Red Carpet Inn

Review: Hello Revdex.com,

Before I begin let me just say that through all of my travels I have stayed in some serious hole in the walls, but the "Red Carpet Inn" in Charlottesville, VA takes the cake. I used to by in the [redacted] and I have a son in [redacted]. Consequently, I come and visit him whenever I can, and we always end up driving somewhere and doing very touristy things. On this trip, I decided to take him to Charlottesville to see [redacted] and then Washington DC.

My wife and I started our journey in [redacted] the previous day at 6 a.m. Pacific time. We both went to work and we when we got off, we drove to [redacted] to catch our flight. We were scheduled for a 115 am departure, unfortunately, the flight was oversold, because of delays and cancellations earlier in the day. Since we were traveling as stand-by passengers, we didn't get on the flight, but we were re-booked for a 630 am flight which was wide open. So it's 130 am in morning at this point and I need to move our vehicle to the long term parking lot. We get to the long term parking lot at 2 am and decide to take a 2 hour nap. After our nap we went back to the airport to get on the flight. It's about a 4 hour flight to Charlotte, N.C. Still, both of us do not sleep very well on the plane as well as on the next leg of our trip from Charlotte to Norfolk, V.A. (We didn't have any issues getting on our next flight). We arrived in VA at approximately 345 p.m. the next day. We picked up our rental car and met my ex-wife at around 430 p.m. to pick up my son. Since, I don't get a chance to see my son all that much, I decided to take him to a movie that lasted about 2 hours and afterwards I decided to start heading towards Charlottesville.

Now I realize, I probably should have pulled over and found another hotel, but I really wanted to get to Charlottesville as soon as possible so that we would have more time there. We arrived into Charlottesville at around 130 am the next day and it had been pouring the whole way up there and I was absolutely exhausted. After attempting to rent a hotel from 3 different hotels in the Charlottesville area, that were either full or way too expensive for only 9 hours. At the third hotel a gentleman there recommended the "Red Carpet Inn". And although I noticed some other hotels on the way there, because we were all so tired and had already tried unsuccessfully 3 times already to get a hotel I decided to listen to the gentleman's advice and proceeded to the "Red Carpet Inn". We arrived at the Inn at around 1:45 p.m. I was still charged the full price even though I was only going to be there for about 9 hours. However, I asked the clerk who checked me in if I could have stay a little longer and he informed me that I could stay until 12 p.m. At this point I didn't really care because the price was still pretty reasonable around $68 dollars after tax. So we went to the room, got all our luggage in the room, brushed our teeth, got into our pajamas, and decided to call it a night. I remember thinking finally a real bed. I was soooo tired and just wanted to sleep. My son took the bed on the left and my wife and I took the bed on the right. I remember feeling something a little damp, but I just attributed it to the humidity in the room, but my wife said her side was really wet. She didn't really investigate either, because she was also very tired, as she stayed up to keep me awake and she attributed the little smell she could smell to being so close to the bathroom. I just figured it was the humidity or water or something because when we arrived both beds were made. Anyways, she decided to sleep with my son and I decided to stay on the half wet bed. Still throughout the course of the night because I slept on the covers and not in the covers I didn't really feel the wetness, but I still rolled over covers that were soaked underneath. I actually slept in until until around 10 am, but my wife and son woke up a little earlier went to grab us some breakfast. They got a little lost on the way back and still needed to shower, that's why we did check out a little late around 1215 pm. While they were gone I decided to really investigate the wetness and realized just how foul it smelled and with the the sunlight coming through the window I could see that the stain was yellow and just how big the stain was. There is no doubt that it was urine, all of the maids agreed that's what it was. I immediately went to the front desk to let him know and see if we could resolve the matter. As a weary traveler and patron of a hotel, it's one thing to have to deal with stains, but it is completely different to have to deal with fresh urine on a bed. He informed me there was nothing he could do, because we still stayed in the room and he was not authorized to give me any sort of refund. I understand I should have investigated the wetness more thoroughly when we arrived, so we could have told them and gotten a new room. But as I stated earlier we were all exhausted and just wanted to get some sleep. However, I am willing to bet that this motel has serious health issues related to not properly washing the linens and cleaning the rooms as they should. This is America, and Americans should not have to worry about these issues. Moreover, this issue reflects directly onto the City of Charlottesville and I don't think Charlottesville wants to be associated with unsanitary motels.

I have tried to reach out to the hotel on two occasions. The first time being right after the incident and second time being yesterday. On the second occasion I was apparently speaking with a manager there, but not the owner. And he was trying to question what happened and he said he was not authorized to provide any sort of compensation. he said I could call the owner on the Thursday, but I am afraid he's going to do anything or even care. However, I took a picture of the stain before the maids hastily tried to get rid of the evidence. Finally, I just want to say that I still feel absolutely nasty and dirty after this experience. Almost, like if I been drugged and taken advantage of. That's the analogy the best describes how I feel. I can't stop thinking about it, and it really put a damper on my trip.Desired Settlement: I think it's only fair that the owner compensate me with a full refund, not partial refund because of the complete lack of delivery of services as well as the psychological distress this incident has caused me. Moreover, I believe the sanitary conditions of this motel need to be thoroughly investigated so that other travelers do not experience what I experienced.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates that the business has not responded to you directly. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

At this time, I have not been contacted by Red Carpet Inn regarding complaint ID[redacted].

Regards,

Review: As an antique dealer in [redacted], VA,I make several trips to Pennsylvania each year to attend antique markets near [redacted] and [redacted]. Last week, I stayed at the Red Carpet Inn in [redacted], PA. On the first night, I awoke and found bedbugs crawling on my bed. I informed the manager the next day and asked for another room. He provided another room but insisted there were no bedbugs there. The following day, numerous red welts appeared on both my arms. I showed management and they again responded that they looked in the room and did not see any bedbugs. I also noticed that they rented out this room to someone else. When I checked out on the last day, I indicated that an adjustment to my bill would be appropriate. They offered 25 percent off the first day of my next visit. As if I would ever go back.

My concern is that they did not take my complaint seriously and are exposing the public to a serious health problem. The fact that they “did not see any bedbugs” is not the correct answer. These insects are seldom in plain view and can hide under carpets, inside electrical outlets and behind headboards.

As an antique dealer, I have to balance travel expenses against potential profits from sales, so I normally try to find low cost lodging. I understand these are economy hotels, so I do not expect much. However I do expect basic levels of cleanliness and a willingness to address serious problems when they are brought to their attention.Desired Settlement: Partial refund for hotel stay.

Business

Response:

10/5/2014As a motel owner for over 30 years, I have had experiences with bed bugs. I know best practices for treatment and when people are trying to “balance expenses against profit”. The timeline of events described by the customer are not exactly true. The alleged “bites" did not appear until the day after the guest was moved. We checked the room in the presence of the guest and turned everything inside out. Bed bugs hide in the bed area predominantly. They do not hide in electrical outlets or other areas until forced out of their natural habitat by extermination methods. We had an exterminator check the room. Even though nothing was found, we still had him treat the roorn to be sure. We have rented the room since and have found no instance of bed bugs. We have not only given serious attention the rmatter; we have found that this is frivolous claim. The guest had every opportunity to leave our establishment after night 1 and take a refund for the rest of their stay. They chose to stay in our motel and know that this is a not a problem at our establishment.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

The owner seems to be discarding my claim because I did not show them the bedbug bites until the day after I changed rooms. If the owner "knows about bedbugs" as he claims, then he knows that the welts typically do not appear for two, sometimes three days after the victim is bitten. He also seems to be implying that I went out and got bedbug bites somewhere else so I could get a reduction in by bill. That doesn't even make sense. The owner never offered to refund the rest of my bill if I left after the first day. The owner is also well aware that hotels in the area sell out during the "Extravaganza" weekends. Although I considered checking out after the first day, the fact that I chose to stay in another room in this hotel is only a recognition of the fact that I likely could not find another room in the area at that time. Also, the fact that the owner chooses to attack the customer for bringing this problem to his attention is further evidence of the unprofessional management of this property.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear Customer,You always have the option to leave the property and take a refund for nights you do not stay. There was availability at other hotels - it is your prerogative to find them. We stand by our offer.Thanks.