Thursday, April 28, 2011

Getting to the right person!

So on the advice of Christopher Elliott (Elliott.org), I emailed the "Vice President Customer Care and Reservation" for Choice Hotels:

Dear Sir,

I have been staying at Choice Hotels brands for more than 20 years.  This Summer I was again hoping to stay at a Comfort Suites hotel but have run into an issue that makes me reluctant to continue to choose Choice Hotels.

Your company has offered its "Best Internet eRate Guarantee" for many years, but I have never needed to use it.  However, two weeks ago I found a cheaper rate on Expedia and Orbitz and was frustrated because I could not access the same rate on the Choice Hotels/Comfort Inn site.  I therefore completed your claim form.

As far as I was concerned, I was eligible for the rate adjustment based on the following clause in your guarantee:
The Best Internet Rate Guarantee does not apply to:
  • Negotiated rates and any other rates not available to the public, such as group rates, package rates, coupons, motor club, membership rates (including AARP) and Government Rates;
I received a courteous response from Jack initially claiming the Expedia rate was "negotiated", then that it was a "package" rate despite the key clause "and any other rates not available to the public".  Jack and "Member Services" did not respond further.

If you are satisfied that the wording of your guarantee accurately depicts your policy, and that your customer service staff are implementing it correctly then perhaps you will see no need to take action, and I will need to pursue my claim elsewhere.  However, if you agree that there is a disconnect between the current wording and how it is being implemented then I ask that you honor the guarantee and consider adding definitions to some of the terms (notably: negotiated rates" and "package rates").

If you would like more information on my claim, I have documented everything at the following blog:

I have always been happy with my stays at your hotels, and have never previously had a reason to complain.  I trust that you will understand my perspective and give me a reason to continue to choose Choice Hotels.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

A. Young
Tel: 720 *** ****

This ultimately resulted in my email arriving at the desk of Shawna, a supervisor for the eRate Guarantee program.

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