancels through their booking partyOur cancellation fees (when not booking through a 3rd party) consist of no refund within a day window as well I don’t have any threshold for threats of blackmail reviews for our property, myself, or our team and have contacted Yelp and TripAdvisor about thisBelow is what Mr [redacted] wroteI have also included a PDF of the original email thread which also includes his statement that there was wifi at the main office “On 8/29/12:PM, [redacted] wrote: Byron, If you want me to go through Expedia, you and your resort will get a long, horrible, detailed review of my stayI will also post my review to Trip Advisor, Hot Wire and all other travel sites I am asking for one night to be refunded due no internet service, faulty advertising and especially the horrible customer service Let me know how you want to resolve this [redacted] Sent from Windows Mail” In another email from [redacted] received on 8/4/7:AM he stated “we had to walk to the main building in order to access the internet (no internet access in room)” which contradicts the statement sent to the Revdex.com “The internet did not work at all for the nights I was there.” We had a complete internet and phone system upgrade this year to the resort provided by MontanaSky Networks Our internet service provider is not reporting any outages during this period Our phone system and main office internet operate on the same internet system as run to the lodge and we did not have any issues in the office phones, reservation system, or internet during this time We had no complaints about the guest wifi around the office area We had no other guest report any issues with the wifi at the lodge during these dates The wifi we provide is a complementary service to our guestsWe do have towel hangers in the bathroom for both the bath towels and for a hand towel by the sink Please see the attached photo taken in the lodge of our guest bathrooms The trains which Mr [redacted] doesn’t appreciate are part of what built the history for the areaThe history is that Great Northern Railway moved through this part of Montana in as it worked to complete its transcontinental line between St***, Minnand SeattleThe new community, known as “Belton” (or West Glacier as it’s known today)As word spread of the region’s beauty and abundant wildlife, tourism began in and around what is today Glacier National ParkTo serve these new passengers, the railroad constructed the depot sometime around Passengers would take the train in to West Glacier and stay at the Belton Inn then tour through the park staying in various chalet along their journeyRegarding the sprinklers: we had a VERY hot and dry summer this year in MontanaIn fact, there are massive wildfires still burning in the areaWe wanted to make sure our newly-laid sod did not dry up and die causing us a severe loss of moneyWe have changed the timing on our system to run during the very early morningWe do offer satellite TV in our cabins but not in our lodge We are not advertising that we have TVs in our lodge rooms either on our website or on Expedia and Expedia partner websites We have been evaluating various TV systems this yearWe are in the most remote part of Montana where there aren’t any cable lines dug in the groundIf you drive less than a mile north, there is absolutely no cell service We apologize for the lack of televisions but it is not uncommon for lodging facilities in the area to have no TVs such as Belton Inn or Lake McDonald Lodge Byron

We do provide free wifi at the resort for our guests. This complimentary wifi is available at the lodge, front porch by the office, and in our caboose. Our wifi service in rural Montana will not be the same internet speeds as Mr *** will find in his home town of Staten Island New York I don’t believe that we overstate the capabilities of our free wifi service.I have reached back out to Expedia as clearly there was a misunderstanding between Expedia and our office staff during the last communication as stated by Mr***. Here is a copy of my communication with Expedia from today.Dear Byron, Thank you for contacting Expedia. In reference to the booking you called about today for *** *** Itinerary #: ***I have included screenshots of the cancellation policy portion of this guest's itinerary for documentation of what we discussedI am unable to send the full itinerary as this holds the guest's personal information so I hope this will work in place of the full itineraryAs we discussed you can see that it clearly states that a guest that cancels after check in is not entitled to a refund and that is full relayed to the guest in the cancellation policy sent over with their itinerary at the time they book. If you have any remaining questions or require any further assistance, use the Contact us form in the Help area of Expedia PartnerCentral. Included in this response from Expedia is a screen shot of the confirmation sent to Mr *** at the time of his booking that states “Room cancellations after chewill be charged for the remainder of the room reservation, and the deposit amount for the room will not be refunded.” Our staff is stating that they took the request for a refund but hadn’t stated Mr *** would receive a refund. We cannot provide a refund for a cancellation after check in because of free service we provide. We had a number of other guests during this period and there were no other reports of a wifi outage. The Expedia cancellation policy stands

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: The issue is that the internet service or Wi-Fi did not work in my room. I was 2000 miles from home and not able to contact my family as I expected. When I informed the office that the Wi-Fi in my room did not work I was told to walk towards the main office and when it worked I could then walk back to the lodge and my room. I asked to speak with Mr. B[redacted] the morning I left and left phone messages with his staff when I returned home. Mr. B[redacted] was never available or "on the river". Mr. B[redacted] never returned my calls. Mr. B[redacted] history lesson of the train whistle is very informative and the picture of the towel rack is very nice but not really the core issue. I am glad that he has decided to water his lawn at night so more of his guests do not get sprayed by the sprinklers on the way out to breakfast.I was told by Mr. B[redacted] to contact Expedia concerning a refund. Nancy from Expedia attempted to contact Mr. B[redacted]. Nancy informed me that whoever she was speaking with at the Great Northern Resort hung up on her.Mr. B[redacted] claim that I am blackmailing him is ridiculous and insulting.I stayed for three nights. I was told by the front desk on the day I arrived that leaving early was not a problem.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Thank you for contacting us about the issue regarding Mr. [redacted].  Although we strive to make all our guests feel at home, we are not always successful.  We are a seasonal business and have been in business for 40 years serving those wishing to visit Glacier National...

Park.  We believe we hire exceptional employees every season to service and inform customers of great places to see, visit, hike and explore.   We received the following email with allegations of blackmail in exchange for a refund for a night the customer chose to leave during his reserved stay.  We operate under a very tight cancellation policy as we are a seasonal business. This customer booked through a 3rd party (Expedia in this case) and are subject to their rebooking and cancellation policies.  We still have obligations to the 3rd party company for a booking fee for the guests stay unless the guest cancels through their booking party. Our normal cancellation fees (when not booking through a 3rd party) consist of no refund within a 45 day window as well.  I don’t have any threshold for threats of blackmail reviews for our property, myself, or our team and have contacted Yelp and TripAdvisor about this. Below is what Mr. [redacted] wrote. I have also included a PDF of the original email thread which also includes his statement that there was wifi at the main office.    “On 8/29/2017 12:08 PM, [redacted] wrote: Byron,  If you want me to go through Expedia, you and your resort will get a long, horrible, detailed review of my stay. I will also post my review to Trip Advisor, Hot Wire and all other travel sites.   I am asking for one night to be refunded due no internet service, faulty advertising and especially the horrible customer service.  Let me know how you want to resolve this.  [redacted]  Sent from Windows Mail” In another email from [redacted] received on 8/4/2017 7:07 AM he stated “we had to walk to the main building in order to access the internet (no internet access in room)” which contradicts the statement sent to the Revdex.com “The internet did not work at all for the 3 nights I was there.” We had a complete internet and phone system upgrade this year to the resort provided by MontanaSky Networks.  Our internet service provider is not reporting any outages during this period.  Our phone system and main office internet operate on the same internet system as run to the lodge and we did not have any issues in the office phones, reservation system, or internet during this time.  We had no complaints about the guest wifi around the office area.  We had no other guest report any issues with the wifi at the lodge during these dates.  The wifi we provide is a complementary service to our guests. We do have towel hangers in the bathroom for both the bath towels and for a hand towel by the sink.  Please see the attached photo taken in the lodge of our guest bathrooms.  The trains which Mr. [redacted] doesn’t appreciate are part of what built the history for the area. The history is that Great Northern Railway moved through this part of Montana in 1891 as it worked to complete its transcontinental line between St. [redacted], Minn. and Seattle. The new community, known as “Belton” (or West Glacier as it’s known today). As word spread of the region’s beauty and abundant wildlife, tourism began in and around what is today Glacier National Park. To serve these new passengers, the railroad constructed the depot sometime around 1906.  Passengers would take the train in to West Glacier and stay at the Belton Inn then tour through the park staying in various chalet along their journey. Regarding the sprinklers: we had a VERY hot and dry summer this year in Montana. In fact, there are massive wildfires still burning in the area. We wanted to make sure our newly-laid sod did not dry up and die causing us a severe loss of money. We have changed the timing on our system to run during the very early morning. We do offer satellite TV in our cabins but not in our lodge.  We are not advertising that we have TVs in our lodge rooms either on our website or on Expedia and Expedia partner websites.  We have been evaluating various TV systems this year. We are in the most remote part of Montana where there aren’t any cable lines dug in the ground. If you drive less than a mile north, there is absolutely no cell service.  We apologize for the lack of televisions but it is not uncommon for lodging facilities in the area to have no TVs such as Belton Inn or Lake McDonald Lodge.    Byron

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: it wasn't the WIFI speed . WIFI didn't work any where. The resort shouldn't advertise free WIFI if it doesn't work. I was told I could cancel by the desk clerk as I needed WIFI to contact my family, and it wasn't honored. The fact that the hotel hung up on EXPEDIA says it all about the professionalism of this business. When a guest has an issue with WIFI, the staff should check it out and they didn't. This resort was not accommodating to me.( Byron )The owners  sarcasm is unprofessional. THE RESORT ADVERTISES FREE WIFI THAT WAS NOT PROVIDED! I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THIS RESORT TO ANYONE.
Sincerely,
[redacted]