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If you are an international visitor or student traveling in
Canada and the U.S., you may at some time need to lodge a
complaint at a hotel where you have booked a room.
In the U.S. and Canada, if you are too polite or submissive,
your request may be ignored. If you are too assertive or angry,
you will also probably not succeed.
So, to lodge a successful complaint, you should:
1) Describe your problem calmly and with dignity. 2) Use a
modulated tone of voice. You will always have more success in
North America if you control your temper. 3) Throughout the
negotiation, remember that you want to resolve a problem, not
win a skirmish. Always take your complaint to the front desk
clerk first. Note, too, that hotel clerks are not considered
servants in North America, so be sure not to talk down to them.
How to phrase a complaint
Suppose you check into your room and discover that it's not
clean. Here's an ineffective way to communicate this problem to
the hotel clerk:
[yelling] "You gave me a filthy room! I want another room
immediately, or I will report you to the manager!"
Now here is an effective way to lodge this complaint:
[spoken in a controlled tone of voice] "Excuse me, but my room
was not cleaned after the last guest. May I have another room?"
Escalating a complaint
If your initial request brings no result, say, "May I speak to
the manager, please?" and start over in the same calm way.
Continue to be polite and reserved.
If the problem is still not resolved, you could say to the
manager, "I am very sorry, but without a clean room I will have
to ask my credit card company to stop payment. For the record,
your name is Mary Cafaro, the manager? I will also need to
report what has happened to American Express and to your head
office. I do not want to do that."
When you say, "I do not want to do that," you leave an opening
for the hotel to move toward resolution.
Being treated fairly
Don't give up too easily.
Suppose a hotel tells you it cannot honor your reservation
because it has overbooked. This is not a situation you should
have to endure. So, stay in front of the check-in queue until
you are offered a fair solution.
Expect a good hotel to find you an alternative room at a similar
hotel, immediately refund your full deposit, pay for a taxi to
the new hotel, and pay for a call to your friends or relatives
to let them know your new location.
A few hotels might claim they do not have a reservation in your
name. If you have brought along a written confirmation of your
booking, you are in a far better bargaining position.
The 3 best strategies for avoiding problems at hotels
1) Check into a hotel as early as you can. Remember that most
hotels overbook to protect themselves. 2) Carry written
confirmation of your room reservation. 3) And, when you must
lodge a complaint, remember to speak firmly but calmly. Keep
your dignity and your cool!
About the author:
Ruthie Hutchings currently writes articles for online
newsletters and websites, such as Dr. Voyageur, a site dedicated
to helping international
students and travelers visiting Canada and the U.S.
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