ROANOKE, Va. – A bad hotel experience can ruin even the best vacation.
After getting calls from some unsatisfied customers about their stay at a local hotel, I looked into it, only to walk into a heated exchange in the lobby of the Knight's Inn on Friday morning.
Todd Fuller, who spent three nights at the hotel, ended up throwing a pair of keys at the general manager during an argument.
“We didn't have hot water. I had to take cold showers,” Fuller said.
He said it was the worst experience he's ever had at a hotel.
Knight's Inn general manager Mehulsinh Vashi explained that refunds can be given when a customer isn't satisfied. But the key factor has to do with the timing in which the complaint is shared.
In this case, Vashi said Fuller didn't say anything was wrong with his stay until days later.
“When guests complain, they have to give us time to react on that,” Vashi said.
Since Fuller hadn't expressed any concerns about his room until the end of the week, it was too late to receive a refund.
“Obviously any business has the right to set their own refund and return policy. In the situation of a hotel, if you have a question about the condition or the quality of the room that you're about to rent, asked to see that room before you check in,” Julie Wheeler, president of the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Virginia, said.
Vashi said as long as the customer reports any concerns about the hotel room, his crew makes every effort to make accommodations.